Dealing with disrespectful hunters...

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steiney42

steiney42

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Joined
Sep 25, 2023
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13
Should have talked to him. Maybe it was someone else who just happened to be there or something else happened that you never saw. Maybe he saw a different buck. Maybe he is posting somewhere else that you are a total prick who just bailed on him and never talked to him. Who knows what really happened?

Most times I think I know everything and pissed about it, there is some part I’m missing that at least partly explains or justifies the other person’s actions. I’ll guarantee if this other guy could come here and tell his side of the story it would sound different and if you would have communicated with him afterwards you wouldn’t be here posting this.
I sat there for about 10 minutes after he shot debating if I should talk to him but I was definitely not in the state of mind to have a conversation with him. knowing myself, it would have ended in a screaming match or worse...
And in terms of it being someone else, I know for a fact it was not someone else, I talked to him before the stalk for a while and he definitely knew the bucks I was going after. We even talked about what the best approach would be and that he would help guide me into the deer if needed. In my opinion, there isn't much he could have said to justify his actions at that point.
 
Joined
May 2, 2014
Messages
40
I sat there for about 10 minutes after he shot debating if I should talk to him but I was definitely not in the state of mind to have a conversation with him. knowing myself, it would have ended in a screaming match or worse...
And in terms of it being someone else, I know for a fact it was not someone else, I talked to him before the stalk for a while and he definitely knew the bucks I was going after. We even talked about what the best approach would be and that he would help guide me into the deer if needed. In my opinion, there isn't much he could have said to justify his actions at that point.
So I wasn’t there, but that doesn’t sound like a fact. Sounds like you are stating your conclusions as facts. Did you actually see the shooter afterwards?

Still think there is a strong possibility a conversation could have cleared some things up.

I would say after a conversation, if it turns out as you assumed, then you have grounds to be mad, but without talking to him and only making assumptions…well you know what they say about that.

All that being said, if you know you have anger management issues and couldn’t approach the situation rationally, you probably did the right thing by just walking away.
 

AK EricB

FNG
Joined
Feb 23, 2024
Messages
21
Location
Ketchikan AK
Soo lame! I've had a number of bad encounters in Oregon and Washington. Thankfully that kind of thing is rare here. You made the right choice just getting out of there.
 

Ric0

FNG
Joined
Jun 2, 2021
Messages
5
I know your frustration. It happens here in western Washington all the time. I've had a father and son do a very similar thing to me. They came up behind us saw us putting a stock on a buck. We couldn't see them sprinting through the timber to get a head of us. The son shot got it on the 4th shot. Disgusts me that a human would teach his son that disrespecting others is okay. Just so you can brag about it on social media. I've found its best to save room for the wrath of God.
 

Mattman215

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 12, 2023
Messages
129
Pretty much the same story here on my elk hunt. Watching an elk in its bed in hunter orange looking through glass. Next thing I know 2 guys come running up right next us pull out their rifle and start shooting at luckily they missed and I laughed than they ran off. Honestly these last 3-4 years people have gotten so disrespectful it’s very hard to enjoy the great outdoors.
 

R65441

FNG
Joined
Jul 26, 2024
Messages
2
I had a deer i shot taken by two hunters right after i shot it. I had shot the deer low on the shoulder and saw the deer slowly walk downhill into some brush. I decided to give it a couple minutes (like 15) to hopefully bed down and bleed out before i started to track it. As i tracked the trail of blood i got to a puddle of blood and no deer. I saw where they dragged the deer down into a creek. I followed the trail and as i came up on the ridge i saw 2 guys dragging the deer up the other side. I went back to the hiking trail that lead out and found them with the deer and out of breath. As i walked by both of them just looked at the ground and didnt make eye contact.
 

Mattman215

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 12, 2023
Messages
129
I have a similar story with a 6x6 elk. Short version, my buddy shot a nice 6x6 that took 3 steps and bedded, it was dying pretty fast. A guy with his 3 boys pop out run down to it and shoot it in the head with a pistol 😂.
 

ELKhunter60

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Aug 26, 2018
Messages
230
Location
Sparta. Michigan
That story is terrible. Sorry that happened to you. You sound like me when it comes to how you deal with things. Had I gone back to talk to him it would have ended with some sort of charges being filed. It's just not worth it. Better to just not go there. As the other guys said - unfortunately you can't trust any stranger when it comes to stuff like this sorry to say.

I walked into a bulging bull situation one time with my son archery hunting in the backcountry. The wind was wrong for us. We started to attempt to circle around but during this maneuver we found out 2 other guys were trying to hunt this bull. We just stopped hunting and let things play out but the bull ended up blowing out of there. One of the guys that were hunting the bull felt like it would be a good idea to come trouncing up the mountain to voice his frustration with us. When we tried to explain we weren't trying to hunt him initially and that we didn't realize other hunters were in the area at the beginning of the encounter the hunter didn't want to hear any of it and just kept telling us to "think" next time. He just kept repeating it. "Think". I'm not going to lie. I had my .44 grizz sidearm on me and felt like telling him he had better stop and "think" - but I just bit my tongue. I still think about that situation once in a while. I really wanted to change his attitude but had to let it go.
 

Mattman215

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 12, 2023
Messages
129
Yup no sense in it we just let it be both times. I have numerous stories like that as well but all seem to be from the last 5 years or so. Pretty disappointing.
 
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manitou1

WKR
Joined
Mar 29, 2017
Messages
1,933
Location
Wyoming
I have a similar story with a 6x6 elk. Short version, my buddy shot a nice 6x6 that took 3 steps and bedded, it was dying pretty fast. A guy with his 3 boys pop out run down to it and shoot it in the head with a pistol 😂.
Some people are downright disgusting.
 

WRO

WKR
Joined
Nov 6, 2013
Messages
3,391
Location
Idaho
And people wonder why I tend to stick to private or draw tags..

I find that lieing is the best policy in dealing with random people in the woods.

I sat next at a glassing knob with a dude and we lied to each other for 15 minutes about the elk we weren’t seeing until he saw my buddy in the spotter heading to kill it. He looks at me, and I was like who do you think I was texting, we got a good chuckle out of it.
 

Mattman215

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 12, 2023
Messages
129
And people wonder why I tend to stick to private or draw tags..

I find that lieing is the best policy in dealing with random people in the woods.

I sat next at a glassing knob with a dude and we lied to each other for 15 minutes about the elk we weren’t seeing until he saw my buddy in the spotter heading to kill it. He looks at me, and I was like who do you think I was texting, we got a good chuckle out of it.
Keep in mind all the hunts I am referring to are draw only semi tough tags to get. These were NOT otc tags.
 
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KNZ

FNG
Joined
Oct 30, 2022
Messages
17
It feels weird keeping things secret, especially with folks you kinda know, but always the safest thing to do.
 
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