Aram Von Benedikt

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Brent

Brent

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Does anyone know Aram Von Benedikt? He apparently writes for Outdoor Life. It appears that while hunting in Utah on a General Season rifle hunt he decided to steal a buck that was shot by another hunter and was actively getting tracked.

It's all over the socials.

He has a rebuttal story, but it's not really helping his situation considering he couldn't even loosely identify that his target buck had a radio collar on.

The whole thing is shady.
 
Ucsdryder

Ucsdryder

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Is he associated with Joseph von Benedict who is also an outdoor writer?
 
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Brent

Brent

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This is one side of the story. It's not my story.

Deer Hunt 2023
I’ve debated posting this post because I don’t like contention and I don’t like putting others down in anyway. I feel I am a peacemaker, and I always try to see the good in others, and forgive quickly. But I feel I need to share my story so others can hopefully learn from this as well.
So Easton and I, went hunting this year, I finally drew a general Utah deer tag. I was so excited. I love hunting, but with three little girls at home, I haven’t been able to go as much in the last few years. So to be able to go, and have this opportunity with Easton, was pretty meaningful to me.
We hiked in with backpacks the night before opening day, about 20 minutes after light on opening morning, we spotted some bucks across from us. Easton helped me get set up and told me to shoot the buck with the collar. I took a shot at the buck in this photo. I missed my first shot. He hurried and got my gun on him again. Helping me, and watching as I took another shot. This time you could hear the difference, it was a solid hit. He didn’t move very far, and Easton helped me get ready to shoot again. I shot, and that shot was a definite hit as well. I knew it, and Easton also confirmed sitting next to me watching through his spotter. Easton said that we had just nailed him a second time. We watched where the deer headed and we were pumped!
We headed over to go check where we shot the deer. A few other hunters ran up to us. He said he shot at a deer, and that his dope was off and he knew he didn’t make a great shot. Easton said, “My wife shot a buck with a collar, did the buck you shoot at have a collar?” The man said, he did not shoot at a buck with a collar. His boy then confirmed saying he had watched the buck through a spotting scope and no collar. The man then confirmed that they knew that I had hit the buck, and that he shot after me. We told them exactly what happened for us. That I missed once, and hit the collared buck 2 times. Easton then asked the man where he was shooting from. The man confirmed from on top of those rocks in the distance. Easton ranged the location it was ≈1000 yards.

He told us to be quite because the deer he shot at, went up above from where we were standing and not below where the buck I had just shot went. We walked around for a min, and I soon confirm with Easton right where I shot the buck, there was blood and some hair. Slightly annoyed by the other hunters Easton and I started down the blood trail. After that, this guy gets super intense and says… wait! Slow down. He then pushed to the front of the blood trail. We were doing our best to be kind considering the situation. We all followed the blood trail for a minute. The man was trying to push past me and had his gun ready to shoot. He kept going faster and getting more aggressive. He turns to Easton and says “don’t worry, I’m not going to steal your wife’s deer” but continued forward. I said so let’s make this clear, the buck you shot at, was not collared correct? And he confirmed. I said “ok, so if this buck has a collar it is the buck I shot”. Easton, knowing we are getting closer, tells him we need to give the deer a minute, and not chase this buck. He tells the man again, my wife hit him twice, let’s just give him a minute. Of course this guy just runs ahead of us. As we run behind trying to keep up the man shoots off two shots. The man was standing over the dead deer.
His story changed immediately in so many ways… he all of a sudden “did” shoot this collared buck. He tells me I only maybe hit him one time. The deer had 4 shots in him. 2 were mine and the last 2 shots this man. But he changes his story that now one of those other shots were also his. He also tells Easton right in front of me, “Your wife doesn’t deserve a deer this big”. Who is this man to tell me what I deserve or what I don’t? So we debated a bit, and really tried to be kind and respectful in the process. I believe we were. He wanted to be in all of the pictures but Easton told him we were going to take pictures with my buck.
The man was basically claiming the deer from the moment he ran ahead of me and shot him. But of course he kept changing his story and in my opinion, manipulated the situation to his favor completely. I felt disrespected. He knew I was trying to avoid any fights or arguing, so we stayed calm, and he took advantage of that. He pushed past me to race down to the buck I had rightfully shot twice, and I know that deer would have expired. This was an experience of a lifetime, and he took that from me. He robbed me of my experience, and completely left me feeling down even to the point I was fighting hard to hold back tears.

