Has Technology Made Hunting Too Easy?

[EGS-HQ]

Being in the firearms and hunting gear industry as a retailer, I see trends in what is hot and what is not. For a number of years, I have seen a growing interest in long range hunting here in the USA. A week does not go by without someone asking me about rifles and scopes that have the refinements for shooting prey at 500+ meters. Some want to shoot 1000+ meters!

My question is, has technology made hunting too easy? Myself, I prefer hunting in a more traditional manner; bolt action rifle with a moderate variable power scope - 2-8x42mm. I have also started hunting with a fixed power (8x40) scope for simplicity sake but must admit they are harder to find.

It would be hard to quantify the number of people that have inquired about scopes that are more technologically advanced for long range shooting. Some of these scopes look like the "Heads Up Display" for an F-35 fighter pilot with their illuminated and complex reticules! Then there are the Tactical Knobs on them, the laser range finders and game cameras. Soon, it will be normal to have a drone with a camera hover above the savanna and automatically forward the "hunter" images and a precise GPS coordinate of a trophy to their scope/monitor! Maybe even aim the rifle with a motor-controlled tripod...

I certainly understand there are species that require one to hunt from a long distance, but has the skill once associated with hunting taken a back seat to technology? Is this trend gaining any popularity in Africa?

 

[BRICKBURN]

...............

I certainly understand there are species that require one to hunt from a long distance, but has the skill once associated with hunting taken a back seat to technology?

It does with some folks, right up to the point the trigger is pulled at some obscene range that the guys has had little practiced at.
Then they get to deal with the miss or the wounded game.

The Rifle scope (sales) long range hunting shows, more often than not, show more woundings than I can stomach.
I avoid them.

The attraction with being able to accurately and effectively shoot at longer range is a highly respected skill that many seem to think they can obtain by means of a technological short cut. Not going to happen.

Have some respect for the animal.

 

[JustinC]

In my mind, Hunting is about getting back to our roots, the challenge of a fair chase, skills associated with tracking and stalking and the knowledge that you as a hunter have done everything to ensure a clean kill.

Sure, Shooting long distance can be a skill but where are the "good practices" that should be associated with hunting?

 

[watman]

The hunt is what you make of it. I took a few long shots (2 misses) on my RSA trip.... When I shot within my abilities I did well. I'm happy shooting a piece of paper at several hundred yards, an animal maybe not.

I had the good fortune to have those missed shots and a few missed opportunities to experience one of the most exciting hunts of my trip. On foot with the tracker and PH carrying my 9.3 * 62 into a heavy brush area looking for Gemsbok and getting a nice cow through a narrow opening across a clearing maybe 50M away. The aftermath was crazy, she ran one way the rest of the herd (12 animals maybe) all over the place, brush cracking and dust flying. In that instant I understood part of the appeal of bow hunting.

I also had a chance at another Gemsbok earlier that day, burst out of a roadway next to us and before I could swing the rifle around the animal dug into the soft ground and exploded back into the bush. Heart racing for sure.

 

[G Skinner]

I maybe bias but I enjoy bow hunting , for the up close and personal aspect of it . But it too has it's share of long distant wanna be 's...... kind of defeats the purpose .IMHO .
Glen

 

[jeff]

Couldn't agree more Glen!

 

[JimP]

I am sure that the caveman was asking this same question when they went from a rock to a spear to bows and arrows. Then the Chinese had to invent gunpowder and it has been downhill ever since.

 

[spike.t]

I am sure that the caveman was asking this same question when they went from a rock to a spear to bows and arrows. Then the Chinese had to invent gunpowder and it has been downhill ever since.

interesting way of putting it .

after watching part of a demo video at sci last year with wayne, that was showcasing some superduper does everything for you long distance scope , and having a hard time seeing the animal they were about to shoot until they zoomed the camera lens in ......all i can say is yes!!!

