Is It That Common

[bkaech]

In decades of hunting deer and elk I've never had anything close to these stories happen to me or my extended hunting group. Whenever we have encountered other hunters that we didn't know around a kill it has always been celebratory and congratulating each other. Most of these stories are from a wide range of years, so yes over the past 60 years these things have happened occasional and get retold many times because they are rare and interesting. Also they are more likely to be on hunts with hunters all around. If I see other hunters around I tend to move off and find other spots.

[JimmyHoffa]

Throughout the years I have been hearing stories from Elk hunters that mostly have the same ring to them. Either they walk up on an Elk they downed and somebody else is dressing it or they have a gun shoved in their face telling them to leave. I am not saying that this never happens, but is it really that common that this happens on a regular basis? Just want to hear your thoughts and quite frankly these stories has kind of kept me away from Elk hunting.

More of a different era.  I think it really quieted down in the late 80's.  It got pretty bad for a while (from what I was told) and many guys switched methods or gave up elk hunting altogether.  But back in the 70's and 80's all kinds of other things contributed to making it that wild.  The guys in camp that talk about it, also mention how many bars used to be in the area, how there were always a bunch of new hunters everywhere that had just moved to the area for logging jobs, elk camps all over--dotting every ridge and valley, etc.  Lots of other things were a bit crazier/more common back just a couple decades back.

[hunter399]

Maybe I'm just old or something.
Only have heard one story ,two hunters shooting the same spike buck and splitting the deer.

But will say ,I always have it on my mind,really bad if it's a decent buck. Some hunters are so desperate ,steal it for meat or antler . Many times I have draged a buck more than a few miles so another hunter couldn't take claim or throw my tag in the bush and take my deer.
I'm not exactly sure what I would do for any given situation.
But giving up a deer or Elk that I shot and killed, would be a last resort for me.

[Dan-o]

This absolutely happened to my dad in Utah when I was growing up.
Guessing mid-late 1970's.
He walked up to a buck he shot and was threatened by two guys with rifles.

Personally, I've had hundreds of encounters with other hunters.   The vast majority have been positive.   Nothing nearly this negative.

[Caseknife]

Could it happen? Yes.  Is it a common occurrence? No.  Never had it happen in over 40 years of hunting, but the saying was if you were hunting the Colockum in the 70's, you better have your track shoes on.  Probably more likely to happen in the crowded areas and the more open country of which the Colockum was at the time.

[goosegunner]

  I've never personally had anything like that happen to me or anyone in my hunting camps ever, but just this archery season a guy who camps in the same area that we do. He had killed a cow late on Monday evening, quartered  and hung it in a tree in the creek bottom. when he came back the next morning to start packing it out there was a guy strapping a quarter on to his pack frame. He ask the the guy what the F^&* he was doing, the guy said it was his buddies elk and he was helping pack it out. The guy who shot the elk said i dont think so pal as he made it known he was packing a sidearm and the guy unstrapped the quarter and left.

[Ronquillo08]

I would like to thank everyone one for their advice and stories, believe me it helps.

[cavemann]

Hunted for 30+ years..  ran across a lot of hunters and game wardens and in multiple states.  Never had anything like this..  understandably I've run across guys deep in a spot that seems frustrated someone else was there but never had a confrontation....  I have had countless encounters of guys offering help, offering help to guys, talking to guys at gas stations or trail heads and at local restaurants all sharing stories, tips and good lucks..

Overall the best part of hunting is the experience with who I hunt with and the ones I cross paths with.  I love it and always have

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk