Ohio hunter bags rare elk

[The Straight Story]

Ohio hunter bags rare elk


MARYSVILLE, Ohio, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- An Ohio hunter was hunting for deer when he shot and killed an elk, which are not native to the state, an Ohio wildlife officer says.

State wildlife officer Christopher Rice said Todd Tomlin, an experienced hunter, bagged a bull elk near the Logan-Champaign county line during the state's deer gun season, The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reported Saturday.

Tomlin, 45, said he was tracking a trio of does Monday morning, when he noticed something brown with a big set of antlers. He immediately fired on the animal with his 12-gauge shotgun and hit his mark.

"It was trotting, its head up, like it had been spooked," Tomlin said. "I had just a split second to fire."

http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2009/12/05/Ohio-hunter-bags-rare-elk/UPI-51541260043390/

[FSogol]

1. Rudolph, Nooooo. n/t

[timeforpeace]

2. Or "Defenseless, magnificent animal slaughtered for no reason"

[BrklynLiberal]

5. Accurate description.

[Craftsman]

9. For food, good shot

I hope to get to hunt elk in a few years.

[MyNameGoesHere]

111. Good shot?

Maybe. A hunter identifies the target, knows his surroundings, and takes a shot on game that is in season. This guy shot at "something brown with antlers". As far as i know elk is not in season in Ohio. Good shot? Dumb hunter that made a "good shot" is more like it. Not the type of clown i want within a few miles of me in the woods.

[TheMightyFavog]

118. This guy broke the second cardinal rule of safe firearms operation

Know your target, and what is beyond. Those three were drilled into me at hunter safety class when I was in 8th grade.

1. Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction
2. Know your target and what is beoynd
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire.

[Hoopla Phil]

34. No this was a real story, not a parody.

[AndrewP]

89. Yep.

[Robb]

116. "...That was likely set to be slaughtered anyhow."

Reading the article, it suggests the elk was an escapee from an elk farm. Raised for meat. There appear to be several in that general area of Ohio. :shrug:

[Lorien]

122. I once heard a hunter on NPR describe killing large animals as "Better

than the best sexual experience". Killing for food? Sounds like "killing to get off" is more often the case. :grr:

[dysfunctional press]

125. venison is a pretty good reason.

nt

[sharp_stick]

3. Is it not illegal in Ohio

to kill something that you don't have a license for? I would think that the "experienced" putz known as Todd Tomlin fucked up pretty royally and shot at the first thing that moved. Some experience there, at least it wasn't another hunter.

[The Straight Story]

4. He was allowed to keep it (nt)

[BrklynLiberal]

6. Too bad that is not enough to restore its life...

[Craftsman]

11. Elk burgers are delicious with garlic and onions.

[cherokeeprogressive]

49. While I agree that elk is tasty, I have no respect for a hunter who shoots at something he hasn't

had time to identify. Mistaking an elk for a deer would be the type of mistake that someone with no business shouldering a rifle would make.

I wouldn't hunt with him if he paid me.

[notadmblnd]

37. especially if it's only doe season

shooting anything with horns would be illegal.

[Robb]

114. Neither deer, nor elk, have "horns."

They have antlers. The difference being antlers are shed seasonally, and horns are permanent fixtures.

[TheCowsCameHome]

7. So now there are no elk in Ohio.

[Hoopla Phil]

35. That'll teach them to trespass.

[Bozita]

8. Bull elk weigh in at about 700 lb. ... He thought it was a deer?

[Craftsman]

12. They are genetically kissing cousins

[arcadian]

74. Any "outdoors man" that can't tell an elk from a deer

Is no outdoorsman.

[old mark]

20. ...Like that brown and white spotted deer I shot last week-there was

a whole field full of them.

Some farmer guy was jumping all over the place, but I couldn't understand what he was talking about.

mark

[Fla_Democrat]

10. Good for him

:thumbsup:

[Hoopla Phil]

36. +1

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[proteus_lives]

31. What an ugly person you are.

[11 Bravo]

52. But with an exceedingly apt user name.

[Thickasabrick]

57. No - hunters are ugly and cruel and I'm only wishing the same end

they visit upon their innocent victims.

[proteus_lives]

67. Not really.

He did nothing wrong or immoral. Humans have been hunting since before we were sapiens.

