Elk hunting pictures

[JuiceBox52]

Simply culling a bunch of them would make a lot more sense. But some people get very emotional about horses. They'd rather see the country decimated, along with its native plants and animals, than see some of them killed.

I agree if it was done properly it would 100% be the best way

 

[Rocky998]

Ans the people that work in those places and have that job of killing them...
I'm sure there are some that hate their job and just see it as work but I mean... You kinda have 5o be a cruel person to have that job I'd imagine

 

[JuiceBox52]

Ans the people that work in those places and have that job of killing them...
I'm sure there are some that hate their job and just see it as work but I mean... You kinda have 5o be a cruel person to have that job I'd imagine

Vet techs and veterinarians have one of the highest depression and s****** rates in the country of any job due to having to euthanize animals. I don’t think you have to be a cruel person. Just like cattle farmers and dairy farmers truly care about the well being of their animals (in most cases and private farms) but they still have to do it. And people who hunt care a lot of about the animals they hunt and the ecosystem and habitat and wellbeing of the species as well

 

[Rocky998]

Speaking of horses I need to learn how to ride someday. Got to go to a family friend's, friend's barn and they had a few horses.
I got to pet them. Really are majestic animals.
They tower over it feels like but their so gentle when treated properly...
I have a fear of heights, and while it's not that high up it feels uneasy on top of a horse soooo... Definitely a few things to work on lol.

 

[Rocky998]

Vet techs and veterinarians have one of the highest depression and s****** rates in the country of any job due to having to euthanize animals. I don’t think you have to be a cruel person. Just like cattle farmers and dairy farmers truly care about the well being of their animals (in most cases and private farms) but they still have to do it. And people who hunt care a lot of about the animals they hunt and the ecosystem and habitat and wellbeing of the species as well

Yah that is very sad.
I was more speaking though about the workers in the places that keep the horses in those conditions for dog food or whatever. Not if vets have to euthanize an animal for other reasons... I see that differently cause sometimes it's the most humane thing to do no matter how sad it is.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Speaking of horses I need to learn how to ride someday. Got to go to a family friend's, friend's barn and they had a few horses.
I got to pet them. Really are majestic animals.
They tower over it feels like but their so gentle when treated properly...
I have a fear of heights, and while it's not that high up it feels uneasy on top of a horse soooo... Definitely a few things to work on lol.

I can teach you

Jk lol you’re across the country

 

[Rocky998]

I can teach you

Jk lol you’re across the country

Lol. Yah
Wouldn't work out very well.

But I mean hey if I'm ever out that way

 

[Rocky998]

Vet techs and veterinarians have one of the highest depression and s****** rates in the country of any job due to having to euthanize animals. I don’t think you have to be a cruel person. Just like cattle farmers and dairy farmers truly care about the well being of their animals (in most cases and private farms) but they still have to do it. And people who hunt care a lot of about the animals they hunt and the ecosystem and habitat and wellbeing of the species as well

As far as it goes for meat and dairy farms it's mixed emotions. Sad they have to die but the meat is being used and distributed.
A horse though is an animal that shouldn't be killed I feel like. Especially for their meat... Like why???

 

[JuiceBox52]

As far as it goes for meat and dairy farms it's mixed emotions. Sad they have to die but the meat is being used and distributed.
A horse though is an animal that shouldn't be killed I feel like. Especially for their meat... Like why???

What makes it different? Cows are eaten here but not in India, horses are not eaten here but are eaten elsewhere. Dogs are eaten in some places. Not saying I would, but do you have a reason? Except that they’re likable? Cows can be cuddly, my chickens like to be held and petted. What’s the difference?

 

[Rocky998]

What makes it different? Cows are eaten here but not in India, horses are not eaten here but are eaten elsewhere. Dogs are eaten in some places. Not saying I would, but do you have a reason? Except that they’re likable? Cows can be cuddly, my chickens like to be held and petted. What’s the difference?

