This guy is an awesome shooter and is very skilled. Some say they wont take the shot because they dont think its ethical or because they arent as skilled, but you cant pass your ethics on to someone else. Some may not call this hunting, but IMO, this is more challenging than leasing property, placing a feeder and a tree stand 50yds away and shooting deer as they feed from it.
This goes back to my earlier point: What if this was some video of a redneck kid with a WalMart 12 ga flattening a button buck at 100 yds? That shot would probably be LESS certain and LESS controlled for that shooter's skill and equipment levels than this one was, and yet no one here would instantly jump to allegations that it was unethical.
There are a few things we don't know about this shot. But there is a lot of info that can be gleaned from carefully watching the whole video about what these guys did and the effort that went into it.
Any shot, with any gun, at any range, under hunting conditions could go wrong and wound an animal. There is a certain element of risk in that. An ethical hunter practices at the ranges he will shoot, under as close to the same conditions as he is likely to encounter, and knows to some degree of certitude what he can do with his gun. I get the distinct impression that this wasn't the first 1,000 yd. shot these guys tried to take, but rather, that they'd done considerably more homework and practice than even a very ethical average hunter taking a 300 yd. shot. And were using FAR better equipment.
The shot was more extreme than most folks are used to. The equipment is more exotic and (presumably) more expensive than most folks would have or choose to afford. Unfortunately that very predictably turns into envy and disparagement, and absurd character assassination. (How poor is it that multiple people had to ask if they even used the bear or if they just left it lie? Sad.)
It's perfectly o.k. to say, "Nice shot! Well done! That's beyond my capabilities and I applaud their skill." That's enough.
-Sam
