Ethics in hunting, the story of my once in a lifetime Buck....

[George Hamrick]

Be interesting to hear the rest of the story.

Lucked out on my biggest buck from public. Knew it was a liver/stomach hit, so decided to give it a few hours. Went back to the truck and waited on my Dad. Different guy at the parking lot overheard me saying I’d shot a nice buck. Asked me a few questions on where, how big, etc. Told me he had found the buck, gutted it, and had dragged it most of the way to the parking lot. Not sure what he was planning on doing with it, but luckily he was ethical enough to give me the deer. Turned out to be a good guy, and we still talk every year.

Luck of the draw on who you’ll run into on public. All we can do is be as ethical as we can be, and hope what goes around comes around.

 

[idelkslayer]

It’s hilarious to read hunters’ interpretations of what they think the rules/laws are on here

Not sure if this is directed at my comment or another's. In general I agree with your comment here. It would be nice if you elaborated. The ambiguity in the narrative leaves the story wide open to internet speculation.

For my part, I cite the following, and if I'm wrong, I would like know.

Pg 99 of the Idaho Big game regs:
"Possession and Sale of Wildlife Found Dead Protected species of wildlife that have died of natural causes are considered property of the state and may not be possessed. However, big game animal parts, such as hides, horns – except horns from bighorn sheep – bones, antlers and teeth, of deer, elk, moose, pronghorn, mountain goat, black bear, mountain lion and gray wolves that have died of natural causes, including legally salvaged road kill, may be recovered, possessed, purchased, bartered, sold or transferred. If sold, black bear, mountain lion and gray wolf parts must be accompanied by documentation on how they were obtained. Legally salvaged road kill may not be used as bait for hunting or trapping, except it may be used as bait for trapping gray wolves statewide. For more information and to complete the required form to legally-salvage road kill, visit idfg.idaho.gov/species/roadkill or call a Fish and Game office. Edible meat from game animals taken from the wild may not be purchased, bartered or sold."

Pg 102 of the Idaho Big Game regs:
"Proper Tagging and Transportation of Animals and Meat Immediately after a game animal or game bird requiring a tag is killed, the hunter harvesting the animal must validate and securely attach the appropriate tag to the animal."

Other explanations from the IDFG website FAQ section.

Wounding animal

if you came across an elk or deer shot by another hunter who's not in sight or is not able to retrieve it , could you shoot it and tag that animal?

idfg.idaho.gov

Do you want to be notified of dead elk finds?

I understand that I can keep the bones and antlers of any elk I find that presumably died of natural causes with no reporting requirements . However, does the Fish & Game have any interest in wanting to know about it? On Saturday I found a dead 6x bull that had probably died 2-3 weeks ago.

idfg.idaho.gov

Killing a wounded animal

What is the rule on killing a big game animal after your partner has wounded it? Still, trailing it after a couple of days. Whose tag goes on the animal?

idfg.idaho.gov

Is an elk that has been wounded by an arrow and dies later considered to have "died from natural causes"?

I found a dead bull elk that was wounded in archery season and was never recovered. Can I keep the horns? There is no is no definition of what natural death is in the regs, and only parts of natural deaths can be salvaged.

idfg.idaho.gov

Is it legal to put an animal out of its misery if you find one that is dying and suffering?

idfg.idaho.gov

 

[fwafwow]

Apologize for the lengthy soap box speech on the first post. The consensus is that most just want the facts, which I appreciate…..