Hunters don't shoot to wound or suffer. They shoot to kill. You're the one who wants to inflict pain and gore. I think you're worse thing the misguided image you claim to despise.

[Thickasabrick]

68. Hunters do it for "sport". To make slaughtering innocent animals

a game is sick and disgusting and I would have no pity for a hunter who is killed by his prey. I see it as the ultimate karma.

[C_Lawyer09]

82. The last time I deer hunted

I hunted in an area with a large over population of white tail. I spent twelve dollars for gas, six dollars for food and about ten bucks on on twenty 30.06 shells. My family had 80 lbs. of venison, which accounted for probably three quarters of our meat consumption for the year.

[Ghost in the Machine]

88. So.. you're a devout vegan?? n/t

[Hoopla Phil]

95. Would you see it as 'karma' for anyone that eats a burger to be eaten by a cow?

Seriously, your just funnen ain't ya?

[knightinwhitesatin]

124. What if Tuna

had secret places where they had human sushi.................

[Hoopla Phil]

126. Then we nuke the site from orbit.

[proteus_lives]

128. It's the only way to be sure.

[Enthusiast]

110. Thick is right. nt

[Hoopla Phil]

94. Ha Ha Ha! Your just trying to stir the pot right?

[Hoopla Phil]

38. What a forward thinking wish to have. Gruesome death to another.

[Shell Beau]

72. Well that is certainly harsh.

I personally hate hunting, but I would never wish that on anyone.

[Thickasabrick]

80. Yes, I admit I typed that in anger after reading the story and it was

a bit harsh. I've had this anger towards hunters my whole life and the only thing that makes me feel better is thinking about their prey somehow getting even. It helps me cope.

[Robb]

117. You should seek professional help. nt

[Withywindle]

90. Well, I don't wish death on hunters, but...

I also think, whatever you enjoy, you don't get to call it a "sport" unless the odds are kind of roughly vaguely even for both teams.

Hunting deer with a rifle: NOT a sport. (Although it might well be legitimate food-gathering, I'm OK with that if the person really needs the food and plans to use it.)

Hunting grizzly bears armed only with a sword: OK, now THAT could be a sport!

And if the human loses...well, duh, if it's a sport, obviously someone has to lose. It's only fair if the risk is equal, so I see no reason to act like it's a "tragedy." It's just a sports loss. It's like the winning quarterback thanking Jesus for the victory, does that mean Jesus hates the other team? No, it's just the luck of the draw. If you want to call it a sport, you have to accept that possiblity!

[Shell Beau]

91. I certainly agree that hunting is pretty unfair these days for the animal.

I can see bow-hunting being harder, but all the guns with scopes, etc., makes it pretty easy for the hunter. I grew up around hunting, but I always hated. Still, I wish no ill-will on hunters.

[Withywindle]

93. My whole point is that, if you're going to call it a "sport," then it should, in theory,

be an equal meeting on a field.

If it's really a "sport," if the hunter kills the animal, I won't cry, and if the animal kills the hunter, I won't cry.

They both go onto the field understanding this is a possibility, right?

And if not, it's not a "sport" because it's inherently inbalanced.

I support hunting as a "sport" only if it's BALANCED and the risk is equal to both parties.

[Enthusiast]

99. When my eyesight deteriorated

I found it necessary to use a scope. Would you want someone to shoot at deer without a scope if their eyesight is compromised?

[Enthusiast]

98. You don't decide anything for me.

I will define hunting anyway I like.

[TheMightyFavog]

121. You don't give whitetail deerl enogh credit.

They have superior senses, and at least around here, they know that when the days grow shorter and colder, once the distant banging and popping sounds begin, to make themeselves scarce during the daylight hours.

Once walked right past a bedded own deer while hunting. Couldn't have been more than a few meters away. It knew enough not to take off running until I had passed by. By the time I wheeled around, It was gone.

Then there was the incident that made me give up hunting out of frustration. I was relieving myself on a convinenet tree, and had laid my rifle against a neighboring tree. Just as I'm finishing, a 4 pointer walks by no more than 25 meters away. Easy shot, had I had my rifle on me. By the time I had grabbed my rifle and shouldered it, he was gone. I swear I could hear that deer laughing.

[grilled onions]

14. Trophies

I wish all trophies were of the plastic variety. To see a huge head/rack on a wall does not represent life as it does death.