My thoughts are, any decent sportsman, would have allowed us our space after we told him we had shot a buck 2 times and we were giving him a minute and going to look. He, his boy, and his friend, should have asked if we needed help, and if declined given us our space. I would never act the way that this man did. Easton and I would have found that deer, and had a completely different amazing experience. That I DID deserve… If the deer hoped up, I could have finished him off and that man could have given me that opportunity and been a good guy, instead of pushing past me and racing a girl half his size, down to my deer. He totally took advantage of the situation. As soon as he got to the deer he wouldn’t let go. He moved the animal, took pictures, and even said a prayer confirming his buck. We tried to stay as nice as possible but his lies continued. His story changed multiple times. He wasn’t willing to talk about it and said we would autopsy the deer to see what happened. Sure enough, the deer had 4 shots. My 2 shots with a 6.5 PRC and 2 were his where he had shot him from close range. We still tried to reason with him, and stand up for ourselves in the situation. He wasn’t budging at all.
We stayed at the buck for a few hours but there was no reasoning with the man, he was taking my deer. I looked at him and said. “We know we hit this deer twice”, and he basically called me a liar. But that was the truth and we had told him this from the first moment we saw him. He was not wearing orange on his head the entire time we saw the man. He moved and cut up the entire deer without tagging the animal. We were sick of arguing and decided to leave. I asked him if he had a tag and he claimed he did but never tagged the animal in front of us. We had been with them for hours.

We learned that we need to video future hunts to protect ourselves. We walked away and let him claim the deer. He wasn’t letting it go any other way. What had been the most amazing experience of my life, had quickly turned into one of the most devastating and heartbreaking experiences. He took advantage of our kindness, and he took advantage of a girl. He told me I wasn’t deserving. I would never even shoot at a buck another is shooting at, and I absolutely wouldn’t race someone down to a buck they rightfully shot, to try and make the last cowardly shot so I could claim the deer. I feel this man acted selfishly and was a poor example to his son in the process. I hope when he looks at that buck, he pictures my face and he remembers the lies he told and I hope he’s super proud of shooting my buck that obviously could not get away.
What did I learn? I learned I will stand up for myself more. I will not let a grown man manipulate the situation again. Easton tired his best to stand up to him, but I can tell you that his selfish motive was not going to budge. He did offer to get us a set of replicas made but it seemed as if this was an admittance of guilt. We walked away knowing the truth. And I will forever remember how we were honest, respectful, and kind. Let’s all teach ethics to our kids, and treat all with respect on the mountain.
And if he ever reads this post, I just want to say directly to him... You had an opportunity to let me finish what I rightfully started. You didn’t hit that buck until you ran up on it with 2 preexisting hits. You could have been a good example. Instead your selfish desire got in the way. I hope you know that this experience really hurt me. We were honest. And had the roles been reversed, we would have congratulated you and celebrated with you. I hope you can hunt with better ethics moving forward.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. I know it was long. I’m sure his side of the story will paint a different picture. But Easton and I are honest people, and at the end of the day, we will always know the truth and that’s all that matters to us.
-Rachelle
 
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Ucsdryder

Ucsdryder

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Joined
Jan 24, 2015
Messages
5,710
Brent said:
This is one side of the story. It's not my story.

Deer Hunt 2023
I’ve debated posting this post because I don’t like contention and I don’t like putting others down in anyway. I feel I am a peacemaker, and I always try to see the good in others, and forgive quickly. But I feel I need to share my story so others can hopefully learn from this as well.
So Easton and I, went hunting this year, I finally drew a general Utah deer tag. I was so excited. I love hunting, but with three little girls at home, I haven’t been able to go as much in the last few years. So to be able to go, and have this opportunity with Easton, was pretty meaningful to me.
We hiked in with backpacks the night before opening day, about 20 minutes after light on opening morning, we spotted some bucks across from us. Easton helped me get set up and told me to shoot the buck with the collar. I took a shot at the buck in this photo. I missed my first shot. He hurried and got my gun on him again. Helping me, and watching as I took another shot. This time you could hear the difference, it was a solid hit. He didn’t move very far, and Easton helped me get ready to shoot again. I shot, and that shot was a definite hit as well. I knew it, and Easton also confirmed sitting next to me watching through his spotter. Easton said that we had just nailed him a second time. We watched where the deer headed and we were pumped!
We headed over to go check where we shot the deer. A few other hunters ran up to us. He said he shot at a deer, and that his dope was off and he knew he didn’t make a great shot. Easton said, “My wife shot a buck with a collar, did the buck you shoot at have a collar?” The man said, he did not shoot at a buck with a collar. His boy then confirmed saying he had watched the buck through a spotting scope and no collar. The man then confirmed that they knew that I had hit the buck, and that he shot after me. We told them exactly what happened for us. That I missed once, and hit the collared buck 2 times. Easton then asked the man where he was shooting from. The man confirmed from on top of those rocks in the distance. Easton ranged the location it was ≈1000 yards.

