LAST EDITED ON Jan-18-11 AT 06:26PM (MST)[p]No no LBH, not 'myopic' at all...i fully understand your points, and i'm sure all those you use as examples can/will find a way to validate them...in a human sense, it is easy to do
i never said i don't 'understand' why folks knock off young dudes, i just don't 'agree' with it...no not at all. i am MUCH less concerned with one hunter's 'success', than i am in seeing a ram reach his full potential as a viable, contributing member of his rather rare and precious kind...again, inches are of no consequence in this context
i also understand that honest mistakes can be made...a good bud of mine drew his once in lifetime rocky tag a couple years ago. he is a very fit and able hunter, but the 12k+ altitude was eating him up pretty bad...after 7 days up there on the backpack expedition, he killed what he thought was a beautiful 9 year old ram...turns out the thing was 7, but had two pretty dark false annuli in what would appear to be likely places
he's not the kind to lament over what has already been done, and he was obviously thrilled with the ram in general, but he was also definitely disappointed at having been fooled, and pulling the trigger on that youngish dude...regardless of all them inches (179+) on his partially broomed horns
"Ah hell!" he told me, "...I probably wouldn't have shot him even if I had thought he was 8! I'd have kept suffering up there till the last of it, maybe try to kill one of them old, worn 170 type rams we seen before....hell, even eaten the tag if I'd had to!"
and in this philosophy, i supported him 100%
we'll just have to disagree on this one, Little Bighorn my friend
and yes, sorry for the 'jacking as well Predator!