Kudos to Muley Fanatic MDF chapter

W

wybhtn

Guest
Kudos to Muley Fanatic MDF chapter for auctioning off a high fence elk hunt. Way to show our future generations what hunting is all about.

Thanks!
 
Would have been good if no one had bid....but I bet it sold...got any more info about it??




great post/pic, thanks for sharing

JB
497fc2397b939f19.jpg
 
Well it sold for over 11k and the winning bidders son is a convicted poacher. He got caught poaching a big mule deer.

Sounds like the MDF will do anything for money!!!!
 
he got caught? or his son got caught? if its his son who cares? If your son got caught poaching would you let it effect your hunting?
 
....sounds to me like a good place for his son to spend his time....


great post/pic, thanks for sharing

JB
497fc2397b939f19.jpg
 
boy i can only wish to see a world of hunting minus the jealousy, how awesome it would be if we could just be grateful to what we have, tell fellow hunters congrats let them be happy with what they have harvested, regardless of who they may be or even their past. i am here to enjoy every photo and every story not bash on what someone or someones son may have been convicted of or how they choose to hunt, good for them i hope they kill a monster bull and have great memories of the hunt.
 
I got the feeling Wyo24 ain't related to Wyobhtr.

+1 Wyo24. We, as hunters, have a lot of enemies out there. The last thing we need amongst ourselves is jealousy, judgement, and skeptics from other hunters that can't help but point fingers at other fellow hunters/sportsman and whine. Maybe they need to get into a more competitive sport like football, where ranting and calling names is encouraged.
 
If the winning bidder was the father who gives a rats. Get the game and leave the son behind. You can't control what your son does. High fence hunts ya I do see your point on that.
 
Sounds to me like wybohrt really needs to get more interested in hunting rather than other peoples lifes. And in defense of the MDF,this money goes towards MULE DEER CONSERVATION!!!
 
At the end of the day high fence hunting is very bad for our sport and MDF should NOT be condoning it. I realize the high bidders money is green and it goes to a good cause but we will all loose more in the end.
 
>The last thing we
>need amongst ourselves is jealousy,
>judgement, and skeptics from other
>hunters that can't help but
>point fingers at other fellow
>hunters/sportsman and whine.

He wasn't pointing his finger at other hunters/sportsmen. He was pointing it at a high-fence shooter and the "conservation" group supporting it. Nothing wrong with that.
 
I'm not here to condone what that particular MDF chapter did as far as auctioning a high fence hunt, because that does send a wrong message. But the orginization does a lot of good things for western deer. I do support that and will continue to. Times are hard right now and it is obvious they are trying to find ways to generate much needed revenue. I don't know what chapter was doing this. I'm sure we all have mixed feelings about this.

JR
 
My impression of groups like MDF and SFW have always been mixed, I'd like to think that they have the interests of at least the majority of Mule Deer Hunters at heart in all that they do... But it seems like scenarios such as this one keep coming up and realy sour me on these kinds of organizations...
Not only do I not condone HIGH-FENCE "hunting", I'll condem it as long as I can hunt, for 2 very real reasons... First off I don't believe that pen-raising these animals has anything to do with true conservation, or ethical hunting. Secondly, whether the operators of these types of ranches want to admit it or not, they are hurting the credibility and image of true outdoorsmen and hunters.
I agree that we need to stand together as ethical sportsmen and hunters, but I don't believe that HIGH-FENCED "hunting" has a place under that category. Killing and Hunting are two very different things, but I don't imagine this type of subject will ever have a resolution...

Until the only places a person can "hunt" are on private, HIGH-FENCED hunts...
 
I think it is appropriate to ridicule an MDF chapter for auctioning a high fenced "hunt". I don't care who bought it, or their past history of violations, but I do care that MDF choose to promote this practice. It is appalling.

And lest anyone think MDF is alone, the SLC chapter of RMEF just auctioned a high fence elk (red deer) hunt in Spain. I was not amused. The auctioneer even had the nerve to call this a free ranging hunt, but then qualified that to state the hunt was on 600 acres! Hunting red deer (elk) on 600 acres should easily earn the "canned" reputation. I'm not sure that the hunt sold at the RMEF banquet, because I don't think it got the minimum bid. Even having the "hunt" advertised at the banquet showed bad judgement.

