damage elk hunt being sold master hunt

[Bob33]

Not sure how that is logical??  Regardless of the circumstances.......to draw a natural resource to your property so you can charge access, not ok in my opinion.  If the resource is there without bait.....I have no problem with it.  Just another access fee for private.   Also wouldn't have a problem if the bait was used to make them easier to hunt.....but it is solely there to bring them on his property.  Reality is his land has no value to hunters unless he baits them there.  I am not an anti nor am I an anti baiting hunter.....but this is just wrong.  There is a reason the elk fence exist.

"if you don't like baiting, don't do it."

[Dan-o]

If anybody knows who actually cut holes in the fence or blocks gates, they should turn the culprits in.

I kind of doubt this guy baits elk.........   I know he's feeding his cattle.

I could be wrong, but until someone has proof, I'm going to go with innocent until proven guilty......    I don't like how easily we convict people on the internet.

[Bob33]

I kind of doubt this guy baits elk.........   I know he's feeding his cattle.

Baiting is completely legal. What's the issue?

[jrebel]

Not sure how that is logical??  Regardless of the circumstances.......to draw a natural resource to your property so you can charge access, not ok in my opinion.  If the resource is there without bait.....I have no problem with it.  Just another access fee for private.   Also wouldn't have a problem if the bait was used to make them easier to hunt.....but it is solely there to bring them on his property.  Reality is his land has no value to hunters unless he baits them there.  I am not an anti nor am I an anti baiting hunter.....but this is just wrong.  There is a reason the elk fence exist.

"if you don't like baiting, don't do it."

Has nothing to do with bating.....has everthing to do with baiting elk through a high fence to profit off wild game.  Should be illegal.    

[jrebel]

If anybody knows who actually cut holes in the fence or blocks gates, they should turn the culprits in.

I kind of doubt this guy baits elk.........   I know he's feeding his cattle.

I could be wrong, but until someone has proof, I'm going to go with innocent until proven guilty......    I don't like how easily we convict people on the internet.

I think a lot of people are condeming the action based on info that is provided.  If indeed there is truth to the fact that:  1. an elk fence exist and 2.  it is being damaged so a landowner can bait and draw wild animals onto his property for profit..... then it is wrong.

Fix the elk fence and the problem of elk on this guys property is fixed. At this point his property has no value to hunters and this conversation never happened.   It reasons that if he is charging access he has a vested interest in the fence not being fixed.  Thus it would reason....at best he is not fixing it and at worst he is the one causeing the damage. Just my opinion.   

[Dan-o]

I kind of doubt this guy baits elk.........   I know he's feeding his cattle.

Baiting is completely legal. What's the issue?

He's raising cattle, and he has to feed through the winter.     I simply believe he wants his cattle to eat the hay (not the elk), because any other cattleman I know who feeds his cattle through the winter intends to feed his cattle.....   not elk.   (I could be wrong in this specific case.)

IF he is intentionally baiting elk in, then it really does go against the spirit of what the Master Hunter program is intended for.   The intent is to drive elk off agricultural property where damage is occurring......   Not to bait them back into the damage control area.

But - as you've said - it is legal.

I just wouldn't feel good about paying to shoot an elk that was lured into a damage control area.    Just my personal thing.   I wouldn't condemn someone who did it legally.

[bobcat]

The problem with this, as others have said, is if the landowner is actually damaging the state owned elk fence in a way that allows elk to get through to the private property. The elk fence is there to keep elk off that property. The baiting and the charging hunters for access wouldn't be happening if there were no elk on this landowner's property.

[jrebel]

The problem with this, as others have said, is if the landowner is actually damaging the state owned elk fence in a way that allows elk to get through to the private property. The elk fence is there to keep elk off that property. The baiting and the charging hunters for access wouldn't be happening if there were no elk on this landowner's property.

 

[wheels]

i know master hunters are held to a higher standard but do to my inability  to hoof it around like i would love to and cant take what i use to get around on normal logging roads i just see it as good oppurtunity just want a decent chance at an elk heck been a master hunter for 8 years and only hunted once up by wild horse wind farm

[Skyvalhunter]

Yea it's not like Master Hunters are taking a high number of elk on these damage hunts

[Igor]

[fireweed]

All damage tags--either for master hunters, landowners, or timber company bear tags--should have the caveat that they must allow hunters on for free.

Its like this:  Your house is infested with mice.  You complain to the WDFW.  They give you a FREE CAT.  Then you turn around and charge the cat for the privilege of killing your mice. 

Hancock timber does this with spring bear tags, which are only for bear damage.  WDFW should leverage damage associated tags and seasons for better access.  Its a no-brainer. 

[adamR]

I love that people read a title and comment on a thread without reading any part of the actual thread.


Once again, these are not damage tags!  He's charging an access fee.  There's nothing illegal about what he's doing. 

If he actually is the one cutting the fence that's not cool.  Something tells me there is no proof of this or it would have been taken care of by now.  If there is no proof then he's doing nothing wrong. 

[jrebel]

I love that people read a title and comment on a thread without reading any part of the actual thread.


Once again, these are not damage tags!  He's charging an access fee.  There's nothing illegal about what he's doing. 

If he actually is the one cutting the fence that's not cool.  Something tells me there is no proof of this or it would have been taken care of by now.  If there is no proof then he's doing nothing wrong.

You don't think that ethically he should fix the fence, or find out how it is getting cut and put a stop to it?  Instead he decides to profit off of it??  This seems fishy to me.  One would reason if he stands to profit he may be the one causing the problem.  He for sure is not willing to fix "the problem", instead he profits!!!      For those that don't find something wrong with this, your moral compass is off by a few degrees in my book. 

How many people defending this practice are master hunters vs not.  Would be interesting to see these numbers if people want to be honest about it. 

I'm not a master hunter, but if I were....I would take part is such a hunt LEGAL OR NOT.  Lots of legal activities that are not ethical, again this is my opinion.   

[adamR]

no what I'm saying is, I don't know if he's cutting the fence nor do I know if the fence is cut on his property.  He may know nothing about it.  If people have legitimate evidence they should take it to someone who can investigate it.  People are very quick to bash someone because they are profiting off a legal system.  There is no proof to me that he has done anything wrong. I can assure you my moral compass is just right.  Innocent until proven guilty, and no one has shown any real evidence to prove he's guilty of anything.

I am a master hunter.  I would not pay his access fee to hunt his land, that's not why I became a master hunter.  I also, at the moment, don't think he's doing anything wrong.