Which do you brag about??

[agelessssone]

Where I hunt, my longest shot would be 60 yds but I can usually wait until they are 30-35 yds.
I hunt t out of a treestand in the clouds (34' off the ground) so rarely get winded.

 

[30-06 type of guy]

I'd rather be close. I feel like I've actually accomplished fooling one.

 

[Bushape]

I'd rather be close. I feel like I've actually accomplished fooling one.

To me it feels more like I have truly hunted the animal when I put myself in position to be close.

 

[Jcalder]

I quit trying to impress people some time in the last 7-8 years. I just do my thing anymore, usually on the side of comfort. I could get closer, but I'd have to get out of my barn and leave the heater behind.

 

[smalljawbasser]

I killed a decent buck at 300 and missed the biggest of my life at 10 yards with a muzzleloader

 

[Gravey]

I'd rather have them close. I don't have a place close by to practice shooting long range so i don't do it. On our lease around 200 yards is the farthest shot I can think of at the moment and I'm comfortable with that.

 

[megalomaniac]

Neither...its just a deer. On my TN farms, they are plentiful and ill often see 20 in 1 hunt. Now I do get excited when I kill one over 200lbs! If I decide to shoot, it makes zero difference to me whether he was 5 yards or 500 yards.

In south MS, just the opposite... I get excited to see ANY deer because there are so few and they are so nocturnal. Doesn't matter to me if I see one at 20y or 300y, was still a great hunt and I feel like I accomplished something just to SEE one, no matter how far.

Example, I've hunted 4x in the past 2.5d since the arctic blast down here (only high teens as the low... but that's still very cold for down here). Finally saw a doe and a fawn yest eve with 5 min of shooting light left. I was pumped up and back out at it again this morn!

 

[backyardtndeer]

Neither! If it's a shot I'm comfortable with I take it. If not, I don't.

This. Where I hunt there really aren't any truly "long shot" opportunities. A 200 yard shot would be long on my property. I have made those shots even with my muzzleloader. Getting a good deer close gets the heart beating faster for sure, especially when they get inside 20 yards.

There are factors that go with both, especially hunting close in woods. Even very experienced marksman can make judgement or shot anticipation errors at close ranges. Deer can pick you off when they are closer easier as well. Being close is certainly not a given.

Honestly, I prefer not to brag on my "skills" at all, I am not an experienced long range shooter and I am far from being as skilled as many here, but I do enjoy writing my stories of my kills to share the experience.

 

[timberjack86]

The longs shots are impressive but I've never had any real interest in shooting them that far. I killed one years ago a little over 400. That's the farthest I've ever shot. I got a buddy that shoots 1000 yards consistently and it's impressive!

 

[DayDay]

I don't brag so neither for me.

 

[BSK]

I'd rather be close. I feel like I've actually accomplished fooling one.

I don't brag so neither for me.

Like DayDay, not interested in bragging about shot distance. However, like 30-06 type of guy, for me, hunting is about actually trying to outwit and get close to an older buck who possesses considerable avoidance skills. Getting point-blank to a mature buck is really doing something.

That said, I have great respect for those who can accurately shoot long range. It takes a great deal of skill and practice to do that consistently. Long-range shooting is something I've never tried to learn because I have no opportunity to hunt where long-range shots are a possibility. Extremely rare to have a shooting opportunity beyond 60 yards where I hunt. Most shots inside 30 yards. I've killed 100s of deer and the longest shot I've ever attempted on a deer: 125 yards.

 

[woodsman04]

It takes a lot of skill and practice to be able to shoot them 350+ yard shots. I think it's incredible. That being said, I'm a hunter, not a shooter.

I like bow hunting mostly. You have to be a good shot with a bow. Plus a good hunter to get one in range. Some of the long shot stuff is not much hunting. Just shooting but I don't have an issue with that. I think I'd enjoy it if I had a place to hunt where that was an option.

I don't brag about any of it ever. Will never brag about a deer or any animal I am after.

 

[RockMcL]

Anyone can make a close shot but only those practiced can make a long shot. It does take skill to get close to game. Sometimes you can get lucky and get close in spite of your skills but no one gets lucky and makes a long shot.

I understand your point but plenty a long shot involves luck. Misjudging distance or being off on drop/wind dope happens and sometimes the errors offset. Wind can be improperly accounted for or change at let off and the deer step to your advantage. Lots of opportunity for good and bad to happen. Deer close and far have been hit different than planned and still ended up in a freezer...

Wait for the shot always applies and I agree that most folks good at long shots have a highly developed skill set/knowledge. But when an unexpected deer steps out and gives one hunter an opportunity at 15 yards or another long range hunter an opportunity at 425 yards it can just be random luck.

If a hunter is working for a close shot or working for a long shot, it does require different skill sets but both skill sets are developed intentionally and my hat is off to anyone who has developed either or both skill sets.

I personally get more satisfaction out of one distance as compared to another but that has evolved over time to what I find more challenging and therefore more rewarding.

 

[Hawk103161]

I tend to like them up close and personal. Its more of a thrill when they walk under me and don't have a clue I'm around. That's why I hunt with a muzzleloader mostly.

 

[ADR]

I personally love to observe deer oblivious to my presence. Whether in the woods or in the fields. The only time I want deer to know I'm there is after I release my arrow or squeeze the trigger. I work painstakingly to accomplish this in the woods. It's almost impossible to not have a deer cross my trail from stand to truck but I love when they do and they never show any signs of me being there just minutes ago. After weeks of this it is nice when rifle opens up to move out to the wide open ag fields. I work just as hard honing my skill as a long range shooter. In this arena it is much more relaxing because scent reduction measures aren't near what they are in the woods-sometimes non-existent. Plus, it is cool to be able to watch 100+ acres of land and see deer do what deer do without human disturbance.
So I like a little of both worlds but I will say it is more enjoyable hunting/shooting long range. I just really love studying them while they act like a deer.

 

[ROVERBOY]

I've killed a lot more at 25-60 yards than at longer range. I've made a couple 300+ yard shots, and several around 200 yards but, like getting them much closer.

 

[Snake]

Anyone can make a close shot but only those practiced can make a long shot. It does take skill to get close to game. Sometimes you can get lucky and get close in spite of your skills but no one gets lucky and makes a long shot.

Beg the differ ! Not to argue but you can get caught when they get closer just any kind of movement. Being open and fields yes but in the woods not so much .

 

[WestTN2288]

Longer shot. All the way. Definitely takes a skill set that is hard to achieve to get close, but it takes one to shoot far too

 

[MUP]

I'm limited to tight shots thru the trees hunting wooded land only. That said I would rather "brag" on a 100 yard shot thru tight cover I believe. That takes a steady hold and confidence in your ammo and equipment as well.

 

[TNTreeman]

I try not to brag on myself at all but definitely not about deer hunting. I'm lucky to have a great spot to hunt and a good wife that encourages me to go. Getting mature deer into bow range is a skill as is long range shooting. Personally, shooting a deer at long range at 500-600 yds is not for me because even if my skill level is there I wouldn't want to chance wounding the deer and losing it but to each there own. Nothing wrong with being proud of your kills or your sniper skills but I have noticed there is a direct correlation to the Biden voters on here and bragging. They name drop, post charts and graphs to describe covid stats to ballistic data, and literally are experts on most any subject discussed .