gofar99 Messages: 1947 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi, Probably to avoid getting sued for not warning you. It is however an estimate and has a lot to do with the weapon it is fired from. Something fired from a pistol will not travel nearly as far as from a rifle. The longer barrel allows more time for the powder to burn and accelerate the bullet. Speed in this case equates to distance.
Hunters probably use that information as well. Newer hunters especially will want to know the range of the ammunition. They don't want to waste a shot on something they're never going to hit anyway because it was too far away.