Looking at the height of the shooting stands, (I sure won't call them hunting stands), I figure them to be no more than 25' tall. Comparing that to the height of the powerlines and poles, (not more than 75ft), When's the last time you saw power lines stretched 600 feet between poles. 300 feet is pushing it with wood poles. I estimate the poles to be less than or at a stretch, 100yds apart. Which for stands set up on that road that way, Is a resonable distance. I don't see them as being 1/4 mile apart. That buck appears to be less than mid-way between stands and/or poles. So, I think about 45yds to target, even shooting down angle is a fair assessment. I'll even double that to 200yd distance between stands. That still puts that buck well within 100yds. No matter the zoom setting on the camera, there are other indications that we can quantify to estimate the shooting distance.
Can I throw a 30-30 carbine 45 yards? Left handed? With all my sarcasm as energy? (How high do I get to climb up? Could I put a kill shot on that animal with my Ruger Redhawk 44mag at 45 or 90yds? You Bet! Meat in the freezer! Do I think I could hit an animal at that distance with my 30-30? Dare I say, "Blind folded with my trigger arm tied behind my back?" Well, I won't go that far since I do consider myself a realist. But still figure there's no excuse for poor shooting like that. If the animal is going to stand there and look at you. You ought to be able to put it down. And from a sturdy platform like those structures, that's almost like bench shooting. You'd be surprised at how many 30-30's (and yes, it does sound like he/she's shooting a lever action), can hit a 10" target at 200yds repeatedy.
He might have been a lucky buck for this season. But my opinion is that he is only lucky because of a hunter with poor shooting skills or equipment.
Sorry, I don't shoot a bow. Somebody else is going to have to chime in on that part.
Those are my opinions.
The point is, we should encourage hunters to practice and know their weapon of choice before going into the field. Wounded game, wounded hunters do not honor our wonderful sport of hunting.
-Steve