[verges]

96. You got something

against brass and marble? :hi:

[panader0]

15. You hunt deer with a 12 gauge?

That's a new one to me.

[ET Awful]

16. I was just thinking that . . . who the hell hunts deer with a 12-gauge?

I mean . . . I'm far more likely to consider meat that was hunted edible than I am meat that was factory farmed (personally I don't eat either), but . .

WTF?

I can't imaging a 12 gauge being an efficient means of hunting anything but birds unless you're at point blank range.

[Fla_Democrat]

18. It's called "buckshot" for a reason

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun_shell#Buckshot


:smoke:

[ET Awful]

25. I don't know why I didn't figure that out :). I should have known that.

Ah well, still seems to me that a larger caliber rifle would do a better job. . . but what do I know. I shoot photographs, not projectiles :)

[NNN0LHI]

28. Deer slugs are used

Larger calibre rifle bullets travel for miles making them more dangerous to the local citizenry. Deer slugs have a limited range.

Don

[Ghost in the Machine]

47. Some states have "shotgun only" laws for deer hunting...

The rounds are much safer, don't go anywhere near as far as a high powered rifle does... whether it goes through its target or misses..


:hi:

[Enthusiast]

102. Ohio considers buckshot

an inhumane method of harvesting deer and I agree. Our deer are huge compared to Florida's so they require a substantial piece of lead.

[Fla_Democrat]

127. Florida has no problem with it

Neither do I, at least here. I've never taken game in Ohio, so will yield to their and your assessment of it. :shrug:

Around here, buckshot is as appropiate for harvesting deer as bird-shot is for harvesting fowl. Hmm, starting to see a pattern in the naming of the shells. :smoke:

[Enthusiast]

131. In the South traditions are different.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

The trees have often been harvested several times, this favors the production of brushy growth. And much of U.S. swampland is found in the South, where undergrowth is thick. These conditions fostered deer hunting with hounds and quick shooting with buckshot. A single projectile would quickly deflect anyway. Much of the Northern forested land is mature growth where shots, although short range, are generally longer than in states like Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

[slampoet]

29. You use a Slug Barrel on a 12 gauge to hunt large game. A slug is a large bullet in a shotgun shell.

The advantage is that the force of the Slug is delivered to the target and not through the target and out the other side, (In theory).

Also a shotgun slug is less likely to go a long distance and hit someone if you miss.

[doc03]

33. In the state of Ohio you must use a shotgun with a single

projectile, a handgun or a muzzle-loader in gun season. Buckshot is strictly prohibited!

[doc03]

40. A 12 ga. shotgun with a rifled slug would stop an elephant

at close range. It's the law in Ohio the state is to heavily populated and much of it is flatland a rifle would be too dangerous.

[Toots]

133. Why would the slug be rifled, the shotgun isn't?

Where I live it is illegal to hunt anything but fowl with a shotgun. They are not accurate and the chance of wounding an animal and then not being able to retrieve it are too great.

[bvar22]

92. In thick brush at close range (most of The South),

12 gauge is frequently used for Deer, and even Bear.

It would be useless in the open lands of The West unless one was a very good stalker.

[Enthusiast]

101. Never even heard of a "deer slug"? nt

[postulater]

19. Most counties in Wisconsin

require a 12 gauge slug rather than a rifle for safety. The slug doesn't travel as far. Most deer are taken at less than 100 yards so they are pretty accurate within that range. And a slug cuts through brush better without deflecting like a rifle bullet would. A good shot will drop the deer in its' tracks.

Northern counties where there are fewer people allow rifles.

At least that's how it was last time I shot a deer thirty years ago or so.

[roamer65]

55. Delete.

[roamer65]

63. Same for Michigan.

Rifles are allowed in the UP and select counties of the northern Lower Peninisula.

[bbinacan]

21. May have used a slug

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun_slug

[aikoaiko]

23. I think some states actually require a shotgun when deer hunting

:shrug:

[reformedrethug]

26. Obviously you have never talked to a hunter

In Ohio there are several different "deer seasons". You have muzzle loader, bow, rifle, and shotgun. You use a slug in the 12 ga. when your hunting with that caliber of shotgun, and I am GLAD that this year was a record year as that means my chances of hitting one are just a little bit lower on my daily drive into work every day.

