priv8ter
Member
Hi. I was sitting around work, listening to some guys talk about a doe they had found shot and rotting already while they were out elk hunting last week.
Well, it reminded me of a elk I found two years ago. Most of Washington's hunting areas are spike only for elk. Well, my buddy and I came across a two point someone had shot by mistake. I'm not sure how old the body was, except to say it was fairly swollen, and you could find it by nose, without needing to see it.
And that got me thinking. Back in high school, over ten years ago now, my hunting mentor made a mistake. He took a shot at a mule deer in some thick cover. He was using a Model 7400 carbine in .30-06, and after he took the shot, the deer took off. He made a quick follow up shot, anchoring the deer.
Well, upon closer inspection, shot one took the buck in the neck, dropping it, and shot two took a doe in the chest, dropping her. After talking things over, he cleaned both deer, leaving them as close as he could to the spot's where they had fallen. He then tagged the buck, and left me there to guard them while he went looking for the game warden.
A very long two and half hours later, he came back with the warden, and explained what had happened. He told the warden he had cleanedit, so if the waren wanted it for donating to a food bank, it was good to go. Instead, the warden took my tag, signed it with a note, and told me to tag it. So...happy ending, except I didn't get to shoot a deer. The venison was good though.
So, what I'm wondering is, does anyone else have any happy ending stories of shooting the wrong animal for the season(or any sad stories even)? I have talked to other people, and most of them agree that Warden's are people too, and if you go to them with an honest mistake, they aren't going to crush you. They might not always give you the animal like happened to us, but...
It just kills me to see wasted meat laying in the woods.
greg
Well, it reminded me of a elk I found two years ago. Most of Washington's hunting areas are spike only for elk. Well, my buddy and I came across a two point someone had shot by mistake. I'm not sure how old the body was, except to say it was fairly swollen, and you could find it by nose, without needing to see it.
And that got me thinking. Back in high school, over ten years ago now, my hunting mentor made a mistake. He took a shot at a mule deer in some thick cover. He was using a Model 7400 carbine in .30-06, and after he took the shot, the deer took off. He made a quick follow up shot, anchoring the deer.
Well, upon closer inspection, shot one took the buck in the neck, dropping it, and shot two took a doe in the chest, dropping her. After talking things over, he cleaned both deer, leaving them as close as he could to the spot's where they had fallen. He then tagged the buck, and left me there to guard them while he went looking for the game warden.
A very long two and half hours later, he came back with the warden, and explained what had happened. He told the warden he had cleanedit, so if the waren wanted it for donating to a food bank, it was good to go. Instead, the warden took my tag, signed it with a note, and told me to tag it. So...happy ending, except I didn't get to shoot a deer. The venison was good though.
So, what I'm wondering is, does anyone else have any happy ending stories of shooting the wrong animal for the season(or any sad stories even)? I have talked to other people, and most of them agree that Warden's are people too, and if you go to them with an honest mistake, they aren't going to crush you. They might not always give you the animal like happened to us, but...
It just kills me to see wasted meat laying in the woods.
greg