The whole development of human violence and human conflict has been about distance from the target. Cause people want to live. As soon as humans developed bows, they started using them. Soon as someone invented a spear that you could throw, it immediately became the standard.
By definition…… yes. Not saying it isn’t “smart”, but yes, taking a shot from range so you can hopefully avoid ramifications of your actions is cowardice.
I think it’s way more complicated than that. You have to do what is effective. And there’s always risk involved. Zatsev made it a point to displace like a bat out of hell after each shot he took because the Germans had a habit of dropping enough artillery to obliterate city blocks as soon as a rifle crack rang out. It takes guts to do that job because you know everyone wants to kill you in the worst ways possible.