Shot right from under your nose...

[steepNdeep]

My elk hunting partner just got back from a hunt without me. He and a friend had a decent 6x6 going at ~600 yards in one of our spots, where we have never seen another sole in 3 years. The bull was coming down the mountain to their cow calls, when they spotted 2 hunters walking down a trail that would intercept where the bull was headed. My friend stopped calling and the hunters were oblivious of the bull, but just happened to stop to talk right in the way. Well, the bull was horned right up and let out a bugle from about 100 yards above them. They couldn't believe their luck... :rolleyes: let out a couple of cow calls and shot the bull at 60 yards, as my pard watched in the binos. He was fricken sick! :evil: What would you have done???

[Ozone]

Gone and congragulated them on there fine bull and gone looking for another.

[Gateholio]

Not much you can do...If they knew he was there, it's poor form..If they didn't, it's just the way it goes.

Pretyty crappy, though...:sad:

[brotherjack]

Well, here's the real question:

What would you do, if while walking through the bush, you suddenly heard an elk bugle 100 yards away. You cow call back, and a nice fat 6 point elk comes in to 60 yards and offers you a goregous shot. ????

I know exactly what you'd do, you'd shoot it, same as I would, or anyone else on this board who hunts elk would. I vote zero fault to the clueless guys who bumbled down the trail into the elk.

That said, for your buddy, it's a very upsetting situation, but it's not any fault of the other hunters (or your buddy) - neither of whom knew the other was there until it was more/less too late.

So for me, I'd go blow off some steam well out of earshot of the two guys who don't deserve one word of my anger, and then get on with the business of hunting once I'd calmed down.

[JohnS]

WOw ... talk about poor timing or what ... but I guess thats why they call it hunting so I am told...8-)

[Onesock]

Congrats to them on a nice elk!!!

[Bow Walker]

Gone and congragulated them on there fine bull and gone looking for another.
DITTO Only thing you could do.
http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_6_201.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZSYYYYYYJOCA)

[Islandeer]

What goes around comes around. The other guys were just on the right end. Not the end of the world.:|

[Phred]

I let out my best Homer Simpson DOH!, then reflect on my abilities to call a bull and go try for another one.

If I saw a bull at 100 yds and have him come within 60, you better believe he'd be shot. It's called hunting.

[Ozone]

steepNdeep-what did they do?

[JMac]

Was it rifle or bow shot!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? LMAO

[RiverOtter]

That would suck, but like others have said, what can you do.

In the same situation, I would shoot as well, providing I didn't know someone else was already working the bull.

Came onto a similar situation near Golden one year, where a guy had shot a nice bull in a river bottom and while it was making its death run a couple road hunters rolled up unaware and put a finishing shot into it before it fell. I can't remember how the tagging went, but they were all gentleman and split the elk down the center.

RO

[Avalanche123]

15 yrs ago I was hunting for moose when it was open for the rut without requiring LEH. I got into the early when it was dark and waited at the edge of the large grassy meadow. At first light I just started to walk across it when I saw a bull come out of the timber 200 yards away. Due to the convexity of the land I could only see antlers so I had no shot. I could see he was headed for a small island of timber so I turned and quickly headed for it. Low and behold I heard three hunters coming down another way and when they saw me, I tried to wave them away. They had no idea what was going on until they noticed the bull too. Guess what happened next......yep, they ran ahead and shot the thing. I was so pissed...I didn;t no what to do and so I took a deep breath and just left and vowed to never to return to this area. Live and learn.

Side note: I just tried to go into this area again two weeks and the access is hugely overgrown that it now requires a 3 km walk and there is no trail. I am going to check it out for the bow season this coming week! Sorry I got off topic....