Yeah it's true they are all very sweet animals... But some animals no matter what the "customs" are in a country... Just shouldn't be eaten really.
Horses are just something I can't see as a food item. Neither do I see sharks that way or dogs definitely not.... Monkey as well. There is just a list of animals that are not right to eat in my mind.
Makes me sick to think they are eaten to.
Cows and chickens can be pets and can be food. It's definitely hard. My mom was raised on a farm and she had a cow that she read books to and hung out with a lot... One day it went missing and they had steak that night soooo... Yah... Sad.

 

[Rocky998]

And I don't see gators as a food item but I tried it I did... It tasted good I'll admit but I don't see them as a food item lol

 

[JuiceBox52]

Yeah it's true they are all very sweet animals... But some animals no matter what the "customs" are in a country... Just shouldn't be eaten really.
Horses are just something I can't see as a food item. Neither do I see sharks that way or dogs definitely not.... Monkey as well. There is just a list of animals that are not right to eat in my mind.
Makes me sick to think they are eaten to.
Cows and chickens can be pets and can be food. It's definitely hard. My mom was raised on a farm and she had a cow that she read books to and hung out with a lot... One day it went missing and they had steak that night soooo... Yah... Sad.

Ok but what specifically makes cows and chickens food but not others if not “customs”?
You say no matter what the custom is it shouldn’t be food, but that’s exactly what it is here. Chickens and cows are culturally accepted as food. Cows are not culturally accepted as food elsewhere. It’s just a culture and customs thing. While I wouldn’t eat dogs or horses, you can’t say it’s not okay no matter what the culture, because that’s a cultural thing to believe that only cows and chickens are food

 

[Rocky998]

Ok but what specifically makes cows and chickens food but not others if not “customs”?
You say no matter what the custom is it shouldn’t be food, but that’s exactly what it is here. Chickens and cows are culturally accepted as food. Cows are not culturally accepted as food elsewhere. It’s just a culture and customs thing. While I wouldn’t eat dogs or horses, you can’t say it’s not okay no matter what the culture, because that’s a cultural thing to believe that only cows and chickens are food

Yah that IS true I suppose to an extent...
But I also have other reasons to avoiding those foods that I can't really say here without it going down another hole
And I'm not saying that other cultures should eat cows and chickens or give up what they want to eat I guess BUUUUT there is just a thing with pushing the food chain a bit too far lol... We're at the top but just cause we're at the top doesn't mean we should eat EVERYTHING

 

[WhistlingBadger]

OK, thanks for the threadjack, you two. Back to hunting stories. Feel free to skip down six paragraphs or so if you want the short version of this weekend's hunt.

I drove out to the desert early Saturday morning for one more weekend of hunting. It's about a two hour drive, so I have to be on the road around 5 to be out there at first light. I spotted a herd of elk at sunrise, feeding about four miles away out on a huge sagebrush flat. I drove as close as I dared--within a couple miles or so--and began a stalk. The herd had about 20 cows, a huge herd bull, and several smaller but still very nice subordinate bulls. But other hunters were in the area, and long before I got close, they got spooked by people driving around. That became the pattern of the day. There were a crazy number of hunters in the area. I had four stalks blown by road hunters, and spent a good part of the day watching people chase the herd back and forth across the flat in their pickups. Definitely not the way I want to hunt. My ideal is for the animal to die before it realizes anything is wrong, or at very least to stalk one and kill it in a match of skill. I felt bad for these elk--they ran all-out, probably 10-15 miles that day. Some time in the afternoon, they finally disappeared, probably by running clear out of the area.

The day hunters all left during the afternoon and things quieted down. Right at sundown, glassing from the top of a ridge, I spotted an elk grazing several miles away. I hopped in the truck and headed that way, knowing I would never be able to get close before sundown, stalking being slow business.

Driving down a big draw, I jumped a bull off his bed. He was really big, the bull of a lifetime, for me at least. I stepped out of the truck and got him in my scope, but I decided to pass on the shot. Part of it was that he was a little too far away for my liking. I really hate missing. But honestly, I'm fairly sure I could have made the shot. It was more than that...I just felt sorry for him. He was very reluctant to run away, and I'm sure he was the big bull from that herd that had been run all over the country that morning. Such a magnificent animal that has lived to be so huge, in such a harsh environment...I couldn't help feeling that he deserved a better death than that. It didn't seem quite right killing him when he was obviously exhausted and when I had put in no work to get close to him. I figured he needed a chance to rest up before I took him on, so I watched him through the scope as he trotted slowly over the hill and out of sight. Rest up, buddy. I'll be seeing you tomorrow when you're at your best again.