All true hunters should condemn canned "hunts", as they are definitley not hunting in any sense of the word.

Bill
 
I just found it ironic which family bought the canned elk hunt. Seems like that family has some strong morals.

Interesting that none of the Muley Fanatic members have spoke up. I saw their posts for two weeks trying to sell raffle tickets on here.

You would think at the very LEAST that RMEF, MDF etc would promote fair chase hunting. Sad that they can't even do that anymore.
 
If a guy wants to hunt high fence, why do you give a crap? Because you think your better than him? Or is it because your way of hunting is the only way? And anyone who thinks differently must be condemned? This type of divisive crap among the hunting community really bothers me!! These high fence hunters vote, they support local families, they contribute to local economies, and most of all, they support firearm ownership!!!! United we stand, but divided we fall. If I owned this site I would nip these type of posts, in the butt, ASAP!! And that's my two cents!



Justin Richins
R&K Hunting Company Inc.
www.thehuntingcompany.com
 
Thats fine if they want to do that kind of thing. But they get put in the same category as HUNTERS when they are far from it.

IF YOU OWNED THIS SITE NO ONE WOULD POST HERE......
 
This is one of those issues where we are preaching to the choir. All one has to do is turn to the Outdoor channel and see what the voters, hunters, and wantabe outdoorsy types are exposed to every single day...pay to play. It's very unfortunate that our traditional hunting practices have taken hit after hit by, good subject of another thread, to high dollar hunts that most of us can not afford.

Face facts, the actual buy a tag and go where you want has changed so much and so fast, it'll never be as it was and all the griping here is going to change nothing. Hunting private property that is "managed" to produce quality bucks is acceptable yet the guy that does the same thing with a high fence get lambasted over what i see as a similar type hunt. Private or Fenced, on a large tract of land the deer/elk are fed, raised, there, are waiting for your guide to say, " there he is, that's a nice one, better take em"

So where to draw the line? No fence but large blocks of managed private is OK? Drawn tags are great unless you pay for the "Crew" to guide you? Or, only hunts on public ground DIY are acceptable because that's the right way you/we do it? It would be great if things could go back to the way they were 20-40 years ago but that ain't happening. I'm seeing more splintered opinions on what is ethical and what is not than ever before. If a guy chooses to "hunt" and he's within the law, he can't be all that bad, no matter the place, technique, or situation. I'll take him over a tree hugger any day.

That's how i see it and don't mind saying, it worries me, but nothing said here is going to change anything except possibly divide the participants of our sport even farther. Not good!

Joey
 
>This is one of those issues
>where we are preaching to
>the choir. All one has
>to do is turn to
>the Outdoor channel and see
>what the voters, hunters, and
>wantabe outdoorsy types are exposed
>to every single day...pay to
>play. It's very unfortunate that
>our traditional hunting practices have
>taken hit after hit by,
>good subject of another thread,
>to high dollar hunts that
>most of us can not
>afford.
>
> Face facts, the actual buy
>a tag and go where
>you want has changed so
>much and so fast, it'll
>never be as it was
>and all the griping here
>is going to change nothing.
>Hunting private property that is
>"managed" to produce quality bucks
>is acceptable yet the guy
>that does the same thing
>with a high fence get
>lambasted over what i see
>as a similar type hunt.
>Private or Fenced, on a
>large tract of land the
>deer/elk are fed, raised, there,
>are waiting for your guide
>to say, " there he
>is, that's a nice one,
>better take em"
>
>So where to draw the line?
>No fence but large blocks
>of managed private is OK?
>Drawn tags are great unless
>you pay for the "Crew"
>to guide you? Or, only
>hunts on public ground DIY
>are acceptable because that's the
>right way you/we do it?
>It would be great if
>things could go back to
>the way they were 20-40
>years ago but that ain't
>happening. I'm seeing more splintered
>opinions on what is ethical
>and what is not than
>ever before. If a guy
>chooses to "hunt" and he's
>within the law, he can't
>be all that bad, no
>matter the place, technique, or
>situation. I'll take him over
>a tree hugger any day.
>
>
>That's how i see it and
>don't mind saying, it worries
>me, but nothing said here
>is going to change anything
>except possibly divide the participants
>of our sport even farther.
>Not good!
>
>Joey

Verbatum....what Joey said!