 

[gillettehunter]

I am going to agree to disagree somewhat with you. There are those who practice long range and are proficient at it. There is a time and a place for it. Much of Africa is not necessarily suited for long range shooting. On the prairie of WY I am situated where it can be done. I have 2 friends that are consistently capable on long range shots. One has a .300 WM that he and friends use. Over the last 3 yrs they have 23 big game 1 shot kills with NO misses or wounded animals. Ranges from 300 to over 1200 yards. It takes practice and dedication. Just because you don't want to or cannot do it does not mean that others can't ethically take big game at those distances.
I will agree that many don't have the practice and dedication to do so and they should respect the animal enough to not take a " maybe" shot. We need to understand our limits and stay within those boundaries. For some people 200 yards is too far away. That is fine as long as they know what their EFFECTIVE range is. I don't practice enough. I'm working on upgrading equipment that will do the job to 1000 yards. Right now I'm pretty comfortable to 600 yards with good wind conditions.
A couple of yrs ago I took my whitetail at 563 yards. 6.5-06 with a 140 gr Berger bullet. I had a dead rest and a proper rangefinder reading. I got excited and missed the 4 inch wind adjustment. First shot was slightly far back, but lethal. 2nd on the shoulder. He never took a step after the first.
There several points I want to make. First is that we as hunters need to stand together against the antis on everything that we can. Whether it is long range hunting, leopards or Bongo with dogs or archery equipment at 60 yards. We are stronger together. Just because I don't do it or even want to do it does not make it wrong. Let's not give them ammunition to help defeat us.
I believe that most of us on this forum are gentleman and have a common core value and respect for our wildlife. We need to help teach that to the coming generations. We are the leaders and teachers and need to help those coming behind us.
There are those who can ethically hunt big game at 1000 yards. That is a fact. Should everyone shoot at a animal at that distance? NO,of course not. Only under the proper conditions, training and practice. Things like a animal that is standing still. Proper rest. Little to no wind. Tried and true equipment. Time to set up do it right.
If a hunter can get closer to a animal then he should do so. That is part of the ethics.
Last story. 3yrs ago in the East Cape. My PH spotted a cull impala ram. Bad leg. Asked if I could make the shot. I said yes after ranging him. I was sitting in the back of the truck with a solid rest on the cab. Just like a shooting bench at home. At the shot he jumped and went perhaps 25 yards. We drove to the damn he had been standing on. Good blood. My ph asked how far away was he. When I told him 375 yards he swore and said he had thought 275. I was ready and had the right equipment for the job.
Last point. If I practice at 500, 600, 800 yards. Just how confident and easy does that make a 400 yard shot? Much easier than if I've never shot beyond 200 yards.
OK go ahead and tell me I'm wrong. Be a gentleman while doing it and we'll still be friends. Friends can have different opinions and ways of doing things. Long range hunting is not for everyone. If you don' have the right equipment and practice a lot then you should not do it. Bruce

 

[Grady]

Long range hunting is not for everyone. If you don' have the right equipment and practice a lot then you should not do it.

In my opinion, you hit the nail on the head! Long range hunting is not for everyone!

I know when I was prepping for an archery Caribou hunt on the North Slope, I was practicing regularly at 50/60 yards with my Bow (even practicing out to 80 yards) and had no issues with taking a shot 50/60 yard shot. In fact I shot my Bou at 49 yards in the boiler room. The key to this is that I had my gear ready for those type of shots, and had practiced at that range for quite some time. I was even confident out to 70 yards with my bow, but determined I would not take that length of shot for this particular hunt. My practice was with ping pong balls out to 40 yards and baseball sized "stress balls" out to 70 yards.

Two things:
1. As an ethical hunter, I do not what to put my self in a position to make my target suffer unnecessarily by taking a shot I am not ready or geared for. That means I need the right equipment and need to practice at ranges beyond my "practical" range.

2. As gillettehunter stated, "Just because I don't do it or even want to do it does not make it wrong." We are all hunters and need to stick together. For example, I do not have any desire to hunt Lions or Elephants, but I will stand with my fellow hunters and fight to protect their desire to hunt them.

So, "Has technology made the hunting to easy?" For those who rely on technology to hunt and are only there for the final shot...possibly. For those of us who hunt for more than the final shot, technology is just another tool for use to use while we enjoy the fact that we are there more and the challenge of the hunt.

Just my 2 cents

 

[lcq]

It does with some folks, right up to the point the trigger is pulled at some obscene range that the guys has had little practiced at.
Then they get to deal with the miss or the wounded game.