He told us to be quite because the deer he shot at, went up above from where we were standing and not below where the buck I had just shot went. We walked around for a min, and I soon confirm with Easton right where I shot the buck, there was blood and some hair. Slightly annoyed by the other hunters Easton and I started down the blood trail. After that, this guy gets super intense and says… wait! Slow down. He then pushed to the front of the blood trail. We were doing our best to be kind considering the situation. We all followed the blood trail for a minute. The man was trying to push past me and had his gun ready to shoot. He kept going faster and getting more aggressive. He turns to Easton and says “don’t worry, I’m not going to steal your wife’s deer” but continued forward. I said so let’s make this clear, the buck you shot at, was not collared correct? And he confirmed. I said “ok, so if this buck has a collar it is the buck I shot”. Easton, knowing we are getting closer, tells him we need to give the deer a minute, and not chase this buck. He tells the man again, my wife hit him twice, let’s just give him a minute. Of course this guy just runs ahead of us. As we run behind trying to keep up the man shoots off two shots. The man was standing over the dead deer.
His story changed immediately in so many ways… he all of a sudden “did” shoot this collared buck. He tells me I only maybe hit him one time. The deer had 4 shots in him. 2 were mine and the last 2 shots this man. But he changes his story that now one of those other shots were also his. He also tells Easton right in front of me, “Your wife doesn’t deserve a deer this big”. Who is this man to tell me what I deserve or what I don’t? So we debated a bit, and really tried to be kind and respectful in the process. I believe we were. He wanted to be in all of the pictures but Easton told him we were going to take pictures with my buck.
The man was basically claiming the deer from the moment he ran ahead of me and shot him. But of course he kept changing his story and in my opinion, manipulated the situation to his favor completely. I felt disrespected. He knew I was trying to avoid any fights or arguing, so we stayed calm, and he took advantage of that. He pushed past me to race down to the buck I had rightfully shot twice, and I know that deer would have expired. This was an experience of a lifetime, and he took that from me. He robbed me of my experience, and completely left me feeling down even to the point I was fighting hard to hold back tears.

My thoughts are, any decent sportsman, would have allowed us our space after we told him we had shot a buck 2 times and we were giving him a minute and going to look. He, his boy, and his friend, should have asked if we needed help, and if declined given us our space. I would never act the way that this man did. Easton and I would have found that deer, and had a completely different amazing experience. That I DID deserve… If the deer hoped up, I could have finished him off and that man could have given me that opportunity and been a good guy, instead of pushing past me and racing a girl half his size, down to my deer. He totally took advantage of the situation. As soon as he got to the deer he wouldn’t let go. He moved the animal, took pictures, and even said a prayer confirming his buck. We tried to stay as nice as possible but his lies continued. His story changed multiple times. He wasn’t willing to talk about it and said we would autopsy the deer to see what happened. Sure enough, the deer had 4 shots. My 2 shots with a 6.5 PRC and 2 were his where he had shot him from close range. We still tried to reason with him, and stand up for ourselves in the situation. He wasn’t budging at all.
We stayed at the buck for a few hours but there was no reasoning with the man, he was taking my deer. I looked at him and said. “We know we hit this deer twice”, and he basically called me a liar. But that was the truth and we had told him this from the first moment we saw him. He was not wearing orange on his head the entire time we saw the man. He moved and cut up the entire deer without tagging the animal. We were sick of arguing and decided to leave. I asked him if he had a tag and he claimed he did but never tagged the animal in front of us. We had been with them for hours.

We learned that we need to video future hunts to protect ourselves. We walked away and let him claim the deer. He wasn’t letting it go any other way. What had been the most amazing experience of my life, had quickly turned into one of the most devastating and heartbreaking experiences. He took advantage of our kindness, and he took advantage of a girl. He told me I wasn’t deserving. I would never even shoot at a buck another is shooting at, and I absolutely wouldn’t race someone down to a buck they rightfully shot, to try and make the last cowardly shot so I could claim the deer. I feel this man acted selfishly and was a poor example to his son in the process. I hope when he looks at that buck, he pictures my face and he remembers the lies he told and I hope he’s super proud of shooting my buck that obviously could not get away.
What did I learn? I learned I will stand up for myself more. I will not let a grown man manipulate the situation again. Easton tired his best to stand up to him, but I can tell you that his selfish motive was not going to budge. He did offer to get us a set of replicas made but it seemed as if this was an admittance of guilt. We walked away knowing the truth. And I will forever remember how we were honest, respectful, and kind. Let’s all teach ethics to our kids, and treat all with respect on the mountain.
And if he ever reads this post, I just want to say directly to him... You had an opportunity to let me finish what I rightfully started. You didn’t hit that buck until you ran up on it with 2 preexisting hits. You could have been a good example. Instead your selfish desire got in the way. I hope you know that this experience really hurt me. We were honest. And had the roles been reversed, we would have congratulated you and celebrated with you. I hope you can hunt with better ethics moving forward.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. I know it was long. I’m sure his side of the story will paint a different picture. But Easton and I are honest people, and at the end of the day, we will always know the truth and that’s all that matters to us.
-Rachelle
Click to expand...
So who ended up with the deer?
 
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