| Big Game Hunting > Elk Hunting |
| Unethical Hunter episode???? |
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| bearhunter59:
Reading another thread got me fired up and thinking about an episode I had 2 years ago while out elk-hunting and figured I'd post the details of the event, as well as, give others a chance to post details of any unethical hunting events they have knowledge of. Opening day down on the Lewis River. I have been out tramping around in the woods since well before sunrise, since this is walkin only area. Finally, about 45 minutes before sunset, and I have this small 3x3 walk out into the area I was in, about 75yds away. I get a good shot off on the boy, he staggers and falls, gets back up and runs about 100yds out into the middle of the river. I've got my gun up on him just waiting for him to come up and out on the island in the river, cuz I didn't want to have to try and drag him out of the water, when all of a suddent it sounds like a freakin warzone. Four hunters on the other side of the river started taking shots at my bull. The bull had started running again, and I put one in the back of his head just as he was coming up out of the water, onto the bank. I take off out into the knee-high water, and get out to the island. I get there and see the elk laying mostly in the water on bank of the otherside of the river, with a submerged log the only thing keeping him from floating down the river. Looking it over quickly, I realize there is no way I'll be able to get the elk out of the river on that bank, so I take some parachute cord out of my pack and tie one end around the horns, and the other end around a big log on the island I was on. I then manage to push the elk enough to get it unstuck from the log and let the water current drift him over to the bank on the island. I then spend about 20-30 minutes trying to wrestle him up out of the water on to the bank, but due to the steepness of the gravel bank, and coldness of the water, I just could get him out of the water. I even gutted him while in the river, figuring that would make him lighter, but it still wasn't enough. The whole time I am fighting with this thing in the freezing cold water, the four hunters have walked up within 20 yard, on the bank of the river and have just been sitting there watching me. Finally, after about 30 minutes they wander out on to the island, and come up and say, "Hey, you know that's our elk?" My response was, "HOW THE F@%^K DO YOU FIGURE THAT A$^%^$#? IT'S MY ELK! I SHOT HIM FIRST! AND I PUT THE LAST SHOT IN HIM THAT PUT HIM DOWN! AND....THATS MY TAG ON THE HORNS!" (I forgot to mention, that was the first thing I did once I floated him over to the island.) They said they didn't know I had shot AT him in the woods, and didn't beleive when he was standing in the river that he had been hit, so they figure they put the kill shot in him. Needless to say, we had a pretty heated "discussion" for a few minutes. The sun was starting to go down, and I had to get back across to my side of the river before it got too dark, otherwise I wouldn't be able to cross the river that night. Since they were camping in the edge of the clearing about 200 yds away, they said they'd take it back to their camp that night and I could bring the game warden down there tomorrow and we'd let him decide who's elk it was. Seems how it was getty pretty dark, and I was out gunned 4-1, I didn't see that I had much choice. I spent the next two days trying to get the game wardens to go down to their camp with me and get my elk back to no avail. I was able to get them to actually get out of their truck and walk about 5 minutes into the woods before they turned around and said they're not gonna spend all day walking in the woods, so if I can go down and find the camp and have them bring the animal up to the Eagle Cliff store, then they'd decide what to do. I ended up walking down to their camp and the guy who was claiming he killed it tells me he'll give me $100 to cover the cost of a replacement tag and my time lost not hunting if I'll just drop it and let him take the elk. At this point, I figure since it was just a little 3-point that now has about 3-4 holes in him, and I didn't want to waste anymore hunting time and still not end up with the animal, that I would take his money and go get me another tag. Which is what I did. Took his money, drove the 45 minutes back to Cougar, went in the store and paid $10 for a replacement tag. I then went back out and two days later shot a nice 5x5 within 50 yds of where I shot the 3x3 three days earlier. Before any of you claim I did something illegal by getting a replacement tag, I checked with the game wardens before I did and they said it was OK. Anyway, I was and still am pissed about hunters like that...that will start shooting at an animal that someone else is trying to harvest. That is no more ethical than if you were just about