I was reading an article in the November 2013 issue of Shooting Times by Joseph Von Benedikt, the hunting editor of the magazine. In it he commented that he took a 138yard shot on an axis deer and hit it too far back because the deer took a step just as he pulled the trigger. That step was enough to move the shot 6-8" from the intended point of impact resulting in virtually no blood trail and a very long recovery process. (They did eventually find it.)
138 yards isn't really a long shot and therefore the time-of-flight really wasn't particularly long. The poor hit was due exclusively to the lag between deciding to take the shot and when the finger can finally make the trigger pull.
I think about things like this when I hear people talking about taking very long shots on unwounded game. The same lag between deciding to shoot and actually shooting will still be there, but as the range stretches TOF becomes a significant issue as well. Von Bendikt's shot was at least lethal, but that could have changed had the shot been taken at 500 yards. The additional TOF would have allowed the deer to move farther before the bullet reached it, resulting in a true gut shot.
What it boils down to is that it doesn't matter how good a shot you are, how skilled you are, how many times you made this shot on paper at the range. Unless you can anticipate every move the animal makes (obviously unrealistic), taking a very long shot is always going to be a risk.
138 yards isn't really a long shot and therefore the time-of-flight really wasn't particularly long. The poor hit was due exclusively to the lag between deciding to take the shot and when the finger can finally make the trigger pull.
I think about things like this when I hear people talking about taking very long shots on unwounded game. The same lag between deciding to shoot and actually shooting will still be there, but as the range stretches TOF becomes a significant issue as well. Von Bendikt's shot was at least lethal, but that could have changed had the shot been taken at 500 yards. The additional TOF would have allowed the deer to move farther before the bullet reached it, resulting in a true gut shot.
What it boils down to is that it doesn't matter how good a shot you are, how skilled you are, how many times you made this shot on paper at the range. Unless you can anticipate every move the animal makes (obviously unrealistic), taking a very long shot is always going to be a risk.