Aram Von Benedikt

[Ucsdryder]

Story checks out with the UT hunting/shooting personalities stereotype.

I couldn’t imagine taking a buck from anyone, let alone a girl. But instafame makes people do stupid stuff…

Joseph portrays himself as the ultimate ethical hunter and human, and I have no reason to believe he isn’t. I imagine he won’t bring this up, but would love to have his brother on the podcast to talk about the big hunt.

 

[svivian]

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here's more info on his facebook page, he managed to turn the situation into a 5 part story for the ages lol

Us non social media users are missing out on the story

 

[Glendon Mullins]

on the facebook page Aram admits she shot the deer first, then he somehow got in front of her and "finished it off" and their her shot wasnt a "killing" shot etc. Deer allegedly had a collar on and he and his party did not see the collar while glassing it and shooting at it i reckon.

 

[wind gypsy]

Seems to like to write about ethics and etiquette..

An Official Journal Of The NRA | How to Be an Ethical Long-Range Hunter

Here’s a detailed look at the knowledge, skills and gear required to be an ethical long-range hunter.

www.americanhunter.org

An Official Journal Of The NRA | Public Land Hunting Etiquette

Here are some simple but significant “unwritten” rules you should always follow when hunting public land.

www.americanhunter.org

 

[Glendon Mullins]

Us non social media users are missing out on the story

lol i hear ya

 

[Nhenry]

From FB here is what he posted (pulled this from monster muleys because I'm looking into it as well). And yes it is Aram and not Joseph.

HERE ARE THE FACTS (Deer Hunt 2023)

Friday (day before the deer opener) my son and my hunting buddy and I backpacked into a desert area to hunt mule deer. Both my buddy and I had dedicated hunter permits. We set up camp and then went scouting. We planned to hunt a canyon face in the morning (opening day).

As we hiked back toward camp we ran into Easton and Rachelle. We were all friendly, visited briefly, and we informed them that we planned to hunt the canyon face in the morning. We parted.

At dawn we spotted three bucks, but they moved behind a screen of trees and I wasn’t able to shoot. I was prone and ready, just needed them to step clear for a shot. Then Rachelle began shooting. The deer we were watching didn’t move, so we thought they were shooting a different buck. Her first two shots sounded like misses (which they later corroborated). Her third shot sounded like a hit. She shot once more for a total of four shots. There was no sound of a hit from the last shot. She was shooting roughly 630 yards.

The three bucks we were watching came running out from behind the trees and none of them showed signs of injury. I said to my son “she must have killed a different deer”. The biggest buck was trotting sideways to me, then he stopped, quartered away, and I shot. I should have taken the time to range him, but I didn’t. My shot went low due to the additional distance and struck him in the right front leg. The impact was obvious and as he ran now his leg was not working. I was frustrated by making a bad hit. The range was 730 yards. I hadn’t realized he was moving away as well as sideways, and failed to dial for the additional range.

We encountered the other couple casting around in the oaks. They were talking loudly and Easton told me he’d lost sight of their buck at the fourth shot, and never could find him again. They figured he was dead right in that area. I told him I’d also shot a buck, but that he had made off, and showed them exactly where he had traveled. They asked if the buck was wearing a collar and my son and I both answered that we had not seen a collar, but didn’t know. We NEVER said he didn’t have a collar. Just that we hadn’t seen one.

Rachelle found blood and it followed the exact route I had pointed out my buck had traveled. I figured it was the buck I shot, they figured it was the buck she shot. We took up the trail, and they hurried to get ahead of us. I trotted to catch up with them and asked them to work together. I told Easton I was not going to steal his wife’s deer – that when we recovered it we would look at the facts and determine who the buck belonged to. I was hoping their buck was still lying dead back in the oak brush like they’d originally thought.

