two 400+ plus bulls in one year?

[rosscrazyelk]

Either way he has two 400 bulls and I don't And most likely never will.

[Buckoholic]

Just think if we all had the money to do what this guy did!!!!!!!! I could buy a Bull that big!! Is that really hunting??? With no story line it makes it hard for me to believe its hunting.. And with all the guys in the picture with the spider bull I rest my case!!!!

[bigbeamhunter]

 him using three or four guys or a guide to hunt his elk is know different than me using a trail cam to find mine or a friend saying i found a big bull in this drainage im not going to hunt him go ahead .we all hunt with in our means if cant shoot a heavy horned five or six point in the early season . ill shoot a cow in the late.and im sure he passes up more than all of us to get what he wants.

[M_ray]

i am a do it yourself, but i think that knowing that you paid someone BILLIONS of dollars to find you an elk doesnt make you a better elk hunter, so i dont see the point.

I don't ever remember saying it made him a better hunter so there is no point there ... in fact I'll maintain what I did say and that is that I don't particularly care for the way it was done either but he can afford to do it that way and hunt several different states in the same year and maximize his chances at a big one. Unlike most of us average Joes that hunt general seasons or have to scout out an area to make the most of what we have ... so we hunt within our means too.

[bigbeamhunter]

OK I'm probably saying more than i should.i know someone who was there when the bull was shot , the hunt they figured would take a week to get that particular bull.he had 15 or cows down in the bottom of the drainage where he was safe or at least safer than he was .when they went looking for him he was on the top of the ridge trying to push another twenty cows down to the bottom with the rest of his cows.  about a 1/2 mile from road                                       
  you guys that are complaining i kinda understand but lets put it this way lets say you have been scouting a spot where there was big bull in the bottom of a drainage your going up to your camp and  there is  big bull is standing in the road just as big are you going to get out and shoot it or let it run and give it a head start.if you put yourself in that place at that time you deserve it no matter how easy it was .that's what he did.

[Bobm]

2 Outfitters and 10 to 14 guides = two commercial assassinations and the fans cheer.  Just remember fans these commercial hunts are leading
us to a European way of hunting where we watch "our" sport on the sidelines.

[jimkirk]

article from tri city herald. a few quotes for the hunter himself.
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/outdoors/story/346609.html

[robb92]

2 Outfitters and 10 to 14 guides = two commercial assassinations and the fans cheer.  Just remember fans these commercial hunts are leading
us to a European way of hunting where we watch "our" sport on the sidelines.

[beerchaser]

It's one thing to debate about the hunting aspect of this but the point being missed is that this guy effectively donated over $130K to an organization RMEF, which is responsible for land conservation for all of us to enjoy.  If there were not organizations like RMEF, MDF, FNAWS etc, there would be a lot more development, more hunting pressure, less animals and certainly a lot less opportunities for the average guys to walk the land and take an animal.  At that point, our hunting would be like European hunting because the only hunting would be on private land.  So before you bag on this guy (I've never heard of him before this forum so I'm not his PR agent) for paying $65K for an elk tag plus the guide fees, and other costs involved, I think you should step back and think of what hunting would be like if guys like this read the rants and decided to put their money towards other causes.  Time to stop drinking the haterade.  He used fair chase to harvest the animal but did everything he could to stack the odds in his favor.  There's usually an inverse relationship between money and time. He's used his bank account to reduce the "time" he needs to spend in the field.

You could draw similar parallels to technology's influence on hunting: trail cams, atv's, google maps, chat rooms, range finding scopes and heat seeking bullets.

Hunting is what you make of the experience, hopefully shared in the company of good friends.  Then again, i'm a meat hunter not a horn hunter so my perspective may be different than the next guys elk camp.

[bigbeamhunter]

well said....

[300rum]

I wonder what Teddy would say?

[bigbeamhunter]

nice bull thanks for the donation to the elk foundation

[deaddog]

IMO , until we all have the same opps on an even field, i think its bull :chuckle:crap. we bitch about the indians for there actions but according to the feds i guess they can shoot what they want when they want according to the treaties our forefathers signed. then some rich guy can buy a tag nobody i know can ever afford. If we dont all have the same opps to draw a tag for an area how is that fair? Im sick and tired of this elitist crap. all hail the mighty rich hunter!!

[beerchaser]

While you may not have a chance to draw a once lifetime hunt like this guy did, you do have the opportunity through the special permit process to draw access to many prime areas, at different hunt times, which improve your odds of taking a very nice trophy.  The difference is that the governors tag yields just about the same money for a single hunt, for a single animal vs. the same amount of money spread across several thousand hunters who take several hundred animals through the special hunt application process.  I think both approaches are beneficial to the animals and the hunters.  The two years previous to this guys $65K bid, the same governor's tag went for ~$20K then ~$40k, specifically for this animal, according to the article.  To call the approach elitist i think is misguided, it's not like WDFW is putting all the tags on ebay and selling them all to the highest bidders...that would truly be elitist.  They are taking a single tag and auctioning off to the highest bidder and letting the rest of us have the same opportunity for a quality hunt through the special hunt process, and it takes some time to build up the points to improve your chance of drawing, but it doesn't allow a rich guy to the front of the line, i.e. he can't buy more than 1 point per season.  It's no different in almost all of the western states.

Taking the governors tag out of the equation, many people hire guides to increase their chances of taking a quality animal, that has not been pressured and do this on private land.  In my opinion, that is more elitist than the governors tag and benefits the least number of sportsmen but you don't hear people complaining as loudly in those situations.  Just my .02.

dg

[GoldTip]

And we do all have the same opportunity to hunt with the Governors tag.  Just go bid on it.  Can't afford it?  Too bad.  Doesn't mean you don't have the same opportunity to get it.  NOBODY ever told anyone what you have to do for a living.  Don't like not being able to afford the Governors tag, then make some sacrifices and get a better degree, or start your own business.  I'm tired of hearing all this crap about "we don't have the same opportunity"  .  It's all crap in my book and those that use that as an argument against these tags are full of it.  This great country we live in is the land of the free and we have more opportunities to better ourselves than anywhere else in the whole danged world.  The guy used his hard earned dollars to better his trophy room and better the coffers of Washington state fish and game and the RMEF, good for him.