[doc03]

48. You absolutely can't use a modern rifle for deer in Ohio, you can

use a handgun, shotgun with single projectile or a single shot muzzle loading rifle during gun season. We also have a bow season where bow and arrow or a crossbow can be used. We have a state wide muzzle loader season. We also have a couple hunting areas that have an early muzzle loader only season.

[Viking12]

27. It is quite common. In some areas, that's all you can use. Slugs.

[notadmblnd]

43. There are two types of shot for a shot gun

there are the ones where the cartridge is full of BB's, used for hunting birds and small animals and the other is called a slug, which is a regular empty cartridge and a bullet at the end.

My 16 yr old schooled me on this the other night. He' recently taken hunter's safety and gone doe hunting twice so far this year. He used a shotgun.

[C_Lawyer09]

83. Many areas mandate 12 guage slugs

for there much shortened travel than a centerfire bullet, especially areas that have a condensed population.

[Enthusiast]

100. What state are you from?

In the interest of having shorter distance projectiles, Ohio has always mandated either shot guns or muzzle loaders, both short distance weapons. Ohio is simply too populated to allow high powered rifles because the projectiles would carry too far endangering citizens in surrounding communities.

[Starckers]

107. Shotgunning

In Ohio it is illegal to use a rifle to hunt with unless it is
a black powder rifle during season.  Shotguns with slugs or
buckshot are allowed.  It is because a rifle shot could go too
far in the area of homes.  A slug will not travel nearly as
far as a rifled bullet.  Safety first.  That is why you get
these types of snap shots, you have to get close in dense
woods.  Sounds like a good shot.  I believe if there is not a
season listed than you could shoot the elk, regardless.  There
are European doves flying now in the US and since there is no
season listed, fire away and bag as many as you can get!! 

[Botany]

119. yes in Ohio we hunt w/ shotguns ..... being flat and what not rifles are

a bad idea ..... most shots are @ close range. BTW we use slugs not shot.



I am going out at noon today.

[BrklynLiberal]

17. made me think of this....

[proteus_lives]

32. Don't do much hunting in the big city huh?

If you did then you understand how ignorant the comparison is.

[Enthusiast]

103. ? I can't see why.

There is hunting and then there is killing. Shooting wolves from aircraft is simply killing. Don't equate all hunters with Sarah Palin. Why the insult?

[Hestia]

22. At least he & his family aren't eating Pharma meats. It's much healthier to eat venison

[Cleita]

24. That may have been true a hundred years ago, but today most of

the streams and waterways the wildlife drink at are polluted with chemicals from mining and logging. Arsenic and mercury are prominent. Bon appetit!

[Tim01]

39. They don't drink much.

I get your point, but deer get almost all of their water from the plants they eat.

[TheCowsCameHome]

60. ...until they're back at the lodge.

:rofl:

Sorry, couldn't resist that......

[Cleita]

86. And the plants grow in the soil and are watered by......n/t

[Vinnie From Indy]

30. "he noticed SOMETHING ... He immediately fired ..."

Tomlin added, "Ya' know in the split second that I took to react to the something brown with a big set of antlers, I think I got a glimpse of the bull elk in all it's majesty. Or, at least I think I did. It did all happened so fast you know."

Tomlin then regaled the reporters gathered with similar tales of split second shooting. He shot the last bald eagle in the county last year when he was turkey hunting and he shot the only known passenger pigeon in the US two years ago when duck hunting. Tomlin offered, "Shootin' that extinct bird a few years back was something I never thought I could top until today! Ya know they taste just like chicken." Tomlin told reporters that he can't wait to go hunting for wild pigs in some Manatee preserve down in Florida next year. He has heard some of them pigs are quite good swimmers.

[Hoopla Phil]

41. Ever hear of a "fish story"? Hunters' stories are not much different.

[Tim01]

42. Even though I don't agree with you at all,

that's pretty damn funny.:rofl:

[Vinnie From Indy]

44. cheers!

[Ghost in the Machine]

53. "he noticed something brown with a big set of antlers."

Did you leave that part out on purpose? Normally, deer are the only "antlered" species in Ohio... one would normally think it was a buck. You don't always see the whole deer when you're hunting, most times you catch a glimpse of it, then wait for it to step out from behind a tree or bush. You've already seen body and antlers.. you're not expecting an elk because they normally are found there... you may think it's a huge non-typical buck.. a record book buck.. you take your shot when you have a chance...


