“I don’t want you hunting this outfit.”

[sclancy27]

I'm going to play Devil's Advocate here.

He admittedly was conscious of the parcel as they had waited on the bulls before. I can understand the mistake of shooting the bull without double checking on OnX, shit happens fast and sometimes you make dumb mistakes.

What I can't understand is how, in the couple hours they likely took to cut up the bull, put it in bags and pack it off, not one of them looked at OnX to confirm they were on public...

I've shot several elk and deer near boundaries and I'm always checking to make sure, when the dust settles, I'm still in the right. It just seems weird he wouldn't do the same thing.

 

[Irrelevant]

I'm going to play Devil's Advocate here.

He admittedly was conscious of the parcel as they had waited on the bulls before. I can understand the mistake of shooting the bull without double checking on OnX, shit happens fast and sometimes you make dumb mistakes.

What I can't understand is how, in the couple hours they likely took to cut up the bull, put it in bags and pack it off, not one of them looked at OnX to confirm they were on public...

I've shot several elk and deer near boundaries and I'm always checking to make sure, when the dust settles, I'm still in the right. It just seems weird he wouldn't do the same thing.

Or before you post it...

 

[El Jason]

What I can't understand is how, in the couple hours they likely took to cut up the bull, put it in bags and pack it off, not one of them looked at OnX to confirm they were on public...

I wondered the same thing. I killed a bull right on an unmarked boundary a few years ago. After I tagged it, the first thing I did was check OnX to make sure it hadn’t rolled onto private.

I’ve never met Andrew. I know some folks who have and speak very highly of him. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt on this, even though it doesn’t make sense in my mind. If there was question as to the legality I doubt he would have published the video footage.

I appreciate his synopsis. We’re all human and any one of us could make this mistake. It did completely contradict the message they were trying to convey. I personally don’t feel he should resign as a hunter ed instructor. I’d rather see him use this as an educational tool. His choice.

It takes a lot of courage to write what he did and take ownership of the situation. I’d buy him a beer any day for his humility and honesty.

 

[Jack Ryan]

People are crazy.

Watch: A Landowner Stole My Buddy’s Public-Land Elk to Deter Us from ‘Hunting This Outfit’

While elk hunting on public land in Wyoming, a few buddies noticed a rancher running off with one of their skulls. So they tracked him down.

www.outdoorlife.com

If I have to leave a kill and come back to carry it, I always cut the tongue off and take it with me.

If I come back to someone stealing it and catch them, there isn't much to argue about.

 

[Big Sky Guy]

What I can't understand is how, in the couple hours they likely took to cut up the bull, put it in bags and pack it off, not one of them looked at OnX to confirm they were on public...

I agree, except not to check boundaries but to drop a waypoint and/or start a track. 5 guys and not one of them did? Almost seems impossible in 2025.

It honestly makes me think they figured that out when they got to the bull and pulled out phone to do that so then no one dropped a point or started a track.

Definitely odd.

 

[sclancy27]

I agree, except not to check boundaries but to drop a waypoint and/or start a track. 5 guys and not one of them did? Almost seems impossible in 2025.

It honestly makes me think they figured that out when they got to the bull and pulled out phone to do that so then no one dropped a point or started a track.

Definitely odd.

I feel the same way. It just seems incredibly unlikely, to me, that no one looked at a phone and figured it out at the site.

 

[INMT]

I feel the same way. It just seems incredibly unlikely, to me, that no one looked at a phone and figured it out at the site.

Same same. I’ve killed near private borders before. And while I am certain it’s on public, I still have my phone out walking up to the animal just for peace of mind.

 

[Elky Welky]

I feel the same way. It just seems incredibly unlikely, to me, that no one looked at a phone and figured it out at the site.

You're very good at finding the holes @sclancy27. I wouldn't want you on a jury, and that's a compliment.

I made the mistake early in this thread of pointing out that both the landowner and the hunters had exclusive access, which had me thinking. The type of hunter that gets into a spot via helicopter is probably someone who is fluent in OnX, so multiply that by 5, and the skepticism is wholly understandable.

I guess the flipside, however, is that then begs the question: why the big public mia culpa and self-flagellation? I'm not so cynical as to think it was just a PR way to get ahead of it. And I admit, I'm certainly bias for having met Andrew and enjoying his work. And from the angry comments I got for pointing out the fact that what these guys were doing was elite, I think the other 4 hunters would all be of similar character to Andrew. So I wholly lean into giving him the benefit of the doubt here, though I understand yours.

In my experience, people who commit crimes and have the integrity to take responsibility for those crimes rarely speak in half-truths.

 

[sclancy27]

You're very good at finding the holes @sclancy27. I wouldn't want you on a jury, and that's a compliment.

I made the mistake early in this thread of pointing out that both the landowner and the hunters had exclusive access, which had me thinking. The type of hunter that gets into a spot via helicopter is probably someone who is fluent in OnX, so multiply that by 5, and the skepticism is wholly understandable.

I guess the flipside, however, is that then begs the question: why the big public mia culpa and self-flagellation? I'm not so cynical as to think it was just a PR way to get ahead of it. And I admit, I'm certainly bias for having met Andrew and enjoying his work. And from the angry comments I got for pointing out the fact that what these guys were doing was elite, I think the other 4 hunters would all be of similar character to Andrew. So I wholly lean into giving him the benefit of the doubt here, though I understand yours.

In my experience, people who commit crimes and have the integrity to take responsibility for those crimes rarely speak in half-truths.