[ratherbefishin]

if you KNOW somebody is working an animal,it's only decent to either move off-or stand and watch-but if you don't-its just pure luck of the draw.And who knows-maybe you've shot an animal that was put up by someone else,and never known it

[lip_ripper00]

Gone and congragulated them on there fine bull and gone looking for another.
they say life is timing, mabey a Karma thing Their next bull is going to huge!!:smile:

[BCLongshot]

Not much you can do except go farther out where no one else is. That's what I'm doing next year

[Str8shot]

An unlucky day hunting is better than any day at work!!:biggrin:

[joeD2J]

Having respect for all the other hunters out there, this very same situation happened to me,except I was on the recieving end. I was hunting moose up near Chetywnd and driving down the main road. We came across a set of powerlines that cross through a clearcut that must of been about 1km x 3km in size. The clearcut was pretty steep and we could not see the bottom. It had three levels, each nearly a kilometer in size. The road crossed the top level, and as we approached, a bull moose was standing smack in the middle. I dropped him right there and within 20 mins comes this hunter, cussin and pissed off. He said we killed his moose but I had no idea he was there. He was on the bottom level, about 2km away, and way out of view. I didn't see no vehicle or any kind of sign anyone was there. He probably would of did something but I had all 4 brothers with me at this point via radio. If it were me on the other end, I honestly would just walk away, little knowing how crazy some people are nowadays

[dana]

Steep,
That's hunting man. This ain't shopping at the grocery store. There are so many variables that we have no control over to having a hunt come to the culmination of a big animal down. I personally would have gone over and shook the other hunter's hand and offered him some help in getting the animal out of there. Definately nothing to be upset over.

[kutenay]

Many years ago, I was packed into a remote drainage in the territory "owned" by Stone Mountain Safaries, along with two friends who hunted together regularly. I hunted solo, by choice and passed on a HUGE bull Elk as the shot was over 400 yds., too far, IMO, as the brush made an offhand try the only option. I grew up in the Kootenays and worked in Elk country and this bull was a HAWG.

So, I eventually got back to the simple tent camp to find that both the other guys had shot raghorns, 5x6s and I was feeling pretty low. Then, the older guy quietly told me how his "friend" had seen him making ready to shoot an Elk and had quickly shot the bull, right in front of him and thus scored "first blood". This guy was a decent sort and was pretty hurt by his buddies action, while the "shooter" was puffed-up like he had just killed the B&C trophy of the century. I sorta felt better after seeing what this guy had experienced from a "friend".

It takes all kinds and there are no certainties in hunting, it would lose it's allure if there were, however, this situation, while frustrating is not the came as what I have described and there is no foul, no fault, IMHO. There's more out there, even an old phart like me gets one, every once in awhile.

[Gateholio]

Interesting to see that there are no safety concerns being brougth up here...:lol:

[Onesock]

A territory OWNED by a guiding outfit. I think you mean they own the right to guide in that area. No guide outfitter owns the right to any land in BC if I am not mistaken. Right? Only the right to guide.

[Ddog]

hmmmmmm, at least the shot was 1000 yard shot (LOL).
wow dejavu, been there before

[Brambles]

Crappy deal Steep. I'd at least walk over and see the bull, maybe throw in "thanks for shooting our bull".
It happened to us last year, the guys even knew that they we were working the bull and they sniped it from a high ridge when we were in the timber with the bull.
Not much you can do, but now that it happened to me I won't think twice about doing it to someone else, two can play that game!!!

Now the bulls around here have quite bugling, with the exception of the far back basins, but you need horses to get those ones out.

[steepNdeep]

:rolleyes: Well, after the fact there isn't much that you can do. After 3 days working that bull, my pard didn't even go down there, and just kept hunting in our other spots. I think that I might have after I cooled down for a while. I always like to see what kind of guys other hunters are and look at animals Although now they don't think they have any competition which can be a good thing...

(In the last week, I drove a few hours (twice) to call elk for the competition - 2 older gentlemen from another part of the province that I just met hunting with my brother for elk. They were almost 70 and I wanted to see them get their bull, which they eventually did, after 13 days on the mountain! :) )

Hindsight is always 20/20, but one possibility was to FUBAR the situation by standing up and making a move on the bull and letting him and them see you. You could run down towards the bull, closing the distance to where you may be able to get a shot as he leaves. If they made a move on the bull once they knew you were after it, that's a different situation. :mad:

Considering they were oblivious to the bull, you could also just shoot into the air to spook the bull and shut him up. It would screw up the bull for the day or a few, but he'd still be around...