I do feel badly that Rachelle felt like I was pushy. I do get intense when I’m trying to recover a wounded animal, and in this case I knew that we needed to push the buck to keep it bleeding. If the buck was allowed to bed up and his wound coagulated he would be nearly impossible to track down and recover. I did suggest to Rachelle that she carry her rifle ready for action in case the buck got up in front of us and she had a chance to finish it.

We finally jumped the buck and got him running again, and bleeding. The trail was easy from there on, and shortly we caught up with the buck in the bottom of a small canyon. I shot him, he took off down the wash, and I ran and shot him again. Easton and my son were with me.

We then took time to try to enjoy the harvest, and take photos. It was not like she portrayed – we all took photos, and I was happy for them to take photos. In fact I took a number of photos of them myself. Just goes to show you how a person can skew information.

When I first saw the buck in the canyon bottom I saw the collar and realized for sure that we’d been shooting at the same buck. Now, had I known before I shot the first time that she had hit it, I never would have shot at it. But the buck showed no sign of injury when it was trotting prior to my shot, and I believed Rachelle must have shot a different buck.

Now we had a problem. Contrary to the atmosphere she portrayed in her post, the scene was very cordial. There were no raised voices, no profanity, no meanness. I suggested we perform an autopsy to determine exactly how many shots had hit the buck. We found four:
1) Her shot, which had entered the skin just above the bottom line and just behind the belly button, then entered the abdominal cavity, then passed underneath the guts (it’s the first abdominal hit I’ve ever seen that I don’t believe would have been lethal), then exited the abdominal lining and the skin, leaving about a 3/4 inch hole, which was plugged tight with caul fat (the webbed-looking fat that surrounds the stomach). But for a small spot of wet hair around the entrance there was no blood or fluid draining from either entrance or exit hole.
2) My first shot was in the right front leg, which almost completely severed the knee. I’m not proud of that shot, but it’s what provided a blood trail and enabled us to trail the buck. We know with certainty that I made this wound because we watched it happen.
3) A close-range pass-through shot low through the chest, likely through heart.
4) A second close-range pass-through shot, center chest, likely through lungs and top of heart.

That was all folks. There were no more holes in the deer. Easton insisted that they’d hit the buck twice, but there were no more holes, and he hadn’t actually seen the second impact. I expressed my opinion – and yes, I used that word – that they were mistaken and had not connected other than the one shot that clipped the buck’s belly. I NEVER called either of them a liar, as she said in her post.

So there you have it.

I can’t describe how sad I feel as I write this. I had hoped that we could be friends, or at least remain honest and forthright. But it seems bitterness has corrupted that possibility.

In the end, Rachelle first and then Easton agreed to let me have the deer, and I assured them I would get a reproduction made for them at my cost. Everyone’s hearts were heavy. It was a really unfortunate ordeal for everyone.

And yes, I tagged the deer once it was decided who would take it home, before leaving the site. I have photos to prove it.

In her post Rachelle misrepresented what happened in so many ways. I never did change my story. I wish I had recorded the entire episode so you all could listen to exactly what happened.

Memories have a way of becoming twisted when bitterness reigns.

I NEVER told her that she didn’t deserve a deer that big! What I did say was that I felt like peoples first deer shouldn’t be monsters. I do believe that. But the conversation had been about a buck Easton lost to another hunter on a different occasion.

I feel like she really threw me under the bus with her statement about my wanting to be in all the pictures. That was low. I remember all parties being quite cordial and friendly, and I sure as heck didn’t try to resist them getting photos with the buck. In fact, I was happy to take some of them. Why didn’t she mention that in her post? And the way that she threw dirt on my desire to give thanks for the harvest is sad too – they supported the idea and thanked me afterward. Seems pretty low down to use a person’s faith against them.

I do feel truly bad that Rachelle felt disrespected. I never, never intended to make her feel that way. She didn’t appear to feel that way at the time. I tried hard to use logic and a scientific approach to determine who had killed the deer. Once we established that we each hit the deer, and then I finished it off, it is my honest opinion that I killed the deer., and that my expertise was the reason we were able to recover the deer.

