Cool Bull Elk Story..

[dcopas78]

"A shiver went down my spine."

One day, I received a voicemail from a fellow officer who'd been contacted by a man with an incredible story. He claimed that he'd wounded a bull elk on the mountain in the fall of 2012, and his bull had just been found — six years later.

go.usa.gov

A happy ending for a lucky hunter and his magnificent bull.

 

[seeth07]

Not really...a hunter took a shot he shouldnt have based on the conditions described and hundreds of pounds of meat went to waste as a result of his poor judgement. He didn't deserve that ending. Nor should he have got a mount made to show it off...low standards by this fella and the officer.

 

[Irrelevant]

I'm going to go with not cool. But not terrible either. Anyone who archery hunts knows sh!t happens. But there's zero chance I'd mount that thing.

 

[SBAHunts]

Glad for the closure. I wonder how far away the remains were from their search area in 2012?

 

[44hunter45]

Tee-Ball Generation Trophy hunting. Screw it up and still get your prize.
I shot between the antlers of a 360 class bull once. The bull was killed by someone else on the opening day of rifle season.
I had bull fever and was looking at the rack and not at his vitals. I did not blame a little branch.

 

[Addicting]

In a world full of bad news, I’m glad he got the opportunity to get it back. Instead of focusing on negative Monday morning quarterbacking of a bad shot and wasted meat how about focusing on the friend and daughter doing the right thing. It’s not very often someone finds something and does the right thing when no one is looking.

 

[ChrisAU]

Hunt long enough and you'll lose an animal. Once that happens and you've done all you can absolutely do to find it, the story in the OP seems like a best case scenario.

 

[TC207]

I like that the author clearly made an effort to stick to "the animal Steve wounded" rather than "killed." The story is remarkable, and is a great example of a conservation officer using his judgement to do what he thinks is right. I personally would not have had a shoulder mount done with another cape and the antlers painted, but as long as he's telling the story as it happened, to each their own. I think presenting it as a partially sun-bleached and weathered euro-mount with the chunk of his arrow that was still there would have been a better representation of his story though.

 

[nrpate05]

Cool story, but it is a little weird for sure. I wouldn't have mounted it like he did, I would've left it as it was found as a reminder of how things can turn out. I'm also a little surprised the antlers were in such good condition for being 6 years old. Makes me think the critter may have been walking around with an arrow in it for some time and maybe didn't die from the shot. Hard to say for sure though.

 

[ChrisAU]

Cool story, but it is a little weird for sure. I wouldn't have mounted it like he did, I would've left it as it was found as a reminder of how things can turn out. I'm also a little surprised the antlers were in such good condition for being 6 years old. Makes me think the critter may have been walking around with an arrow in it for some time and maybe didn't die from the shot. Hard to say for sure though.

Was thinking the same but if he hadn't died within a few months of being arrowed then his antlers would have been different.

 

[MT Bound]

That's quite the story, but I also would not have full shoulder mounted it....waste of money IMO.....

 

[seeth07]

Was thinking the same but if he hadn't died within a few months of being arrowed then his antlers would have been different.

It is possible that the bull could have lived for years after the shot and its been seen in whitetails that a wounded buck will not drop his antlers come late winter due to how his testosterone levels didn't cycle because of the wound.

 

[TheTone]

Ah Utah...

 

[wtrfwlhunter]

I don’t see this as a bad story at all.

Unfortunately the worst case scenarios can always happen, and everyone on this site should know that. Sounds like the hunter gave the animal due diligence.

No way I would’ve mounted it, but to each their own.

 

[BuzzH]

Not really...a hunter took a shot he shouldnt have based on the conditions described and hundreds of pounds of meat went to waste as a result of his poor judgement. He didn't deserve that ending. Nor should he have got a mount made to show it off...low standards by this fella and the officer.

Says the guy that's wounded and lost several...

6 inches accounts for human error. Then you got the 100 other varibles that can cause it to stray off target.
I've wounded and lost a total of 4 animals with my bow and they were all deer before I was 18. 2 were found weeks later.

Pretty easy to armchair quarterback and point fingers...

The guy wasn't intentionally trying to wound something, if we believe his story his arrow deflected off a limb. I had the exact same thing happen on my first archery bull, hit a limb and got lucky killing it with a marginal hit.

Just because the meat isn't utilized by a person, doesn't mean it "goes to waste". I've returned to carcasses and have had eagles, magpies, ravens, stellars jays, chickadees, coyotes, lions, bears, bobcat, pine marten, weasel, etc. etc. etc. chewing on the carcasses. Nothing goes "to waste" in the wild.

It sounds to me like he put in a bunch of effort before the hunt, a bunch more trying to recover it after he hit it, never hunted or killed another bull, and wasn't making excuses for his bad shot.

Tough crowd...that apparently:

1. Walk on water.
2. Have only shot about 3 big game animals in their life.
3. Have their pants on fire.

 

[Jape]

Tough crowd and someone who generalizes an entire state. I probably would’ve done a euro also to remember things as they transpired, but the fact that he didn’t tag another animal and put forth, presumably, a lot of effort really shouldn’t be criticized harshly.

 

[brownbear932008]

It's hunting and if you have done it long enough *hi* happens. It happened to me on my biggest bull to this day. I screwed up got excited and forgot to simply range him before shooting.
I think it's a wonderful story most don't have any closure on a wounded animal.
I searched for days and honestly think the bull survived with a high shoulder shot.

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

To each his own, but I wouldn't have shoulder mounted it. I also would have driven my butt down there to pick it up myself!

 

[OverlordBear]

People from Utah might get more love if they did not have such as strong push for privatization of federal lands always coming from their state or prominent people affiliated with their state. Not saying it is fair, but ole Mike Lee and Rob Bishop public land positions do more harm then good for the reputation of Utah hunters.

 

[Cheater]

People from Utah might get more love if they did not have such as strong push for privatization of federal lands always coming from their state or prominent people affiliated with their state. Not saying it is fair, but ole Mike Lee and Rob Bishop public land positions do more harm then good for the reputation of Utah hunters.

Because of this you're unable to form an unbiased opinion about a story of a guy wounding a bull and it remarkably being found 6 years later?