But since they scored there, the 2 hunters will definitely be in there year after year, now. If they hadn't seen or heard a bull they might have just gone on to a different spot...

[chinooker]

I,m a sociable hunter and like to see others succeed being that they didn't know you were there. I would have gone over and told them the story, helped them load it up, and maybe shared a coffee or a beer with them.

[Ddog]

[
Not much you can do, but now that it happened to me I won't think twice about doing it to someone else, two can play that game!!!

????? nice attitude

[todbartell]

good luck shooting something from under my nose with a bow :mrgreen:

[bigwhiteys]

but now that it happened to me I won't think twice about doing it to someone else, two can play that game!!!

I would never knowingly do this to another hunter... Shooting the buck/bull whatever without any knowledge of the other hunters in the area is fine this shit happens congratulate the guys and help them get it out... you'd probably appreciate the same.

But if you intentionally try to screw someone up or shoot game out from under them, race them to it etc... you are not helping the situation any.

I had a decent muley buck shot out from under me 3 years ago...
I was glassing the buck when all of a sudden "BOOM" down he went... And I could see the hunter on the opposite side of the field. The part that pissed me off was that the looser even shot in my direction and we were very visible! No way he didn't see us.

Happy Hunting!
Carl

[kutenay]

Onesock, my use of the quotation marks was intended to convey exactly that point in a somewhat satirical fashoin, given the attitudes we have experienced from certain GOs regarding resident hunters. On an earlier hunt, the wife of a now-retired and very famous GO in that region v ery bluntly told me, "WE want to KNOW who is in OUR territory", this in reference to residents hunting on the Muskwa; I think that my opinion of resident's rights is quite well known here.

[Rainwater]

Hey Firebird, Easy on the shooting stuff under your nose with a bow talk, we've already been there, no I mean we've already been there cause theres an early BOWONLY season for any bull Elk , still until the seniors or the Youth get it.

[todbartell]

seniors now? thats terrific, maybe it will help boost hunter participation numbers of the elderly. 90 year old eyes in the bush with open sighted 30-30s, perfect :)

[Elkhound]

seniors now? thats terrific, maybe it will help boost hunter participation numbers of the elderly. 90 year old eyes in the bush with open sighted 30-30s, perfect :)

Why not. They are already on the road driving old tanks for cars. LOL

[Onesock]

Hey guys don't diss our older hunters. Remeber one day with any luck you will be one of them!!

[Islandeer]

While we are off topic, those "older" hunters were (are) tough as nails. No fancy gadgets,quads,rangefinders etc., in their era. Lots of hiking,packing and toughing it out. If you have never had the honour to hunt with one of these "older" hunters then you have missed out on a lot of good tradition and knowledge. So show some respect.

[Elkhound]

So show some respect.

Nothing but respect for old timers. The guy I went with on my fly in trip last year is over 60. A dear friend and a great hunter

However, I do have an optical and that is where my comment came from about the driving. You have no idea how many of them should not be on the road without glasses.:mad: They need their glasses to watch TV across the living room but tell me and the Dr that they don't need them for driving. They can see just fine. Yeah....okay:roll:

[Islandeer]

I'm with you on the driving, Victoria is full of elderly Albertans who don't like corners and hills.:) My Dad will be 81 this season,awsome guy. He took a beauty 4x4 whitey near Jafry last year, and is coming this year as well. we have been trying to find him a muley the past few years, maybe this year. The grandsons will be up too so will be memorable. :smile:

[quadrakid]

had similar type of experience on my first ever elk huntin the koots 2 weeks ago, was climbing up to hunt bull i was working the night before when two locals hammered him. they didn,t know i was there and vice versa. i did the only logical thing, congratulated them and offered assistance, good karma,besides i,d been talking to them everyday and they were stand up guys.

[Islandeer]

Good for you Quadra.