I studied the photos and all the replies. For all you ameteur CSI guys, here's the REAL "what happened": Definitely, yet skillfully poached. On a pre-season scouting trip, the poacher spotted this bull bedded down lying in the crook created by the two oldest and lowest lying logs. Skillfully, he snuck down on this bull within about 6 yards and shouldered the small aspen over, striking him exactly between the antlers. It didn't kill him, but it pinned him down. The poacher momentarily panicked, grabbed the closest deadfall to finish the job, but didn't have enough strength to completely pick up the large aspen. He could only raise one end, so he swung it like a baseball bat, lodging it beneath the small aspen and moving the larger of the two old logs onto his antler. In swinging the 1240 pounder, he ruptured a disk in his back. Without the strength to finish the bludgeoning, he went in with his pocket knife, slashed the jugular, and crawled home. That smart old bull actually tried to stop the bleeding by applying pressure to the wound, which explains why he expired with his leg in the position it remained in photo #1. ANYONE could have seen THAT.
Are the poachers in the pics????? Probably not, however it IS a little fishy why the guy in the bottom photo is wearing VERY light-colored jeans and a light-colored shirt......They are very good "aspen camo" patterns..... Maybe to sneak up on another bull???? AND, his right arm seems to be in pain and have numb fingertips - sure signs of ruptered disk......FISHY!
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IMHO - that was a great and once in a lifetime find.
edpre