That can be a scary thought indeed. In today's world we expect everything to be automatic and flawless and it only makes a person wonder what effects that could have on hunting or other activities involving firearms. My own father put faith into bore sighting but he shot competition on the Navy's pistol team and never hunted with a rifle. I shot competition rifle in the Scouts when we lived on a military base in Granite City, IL so I have always sighted my rifles in on a target at various ranges. I wouldn't think of doing it any other way.
I don't see what the "kick" factor has to do with hunting but I've seen it referenced here numerous times. I have taken well over 100 deer and I can't remember the "kick" the rifle gave me with any of them, even with magnums. You either hit your target or you may end up tracking an animal a long ways or lose it because it got on property you don't have permission to go on. Do you find it ironic that some that claim the 243 is good for LARGE North American game are probably using a 308 for the lowly "deer" of Indiana? Seriously, if a person doesn't like or can't handle the recoil of a big game rifle then they shouldn't be hunting big game. Rifles have great power and with great power comes great responsibility. (Good use of Marvel Comics jargon, huh?)
It sure would be tempting to sit and listen to the DNR channels on a scanner. I imagine the news media will have a heyday with every negative occurrence involving the new law.
I like that your posts have gotten a lot more cordial.
I think that "kick" is brought into the discussion because of trying to recruit women and children into the hunting/shooting sports. With all of the things competing for our recreational time and money, not to mention the short attention span of kids these days, being able to practice with and hunt with rifles that don't kick enough to leave a bruise or give you "scope eye" matters a lot. I've introduced my wife and three children to hunting. The only one who had a bad experience was my son, who came along before the PCR regulations went into effect. He did not care for the recoil or mess of the ML and was smart enough to avoid shooting a slug gun altogether. He no longer likes to hunt, although he gradually got used to shooting more powerful rifles. My wife and two daughters both enjoy hunting, in part because they have been allowed to use cartridges like the 44/40 and 358GNR...allowing them to be effective w/o having to endure a lot of recoil.
I sincerely hope there is no more negative occurrences with the 24/30 regs than we saw with the 1.625" or 1.800" regs. When those earlier changes were made, there were concerns about safety and ethical harvest, but thankfully those turned out to be unwarranted.