Illegal Elk Kills

[Nuclearcricket]

I was at a local rifle range yesterday and was talking with some folks there and was told of this incident. I find it very disturbing what some people will do in this day and age. 3 people have been charged with illegaly killing some elk here in PA. One of which would have been the 3rd largest elk on record.
Here is a link to a description of the incident and a picture of the racks.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.s...er_re.html
There is a sustainable elk herd here in PA and they do sell some permits to harvest some each year. Its just a shame that there are individuals out there that do such disgusting things like this. Its very important that all of us maintain vigilance to help to prevent acts like this from happening, or to help catch those individuals that do such things.
Sam

[Stephen Borud]

That's a shame. That one bull is super nice.

Stephen

[Nuclearcricket]

Yes it was. I know it may sound funny or odd to some but we do have some pretty nice Elk here in PA. There are areas where they are wild and have little human contact, there are other areas, namely in and around Benezette, where they almost reach pest status. It is not unusual to see them in peoples yards or looking in kitchen windows. I had one resident tell me a story of his dog chasing an elk around near the house till the elk got tired of being chased and then it turned around and chased the dog for a while. And in case you may be wondering, there is NO hunting of elk in the areas where they are close to homes and human contact.
I don't know how many tags they put out each year but it is very limited and on a lottery basis. They are truly wonderful to see and for someone to destroy such an animal just to sell the antlers on Ebay is just horrible.
Now if an elk was shot,cleaned and cut up to feed several needy families I could understand that, to an extent as there are a lot of economically distressed families in this part of the state but to destroy something like this just for the horns is just a total waste. I have no sympathy for these men or for their families, they deserve all the punishment they get and hope they continue to pay for their acts for the rest of their lives.
Sam

[Kurt]

We had a rash of white tail head hunters around this part several years ago. They just took everything from the front quarter with a saw and left the rest lay. They got caught.
We had one guy kill livestock and quarter them with a chainsaw. When the DNR caught him in the act the guy said I thought it was a Squirrel and the warden said "man that squirrel must have made a bunch of noise falling through the limbs"

[Nuclearcricket]

I wouldn't be so worried about the noise of it falling through the limbs, I just want to know how the hell it got up the tree in the first place.
Sam

[Cody Smith]

Reminds me of the time we were packed in way back hunting elk. I came upon a nice little meadow and thought it looked like a good place for a rest. I left the packs on the string and let them graze for a little while out in this meadow. I had just laid down and put my hat over my eyes when BOOM! I hear a rifle and real close. I jump up just in time to see one of my better mules fall over. Here come this fella on the run across the meadow a shoutin "that's my elk, that's mine!!" We got to the dead mule about the same time and I could see he was real worked up. He racks another shell in the chamber and points it at me. I through my hands in the air and he says, 'this here is MY elk!' I said, "ok mister, just let get my saddle off!!"


I fell for that story the first time I worked as a guide...still smile when I think about it...