Well they killed "Spidey" yesterday.
The famed Utah Bull.
Gov tag holder Denny Austad took the bull with Doyle Moss's outfit.

Over 500 inches of antler.
WOW!

Why are there so many people in that photo?

"team" effort?

Guided hunt?

What's a Gov tag and what does that entitle one too?

Sal--- I've heard varying remarks as to whether "Spidey" was a high fence Bull....do you know if that is true or not?

Still a dam respectable animal.

I'd hit it.

The guy in the photo buys what is known as a "Governor's tag" it allows you to hunt before and after everyone else in any unit you want.
Utah has the world's best trophy elk hunting right now.
Austad has bought the Utah Governors tag for sevearal years now.
He paid $170,000 this year.
Mossback guides employ probably over a dozen or more scouters looking for the biggest bull in the state, then they go hunt him.
Controversial, but they kill some of the biggest bulls in the world.
RvW, I don't believe he was from an elk farm despite the rumors.


http://mossback.com/Trophy_Gallery/trophy_gallery.html

Why so many guys in that picture is right. What a pile of ass holes. Thats not hunting, thats exploitation of a resource.

Utah sold out big time with the land owner set up anyway. Its bull [censored] and took hunting away for the avg Joe.

Idaho has kicked all these chumps out of the state. U.S.O ( United States Outfitters ) was actually trying to sue the state because they would not allow them to come in here and do that type of bull [censored] guiding for rich dudes.

I have a pretty strong opinion on this one. Sorry if its offensive to anyone. MiGHT AS WELL BEEN AN ELK FARM... It was locked up land with all kinds of dudes with no tags running around looking for something they already knew was there some old douch bag could shoot it.

Figure he did any packing ??? Me neither

No offense taken B-RUN.
Don't know what you mean by "land owner set up".

Every prime western state sells these Governor type tags for their "glamour species"

At Last year's Rocky Mountain Elk Convention they auctioned off some high profile tags.

Here is what they fetched...

1. $172,000 New Mexico Big Game Enhancement Package
Elk Foundation partner: New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Includes tags for elk, deer, pronghorn, oryx and ibex valid for the 2008-09 season on any open public lands or private lands with permission.

2. $125,000 Arizona Special Elk Permit
Elk Foundation partner: Arizona Game & Fish Department. Includes one bull elk tag valid for the 2008-09 season on any open public lands or private lands with permission.

3. $95,000 Nevada Wildlife Heritage Rocky Mountain Elk Tag
Elk Foundation partner: Nevada Department of Wildlife. Includes one bull elk tag valid for the 2008 season on any open public lands or private lands with permission.

4. $90,000 New Mexico Special Elk Permit
Elk Foundation partner: New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Includes one bull elk tag valid for the 2008-09 season on any open public lands or private lands with permission.

5. $71,000 New Mexico Special Deer Permit
Elk Foundation partner: New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Includes one deer tag valid for the 2008-09 season on any open public lands or private lands with permission.

6. $65,000 Washington Special Eastside Elk Permit
Elk Foundation partner: Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. Includes one bull elk tag valid for the 2008 season on any open lands in eastern Washington.


Utah has probably the tightest allotment of elk tags in the west.

Every guy that wants a monster bull applies for a tag every year, myself included.

The success of Utah's trophy elk is absolutley phenomenal.

It used to be a big deal to shoot ANY six point bull in Utah, now it is hands down the best trophy bull state in the west.

Numerous 400" bulls are taken each year.

Certainly they could increase the tags by the hundreds and let "the average Joe" hunt his raghorn bulls again, but there are general units just for that very reason.

I take a lot more pride in my DIY hunts and find success therein much more rewarding, but if I had the resources of the guys that buy these tags, I would probably be doing the same thing to some degree.

bowsite has some great threads regarding the spidey hunt/controversy. Word is that this guy hunted over 25 days before getting his shot at this bull. Yes, they knew the elk was there/somewhere, yes, he had a team of scouts helping him. Still, sounds like he hunted his as off for an awesome animal.

Here is what I am talking about...

Land owner gets X amount of tags because he owns the land. This is because they figure he has to let the wild animals eat "his" food so he should get to shoot a few if he wants.

In most states, he is able to sell those tags to the highest bidder.. which is [censored]. Wild game belongs to the public.. not Joe rancher.

In the end, land is locked up by the owner. In addition, huge parcels of land have been bought up simply for the tags they are eligible for.

400 class bulls are not that big of a deal anymore. The thing they most always have in common is that they are shot on privet lands.. by rich dudes. Utah is probably the worst / best example.

Its like the bass bubba's who get all creamy when they watch Bill Dance pull yet another 7 lb bass out of that same lame ass farm pond he has been fishing in for the last 15 years... B.F.D

I have access to a good bit of land because of the old school hand shake and respect. Does not hurt to have been raised in a ranching family as well, but can tell ya that when hunting is for sale, its not real real hunting anymore.

