Letting them go!

[HntnFsh]

  Had to make a tough call last night. After getting completely soaked in the torrential downpours yesterday We were driving out just before dark. When I looked in a family friends field and saw about a dozen elk. 1 fantastic dark horned 6x6 with beautiful polished tips. We've always had permission to hunt his property in the past. But didn't think we really had a reason to pursue it this year because its more of a deer area than elk. Only seen elk there a couple times in a lot of years! What a mistake. As we're trying to find his phone # the bull is standing broadside at 100 yards presenting a perfect shot. I was so tempted to pull the trigger. Never struggled so hard with the dilemma. I was 100% certain that he would say shoot it. Couldn't get an answer on the phone. Had probably a 3-5 minute window of opportunity. The ultimate decision was to let it walk. We didn't have specific permission. Even though it has always been given in the past. And was pretty much a standing "ok".
Long,long night last night picturing that bull in my head! Hoping for another opportunity today! Adrenaline has been pretty high.
Here we go!

[jennabug]

 

[JLS]

Good for you, you made absolutely the right decision!


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[Killercolin]

We've always had permission to hunt his property in the past.

Key word here is "past". Things change with people every year. Without getting permission this year, I think you made the right choice. Better to be safe than sorry.  So go ahead and let us know the exact location so we can see if you would have made a good shot.  Good luck with the rest of your season.

[buckcanyonlodge]

The number 1 complaint of land owners..Just because they give you permission once usually does not mean forever. Also the number 2 complaint from landowners is when the party they give permission to brings extra "guests". You did the right thing.

[Band]

In the long run a good character is FAR more important than an elk.  Good for you!

[Stumps]

Saw bulls Saturday and Sunday across the fence from where I was hunting. Got to play by the rules though.

[HntnFsh]

Got a call from the landowner last night. Thought we had just left him the message. First 2 words out of his mouth were "Shoot it". Exactly what we thought he would say. But we were a day late and a dollar short.
We know we made the right decision. We take a lot of pride in being ethical hunters. And like my sister said. We don't want our name being thrown around like some of the others in the area!

Hearts still fluttering as I'm constantly picturing that awesome bull with its nice dark rack and polished ivory tips standing broadside waiting for my bullet to hit him right behind the front shoulder!
 Thats a memory I can live with!   I think

[boneaddict]

You did right! And that's more impressive these days than a 6x6.   And you said we. That means someone else saw you do right.

[PlateauNDN]

 

[Rainier10]

Wow, way to do the right thing. Good on you, I hope you see him again and get a shot, that will really make for a great story.

[jmscon]

You did the right thing! And who knows, might be a 7x next year!

[The Gobble-stopper]

 I was so tempted to pull the trigger. [/quote]
So to save you the anguish. You would have missed anyway... Remember to always squeeze the trigger!  But seriously you did the ethical thing. Good job!!!!

[cavemann]

I have karma prediction...  You'll be rewarded with a shot on him this week or an even bigger bull.. 

[Old Man Yager]

Yup, Karma goes both ways, hope you get another chance at that bull.

[theleo]

You made the rite call, it's better the bull walked than running the risk of burning a bridge with a friend and access to ground to hunt. When I was a kid and found myself in such situations my dad would have me empty my rifle and shoot it with an empty chamber (dry fire). "Click, you're dead" has been said to a lot of animals over the years.

[King Krok]

Wow, it's nice to actually hear of someone else that's an ethical hunter. Ran into several that were NOT, this last weekend on the east side. Guys breaking locks off of gates and walking through clearcuts that I was visibly watching and driving their vehicles through our camp behind locked gates. So it's very refreshing that there are still some ethical hunters out there. Thank you. I'm sure it was a HARD fought decision, but you did the right thing totally, and not that what anyone else may think. Right, wrong or indifferent. Just my 2 cents.


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