[Leica] Young Male Dear comes close -- what focal ?

[Andre Jean Quintal <megamax@abacom.com>]

Good Evening,

	1/ Yesterday, I went to my favorite city park
	to soak in some Nature and, as I stood real quiet,
	heard crackling sounds nearby but there was absolutely
	no one in the park as it was cold and snow could
	have started falling any moment. Crackling sounds
	again, then a few more times. It was a young male
	dear (very dark brown, white spot on the muzzle,
	the inside of the ears and edge of tail, some on belly),
	just grazing in the underbush, for some favorite
	treat under the (mostly) fallen leaves.
	He became aware of me but, as I stood motionless,
	feeling blessed, simply continued his meal.
	At some point, maybe twenty-thirty minutes later,
	I called him as I do for my cat, he faced me square,
	ears attentive, eye to eye contact, but he decided
	I was no danger, came as close as 15 feet,
	maybe a bit less, then just returned to his browsing.
	His antlers were about 9"-10" with two "points"
	and he seemed in excellent health.

	2/ You can well imagine I was quite excited
	and, of course, I had no camera.  :+(
	By experience, this would have been an ISO 100
	1/60 f/4 or f/5.6, flat lighting conditions, quite gray,
	very dark clouds overhead, low-key colors.

	Q: to get his head full-frame, would it have been
	a 180 / 280 / 400 mm lens that would have been a better
	choice ? I have almost no telephoto experience
	(as I don't really like the impression), but, just
	to know, is there some sort of "rule of thumb"
	quick computation that helps in choosing a lens
	for telephoto purposes, a bit like some freehand
	drawers do with their thumb and a pencil perhaps?

	Q2: to most LUG people, is it OBVIOUS a telephoto
	shot with Leica brand products was made with
	a monofocal (ex: 180mm f/3.4) versus a mid-range
	zoom (ex: 80-200mm) ? Or is it more 50 / 50
	in most cases ? [ Are the "Modul" lenses so superior
	that any LUG person would instantly know ?
	They're quite an expensive proposition ... ]

	I'm not about to buy telephoto gear but I sure
	am interested in any "rule of thumb" secret ...

	Best regards, wishing you all the same experience,

	Andre Jean Quintal