Farm bulls

[hunterofelk]

I was at the Sportsman Show in Puyallup this weekend and was surprised how many outfits where there selling farm raised bulls.  Is this the future of hunting? 

[ICEMAN]

Gosh I hope not. Sort of takes the fun out of it, don't ya think. Might as well shoot a heifer, get more steak, If that is what it is all about.....

[actionshooter]

I saw it also  It looked like there were more than real outfitters 

[dbllunger]

Because more and more people are willing to pay.  As pathetic as that type of hunt is to me there are a lot of people lined up to pay big bucks to lie about their awesome hunt.  The same goes for guided and outfitter hunts.  Many more people are paying for it.  Yes this is the trend and will continue as our country changes.  Luckily for me and my children or even grand children (non yet) we will still be able to hunt public land reasonably easy.

[mossback91]

That means I need to get some strong ass fences built and start raising big boys.

[billythekidrock]

More people want recognition and they want it now. It is all about the score anymore. And they are willing to pay for it. 

[Skyvalhunter]

Billy, can you float me a loan I need some good grain fed elk meat!!

[billythekidrock]

sh!t...those things probably cost more then my house.. lol

[Head-shot]

I've seen an elk farm in Montana. It was fairly big 500+ animals. I was in the area recovering a crashed B1 bomber and saw it near the crash site. But I was told by one of the hands on the place that they did a number of things with them. They were selling stock to some states to reintroduce elk, selling to "private" ranches like in Texas, and they were selectively breeding for horn growth. Cull bulls were butchered and sent to market (places that sell "wild game" like cabelas maybe). He also told me they made a *censored*load on the sheds every year. They would put them into lots and sell them at auction.

I thought it was cool that they were restocking some places but I don't think I would like to hunt them in a feedlot

[Skyvalhunter]

Was that the elk farm outside of Butte along I-90?

[Muleyslyr]

If I'm not mistaken I believe they are illegal now in MT.  I think I read somewhere that MT residents voted something like 52% to 48% against those types of outfits.  If you noticed the ones at the show were from UT and ID.  May be wrong.....but would be nice if the rest of the states followed suit.

[Head-shot]

Was that the elk farm outside of Butte along I-90?

This was about 10 yrs ago and it was down in the SE corner of the state near the town of Alzada, MT.

As to them being shut down in MT, Could be I do not know.

[waoutdoorsman]

More people want recognition and they want it now. It is all about the score anymore. And they are willing to pay for it. 

This is so true-and very sad.

What happened to the days when harvesting an animal was considered a bonus in the mind of the hunter:dunno: when the thrill of the hunt was worth more than the score of the animals rack-luckily it still is for some folks, and for me!
I hate farm hunts, its not hunting; its simply harvesting-and in my opinion there is a difference, call me old school but id rather bust my butt and break a sweat while locating animals.

[GoldTip]

Muleyslyr, the farms themselves have not been outlawed in Montana.  What has been outlawed in Montana is the sale of "hunts" on those farms.

[WAcoyotehunter]

What about the buffalo 'hunts'?  They still do those in MT right? 

[actionshooter]

Cull bulls were butchered and sent to market (places that sell "wild game" like cabelas maybe).

When I saw Cabelas cafe, I thought the game was probably from a ranch. I won't eat there and support game ranching. Transplanting is interesting I've never thought of that. IMO that might be the only good reason for it.

[huntnphool]

I have taken pics of this bull for the last 4 years now, in a pen on a ranch. One thing I noticed about all the bulls on the ranch was their racks stay light colored, they dont have the trees to rub against and color them, only fence posts. If you look close or blow up the pic you can see a yellow tag in his left ear.

[Ridgerunner]

I just walk by those booths and don't even chat or look at the pics, yeah they grow some pigs but just as I have no interest in shooting a cow I have no interest in shooting an elk behind a high fence.

[bucklucky]

No bull is better than a 500 inch farm bull anyday! At least I feal like I hunted for an elk and not the color of the ear tag!

[jackelope]

i work with an old guy who has done a hunt in idaho on a ranch the last 2 years. the guy who owns the ranch was at the show. his reasoning is they like the meat, they are of the age that they are physically not able to do a public land hunt and pack out an animal on their own and this trip every year allows them to harvest an elk which they have never been able to do in the past. they(husband and wife) have a great time every year and get lots of good meat.
i'm not saying i agree with this type of hunt at all...don't get me wrong...but the folks that do these hunts are still hunters and we should not argue and fight among fellow hunters.

[mossback91]

wow that fence is pretty weak. Cattle would havea hay day breaking through that why dont the elk break through it? wild elk always tear down fences and are real rough on everything what gives. maybe its just me but that fence looks weak

[Ray]

I think that if someone wants to kill an elk in an enclosure it is just fine. It should not be outlawed and I don't believe that it would stop me from eating that elk either. As of today... I have no desire to hunt animals inside enclosures.

[mossback91]

Hell yeah Id kill it and eat it. I wouldnt be proud of the kill or the so called "HUNT" but Id eat the *censored* out of it. I also wouldnt pay for it either.

[ShirtGuy77]

I just received an email from a very good friend of mine yesterday, the subject was "Buffalo".  I figured it was that picture of the moose trying to hammer the buffalo statue.  It wasn't.

My buddy just moved back to our old home town with his wife to work on her family's ranch.  Very large family with Alot of property.  The pictures he sent were of a penned up buffalo that they had just purchased so they could sell the hunt on their property.  This buffalo was in a little pen on the property and the pictures looked like it was a petting zoo.

To each his own I guess, but the money side of hunting, and seeing how it is becoming huge is what bothers me.  I am not talking about the expenses we all endure preparing for a hunt, or the hunt itself.  It's the spending massive amounts of cash to kill an animal that can't escape.  Then posing for photos over the kill when your clothes still smell of laundry detergent, you have deodorant on, and not one blister on your feet.  I would sell my guns and give it up before being taken by the hand to an animal. 

Just my personal opinion.

[hogsniper]

I am kinda split on the idea.. I would rather have them killing an elk to fill their desire than to spend all that money and lock up land that we all like to hunt. It is hard, I hate the idea of it but things could be worse. Every year the prices are going up. When is it gonna stop...

[actionshooter]

One of this biggest problems I have is all of the articles I have read where the farmed elk can pick up disease and spread it to wild heards. The rancher makes a profit and we could loose wind animals.