I spent the next day second-guessing that decision. To be honest, I felt sick about it. I had been sure that the big bull would still be in the immediate area, but I didn't see a single elk the entire day. Most of them had been run out of the area, and the rest seemed to be laying low. Hard to blame them. But now there was only one day left in the season, I still had no meat in the freezer for my family, and I knew I had passed on a huge bull the night before. Those are hard realities to swallow when you're spending hour after hour alone, looking through binoculars at the empty desert, searching for something that just isn't there.

Sunday night was hard. Even without the severe hits on my morale, camping in the desert is kind of miserable: No shade, no shelter, no firewood, not even a tree or decent sized bush in sight. You just park on the side of the road somewhere, and that's camp. It was going well below freezing at night, and very windy. I was very grateful for my warm sleeping bag and the relatively wind-proof topper on my truck.

Monday morning I spotted what I thought was an elk four or five miles away. The wind was wicked and I was really cold, so I jumped in the truck and drove that way, hoping to get close enough for a stalk. Once I was within a couple miles, I could tell it was just a horse. But the antelope were out grazing, and they're always good company. So I spent the morning driving the two-trackers, pausing frequently to glass the distant flats and ridges. Around ten o'clock, I decided to call it quits and head home. It was the last day of the two-month long season.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Wow, this is a long story. If you're still with me, thanks. You might need to get out more.

The main road runs along the edge of my hunt area, so I was keeping my eyes peeled. Quite unexpectedly, I saw three elk running about a quarter mile off to the side of the road. They had been spooked by another vehicle. I coasted my truck down into a little hollow and stopped. The elk were watching a truck coming from the other direction, and they didn't see me. I watched them until they ran behind a little ridge a mile or so away. They were spooked, but not panicked, and at this time of day I didn't figure they'd go far. They'd want to bed down and rest through the hot part of the day. So I grabbed my pack, rifle, and shooting sticks, and as soon as they were out of sight I took off their direction, using the folds in the land to stay out of sight.

I topped the little ridge where I had last seen them, coming up between some big sagebrush where I'd be hard for them to spot. But they were nowhere in sight. These desert elk have an amazing knack for not being where you expect them to. It's amazing how such huge animals can vanish in such wide-open country. I just stood for a while. There was a big, wide draw over to the right, filled with waste-high sagebrush. It felt "elky," so I headed that way.

Well, if I may say so, I can be a pretty sneaky son of a gun when I want to be. I had a round chambered and my ear plugs in, not really expecting to see the elk, but figuring that if they were in here somewhere it would be quick work or none at all. Suddenly I heard a crash to my left, up the side of the draw. I spun around to see two cow elk coming out of the sagebrush, not thirty yards away. I knew that if these elk got over the lip of that draw I'd never see them again. I whipped up my .270, slammed the crosshairs onto the nearest rib cage, and squeezed off just as the cow topped the ridge. I could tell she was hit hard and wouldn't go far.

And right at that moment, within a second of my shot...a bull jumped up about fifty yards away. If I had waited two more seconds, I'd have had more meat (bulls being much bigger than cows) and some pretty antlers. But I don't regret killing that cow. There's a time to be patient, and a time to just lock something up and pull the trigger. Lunch time, last day of the season? Definitely the latter. Seeing that bull just added spice to the whole thing, and now that it's over it's really funny.

I climbed up the steep side of the draw, through shoulder-high sagebrush, and there was my cow. She made it about two leaps before she went down. Good kill.

OK, @Fishmanic , here's the photo you've been waiting for. No triumphant boot on the elk, though. This hunt humbled me, but I EARNED this cow! She's a young one, and should be excellent eating. She's small as elk go, but her backstraps and rib meat take up almost as much room in the fridge as my whole antelope! Juice, if you're still here, I'll be sure to tell you how she tastes.