C'mon Man!

[KQ]

I'm sure Montana mags remember the guy who shot a llama(and pretty sure field dressed it) over in paradise valley thinking it was an elk. Took it to the game check station and everything. Whitetail for a muley...maybe.

People are stupid.

Sorry, that llama sure looked like elk





".30-06 rifle with Leupold Scope - $650.

"Out of state license - $600.

"Gas to drive from New York - $700.

"Taking a trophy Montana llama - priceless."

[GeezerSteve]

that actually happened in Washington.

“Matter of time” until a hiker got shot

Originally published August 2, 2008 at 12:00 am

Such a tragedy, and completely avoidable if the grandfather and parents had exercised common sense. Hunting on Sauk Mountain is crazy. It's the most popular hike in the area and full of people every Saturday in August. The victim, who was wearing a light blue jacket, was hiking on a very popular trail when she was shot. It was a 130 yard shot. How the fuck can anyone mistake a woman in a light blue jacket for a bear from 130 yards?

You gotta be some really fucked up parents to give your 14 y.o. kid a high powered rifle and let him hunt bear near a popular trail on a Saturday in August.

After this happened, I suggested holding parents strictly liable -- or, at least, imposing some kind of vicarious liability and/or mandatory insurance -- for firearm injuries caused by a minor child. My exercise of First Amendment rights resulted in an anonymous death threat.

The 14 y.o. kid got 30 days for reckless homicide. Tying this to the thread: Last year the killer posted a picture of a dead coyote next to his rifle on his FB page. Pisses me off. The bastard should have been stripped of hunting privileges for life.

AFAIK, the parents escaped liability, criminal or civil. This is what happens when the gun lobby writes the laws.

RIP Pam Almli

[plugboots]

JHC, Steve. Wow.
And of course, the lack of self-awareness with the Facebook post.

[GeezerSteve]

Yeah, it was an awful episode. Word is that the victim, an avid hiker and nature lover, was a lovely soul.

After the kid was sentenced with little more than a slap on the wrist, threads popped up on gun nut forms with many posters suggesting it was merely an "unfortunate accident" and that harshly punishing the kid was not in the interest of justice. You can bet some of those #MAGA bozos would have advocated the death penalty if the shooter would have had black or brown skin.

[Conundrum]

Personally, if I shot a moose thinking it was an elk, I'd turn in my hunting license and rifle. If I shot a person, I'd report to the local police department planning not to get out for a long time.

[Ted Striker]

re: Sauk Mt

In one of those 'it could've been me' twists of fate, we were going to hike (really it's a walk) the exact same trail, same day, same time. Four adults, one kid, and two dogs - one bear colored and one deer colored. A last minute scheduling conflict was the only reason we weren't there.

[neckdeep]

This is kinda crazy. We have moose here and to me there is no mistaking them for anything else:

Actually....

[Tele 'til You're Smelly]

Do you remember the story from the '80s of some hunter parading his trophy 'elk' shot up at Falls creek, on the hood of his jeep down Main Street. IIRC, turns out it was a mule.

So Terry- I have this memory from the 90s when Critters meat market, which did game processing, was here. A guy who worked there told me (according to my memory) that a guy brought an "elk" in to be processed, and when he looked in the truck it was a horse! But I may be misremembering the story and it's more like you tell it (I have wondered why there wasn't some tack on either the mule or horse that would have shown the hunter what he had done).

As for this week's incident- I'm sure the guy was hunting during legal hunting hours- as a hunter I can tell you that can't see any animal 300 yards 1/2 hour after sunset absent a risen moon, and the moon is not up at sunset this week. But taking a 300 yard shot at dusk is risky for many reasons- at dawn is one thing where you have all day to track an injured animal but I wouldn't want to take more than close sure shot at dusk.

[liv2ski]

If he mistook moose antlers for elk antlers he doesn't belong hunting ever again. And he claims he saw antlers.