The Rifle scope (sales) long range hunting shows, more often than not, show more woundings than I can stomach.
I avoid them.

The attraction with being able to accurately and effectively shoot at longer range is a highly respected skill that many seem to think they can obtain by means of a technological short cut. Not going to happen.

Have some respect for the animal.

I routinely shoot at my club out to 900 M. Bipod, prone, nice firing points, trimmed grass, wind flags at various points along the bullet path and still get spanked by the wind far too often. You will never get conditions even remotely close to this in the field so all the technology in the world isn't going to help until laser rifles become available.

my $0.02

 

[Ridge Top Ranch]

From a technology perspective, yes I feel there are too many gadgets in hunting. If you carried everything in the woods up to and including an ozone generator you would need a dozen porters to carry it all. I think back to my earlier bow hunting when I used a hickory long bow and cedar arrows with fixed broadheads you had to sharpen yourself. I hunted from the ground or climbed trees or made stands from old wood. I shot fair number of deer including several good ones. Then I succumbed to the fact that with little effort I could sight in a compound bow and practice one in a while and still shoot tight groups. Then I went the deer scent route. All the different scents, mock scrapes drag lines ect. Then on to the call route with rattling, bleats, grunts and roars. I shot a lot of bucks with the compound bow. Scents never worked for old bucks and cost me more bucks than it got me. Same with call when I over used them.

So one day I asked myself what was I really trying to do? To kill a big deer in the shortest amount of time? No, it was the challenge of being invisible to the deer, getting close and killing him. don't get me wrong I rifle hunt and have shot deer at 300 yards which is what my ability limits me to. In short I hunt for the thrill of pursuing animals in the wild and beating them at their own game. I don't buy deer scents anymore. I will call occasionally if an animal is out of range and try to bring it closer. I try to hunt from the ground more and I've stared to practice with my longbow again. To me the beauty of the experience is understanding the animals habits and getting close enough to make a killing shot.

Nothing against long range shooting if you can do it with gun or bow. Just kind of felt like I don't need all the bells and whistles to kill a deer. If it was just about killing a great big buck efficiently as possible I would go to one of these high fence places pay my money and shoot a buck that I will never see in the wild. I feel hunting should be a verb and not a noun.

 

[Nyati]

Personally I like the stalk, and getting as close as possible. However, if you are hunting Marco Polo somewhere in central Asia, you have to be prepared to shoot at long distances, and you´d better train hard if you want to be successful !

 

[Scott Slough]

I am all for technology that makes us more proficient within our individual lethal ranges and support ALL ethical hunters/methods who use technology and practice to extend their ranges or to improve their enjoyment of hunting.

I do ... within the context of a hunters-only conversation ... disagree with long-range hunting shows/individuals who turn down closer shots just to sell a specific product or to brag about the distance of a shot.

 

[Buff-Buster]

