What would you do ...

[Moosie]

Here is a question that arises many a times in the Field. "What would I do...". I think we should almost have a weekly question becasue there is many things that happen that we often hear about and think we know the answer untill it happens to us.

Here is the first Senerio I'll play today, Remember, there is NO right answer, there is your Idea V's others Idea's :

What would do if... you were looking across a canyon at a hunter. In front of the hunter is 2 bull elk. You're glassing and see this guy Shoot 3 times and then the elk drops. Being the nice guy that you are, you bail across the canyon hike up the other side and make it to the elk. Once you're there (1.5 hours later) you look in the snow and see the guys tracks that keep walking up the ridge. You look down in the Canyon and knowing were the Elk was you hike down and find it. There you are, standing over a dead legal elk......

What would you do....

 

[Ol Bull Shooter]

Good question Moosie. I would follow his tracks for awhile and see if i could find him. If i couldn't catch up with him i would tag it. Anyone who doesn't check to see if he hit his animal doesn't deserve it or need to be hunting anyway

With some luck i would run into hin after i had i loaded in my bronco and thank him for being such an unethical hunter.

 

[Canoe]

Hmmmmmmmm.....

OK, OK, I'll keep my big mouth shut.

 

[jimmyd223]

I wanna know why it died at the bottom of a canyon and not in a hay field

If its a Trophy spike, I'm taggin it.

 

[Moosie]

I guess I should say a Bit more to the Senerio and Story... Let's say that you were on this side of this canyon 4 miles back in. You had to cross this Valley and Up the other side into the timber Here is the Canyon :

Here is the timber/Bushes it would be on on the Right side :

the Elk, would be a 4x5 and look like this one :

 

[Funter]

Moosie,

I would try to catch up with him as well.If I couldn't I would take pictures of the sceen and tag it myself. Then I would contact G&F and tell them what went down and show them the pics and let them see if they could track the idiot down.It would be a wildlife CSI thing and yes its been done here in AZ.

 

[mtmiller]

I would try to find the person that shot the elk. I like elk meat and would like to have a nice rack, but even if it was a 350" bull it was not my bull and I would get no satisfaction by taking it.

I guess my biggest dilemma would be what I would do if I could not find the hunter.

 

[Ovis]

Devil's advocate here...

What if the other hunter went back to his camp/truck to get his buddies and some pack frames?

I'm not a believer that just because someone doesn't go directly to his kill after the shot, he is committing wanton waste violations.

I'm thinking I am gonna go after the 2nd of the two bulls to get a closer look.

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 11-10-2003 19:19: Message edited by: Ovis ]</font>

 

[Moosie]

Ovis.. Good point. Let's say that you walked over and saw the guys tracks in the snow. He was within 100-150 feet of the Elk but they never went to the elk. They just headed out up the hill. Wouldn't you think if he was getting his Buddies and he was that close he'd at least close the gap and look at the bull maybe ? Or turn around to head back to the truck in that direction ?

Miller, whether it was satisfaction or not, would you leave it ? pack it out and not tag it ? TAg it and Pack it out ?

Good answers guys, Keep um Coming

 

[Ovis]

Moosie...

What if the tracks that I spotted beside this downed elk were tracks of another yahoo, not the individual who killed it? Or maybe they are the same individuals tracks, but were from him crossing through the area at an earlier time...maybe that morning before the shots rang out. From where I was I didn't actually see the guy stop 30 yds from his kill and then proceed on...lots of possibilities.

Now, if I spot the guy back on top of the mountain packing his truck up to go home, sure something sounds questionable. I might start pushing for answers.

I like to be difficult, sorry

 

[jimmyd223]

Moosie, being back 4 miles, if I was the shooter I would first get it gutted and cooling and then head for help. No responsable hunter would not go to check for blood or the animal, as you said his track headed up over the ridge, so he doesn't know for sure his animal is down for good or not.

 

[Delw]

I would gut it then hunt the guy down. I wouldnt tag it, I would leave it and call game and fish. Take some pics if you want .
Last thing I am going to do is waste my tag on a bull I didnt shoot.

Then when game and fish got there They can decide what to do with it. in the mean time if someone came by and wanted the bull I would be more than happy to let them have it. Hell a road hunter would be more than happy to take it and call it his own.

Besides maybe game and fish would let you have it and not use your tag.

There is no way I am tagging anyones deer or elk especially in AZ, its hard enough to get a tag here.

Delw

 

[mtmiller]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Miller, whether it was satisfaction or not, would you leave it ? pack it out and not tag it ? TAg it and Pack it out ?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Alright Moosie I see your point.

I would look for the shooter. If he shot it and didn't realize it, then I would help him out. On the otherhand, if he obviously shot the elk and had no intention of lugging it out then I would do my best to document it and turn his ass in. Would I field dress it and hang it up until LE can get there? No. Selfish, maybe, but I would do my best to get him busted.

I guess the situation would dictate on how I would deal with it. Is it a circumstance where the hunter doesn't realize he hit the elk, or did he have second thoughts when it hit the ground?

Like you said, there is no right answer. I guess we could keep adding what if's and the way I would handle it would be different.

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 11-10-2003 19:54: Message edited by: mtmiller ]</font>

 

[Doug]

I'd get back on my ATV, smoke a cigarette, and drink another beer.

Doug

 

[Moosie]

In case you haven't figured it out.... It Actually did Happen, I'll write up tommorrow what I did And how it turned out

Good answers all !!

I like Dougs answer the best

But grant it, there is no 4-wheeler trails within 4 miles of were I was

 

[JB Florida]

Hey Dude,

Maybe he saw that hellhole of a canyon and thought it was that S T E E P everywhere and went back for a rope to climb down there

And guys, there would NEVER be a road hunter BACK THERE!

EVER

 

[Moosie]

JB Florida ....

Ovis.. You were in the Snow. you Seen the guy were he pulled the Trigger. the Truck was at the Bottom of the Hill probably, there are no roads anywere on the top. there was only one set of tracks leading up to the Elk area.

Also, what is the Odds of finding a guy when he has at least a 1-2 hour lead on you probably ?

Jimmy, Good point. Most people would gut thier animal out. Although, I killed a Buck 3 years ago just before dark. It would have been a 1 hour hike over (Dumb place to shoot it.) and I was waiting for a buddy as it was that should have been there any min. Bottom line is I didn't gut it that night but waited for the Morning. So not everyone guts out the animal right away...

DelW, Good point on wasting your tag. If it was the Last weekend to hunt though, would it make a difference ? And whats the Odds of findin gthis guy ? Especially if you didn't get a GOOD look at him. It could be anybody. HArd to track someone like that down.

Miller, My thinknig at first was maybe the hunter had second thoughts. The upper elk was a nice big one... maybe he wanted to see if he could get that one ? MAybe he just didn't find this one ? Maybe he went over the Ridge to get his Hunting Buddy to help him locate it ? MAybe he didn't have an Elk tag ? Lots of Maybes for sure.

 

[jimmyd223]

Moosie, just a quick question, have you ever shot a four legged animal that wasn't in a deep dark canyon?

and I do like this new type topic, sorta makes us all stop and think what if

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 11-10-2003 20:42: Message edited by: jimmyd223 ]</font>

 

[Moosie]

Well.. there was this Spike once that we killed in the Open.. but then it snowed

.....

.....

 

[Delw]

Oscar what I find odd in the pic of the elk is that the feet are curled up, usually they dont curl up after being shot(at least I never seen it before) I can see if it was frozen that happens but a hour or so after ?

Did you turn the elk over or was it just liek you saw it untouched?
Delw