I did, however, find and enjoy the humor in your post and understand it for what it was meant to be...


Peace,

Ghost

[-..__...]

45. The newspaper headline is misleading.

Makes it sound like the hunter shot and killed an endangered or "rare" species of elk.

[The Straight Story]

46. In Ohio, all species are rare

;) But yeah it is a poor headline, cleared up in the article though.

[Enthusiast]

104. Not true.

"In Ohio, all species are rare." Far from the truth. If you lived here you would have a deer in your grill within a couple of years of driving. It happens to everyone. And other small mammals are extremely abundant. Beaver, raccoon, coyote, skunks, woodchucks, rabbits and opossums are especially numerous.

[theHandpuppet]

132. In SE Ohio we have plenty of bears, wild turkey and wild hogs as well

The wild hogs are causing a lot of devastation.

[cherokeeprogressive]

50. I was taught that you don't even put your finger inside the trigger guard until you've identified

what it is you're intending to shoot at.

"He immediately fired..." "I had just a split second to fire."

This guy is a danger to himself and all around him if he's such a hair-trigger hunter.

I have no respect for anyone who calls himself a "hunter" and can't tell the difference between a deer and an elk.

[MerryBlooms]

54. That was my first reaction.

The guy sounds incompetent.

[TheCowsCameHome]

59. We know what Todd Tomlin's first reaction was.

KA-BLAM!

[elocs]

51. From the movie "Starman" where he revives the dead deer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-eAxVs7LCU

From memory:

Starman: "Do deer eat people?"
Jenny: "No."
Starman: "Do people eat people?"
Jenny: "No, what do you think we are?"
Starman: "I think you are a very primitive species."

And so we are, and so we are.

[misanthrope]

129. I like the similar scene in "Powder" better...

...because he "gives" the deer's terror and pain to the hunter.

[roamer65]

56. He should be charged, tried for and convicted of poaching.

It wasn't a deer, therefore should have been left alone. A deer license is ONLY for deer and it is the responsibility of the hunter to make correct identification.
In Michigan, elk hunting licenses are allocated by a special lottery drawing. Penalties for poaching elk are severe. In Michigan, his ass would be grass and the state of Michigan would be the lawnmower.

[lynne]

69. Not hardly. There are no elk laws on the books in Ohio so it's not illegal to shoot them -

- as he didn't need a license for elk. From the linked article:

"Rice said the elk, which is estimated to weigh between 350 and 400 pounds after being dressed out, likely escaped from a pen or farm after being transported into the state.

The Dispatch said Tomlin was allowed to keep the animal and is having its body processed for meat."

Rice is the state wildlife officer. Given that the Tomlin is allowed to keep his kill, it's obvious that no laws were broken.

[roamer65]

73. Correct response for the hunter would have been to identify it, realize it wasn't a deer...

and filed a sighting report with Ohio's natural resources department. That would have been the respectful, ethical way to handle the situation. I used to deer hunt in MI and shot a buck in 1990 or so. I first identified it as a deer, made a double check for horns then shot. I then gave the venison to a needy family.

Sounds like Ohio's natural resources laws are screwed up, just like their elections.

[Enthusiast]

105. Ohio has no regulations

regarding Elk because according to the ODNR Elk don't exist as a huntable population. The guy shot the ONLY elk outside an enclosure.

[Starckers]

109. Deer license.

No such thing.  It is a hunting license.  You can shoot feral
hogs anytime without a license.

[SidDithers]

58. "It's coming right for us!!"...

Sid

[Withywindle]

61. WOW! A RARE ANIMAL I'VE NEVER SEEN AROUND HERE BEFORE! I MUST KILL IT!

How very 19th century. I hope he's proud.

[Synicus Maximus]

62. Maybe he thought he was in danger. A woman was killed by

an elk in Sweden just last week.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/25788/

[SallyMander]

64. I'm a wildlife geneticist in Ohio

Wonder if i'll be getting a sample here in a few days...

[The Straight Story]

65. Sounds like an awesome job

What part of Ohio are you in? I am in Columbus.

[SallyMander]

70. Columbus also!

Hey neighbor! :hi:

[The Straight Story]

81. We should hook up for drinks sometime

Would be nice to hook up with others from du!