Not being too familiar with guided hunts, I was under the impression that in Alaska, and maybe parts of Canada, that guides "own", "lease", or are "allotted" and area by the government. How is this different?

Being an "average Joe" I can't afford one of those tags. But, if the whole cost of that tag went to the Agency for elk management, it would sure take a lot of regular tags to make up the difference.

Resource management costs, and the state's are certainly not stepping up to the plate with more general fund money. More and more, it is on the backs and pocketbooks of the users.

[quote=B-RUN STEELY] Here is what I am talking about...

Land owner gets X amount of tags because he owns the land. This is because they figure he has to let the wild animals eat "his" food so he should get to shoot a few if he wants.

In most states, he is able to sell those tags to the highest bidder.. which is [censored]. Wild game belongs to the public.. not Joe rancher.

[/quote

I understand landowner tags.
The way you singled out Utah, made me think you were referring to something else.

The way I see it, the entire world revolves around money.
I don't like it either, but that's the way it is.
If the ranchers and landowners couldn't get big money for these tags and hunts, they would probably subdivide and build "rocky mountain retreats" for upper income suburbanites.

I'd rather see it kept wild even though I can't afford to play the game.

There are LOTS of public land units across the west where the average guy can hunt trophy sized game if he plays the lottery draws and builds his points.

I'm doing it next week in Wyoming.

Hey look! It only took six guides to get that one. Harvesting the biggest, baddest, SOB to ever walk the mountain side is bad business in my mind. That guy was in his prime and cut down during it. Just about how many more big assed elk he could have made. Oh well, slap him on the wall with the others. Don't get me wrong. If I saw him. I would shoot him too. Just my hypocritical rant because I have never seen anything like that ever. Not even in a zoo.

You both have valid points, BTW. One arguement doesn't negate the other.

After looking at the photos of this magnificent brood stock bull and the guy that shot it my better half said, "I bet it's really really small and doesn't work anymore." I about fell outa my chair laughing so hard....

I don't have a problem with the guide business, and ultimately that's what this is...the Mossback crew just keeps more guys in the mountains looking for special bulls than other outfits, and they are damn good at it. Is it really that different than a 1x1 guided hunt? Or a 1x1 fishing trip? Any way you slice it, you're still paying for someone else's knowledge. Not packing out the bull? Is that like not filleting your catch on a charter? Or what if you use horses to pack out your bull?

The landowner deal is a bit different. I don't know how Utah does it. If they just give landowners tags because the elk munch on their grass, that doesn't seem right. In New Mexico, to get a tag the landowner has to allow the public on his ranch. That's a pretty cool way to do it. I took full advantange of that access when I had a NM tag.

Even though I don't have strong feelings about the way this bull was taken, no question I was rooting for him to survive. He's been widely talked about/publicized all year. To me, pretty amazing he survived this long with all those professionals out there looking for him. I think that's awesome. He probably lasted long enough into the breeding season this year to pass his genes on one more time. Well done.

the guy with the WA. governors tag this year was Dan Agnew from Vancouver. The bull is a 9x10, with a green score of 450" plus. It will be the new WA state record. It was shot in the blues on 3 Sept. I have pics, but there too big to post.

another monster bull. bought and paid for.

Just another example of the rules not applying to someone with enough cash. Nice bull, but the politics and improvised regulation associated with these Governers Tags makes me sick.

Do I have to hear again, "It's their land and they can do whatever they want with it."

BAAAARRRRFFFFFFFFFFFFF

come on, chicken...

It is odd to see such a animal. I never had a clue there was a 500+ inch animal on public land, I thought those were a rare find even in high fenced areas...

Although I would have loved to have harvested an animal of that sort, I'd prefer to do it alone or with a buddy. Not have someone lead me by leash to it... That bugs me...

Keith <>

In this aspect you are wrong.. That bull was taken on public land as are most of the big bulls in UTAH, Oregon, and many other western states. Its called good management, you can buy land owner tags in many states and I have little issue with them because when you see how the general public treats our NF/BLM lands I wouldn't want the vast majority of these dickweeds on my property either. So heres your 2 options, one the ranchers complain complain complain until the state puts out too many tags and lowers the herd numbers drastically, or the elk and deer recieve a value are protected. In utah there are CMWU hunts that allow the gnereal public to hunt the ranches that tags are sold on. While the Idea of the Gov tag is hard to swallow due to jealousy that you don't have the cash, the value put back into AH&E benefits all hunters.

As for USO, they are the lowest of the low IMHO. Mossback is a much classier operation from what I understand, and they are the best at what they do. No different than a really top shelf fishing guide IMHO.