This. What a fuck in moran

[Alpinord]

So Terry- I have this memory from the 90s when Critters meat market, which did game processing, was here. A guy who worked there told me (according to my memory) that a guy brought an "elk" in to be processed, and when he looked in the truck it was a horse! But I may be misremembering the story and it's more like you tell it (I have wondered why there wasn't some tack on either the mule or horse that would have shown the hunter what he had done).

As for this week's incident- I'm sure the guy was hunting during legal hunting hours- as a hunter I can tell you that can't see any animal 300 yards 1/2 hour after sunset absent a risen moon, and the moon is not up at sunset this week. But taking a 300 yard shot at dusk is risky for many reasons- at dawn is one thing where you have all day to track an injured animal but I wouldn't want to take more than close sure shot at dusk.

My memory is good, but it's short......I vaguely remember Critters. Where was it located, again? I also 'think' I remember a photo in the Herald of the 'trophy' on the hood. Who knows. Any way to search old articles online?

To the guy's credit, he stepped up and owned it, along with feeling horrible about the incident. Unfortunately, lots wouldn't on either count. I can only guess that late in the day/weekend and 'gotta git my elk' played a factor. Good point on dealing with an injured animal at night vs the daytime.

[plugboots]

Attachment 252558

At least he didn't confuse a mountain biker for an elk.

Huh. Elk look like that in the fall, during hunting season? Oh fuck, what am I doing.

[Conundrum]

As for this week's incident- I'm sure the guy was hunting during legal hunting hours- as a hunter I can tell you that can't see any animal 300 yards 1/2 hour after sunset absent a risen moon, and the moon is not up at sunset this week. But taking a 300 yard shot at dusk is risky for many reasons- at dawn is one thing where you have all day to track an injured animal but I wouldn't want to take more than close sure shot at dusk.

If you can't see animals half hour past sunset, why are shooting hours past sunset? I've passed on animals due to my watch and the law, and also not wanting to deal with dressing and hauling in the dark. Maybe we'll disagree on this point. This guy broke the first rule which is know your target and gave an estimate of time which was close to sunset when he reported himself. I'd put more faith in a guy giving me the correct time of shot had he not just shot a moose with an elk tag.

I only brought up the point that he may have been outside legal hours because he said it was too dark to really identify and then gave an estimate of time. I don't have a dog in the fight. I think the guy is an idiot but kudos to him for turning himself in and taking his licks. "Black said he spotted the moose lying down and in shadow around 6 p.m. Sunday, as light was beginning to fade. He told authorities he was 300 yards away and saw the antlers and head of the animal straight on. Black did not have binoculars and was using only the scope of his rifle,"

How many experienced hunters are glassing with their rifle scopes and not binos? The answer is probably close to zero. Maybe he was a super experienced hunter, but doesn't seem like it. Also doesn't seem like a guy that had a lot of concern that close to close of legal hours..."around 6 as light is fading". Most guys I know would have an exact time because they would have checked the time if it was starting to get dark.

[2FUNKY]

Dude fucked up and deserves his punishment. Never ever shoot what you cannot fully identify.
I really hate fuck heads who use their scopes in place of Binos. Had a dude glass me and a buddy a few seasons ago with his scope. We waved and he waved back confirming he was glassing us. We had some very unpleasant words with him later at the trail head.

My optics make first and last shooting light look like it’s an hour or better before those times. I still follow the rules. Passed on a few animals due to it being LST. Watched a huge 6x6 on my side of private property before FST only to have him hop the fence 10min before. Deflating. I’ve also killed some great animals just minutes before LST due to quality optics. I have zero issue shooting an animal that late and field dressing and hauling through the night if need be.

[Conundrum]

Dressing and hauling at night isn't a auto no shoot for me. There's just been a couple times where I've passed because I didn't want to. And yeah, good optics make low light identification a lot easier. Pre-dawn, we are usually picking animals up with our binos well before being able to see them naked eye.

[Slopetime]

You don't know 100% what you're showing at ?? You friggin' don't shoot.

That's about as Hunter safety 101 as it gets.