Poached Elk???

birdman69100 · Aug 29, 2011

Big bull elk found dead. I was glassing on a ridge looking for a spike or cow elk when i discovered this guy laying dead in the middle of the valley. I spotted him probably around 4000 yards out! He was way down there. I thought he might have been poached or an archery hunter had shot him and not been able to find him. So i went down and called Utah fish and game. They came up and inspected the Elk with a fine tooth comb. They took a metal detector and went all around the body. I was really impressed. But when it was all said and done they said that the cause of death was inconclusive. Which basically means that a bear or courgar probably got him. Anyways cool thing is i might get to keep the antlers. My spike elk hunt could turn into a nice bull hangin on the wall!! Check out the youtube video!

Elkhunter96 · Aug 29, 2011

Cool find, sounds like it may have been something other than poachers, possibly natural causes. It also looks like it has been dead too long to be an archery elk kill since the season has only been open for 9 days.

birdman69100 · Aug 29, 2011

You know the game warden said he predicts its been dead for about a week! I was thinking at least 3 weeks, but he said 1 week. I guess he is the professional. But ya he thought maybe natural causes was how he died!

rmanwill · Aug 29, 2011

To bad for the bull, but cool find for yourself!!! Congrats.

Zeke · Aug 29, 2011

He'd been there for quite a while from the looks of things. Probably not a bow hunt kill.
Cool you found him and cool the F&G did a good job investigating the kill.

Zeke

littlebighorn · Aug 29, 2011

My son made a great find on our sheep hunt two years ago on a dead ram. He picked it up in his spotting scope from about 3/4 mile away. After the hunt we hooked up with the conservation officer in the area and he hiked all the way in with us in the snow to investigate. He had his metal detector, etc. and I was also impressed. It ended up being one of the coolest parts of our hunt and my son was eventually given the skull. Congratulations on doing it the right way. Hopefully you will be rewarded with a nice rack!

eldorado · Aug 29, 2011

Great find. Good luck on your spike hunt.

Eldorado

ElkPoint · Aug 29, 2011

Awesome find. I spent the first 4 days of the hunt right there, I'm trying to figure out how I missed him laying there. Manti right?

mmwb · Aug 29, 2011

I'd have guessed he had been dead longer, but with the heat I suppose decomposition and mummification would be sped up.

2lumpy · Aug 29, 2011

Three weeks ago every elk I saw was still in velvet. Two weeks ago was the first elk I saw shedding velvet. He could have stripped it early but he lost that velvet the day of or day before he died, he's still looks mostly bone white. So I'd say, sometime with in the last 10 days. But anyone's guess is as good as mine. The DWR boys see a lot more decomposed elk than I do. I'll bet he's close in his estimate.

DC

birdman69100 · Aug 30, 2011

You got it! And he was laying right in the open! When i walked the conservation officer over the hill and he saw him his first words were " Why has this not been called in yet"! I said the same thing! Really it was probably 150 yards off the main four wheeler trail. The elk was laying in a spot that was just out of sight of anyone on a trail! Have you seen any nice elk through there lately?

ElkPoint · Aug 30, 2011

What day did you find him? Funny thing is I walk over that hump every year except this one. The elk were further north in the deep canyons this year.

birdman69100 · Aug 31, 2011

I found him aug27th. I have noticed that the elk have kind of been that way as well this year. Kind of makes for a harder hunt for sure!

MrTwister · Aug 31, 2011

In 2007 I can across a gut pile on the Boulder just a few hundred yards from where I had just setup camp. I then drove down the road and ran into a DWR officer how had this rack in the back of his truck. Come to find out that some hunters had found the bull dead that morning, called DWR and it was determined that it died in a fight with another bull. The hunters got to keep the meat, but the rack stayed with the officer. If I would of got there a day early I might of heard quit a tussle in the night.