When I take a shot on big game, I ask myself that question every time. Is it an ethical shot? In order for a shot to be ethical, a lot of different factors must be considered and realized before squeezing the trigger either with a bow or a long gun. I’ll go through some of those factors here.

First is do you practice at the ranges you are hunting at? If you are seeing game at 500 yards but you only practice at the local rifle range at 200 yards, in my opinion you have no business trying to take shots beyond 200 yards unless you know exactly what your bullet drop is at 3, 4, and 500 yards. That does not mean reading the side of the box of ammo or looking up a ballistic table in a book. It also does not mean you can rely on scopes that have a ranging reticle. Balistic tables are not generated using your rifle and will not accurately reflect what the bullet will do coming out of your rifle in most cases. Same thing with ranging reticle scopes. The scope company did not create that reticle with your rifle unless you get a custom reticle built just for your rifle which can be done these days. One other exception to that might be the scopes where you can turn the power ring to match the scope reticle with the distance you are shooting such as the Leupold Boone and Crocket reticle. But in order to know what that power ring setting is, You must shoot at those distances. Do you practice at the ranges you are hunting at? The answer must be yes.

Next is, do you have a solid enough rest that will allow you to be accurate enough at the distance you want to shoot? If you are shooting one minute of angle accuracy at 100 yards (one inch group) that means your group at 500 yards will be five inches. I would venture to guess that most hunters cannot shoot one inch groups at 100 yards from a bench with their rifle. I say reality is more like a two inch group at 100 yards. And that is from a bench. That translates to a ten inch group at 500 yards. Now consider you are in the field and you have a bull elk in front of you on opening day. If you put up a shooting stick or a bipod and the cross hairs in the scope are all over the animals body because the range is so far out there, you are not taking an ethical shot. Do you have a solid enough rest to take the shot accurately at the distance you are shooting? The answer must be yes.

Next is, can you accurately compensate for weather issues such as wind? You must have a reasonable idea of what your bullet will do with a cross wind of 5mph up to probably 20 mph. This information can be learned somewhat from a book but then again a book is not written using your rifle. And besides, wind speed is just a guessing game because without wind speed equipment or flags placed down your shooting lane, you are only making an educated guess as to wind speed. The ideal situation is to practice at 2,3,4 and 500 yards and also practice when the wind is up so you can get a reasonable idea what your bullet is doing in the wind. Can you accurately compensate for wind drift? The answer must be yes.

And finally, Do you have the confidence in your own shooting ability to make the shot accurately and humanely at the distance and in the current conditions you are shooting in. Confidence is key. If you have that bull in front of you on opening day at say 400 yards, but your excitement has you shaking like a leaf and your crosshairs will not steady up on the animal. You have to make the call based on your own confidence as to whether you can make a good shot. Too many hunters make the wrong call in this situation. Do you have the confidence? The answer must be yes.

I would like to add one more question you must ask yourself before taking a shot. It does not pertain to taking an ethical humane shot on an animal. You must ask yourself if the shot you are about to take will look bad in the eyes of the non hunting public. Will it tarnish the image of the ethical hunters we strive to be? If the shot you are about to take will look bad in the eyes of the non hunting public, you must not take the shot.

Thanks for visiting the site

Don