I'll add that YOU, as an individual, must decide for yourself the parameters of what constitutes "hunting" for YOU only.

The hunting community is outnumbered ten thousand to one by non hunters who will NEVER know or CARE about the high fence issue.

To them , dead is dead and they don't care about our personal ethics. In actual fact, they think it is riciculous that WE think the words, "hunting" and "ethics", can be used in the same sentence.

We, as hunters, are the only people dividing ourselves over this. You guys that rag on this issue are doing way more damage than the antis. But you are to hard headed to see that.

STFU and hunt to the degree you think is right for you and quit judging people who are on our team.....to whatever degree.

Self righteous indignation serves NO productive purpose on this issue.
 
Don't see what all the hubub is about. The MDF conned some sucker into buying a canned hunt. Would you rather Wyoming follow the Utah way and auction off one of your LE tags instead? This way the public keeps its tags, the man with the money gets his big bull, the record books don't count it, and public mule deer hunting reaps the benefits.

The more I think about it, I think every fundraising organization should start offering those "shooting opportunities". It sounds like a win win to me.

I just want to be friends.
 
WYBHTN-Were you at the banquet?If so,did you see volunteers there putting in free time to support our dwindling mule deer herds?I put in 35 hrs Friday and Saturday to support mule deer in SW Wyoming.I did this because I believe in this cause,and because people like you sit on your duff and whine about crap on the internet,and NO ONE ELSE GIVES ENOUGH OF A CRAP to help out.I did this in spite of people like you,that sit and complain and do nothing.Divisiveness has NO PLACE in today's hunting society!If you see something you don't like,and it is LEGAL,then shut the heck up about it!Unbelievable!Muley Fanatic Chapter had the MOST SUCCESSFUL netting banquet ever-by any chapter.We have been together 3 years.We beat the previous record by $50,000!And some idiot feels the need to run us down.What a guy.
 
Some people feel conservation groups should distance themselves from this type of practice (canned hunts). Some people feel auctioning off wildlife to the highest bidder potentially does long term damage to hunting and is flat out wrong. They've got just as much right to voice an opinion as you.

Just want to point that out.
 
>Some people feel conservation groups should
>distance themselves from this type
>of practice (canned hunts). Some
>people feel auctioning off wildlife
>to the highest bidder potentially
>does long term damage to
>hunting and is flat out
>wrong. They've got just as
>much right to voice an
>opinion as you.
>
>Just want to point that out.
>
..............even if they refuse to see the entire picture, so long as they get what they want. And if they don't get what they want, then everyone else is wrong.
 
Responses from MDF reps like those above make me want to keep my money in my pocket. So your banquet brought in some money. Now what are you really going to do to help those deer in south west wyoming? Give us a list.
 
The existence of " High Fenced Hunting" operations creates some very serious ,
long-term, consequences to our Wild Game populations.

Biologically,
The Deer /Elk Farm Business is Disease Vector that has played a major role in the spread of CWD throughout the U.S and Canada. ( You will think differently about CWD when it shows up in YOUR backyard).
Elk that have escaped from western game farms ( Rocky Mountain X Red Deer) threaten the genetic purity of our wild Rocky Mountain Elk.

Economically,
Close to 100 Million dollars of YOUR money has been used control and research CWD alone !
Millions more of YOUR money to depopulate diseased farms (Colorado). And now with the disease aspect taken more serious, Millions more of YOUR money to establish stricter regulation and control of the "Shooter Farm" business.

