Let the older generation crow about how tough men used to be, but you wouldn’t see members of the Old Breed hauling a 12-pound rifle up a mountain to hunt elk. So how has it come to pass that some hunters today are doing just that?
I blame technology. With the advances we’ve seen in the last couple of decades in electronics, bullet construction, propellants, and optical sights, to say nothing of the jaw-dropping accuracy that even bargain-price production rifles can deliver, it’s only natural that some hunters and shooters would seek to push the performance envelope, and with extreme accuracy comes heft.
This trend has caused some serious rifts among hunters—and has brought to the fore age-old questions about what constitutes ethical hunting. Some traditionalists go cross-eyed at the thought of shooting an animal at 400 yards, while there are plenty of skilled marksmen for whom shooting at that range is a chip shot. But I’m not looking to dive into that debate right now. As with other advances that have caused boundaries to be redrawn—remember when laser rangefinders first came on the scene?—we’ll figure it out.
Read more – Outdoor Life
(Featured image courtesy of gunsamerica.com)
