[Ron Smith]

Steinar,

After spending a good portion of my life hanging around gun shops. I've heard some stories that just make you lose faith in the human race.

The "I killed me a deer a 900 yds with my 30-30". Or the guys that come in looking for a .338 Winchester magnum because they are going to be making 1000 yd shots at Elk. I like to ask them if they think they could even see an Elk at 1000 yds, let alone hit one?

I was raised in an area where hunting is a part of life. I was always taught that you get as close as possible and make damned sure that you place your shot properly. You never, never carelessly wound an animal. And if you should wound it, you track it down and finish it. I once tracked a wounded Blacktail Buck until nearly 5 AM backtracking and searching. I finally found it and a finishing shot was not required. It had been dead for several hours, but I didn't give up, although I thought about it several times.

The rules are:

"Always respect the animal."

" Take it as humainly as possible."

" Always place your shot"

"If you can't follow the rules, then don't hunt."

Ron