I will voice my disapproval to the MDF on their acceptance of HIgh Fenced Hunting.
However, I will not throw out the Baby with the bath water. The MDF is a Great organization. Along with RMEF and The Wild Sheep Foundation WE provide the funding for habitat enhancement, acquisition in addition to funding wildlife research.

During a previous conversation with one of the Wyoming Game Commissioners he stated " without project funding provided by RMEF,MDF and The Wild Sheep Foundation we would be out of business"

That statement speaks volumes.

Just My "2 cents"

L.T.
 
Hello, my name is Joshua Coursey and I am the Chairman of the Muley Fanatic Chapter. My phone number is 307-389-7495 and I would welcome any of you to call me and discuss this matter as adults with fact finding and accurate information. Your opinions are exactly that... opinions. Nothing more, nothing less. Just like mine. But, since so much of this is directed at me in an indirect way, let me share some info with you... My opinion, and for those that don't bother to seek... a few facts that you may find to be pertinent information.

I must admit this is a little disheartening to see this conversation continue with such negativity. But before I continue, I need to set some facts straight... I just caught wind of this and I feel that your comments and concerns should be directed towards me since I am the one who calls the shots for the Chapter. To tarnish the works of our volunteers is more than disappointing, it is wrong by all accounts. Our volunteers have put an enormous effort in accomplishing a goal set forth a year ago. To be the top fundraising chapter in the entire MDF. We eclipsed the previous mark last Saturday night and are extremely grateful for the opportunities this will allow our Chapter to accomplish to improve habitat in Wyoming.

As far as the elk hunt, which started out as the original topic... it was fully donated by Thunder Mountain Elk Ranch out of Soda Springs, Idaho and I am grateful that Billy Rassmussen of TMER wanted to partner up with our Chapter and see what could be done to help us generate revenue. Mr. Rassmussen is a first class individual and is nothing short of a good American that I am proud to know and be associated with.

Secondly, it is amazing how rumors get out of hand. Shame on all of those who didn't bother to get their facts straight before letting their typing get out of hand.

Friendly reminder and food for thought... My Lord and Savior asked me to be a witness not a judge or lawyer...

FOR YOUR INFORMATION, as it deems necessary, let the record show... The elk hunt was purchased by a 71 year old gentleman from Rock Springs for $7,500 with no relation to any convicted poacher etc...

The afore mentioned purchase of a post containing the $11,100 was for the Wyoming Commissioner's Tag, which was brought in the live auction. It is unfortunate that everyone wants to point out the particulars of something non-related to the facts and turn this into something that is completely off the mark.

If you commented on this or was one to question if someone involved with the elk hunt tag or Commis's tag for that matter, was the relation to a convicted poacher, than let me be the first to encourage you to do the right thing and publicly post that you jumped the gun and allowed rumors to circulate with your adding of fuel to the fire. I won't be surprised if you don't, as I know your type.... I depsise charcter traits such as these. Traits like these are parasites and eat away the good efforts of genuine concern and pure organizations accountable to a standard you will never know.

But just so you know, since you don't bother to check your facts, the winning bidder of the Commissioner's tag, is not keeping the tag but rather checking into the legalities of running advertisments for all 12 year olds in the County to register free of charge to have a chance to win the highly coveted tag....

I digress, I am not here to defend anyone. I circulate with people of honor and integrity and do not find it necessary to defend those I associate with.

It appears to me that the original subject at hand is the ethics behind the "canned hunt". I am not here to say if this is correct or not. If you don't think this is correct, I imagine you wouldn't purchase the packaged hunt. So be it. There are others out there that do, that is the beauty of this country that I love so dearly. That is what makes the world go round. Really, is it an issue that you should be concerning yourself with? It is not the MDF that is partnering with this hunt, it is our chapter and we don't regret this decision as it was based on good intentions and was the right thing to do. Would we do it again? You bet in a heartbeat. So if this is going to keep you from supporting us in the future, glad to know where you stand.

Our involvement was to add to our efforts the potential of something that would generate revenue for our Chapter that in turn would be used to make a difference for mule deer and improve habitat in Wyoming. If you don't agree with this philosophy, that is fine as I will not lose sleep to your opinions. If you want to discuss this further to possibly enlighten me to your view, I welcome the conversation... please call me.