It is my opinion that they would not have recovered the buck. Her wound was not quickly lethal, if ever, and was leaving zero blood to trail. Without my hit leaving a blood trail we (they) never would have found that buck. (Unless they had access to the tracking data from the bucks collar. Did they? Is that how they knew where to hunt?)

In her post Rachelle called me out for not wearing orange on my head – and she was right. I wear a hat, and I’ve lost my orange band that I usually wear on it. I need to rectify that.
I will mention that there was a seriously illegal act performed during the follow up (not by my group), but I prefer to not make a statement that might get anyone in trouble.

Fact is, folks, I thought that we worked through the entire unpleasant episode in well-mannered fashion. I had hoped to remain friends with them. And I’m very disappointed that they decided to distort the truth and throw me under the proverbial bus. I hope that someday you guys will come to believe that I honestly did my best to determine what was right, that day in the canyon.

Those are the facts folks. And I have witnesses.

 

[Ucsdryder]

on the facebook page Aram admits she shot the deer first, then he somehow got in front of her and "finished it off" and their her shot wasnt a "killing" shot etc. Deer allegedly had a collar on and he and his party did not see the collar while glassing it and shooting at it i reckon.

He even says her wound “was not quickly lethal”. So he admitted she shot it first and that it would have died. But he finished it off and took the deer. Wow…

 

[UpTop]

Not buying Aram’s story. Regardless he knew the girl shot first. It’s all personal choice but when another hunting group has already started the shooting it’s my turn to bow out as tough as that may be. Usually when there’s two stories being told that are somewhat conflicting the truth lands right in the middle. And it definitely sounds like the young lady hit the deer first. To be an “outdoor writer” and even put yourself in a potentially shaky situation is insane in this day and age.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Looks like he disabled the comments on his Facebook. It wasn’t pretty.

 

[svivian]

how can a deer walk towards you while being quartered away and add additional distance all at the same time. Also if its quartered away how do you hit the front right leg. Oh and all the while not being able to see a giant collar on its neck.

 

[wind gypsy]

I love precision rifles and shooting a long way but this is just another example of how people are taking shots they shouldn't because there's a chance.. Both the parties in this story from the sounds of things. throwing lead.

Wouldn't be opposed to a 400 or 500 yard max shot distance laws even though they'd be tough to enforce.

 

[Dioni A]

Man, the he said she said stories are tough. They both come off as reasonably credible but he knew she shot it first. I think he should have walked away congratulating her. Especially given his position and the damage this will inevitably do to his reputation.

 

[wind gypsy]

how can a deer walk towards you while being quartered away and add additional distance all at the same time. Also if its quartered away how do you hit the front right leg.

View attachment 621033

Could be sideways from his perspective.

 

[stank.243]

Without my hit leaving a blood trail we (they) never would have found that buck. (Unless they had access to the tracking data from the bucks collar. Did they? Is that how they knew where to hunt?)

This has to be my favorite part of his "I'm perfect" posts. Tin foil hat much?

His posts about this whole ordeal sound like a Class A manipulator/narcissist to me

 

[Dioni A]

Definitely a good reminder to film your kill shots. They're super fun to watch and totally end the what happened argument.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

What a d*ck head. If she shot it first he should have let her finish it off rather than shooting it and claiming it for himself. I did not read all the post on this thread so I may have missed something. I once finished of a pig for a guy, mainly to put it out its misery. I did not claim it as mine.

 

[t_carlson]

The internet would be so boring without these kinds of things happening.

God bless all parties involved.

 

[wind gypsy]

Not wearing orange.. Another muley freak similarity.

 

[Dos Perros]

when another hunting group has already started the shooting it’s my turn to bow out as tough as that may be

Yup.

 

[Drenalin]

His "logic and scientific approach" yielded that a bullet "likely" hit the heart and another "likely" hit the lungs? Thank goodness for his "expertise" in the situation.