One thing I can tell you for sure is that if Joe Average suddenly becomes fascinated by guns in the way that we are--and it happens all the time--he'll soon find himself looking for a new rifle, something with a flatter trajectory and more reach than what he has been using. From that point on, the chances are he'll develop if not an interest in handloading, at least some basic ballistics and begin looking for hunting venues that will allow him to take advantage of his newfound potential. It's just the natural progression of things.

Truly long-range shooting--say, beyond 300 yards--is practical only from the prone position and with a second point of support beneath the butt of the rifle. The author would say that inside 300 yards, it's still "hunting."

While we're tossing around definitions, generalized as they are, let's talk about the difference between marksmanship and shooting ability, at least the way I see it. The former is the ability to shoot unbelievably small groups from any of the four shooting positions aided by nothing but a rifle sling, if that. Put an antelope 300 yards in front of me, and ask me to shoot it offhand; I'd refuse because I know my limitations, and I have too much respect for the animals I hunt to use them as targets. I probably wouldn't take the shot from the kneeling or sitting positions either; I'm just not steady enough.

When I pull the trigger it's always with the expectation that I can put the bullet where it belongs; if I feel I can't do it with any degree of certainty, I don't shoot. That's not to say I never miss--that's not true by a long shot (no pun intended). But I don't miss often, and it's only because I won't take a lot of the shots other people would.

So while I'm just a little better than average as a marksman, I'm pretty good at long-range shooting as long as I have a steady, two-point support for the rifle. But then who among you out there can't say the same thing? Having that two-point rifle rest, precision shooting becomes nothing more than knowing the range--a factor that used to be the most critical element in the equation but is now solved with laser rangefinders. One must also know the various points of impact downrange and have some idea of wind velocity and direction and to what degree it will deflect the bullet. Mirage, too, can be a factor in Africa, the American southwest or any region where hunting is done in warmer climes.

To me, rifles, cartridges, handloading, internal and external ballistics, and accuracy interest me as much as the hunting itself. Whenever I have the option of choosing terrain and tactics, I always opt for wherever I can set up with a command of the largest chunk of turf and the longest shooting. If that makes me more a shooter than a hunter, so be it. The important thing is that, though methods, tactics and equipment can differ widely, we all belong to the same fraternity.