As far as the comment on the accountability of our projects...
I had to refrain a little because my first reaction was to call you a worthless puke and tell you things that would only disappoint myself and my own regard for the standard I hold myself accountable to. It appeared to me that you were judging us on our productivity and ability to get things done.

Fortunatley, I thought about my response and didn't let my lack of fact seeking skills distract me. Our projects in our short three years have included the placement of 22 Stop Poaching Signs, partial funding of the Wyoming Range Habitat Assessment $70,000(coined the highest priority by the Wy G&F), and three years running of the sponosrship of the firt All-Female Hunters Safety Course. Our projects this year include the placement of water guzzlers and continued support of the WRHA as well as forage efforts through partnerships throughout the state sponosred by MDF national.

I hope this info has helped with some. For those that it don't, I encourage you to call me and see if I can be of further assistance. If not, continue to jump to conclusions, post inaccurate info and let your words be backed by falsehood and demeaning efforts. On the other hand, we will let our work back up our actions and stay out of rumor mill.
 
After my lengthy and rather winded account of what this blog has turned into... I felt inclined to add one more thing.

As mentioned in my previous post, the winning bidder of the Commish's tag is looking into what options are available to him to do something with the tag, and possibly offer it to a youth or someone else in need. Now I know there are some legalities that need to be checked into and maybe this isn't even a vialbe option for the tag, but no matter what becomes of the tag, I can't help but think that some opinions and posts in this blog are causing hurt and damage to the bigger picture... I would like to encourage you think before you say something that is detrimental to the good works of a few business's that have been willing to get involved with a Chapter that is making progress and has chosen to get off the sidelines and get involved.

I am sure that everyone here has more productive things at hand than arguing or complaining of the items that our Chapter chose to have in their live auction.

It is just unfortunate that some of you can not see the bigger picture. It amazes me how many folks will point out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better... to be perfectly honest, it is quite sad and a sign of our turbulent times...

To those of you who posted such blasphemy... thank you for showing your true colors and quick rush to pass judgement on others... At least now I know where you stand and what you are made of...

Again, contact me directly if you would like to discuss any of this. I am not dodging any of this or where we stand on any of the decisions we have made or will make in the future. If you live nearby and want to get involved with this Chapter instead of just offering opinions, I welcome the opportunity to get your hands dirty and be a part of something that is real and is backed up with actions. If not, get something started where you live and do your part.
 
22 stop poaching signs? They will be nothing but targets for people to shoot out there. Also if someone wants to turn someone in for poaching it doesn't take signs to tell them to do it. Is there any statistics if even ONE of those signs has helped a poaching case?

Sponsoring an all Female hunters safety course? WTF. Is a regular hunter safety not good enough for them???? That seems like a bigger waste of money than over priced signs with a 1 800 number on it.

The guzzler thing is at best decent for where you guys are putting them. There is water everywhere out there and the animals had no problem finding it before. I do like how you are trying to help the habitat though. Thats where all the money should be going. Not starting a different hunter safety course for women.

Congrats on raising the most money for the MDF, at whatever cost. Morals be damned! you guys still pulled it off!

I'd like to see the "bigger picture" of the MDF but its hard to see something that isn't there.

Can't wait for the next year one! I heard BP wants to donate a drilling rig for your cause, will you guys be raffling that off too???
 
Whether you agree with MDF or not,it still beats sitting on your butt,hiding behind a keyboard while slamming those with better intentions in their little finger than you'll ever have in your entire body,WBHTN.Why did you come to the banquet if you hate MDF so bad?What have you ever done for any cause?My image of you is that of the guy at work that complains about everything.I think I hit that pretty close.What ignorance to assume that MDF and RMEF(how'd they get involved in thsi,anyway?)do not promote fair chase hunting.Your self-righteous tirade shows just how apathetic most hunters are.People like you will be the demise of hunting,NOT high fence hunts.Are crossbows okay?How about in-line muzzleloaders?Compound bows?The list goes on and on.Let's outlaw every kind of hunting that YOU don't think is right.I guess that wouldn't work,either.You'd just find something else to gripe about.
 
