Thread: Long-range hunting: is it sporting?

Originally Posted by kimjon

I worked in the UK for a few years game keeping and guiding on a large shooting estate.

The pheasant drives that took place were run under "sporting ethics". There were many strict rules for conduct, most in the view of being "sporting". One such example was not shooting easy birds, or taking a shot at low birds -they booed and greeted any such behaviour with ridicule and mocking towards the perpetrator. In their eyes, taking an easy shot where the odds were all but guaranteed was not "sporting".

So by definition, an easy guaranteed shot with minimal chance of the animal getting away isn't sporting. So thinking of the inverse of that, a harder more challenging shot, where the animal can/maybe/sometimes be missed or wounded or on a lucky day be killed clean is considered "sporting" because it greatly increases the variables.

It could be perverse logic to try make things "sporting" simply for your own enjoyment. Its weird to purposely shoot beyond your own abilities in the hope of gaining some kind of title for yourself as "sporting".

"Sporting" people can go fuck themselves for all I care. I stick to practicing and becoming better at shooting further and if an easy one pops up... I'll unsportingly kill it too, as they taste the sweetest!

Kj

oh yes the deer that carry the stupid gene are undoubtedly the tastiest.