timber_hunter
Active member
It was the last couple hours of rifle season here in Montana when my friend and I glassed a large herd of elk close to the road. We couldn't believe our luck as everything was perfect to sneak in and take a good shot. We were about a mile from the herd so we started run-hiking towards the elk. Suddenly, we noticed an orange army descending from the road towards the elk, cutting us off. There was no way we could outfitness them so we waited for the shots to ring out, hoping the elk would come toward us. Well, the elk didn't come our way, so we hiked to a high vantage point and saw people flinging lead at the moving herd from 500-1000 yards away. There were multiple wounded elk. I realized I was caught in a situation that I had heard about but hoped I would never see. At this point the hunt turned into a damage control situation, and we pursued a wounded cow hoping to put her out of her misery. We couldn't find her, so we proceeded in the direction of the elk, hoping to find another wounded animal to kill. I bumped a wounded cow and shot her. Another guy close by emptied his magazine on the cow, shooting directly toward us in the process, and claimed her as his. I didn't want to argue so I let him have it. That cow was the first big game animal I've shot. I've been busting my ass since I started hunting two years ago, and I had hoped my "first" elk would play out a little differently than it did.
Since Sunday, I've had a lot of time to think about what happened. I should mention that I welcome any criticism of my thought process, as I'm still quite angry about what happened and haven't had enough time to rationally sort through my thoughts.
First, I think the phrase, "hunting is conservation" is an empty and meaningless phrase that isn't examined closely enough by the average hunter. There's this commonly-held idea that hunters are an important part of the landscape because we reduce herd numbers, which ostensibly reduces competition for herd resources, thereby bolstering the health of the herd. I think this thought process encourages unethical behavior like shooting at a moving herd 1000 yards away. Because "what does it matter if a few are injured, there are so many damn elk anyway that I'm probably doing them a favor."
Ironically, the same people that herd shoot are the same people that turn around and complain about the wolves decimating elk and deer populations. They're probably the same people that go shed hunting in late winter and bump stressed game off their winter range. Well, maybe the hunting would be a lot better if everyone insisted on taking ethical shots they were 100% confident in. And waiting until late spring to shed hunt.
Which brings me to my second thought, and one that is not likely to be popular: I hate R3. Even as a new hunter. I think R3 is a thinly-veiled ploy by the hunting industry to turn a buck.
What happens when the hunting industry promotes R3, CWD continues to impact herds, wolves are re-introduced in Colorado, wolf numbers continue to expand throughout North America, and elk and deer numbers continue to decline? I truly believe there will come a point in my lifetime (I've got 50 years of living left if I'm lucky) where hunting will be outlawed. Or will at least be so heavily restricted that drawing an elk tag in my state of MT will be as difficult as drawing a sheep tag. CWD, increased interest in hunting, wolf depredation, exploding human population in the GYE...all of these factors could coalesce into drastically reduced game numbers. And then the public will decide what's most important: hunter opportunity, or wild game on the landscape. The easiest factor to control is hunting, and there goes our privilege to hunt. The decision to re-introduce wolves in Colorado sets a dangerous precedent of the public making wildlife management decisions, not biologists.
My third thought is the idea of imposing self-restrictions. Do we really need to apply for tags throughout the Western states, and go kill a bunch of elk every year? That seems like too much taking for one hunter. Do you really need to fill every single one of your tags this year? Companies like GoHunt certainly promote this behavior.
Hunting ethics are dynamic and will need to be continually revised if we want to maintain our hunting privileges.
Anyway, that's all I've got for now.
Since Sunday, I've had a lot of time to think about what happened. I should mention that I welcome any criticism of my thought process, as I'm still quite angry about what happened and haven't had enough time to rationally sort through my thoughts.
First, I think the phrase, "hunting is conservation" is an empty and meaningless phrase that isn't examined closely enough by the average hunter. There's this commonly-held idea that hunters are an important part of the landscape because we reduce herd numbers, which ostensibly reduces competition for herd resources, thereby bolstering the health of the herd. I think this thought process encourages unethical behavior like shooting at a moving herd 1000 yards away. Because "what does it matter if a few are injured, there are so many damn elk anyway that I'm probably doing them a favor."
Ironically, the same people that herd shoot are the same people that turn around and complain about the wolves decimating elk and deer populations. They're probably the same people that go shed hunting in late winter and bump stressed game off their winter range. Well, maybe the hunting would be a lot better if everyone insisted on taking ethical shots they were 100% confident in. And waiting until late spring to shed hunt.
Which brings me to my second thought, and one that is not likely to be popular: I hate R3. Even as a new hunter. I think R3 is a thinly-veiled ploy by the hunting industry to turn a buck.
What happens when the hunting industry promotes R3, CWD continues to impact herds, wolves are re-introduced in Colorado, wolf numbers continue to expand throughout North America, and elk and deer numbers continue to decline? I truly believe there will come a point in my lifetime (I've got 50 years of living left if I'm lucky) where hunting will be outlawed. Or will at least be so heavily restricted that drawing an elk tag in my state of MT will be as difficult as drawing a sheep tag. CWD, increased interest in hunting, wolf depredation, exploding human population in the GYE...all of these factors could coalesce into drastically reduced game numbers. And then the public will decide what's most important: hunter opportunity, or wild game on the landscape. The easiest factor to control is hunting, and there goes our privilege to hunt. The decision to re-introduce wolves in Colorado sets a dangerous precedent of the public making wildlife management decisions, not biologists.
My third thought is the idea of imposing self-restrictions. Do we really need to apply for tags throughout the Western states, and go kill a bunch of elk every year? That seems like too much taking for one hunter. Do you really need to fill every single one of your tags this year? Companies like GoHunt certainly promote this behavior.
Hunting ethics are dynamic and will need to be continually revised if we want to maintain our hunting privileges.
Anyway, that's all I've got for now.
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