It's really a shame to read all this rubbish about such a tremendous effort put forth by the Muley Fanatic Chapter of the MDF. I would like to offer congrats to this chapter for being able to organize such a fun & exciting event that benefits OUR mule deer here in Wyoming. What this chapter accomplished last weekend is unprecedented. They raised a phenomenal amount of money that will DIRECTLY benefit the mule deer herds & habitat here in Wyoming.
The projects they have been able to contribute to are more than worth while; especially the all women hunter safety course. It takes a big man to see that not all women are comfortable in a situation where men are the teachers. They may feel intimidated, and decide that they don't even want to bother with taking the class, and just stay in the camper during that years hunting season. I fully support women shooting, & hunting,. I encourage all women to get involved in the sport, and if having an all women class is a way to get more women involved, then I'm all for it. Every man out there knows that there comes a point when a situation is just better handled by a woman, and I believe this is a prefect example. This evens the playing grounds out, and makes women comfortable with asking questions, and learning to the best of their ability. I can say that my wife is a better shot than I am, and I'm proud of her for that.
Rather than sit on here and bash other efforts, go out and make your own difference. That's all we're trying to do here, is make a difference so that our children may get to enjoy hunting once they are old enough.
Oh, and as for there being plenty of water, I don't know where WYBHTN lives, but most of Wyoming is in a serious drought situation and has been for over 5 years. The more water we can provide at easy access the better. Not only for the deer but for all of the animals who are suffering.
In closing, I'd like to say ?Way to go!? to Joshua Coursey, your chapters efforts are solid proof that there are worthy individuals out there who honestly want to make a difference in this world.
 
Nice try,Shaun,but people like WYBHTN will never understand what it's about.You could talk til you're blue in the face,and he'll find something else to argue about.In his first post,he talked about what an example we are setting by auctioning off the elk hunt,yet look at the example he now sets by bashing us.It doesn't matter what the intentions of the guy who bought the tag are.It only matters that WY doesn't agree with that style of hunting.It doesn't matter that the convicted poacher's dad spent more money on habitat improvements that night than WY'll spend in his entire life.He is a taker,not a giver.As for ChesterWyo-it is a sad state of affairs that it is all about money-I couldn't agree more.But what are you going to do?Nothing?Those days are over,guys!I would ask all you nay-sayers:What do you do??What have you done to make hunting better??Without groups like MDF,RMEF,SFW,NRA,etc.,hunting will become a thing of the past.Anyone who doesn't think so better pull their head out of the sand!The days of doing nothing and expecting your local G&F Dept to take care of your hunting are long gone!!
 
+100 nontypical thank you for saying what so many of us wanted to. I think wybhtn needs to ask himself one question, WHY BE HUNTIN? & STFU
 
Couldn't sit on the sidelines anymore. I have an opinion, but won't offer it here for the following reason. I think it is awesome to see so much passion, opinion....whatever you want to call it, that gets all your blood boiling. I only ask one thing......what can we do to channel this attitude (positive only, please)toward the anti-hunting, anti-gun b-llsh-it that will cut all our haeds off long before any of this banter back & forth over personal thoughts about what is the right way to hunt? All of us, myself included, need to look at the big picture.....hunting opportunity is shrinking every day....so slowly that nobody notices.

No intention to rub anyone wrong here...I just think we could argue a lot longer over high-fenced vs open range hunts if we actually could still hunt for Christ's sakes!!

No offense, just an opinion....
 
LAST EDITED ON Mar-11-09 AT 11:24PM (MST)[p]Wybhtn,


I just wanted to speak for those that need to hold there tongue.



YOU ARE A IDIOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




And let me spell it out so you can understand it. Y. O. U. A. R. E. A. N. I. D. I. O. T !!!


If you still dont understand, feel free to give me a call and I will explain it in Lamen terms. I will speak very slow so you wont miss anything.
 

Click-a-Pic ... Details & Bigger Photos
Back
Top Bottom