to land a big salmon and I walked up and netted him while still attached to your hook and line and saying it's mine because he's in my net. I have heard numerous storys just like mine many times, but I just thought I would never find myself in that situation. Heck, purposely walk in a long ways, just to get away from everyone else. Some would say I should put myself in the other hunters place, and I'd probably do the same thing. WRONG! The fact of the matter is, I have been in that situation before. Just a year or two prior to my episode, I was out hunting elk and heard some shots really close by, and then had a nice elk come busting through the woods my way. I had a good shot at him and could have dropped that beast, but I let it go by because I could see it had already been hit and knew that was the animal someone else had already shot at. The bull ran off, and the hunter came by a minute or two later asking if I had seen his elk and I pointed him in the direction the bull had went. I followed a few minutes later, and found the hunter and his elk a little further off in the woods. Now, I could have easily shot that bull and tagged it before the other hunter had a chance to get there, but I didn't. And I couldn't! That just ain't right. Anyway, let's hear how many of you others have had something similar happen to you.... |
| tlbradford:
I am not going to judge you on anything you did. You worked out everything to your's and the warden's satisfaction. The only question I have is if the guy who ended up with the elk put his tag on it. If so, than everything seems legal in regards to you getting a new tag. It is a shame that the warden was not more help in the beginning. I have a different philosophy when it comes to shooting animals someone is trying to harvest. I will kill an animal that is wounded and has been shot by someone else if I have an oppurtunity. I have done this with 3 deer and one elk. Two of the deer ended up being a hunting partners so obviously no conflict there. I don't want to stake a claim to the animal, just see it dead as humanely as possible. On the other two animals noone come up to me and all pissed off that I had made the final killing shot. Both were thankful. If anyone did not want to tag the animal I would have been glad to do so. |
| bearhunter59:
TL, I have no problems with your position. I have no problem with someone dispatching an animal for humane reasons such as you stated. But, when someone else has wounded an animal and is trying to finish the job, and you shoot with the intent of claiming it as yours, that is unethical in my opinion. It might not be illegal to do that, but it doesn't make it right either, in my opinion. But, if you shoot with the sole intent of just assisting the original shooter with dispatching the animal as humanely as possible, then that is different. Has to do with intent... And by the way, the only way I was going to let that guy have that elk, was if he notched his tag...which I verified was notched before I took the money and left. |
| Wea300mag:
This type of thing happens a lot especially here in WA where all the "Seattle Hunters" put in their 2 days of hunting every year on the opening weekend of deer hunting season. A few years ago in an area on the Snake River I crawled for an hour to the top of the breaks during opening day to get to my favorite spot at first light. As soon as it was shooting light WWIII began. It wasn't long before I heard two shots just over the hill from me, the guy came running up and asked if I seen his deer come over. I said no and we walked back to look over the edge and the deer jumped up in front of me at about 30 yds and boy did it have headgear. I could see that one of his hind quarters was hit so I stepped out of the way and let the other hunter finish him off. It ended up being a tall symmetric 4x4 with eyeguards that measured 27-1/2". The area was decimated by then so I decided to help him drag it out. On the way out, we saw a grandma type shoot a small 3 pt, the deer got up and hobbled about 40 yards before either the lady and yet another hunter finished it (they both shot twice). Those two argued for several minutes and ended up dragging theirs out with the one we were dragging. Later that day the Gamie came to my camp and asked what I saw, I told him, and he gave the deer to the lady. The deer was shot up pretty bad though. I almost took up bow hunting after that day. |
| Ray:
People are possessive about animals they believe they have made the kill on. They are also the same way about animals they believe they are intending to finish the job on; as in "still pursuing". It will always be so. There is honestly some room for gray area in the examples proposed here and I was not there and so I will not feel compelled to monday night quarterback all of the situations and expect to get them right.. |
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