What are the odds?

[Coues Archer]

Mann that really stinks.

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

Coues n sheep,

As a sheep hunter I sure you know that pictures never show the whole story.The problem was that when I took the last pictures up close,I really should not have been there. I was scared out of my mind.The last 10 feet I was sliding rocks out from under me as I climbed.And when you got to him there was no room for him to get by you if he would have come down.The next cliff was at least 100 foot.Also there could have been a rock slide at any time that would have taken you down.My brother shot a sheep two years in a very bad place and he recovered it.(HE WOULD NOT EVEN GO UP TO THIS ELK)

 

 

Were you able get right above that hole that bull fell in? I am sure that pics do not show off how bad it was. Bummer deal... It is every sheep hunters nightmare to have a ram fall in a bad spot that cannot be reached. A couple of years ago I was guiding a sheep hunt in 15D and heard that one of the other hunters had to get AZGF and some repelling help to retreive his ram. I assume you had the unit WM involved in your decision to not recover the animal. Sorry it turned out that way....

[Guest 300ultramag.]

couldnt u have just thrown a bottle jack in there... that IS a sad sight

[HEADACHE]

That is truly bad luck my friend.

I think I would have taken my rifle and blown his antler the rest of the way off and let it keep on falling to the bottom.

It always makes a person feel bad to shoot one and not be able to recover it.

But thats the nature of the beast sometimes. But hey ther are only about 56.3 million more elk out there so . . .

Don't lose sleep over it, let them get farther from the canyon before you shoot them I guess??

That is truly a rare loss, thanks for sharing the pictures and risking life and limb to get them.

 

 

[tjhunt2]

Great story and thanks for sharing.

 

TJ

[fatfootdoc]

it is bad to lose any animal , but to have it where you can touch it and still not get it, that is painful!! ag

[Noel Arnold]

Fatfoot,

I could have touched him,but I was to scared that he might come down on me.It was very hard because this was a limited oppuritunity hunt and the first couple days I was on to some 330 bulls and could not close the deal.This was at the end of the hunt and I had decided to go meat hunting.He was a small six point and I was not shooting him for the horns.My wife and I only eat meat and fish that we get,we do not buy store bought meat because of the hormones,antibiotics and etc.So you can be assured that if there was a safe way to get him then I would be eating elk meat tonight. Coues n sheep,

He had already fell off a 50 cliff to get were he is and that cliff is behind him as well,so if you would have rapelled down then there would have been no way to crank him straight up out of the crack.Also the picture does not show but he is down in the crack,so you would have had to rapell down head first to even get to touch his horns.The whole thing just really stunk!!!!

Noel

[hunt4horns]

Noel,

 

Just curious, did you see all of this develope or did it take you a while to figure out where the Bull disappeared to ?

[Tines]

Okay, don't laugh at this. But, if you were able to get a helicopter possibly to this bull, then you could obviously come in from the top, right? Why not cut his horns off from the top? If it's a long reach, maybe one of those tree-trimming chain saws on long extension poles (since everyone carries one of those in camp anyway like I do!!). That was a joke. But, an option maybe??? How about throwing boulders down at his antler to try and break it all loose? Sad to break his rack more but it's already busted and it's an option again, maybe????? Sorry for the ending. I'm sure you thought of everything though.....

 

 

(my buddy said shoot the antler loose, ha ha!!!!)

[Noel Arnold]

Hunt4horns,

When he fell off the first cliff,I could not see it because he went into a low spot. After walking over there it was very easy to follow the blood on the rocks as he slid off the edge.Tines,

Remember the only way to get to him from the top is either a helicopter or rappel guy.And either way they would have to go in head first hanging from a rope.Even if you could get a helicopter it would have been very dangerous and the same for a rappel guy.Also it was shot in the morning on a very long walk to the closest road.And it was a very hot hunt.Besides being to dangerous for any way of getting him,the chances of getting him out by that afternoon would have been slim.Which means by the next day his meat is spoiled.

[COUESAZ]

I say you did what you could. Win some you lose some. You will have a story to tell for ever and photos to go with it. You have seen photos of people finding Deer and Elk stuck in holes like that and always wonder "how did that elk get stuck in that hole." well now we all know so thanks for showing us.

[Zeke-BE]

Okay, don't laugh at this. But, if you were able to get a helicopter possibly to this bull, then you could obviously come in from the top, right? Why not cut his horns off from the top? If it's a long reach, maybe one of those tree-trimming chain saws on long extension poles (since everyone carries one of those in camp anyway like I do!!). That was a joke. But, an option maybe??? How about throwing boulders down at his antler to try and break it all loose? Sad to break his rack more but it's already busted and it's an option again, maybe????? Sorry for the ending. I'm sure you thought of everything though.....

 

 

(my buddy said shoot the antler loose, ha ha!!!!)

 

Helicopters can go all the way up to 1800 dollars an hour