I am going to agree to disagree somewhat with you. There are those who practice long range and are proficient at it. There is a time and a place for it. Much of Africa is not necessarily suited for long range shooting. On the prairie of WY I am situated where it can be done. I have 2 friends that are consistently capable on long range shots. One has a .300 WM that he and friends use. Over the last 3 yrs they have 23 big game 1 shot kills with NO misses or wounded animals. Ranges from 300 to over 1200 yards. It takes practice and dedication. Just because you don't want to or cannot do it does not mean that others can't ethically take big game at those distances.
I will agree that many don't have the practice and dedication to do so and they should respect the animal enough to not take a " maybe" shot. We need to understand our limits and stay within those boundaries. For some people 200 yards is too far away. That is fine as long as they know what their EFFECTIVE range is. I don't practice enough. I'm working on upgrading equipment that will do the job to 1000 yards. Right now I'm pretty comfortable to 600 yards with good wind conditions.
A couple of yrs ago I took my whitetail at 563 yards. 6.5-06 with a 140 gr Berger bullet. I had a dead rest and a proper rangefinder reading. I got excited and missed the 4 inch wind adjustment. First shot was slightly far back, but lethal. 2nd on the shoulder. He never took a step after the first.
There several points I want to make. First is that we as hunters need to stand together against the antis on everything that we can. Whether it is long range hunting, leopards or Bongo with dogs or archery equipment at 60 yards. We are stronger together. Just because I don't do it or even want to do it does not make it wrong. Let's not give them ammunition to help defeat us.
I believe that most of us on this forum are gentleman and have a common core value and respect for our wildlife. We need to help teach that to the coming generations. We are the leaders and teachers and need to help those coming behind us.
There are those who can ethically hunt big game at 1000 yards. That is a fact. Should everyone shoot at a animal at that distance? NO,of course not. Only under the proper conditions, training and practice. Things like a animal that is standing still. Proper rest. Little to no wind. Tried and true equipment. Time to set up do it right.
If a hunter can get closer to a animal then he should do so. That is part of the ethics.
Last story. 3yrs ago in the East Cape. My PH spotted a cull impala ram. Bad leg. Asked if I could make the shot. I said yes after ranging him. I was sitting in the back of the truck with a solid rest on the cab. Just like a shooting bench at home. At the shot he jumped and went perhaps 25 yards. We drove to the damn he had been standing on. Good blood. My ph asked how far away was he. When I told him 375 yards he swore and said he had thought 275. I was ready and had the right equipment for the job.
Last point. If I practice at 500, 600, 800 yards. Just how confident and easy does that make a 400 yard shot? Much easier than if I've never shot beyond 200 yards.
OK go ahead and tell me I'm wrong. Be a gentleman while doing it and we'll still be friends. Friends can have different opinions and ways of doing things. Long range hunting is not for everyone. If you don' have the right equipment and practice a lot then you should not do it. Bruce

Couldn't have said it better myself Bruce. Know your limits, stay within those limits regardless of any outside pressure to do otherwise.

 

[jeff]

A point to make is the animal has the same technology now as he had a couple hundred years ago, he maybe more wary because of hunting pressure, but no more technology. So it's up to everyone to decided how much technology they want to use. Our hunting is different from our ancestors who had to be successful to survive. I hunt for the experience.

 

[EGS-HQ]

I, in no way, wish to discourage capable hunters from taking long range shots. My premise is that technology, to a certain degree, has taken the challenge out of a number of hunting situations, but not all. I recently had a great stalk on a Waterbok that lasted 3 1/2 hours... all uphill! I seldom got close enough for a truly ethical shot, but it was one of the best hunting days in my life. The pursuit is what I usually remember most. I could have taken a 275-300 meter shot, but felt I NEEDED to get closer to make it a "Fair Chase' stalk, something I could be proud of later. Just my way of looking at it...

 

[lcq]

I, in no way, wish to discourage capable hunters from taking long range shots. My premise is that technology, to a certain degree, has taken the challenge out of a number of hunting situations, but not all. I recently had a great stalk on a Waterbok that lasted 3 1/2 hours... all uphill! I seldom got close enough for a truly ethical shot, but it was one of the best hunting days in my life. The pursuit is what I usually remember most. I could have taken a 275-300 meter shot, but felt I NEEDED to get closer to make it a "Fair Chase' stalk, something I could be proud of later. Just my way of looking at it...

For me the fun is in the stalk. I reserve long distance shots for vermin

 

[billc]

I think some have hurt hunting others helped. The new range finders I look at as a big help. More guys not out there just guessing and letting arrows or bullets fly.

The biggest thing I hate that are just not for hunting but I look at one that gets used and ruined some hunting is atvs,sideby side what ever you want to call them.
Way to many running up and down the trails and letting lazy hunters go were they would not with out one. More then once has some kind of atv messed up an elk hunt for me. They have there place just to many guys using them for the wrong reason.

 

[Rob404]

I have never hunted long range altho I plan to, but I'll have the right equipment and practice at those distances,When I decided Africa was a place I wanted to hunt I lived on this Forum as well as a few others to seek advice from people who have been there and done that. I choose the best rifle I could afford with the proper caliber for plains game. Proud to say I was successful on my hunt do to a great PH and Tracker who put me in the right situation to make the shot. I think if you need all that new tech to make a successful hunt fine but don't let it get in the way of practice JMTC