• This was a controlled archery hunt in Idaho.
• Spent every weekend but one up scouting. Luckily, I found this buck on my first trip and was able to get a fairly good idea of his patterns.
• Was fortunate to have two friends donate their time, eyes, and expensive optics to help me scout and be with me on opening weekend.
• We were able to turn the buck up mid-morning on the opener, but he was on the move from his waterhole to his bed. Spent multiple hours glassing different angles to try and find the exact location for a spot and stalk.
• Made my way up to an ambush point on the hill we had spotted the buck, it was just underneath where he generally came out to feed and just above the line he took that morning. Originally, I wanted to be above his bedding area so I could account for the change in the thermals, but the prevailing wind was not going to allow this.
• Sat under a tree for two and a half hours waiting for him to come out.
• He emerged right at 230 yards with just under 3 hours of shooting light left.
• He grazed in a wide open flat for about 20 minutes and decided to bed right under a very recognizable dead red tree.
• The prevailing wind had died down and the thermals were starting to swirl. The line he was taking looked to be headed for feeding grounds and not to water, so I opted to leave the ambush spot and make a stalk on him.
• Left the tree and used it as cover as I backed off to the mountain side and loop all the way around to get on the same level as him. Was able to cut the distance to the dead tree that he had bedded under. When I was able to range the tree at just under 100 yards, I stopped at a boulder patch and started to still hunt.
• My two buddies were able to spot and film the deer through my entire stalk.
• I started slowly moving up a boulder patch keeping the wind in my face. After several steps the buck lifted his head and I was able to spot him above me. The buck was feeding and completely unaware of my presence. After he dropped his head, I was able to get a range of 33 yards. I was able to range multiple rocks on the edge of the boulder slide and had a consistent 25-30 yard reading. I knocked an arrow and attached my release to the d-loop to be ready to draw my bow. His vitals were not visible immediately due to the layout of the terrain and the brush. Over a span of 13 minutes, he slowly fed down and around until he was slightly below my position. The buck stepped just behind a large rock that I had ranged earlier at 23 yards. The buck turned broadside and for the first time turned his head away from me, at which point I came to full draw. As I reached my anchor point and settled the pins on his body, he turned full frontal and started feeding towards me with his head down. This did give me time to level my bubble and put my pins level with his vitals to be ready when he presented a shot. After several steps he turned back downhill and presented a quartering shot. Settled pins on the crease behind his front left shoulder. I compensated for the quartering angle by moving the sight pin slightly forward on his shoulder, and I released my arrow.
• I saw the arrow fletching disappear into his body and heard the shot hit his body. The buck turned and ran for 60-70 yards and then slowed to a walk for another 20 - 30 yards and then came to a complete stop. I was able to visually confirm blood at the exit wound on the buck’s right side.
• Both friends below confirmed they saw the deer get hit and the same behavior I witnessed.
• Buck was taking very slow steps with intermittent stops with his head down and looking very sick. It took 6 minutes for him to slowly walk over the saddle out of eyesight.
• After the buck moved out of sight I waited to listen carefully for crashing or any other activity. Then I moved forward slowly, retrieved my arrow, and marked the location with my GPS. The arrow verified bright red blood on fletching but with some evidence of gut on the shaft.
• The angle of the quartering shot and visual evidence of blood at the exit determined it was most likely a single lung hit with exit slightly further back. Lack of consistent blood on the ground was concerning. Worked my way back to the shot location and then decided that it was best to not continue to push forward. I had spent a lot of time in the preseason glassing the backside of the same mountain where the buck bedded. Which is precisely where the buck was headed after I shot him. Believed that if pushed too hard he would disappear into the heavy timber/brush. While confident the shot was lethal, I was worried it was single lung, not double. I made the extremely difficult decision to back out and return at first light with my two friends to assist in the search. Never heard the buck crash, never saw signs of any other hunter, never heard another bow shoot an arrow. I took a photo of the buck’s last position past legal shooting light.
• Returned before first light the next morning. Found the harvested carcass just past from where I last saw the buck.
• IDFG autopsy that was completed that same day confirmed that my arrow was in fact as I described. Hit a single lung, liver, and guts.
• The rest of the story is tied up in an open investigation.

To write is human. To edit is divine.

 

[fwafwow]

Between this thread and the Easton guy introducing himself, I’ve had some great laughs on Rokslide as of late.

I had ignored that one but now my curiosity is getting the better of me. My initial search came up empty. Is it gone?

 

[MuleyFever]

I had ignored that one but now my curiosity is getting the better of me. My initial search came up empty. Is it gone?

Luke Here from Eastmans'

Hey everyone! Excited to be a part of this forum. I love talking about hunt strategies, tactics, gear, anything. PLEASE shoot me a message or an email if you have any questions. Happy to help. Cheers to 2022!

www.rokslide.com

 

[Ca_Mike]

One time band camp...

 

[CorbLand]

We should all start posting memes so the thread gets locked before OP can finish.

 

[fwafwow]

We should all start posting memes so the thread gets locked before OP can finish.

Or mention Covid and vaccines

 

[Doghed]

Archery hunter shoots trophy mule deer.
Deer dies of Covid.
Investigation ongoing.

The End.

 

[Rob5589]

We should all start posting memes so the thread gets locked before OP can finish.

 

[Rob5589]

 

[Gunnersdad49]

Archery hunter shoots trophy mule deer.
Deer dies of Covid.
Investigation ongoing.

The End.

You forgot to mention wolves

 

[KHNC]

You forgot to mention wolves

Anyone seen Buzz?

 

[kkp005]

Wow…..

 

[QuackAttack]

Incorrect ^^^

I am the OP’s hunting partner that was there. Patience boys.

Your buddy is a drama lama that shoots about as well as he writes. He should fix both or retire from both.

 

[Sherman]

This is my favorite thread.

 

[lonedave]

This sounds like a modern version of the old game of calling random numbers, telling them to hold on, and then keeping track of how long each person will wait before hanging up. I think we're all on hold and the OP is trying to see how many pages his thread gets up to before it dies. Maybe then we'll have a dead thread investigation!!

 

[Scoot]

...drama lama...

I like that one! I'm going to use that one in the future, QA! ...and, QA, your post appears to be spot on!!! My goodness, this one is an incredible head scratcher/shaker!

 

[cmahoney]

I called in sick today and have been refreshing this thread every second for the last 8 hours.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rob5589]