Hey Padre, You're a pastor ? I can't believe you said that you don't go by the time clock when you have a good shot and there's still good enough light. To me that sounds a bit unethical. The regs call out a specific time to start and stop. Or am I wrong and that is just a guideline? Let me tell you. My buddy went through hell. 3 times to court in Ellensburg and 2000.00 for a lawyer to get the charges dropped. Unless you hav'nt read the regs. Hunting out of the scope of the legal hunting hours( Getting caught) carries a maximum penalty of 5000.00 fine and a year in jail. Gross misdeameanor. To me that is a very serious offense
I don't understand you're other point of, that you can tell we live in Washington, by the way we were critical of anothers hunters ethics or lack thereof? Bow hunting to me , is a priveledge, that can be taken away at any time. I think most people that made comments here are just as concerned as I am about keeping that right. Lead by example Padre and use your watch!

hey woody
I told you not to question my ethics obviously you payed no attention. If i was an unethical hunter i would still have an unpunched elk tag and probably wouldn't have missed a day of work which is $1000 for me, to look for an animal which I shot OVER AN HOUR BEFORE IT GOT DARK. Maybe you and i should sit down and you could tell me all about where the bear @#$# in the woods. Probably not huh. Out of all the animals that I've been involved in harvesting this is the only problem i've ever encountered, but I've heard plenty of stories of the big buck that joe blow rolled at 500yds with his 338 and got away. morel of the story don't post on this site about someone elses ethics that you don't know.

No, the moral of the story is don't go on the internet and shoot your mouth off about a kill when you haven't even found the animal yet. I'm sure losing an animal is a BAD feeling. It can and does happen. You did right by notching your tag.

Mill workers make $1000 per day?

Big Woody...

You can't tell we live in WA? You wouldn't be having these kind of posts if you lived in TX or WI where the hunters are more of the mainstream. We are so freaked out about PETA etc. because we live in the most liberal state of the US. Oregon being the first, WA second, CA third.

And of course I follow the regs! What fun is it to be poaching... Typically though the regs coincide pretty good with the light and dark of the day. If you bow hunt you typically can't make your shot unless there is fairly good light. Your buddy getting fined for shooting after 5 minutes is pretty stiff. I don't think all the WDFW officers would of handled that in the same way.

Stilly Bum, I agree with you 100%.
Glow Ball, Sorry if I hurt your feelings but my opinion is just what it is. If it sucks to you, then I guess that the way it is. Ones persons ethics, might not coincide with anothers. I'm glad you punched your tag.

Padre, I've never been to Texas. You're right about some wardens. Don't get caught late in the Quilomene. My buddy told me this warden working that area said he could fine him for coming out of the woods with his weapon after legal hunting time. I guess he got caught by the wrong guy.

GB,This may sound dumb but why would you leave an animal out overnight with out gutting it didnt this spoil the meat or at least give it a rank taste,I can understand it could be along night with a flash light but I think that is all part of the hunt.

Loomis,
It got down to 34 degrees that night so the meat would have been fine.

Okay so let me get this strait... This board is ONLY to tell about successful hunting trips. You may NOT tell about any unsuccess, you may not tell about a beautiful deer, duck, goose, or any other animal you saw... unless you killed it and tagged it of course. You cannot talk about the beauty of the land... unless there is spilled blood on it from an animal you killed.

Guys, bad things happen. Why dont you just be productive and use this as a warning for checking your accuracy before you take the shot?

You guys remind me of the freaking people i used to have to go to school with... And I'm only a sophomore. Maybe I'm to young to understand how immature the world really must be.

Curtis

It's fairly common to leave an animal, or part of an animal, in the field over night.

SB,leaving an animal out over night is not so bad when one has cleaned and properly taken care of.But when these guys leave an animal over night that has not been taken care of thats asking for trouble,I've been in the woods enough to see what they look like after just a few hours.In the camps that I hunt in you don't come back to camp unless you have found your kill and properly taken care of it,it does not matter what the time of day it is you search until its found.

Sorry about the loss of an animal Glowball. But the truth of the matter is that you should not have advertised it on the net. Just my thought.

I never leave camp to hunt without my AA maglight and (2) extra sets of batteries. You would be crazy to take an evening shot without the means to track after dark. I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. Might as well spend the time tracking and packing. Especially if I was confident it was a good shot.

Ethical shot selection, and being prepared to do what is required following the shot are a couple of the most important things to a succefull hunt.

RK 43

Well said. It hurts like heck when this happens and I want to believe that we will become better at what we do as we learn from others as well as our own experiences. Straight Shots!