Who's Elk?

[cnelk]

The following is a true story from a friend of mine and he asked what my thoughts were about it.

******

Last fall, an uncle and nephew went to Wyoming on a rifle elk hunt.

The uncle shot a bull twice and it took off. He started tracking it. The guide took the nephew on horseback way ahead through a pass and around a mountain in the direction of the elk. About an hour later the bull was seen limping through the Aspen's. The nephew killed it with one shot. The guide was congratulating him when the uncle showed up and said "there's my bull."

It has been very awkward ever since then. The nephew believes, as did the guides, that the bull belonged to him, but to keep peace he agreed to let the uncle have it.

Now the taxidermist sent a pic of the mount almost done and the controversy is still alive over whose elk it is.

******


Thoughts?

 

[Laelkhunter]

Should belong to whomever killed it (stopped it). Obviously the Uncle didn't do much damage as it limped away well enough to escape until the Nephew caught up with it. . Had it not been for the nephew, the Bull might have suffered until eaten alive by bears, wolves, coyotes etc.

 

[Jtelarkin08]

If the shot the uncle made wasn’t fatal I say it’s the nephews bull. Should have been pretty easy to see what vital organs were hit with the first shot.


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[realunlucky]

It's just an elk.

 

[ahlgringo]

Depends, here are my thoughts

If- the either of the first two shots were lethal (or would have been) if the nephew hadnt shortcutted on horseback- then I would say it was the uncles, (who should then thank his nephew for abating a long long tracking job)

If both of the first two were non-lethal in a timely fashion and that elk would have probably lived through them- then I say it was the nephews bull.

Either way- hopefully family ties can see that situation through.


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[Dusty2426]

Uncle didn’t do the job. Nephew did. Nephews elk

 

[ElkNut1]

Years ago my Son & I both shot the same bull, till this day we speak of that bull as Ours! Blood is thicker than water! They should share the meat & the memories of that hunt as one!

ElkNut/Paul

 

[Dusty2426]

Unless we are handing out participation trophies in elk hunting, The one who killed it gets the trophy. All this feel good stuff is what lead us to gender neutral bathrooms.

 

[ajs04b]

Nephew's elk, agree with the guides. Was there something about this particular bull that made the Uncle unwilling to let the nephew notch his tag?

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Edit: upon closer reading, I gather it was the size of the bull that prompted his view?

 

[elkduds]

Agree w Paul. The trophy in the freezer is easily shared, and the time together is irreplaceable. If hunting were a contest instead of a collaboration, this continent would still be populated by mammoths and mastodons, not macho men and manbuns.

 

[Scotto]

I would imagine if it were a cow elk hunt neither would have issue with who tagged it, but when horns are involved........
In this story i would have to agree with the guides.

 

[BRTreedogs]

I'd just ask my uncle to will the mount to me so I can remember our hunt together after hes gone.

 

[Farmingdale's Finest]

Years ago my Son & I both shot the same bull, till this day we speak of that bull as Ours! Blood is thicker than water! They should share the meat & the memories of that hunt as one!

ElkNut/Paul

This is how I look at it in this situation and if it was someone not family or I didn’t know then it is the person who put it down for the count.


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[bguitierez]

Sounds like the uncle may have some struggles with ego. Culturally speaking, it would have been my nephews elk had I been in the uncles shoes. But I’d still want some meat! Haha


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[ahlgringo]

This is how I look at it in this situation and if it was someone not family or I didn’t know then it is the person who put it down for the count.


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So.... hypothetically, you make what you thought was a decent shot, start tracking and quickly find a blood trail, start following said blood trail which looks promising as it is picking up and looks bright. All the sudden you hear a boom from 100yds ahead. You quickly discover the bull you shot and were tracking is down. Upon inspection the bull has 2 lethal shots in him. You dont know this other guy from Adam. Who’s Elk? Gender neutral bathrooms aside.


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[Farmingdale's Finest]

So.... hypothetically, you make what you thought was a decent shot, start tracking and quickly find a blood trail, start following said blood trail which looks promising as it is picking up and looks bright. All the sudden you hear a boom from 100yds ahead. You quickly discover the bull you shot and were tracking is down. Upon inspection the bull has 2 lethal shots in him. You dont know this other guy from Adam. Who’s Elk? Gender neutral bathrooms aside.


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Imo His no ifs and or buts. Every time


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[Gunnersdad49]

If it were me, I would call it the uncle’s elk. The nephew should give him a big ration of shit, but also the bull.

This fall, a buddy and I each had a buck tag. He shot a buck. It went down. He set his rifle down, walked up, and the buck jumped up and started to run off. He said “dump him”. So I did. We didn’t have any discussion that it was his buck.

 

[Back Country Hunter 2]

The nephews elk. The uncle needs to be the bigger person and understand that he had his opportunity. 2 shots and he couldn’t do it. The story says the nephew went through a pass and around a mountain. As an uncle I’d like to show my nephew what doing the right thing looks like

 

[wapitibob]

There are bigger problems with these two than an elk.

 

[Gunnar19]

I agree with Paul. I’ve never understood how horns and hunting rights can tear families and friends apart. I’ve seen it firsthand tear my family and another family that I grew up hunting whitetails with. Family land that only certain people were allowed to hunt, deer that only certain people were allowed to shoot. They taught me to hunt, they also showed me how not to act in situations where the argument is over a deer or a spot. That bull should be a lifelong memory that the two of them share, just like the last buck I shot while hunting with my dad, from what I later found out was the “wrong” stand for me to be in that day, even though we had sat around and discussed who was going where the night before. I was shamed rather than congratulated by several people, but not my dad. It was the last time I got to hunt with my dad before his mind started going. It isn’t the biggest buck I’ve shot, but it is my favorite, even though it is bittersweet, it will always be a reminder of another lifelong lesson learned. Sorry for the long post, just struck a chord.