What Would You Do? He shot my elk!

[WapitiTalk1]

Place: Somewhere in the Rocky Mountains
Date: 24 September 20XX; 7th day of your 10 day hunt
Time: 8:48 PM
Weapon: Archery; just you and your bow (hunting solo) this day
Area legal animal: Bull only
Terrain: Timbered with light to heavy alder/huckleberry brush, and, some open intermittent benchy meadows.

After heading up the access trail before daylight, you stop to listen at the head end of a very nice timbered draw, with scattered small benchy meadows, that you know the elk frequent. There are several bull's bugling from various points. You decide to work in as close as possible, underneath the elk, to keep the thermals in your favor before saying a peep. The terrain is pretty decent and within 30-40 minutes, you're in position to where you think you may be able to do some calling below and between two separate bulls and perhaps, get one to come in. After some great vocal exchanges, a decent 5 point comes in to within 40 yards and as you see him walking to where you have a decent shooting lane all hell breaks loose and then you see the hunter stand up and do a fist pump. It appears another hunter has moved in to the situation and shot the bull you called in. As you approach him, he has a look on his face like "wow, I thought you were a bull also".

Do you:

A. Congratulate the other hunter on a good shot and help him track and pack the bull?
B. Give the other hunter a verbal lashing that this mountain has never seen before and head back over to the access trail to head out?
C. See if the other guy can call and maybe plan another attempt at one of the other vocal bulls at a later time?
D. See how far the other hunter would roll if he accidentally slipped down a shale hillside?
E. Other?

[vandeman17]

My vote is A. I would help him locate the bull and strike up a conversation. He might have had no idea you were there and was just going after what he thought was multiple bulls. If you get the feeling he moved in on purpose, you still help and then go on with your hunt but you never know, he might be willing to help you call a bull in and a long term hunting buddy might be established. Life is too short to lose sleep and get all worked up over something like this. Plenty of elk on the mountain, especially from the sounds of this scenario.

[Broken Arrow]

A and C

[tonymiller7]

E.  It may have been a mistake on his part, maybe not.  Either way it was legal.  I'd give him one of these  and a REALLY?!?!?!  And walk off to go find another elk.

[6x6in6]

A

[deerhunter_98520]

  exactly what I was going to say...that's part of hunting....unknowingly moving in on someone else thinking it was a bull happens...I've called numerous guys into my set up

[h20hunter]

I like A and C as well.

[grundy53]

A

sent from my typewriter

[BULLBLASTER]

This actually happened last fall to me in idaho... it was a spike bull. The other hunts gut shot the bull and I helped track until dark hop in to get another arrow into it. He ends up recovering it the next morning. I knew he would be in the area because we talked earlier. It was public land. I told him good job! Another cool thing was he had his 11 year old daughter with him 

[Rainier10]

A for sure and maybe work into C depending on how A goes.

[Jonathan_S]

A and C

I like A and C as well.

Sounds like a common theme   

[ghosthunter]

My vote is A. I would help him locate the bull and strike up a conversation. He might have had no idea you were there and was just going after what he thought was multiple bulls. If you get the feeling he moved in on purpose, you still help and then go on with your hunt but you never know, he might be willing to help you call a bull in and a long term hunting buddy might be established. Life is too short to lose sleep and get all worked up over something like this. Plenty of elk on the mountain, especially from the sounds of this scenario.

 

[tonymiller7]

Wow, you guys are all alot nicer than I am!   

[WapitiTalk1]

Wow, you guys are all alot nicer than I am!   

Sooo, "D" for Tony?   

[tonymiller7]

E.  It may have been a mistake on his part, maybe not.  Either way it was legal.  I'd give him one of these  and a REALLY?!?!?!  And walk off to go find another elk.

Not quite D, but close.  hahaha