[roamer65]

66. Would not surprise me if its one of our elk who decided to migrate south.

Michigan elk hunting is allowed only in the northern Lower Peninsula by very a select lottery system. Once elk leave this area they are fairly safe...until and if they cross into Ohio...LOL.

...and all of the good food is south of the northern Lower Peninsula. Corn, oats, alfalfa, navy beans, soybeans, etc.

We are even starting to get wolverines and bald eagles back into the mid-section of the Lower Peninsula.

If you get a sample, you should contact the MI DNR to see if it is a genetic match with our population.

[SallyMander]

71. That's what i was thinking

If i do get a sample, it'll be because there's interest in where it came from. I'm working on a similar project on black bears, to see if the few we have here in Ohio are coming in from WV or PA. There is good cooperation among the various DNRs so i'll be getting bear samples from those other states to compare with our samples.

It would be cool to see a wolverine in the wild!

:hi:

[lynne]

75. The linked article states -

"Rice said the elk, which is estimated to weigh between 350 and 400 pounds after being dressed out, likely escaped from a pen or farm after being transported into the state."

They seem to think it was brought into the state and didn't migrate there of its own volition.

[Vinnie From Indy]

78. So, this guy shot somebody's pet?

The hunter, Mr. Tomlin probably thought all elk had collars.

[lynne]

84. Sounds like lack of elk leash laws at fault here -

- let your pet run wild and it could be someones dinner.

[Robb]

115. It was almost certainly being raised for food.

There are elk farms, where elk are raised as if they were cows and slaughtered.

I don't know about Ohio, but in Colorado it's illegal to sell hunted wild game meat. Restaurants that want to serve elk and venison must buy it from farms where the animals were raised and slaughtered under a bunch of health code regulations.

[Vinnie From Indy]

76. You had better hope Mr. Tomlin isn't out hunting

If so, you can be sure that Ol' "Quickdraw McGraw" Tomlin will shoot the first wolverine to repopulate Ohio thinking it to be a large squirrel or something.

[roamer65]

79. I hope it is one of ours...

that would mean the population is spreading.

Info on our elk population:

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10363_10856_10893---,00.html

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/Elk_Guide_09_web_273654_7.pdf

The wolverine was found near my old hometown in mid-Michigan. It generated quite a sensation. I don't know if they have yet figured out how it got there. Could be migration, or maybe trapped on a chunk of ice that floated over from the Canadian side of Lake Huron....who knows.

[SallyMander]

97. Thanks for the links

If the whole MI population is descended from only 7 animals released within the last century, they'll all be genetically pretty similar. It would be relatively easy to tell if this individual was from that population, or an escaped captive.

I wonder if anyone at Michigan DNR is looking at the genetics of that wolverine -- would be interesting! Most of my work is with amphibians, so i am not as familiar with mammal work.

[Enthusiast]

112. If it is in Ohio

it is no longer one of "your's".

[LostInAnomie]

77. That's what I hate about hunters.

"...when he noticed something brown with a big set of antlers. He immediately fired on the animal with his 12-gauge shotgun and hit his mark."

Instead of waiting to take a careful look at what he was shooting at, this dumb shit just decided to risk it and shoot at the first that was brown and had what looked like antlers. No wonder there are so many hunters accidentally killed each year. So many of these dumb shit trophy hunters just aren't going to miss the chance to bag something with a big rack.

If he would have bothered to take a look there would have been no way he could have mistaken an elk for a deer. No fucking way. Huge size difference, different looks, different antlers, etc. He either knew he was shooting at something else, or he just shot without caring.

[C_Lawyer09]

85. Thats what you hate about hunters

What a ridiculous generalization. That's like saying you hate drivers, because you get rear ended by a guy that's talking on his cell phone.

[Toucano]

87. +1

Irresponsible, trigger happy dolts.

[CRF450]

130. "It was trotting, its head up, like it had been spooked,"

It seems he probably already had a good look at it before he shot it. Read some more instead of generalizing from the first quote.

[DFW]

106. I hear Ohio has no laws against shooting elephants or okapis, either.......

I'd still be hesitant to shoot one if I saw it in the woods...........

Of course, I'd be hesitant to shoot a lawyer, too, and even the Vice-President of the United States got off scott-free after doing that.

[Enthusiast]

108. Actually elk are a native species

but they were hunted to extinction by the 19th century. They were also native to surrounding states. For non-hunters: remember there were no laws of consequence regarding hunting in pioneer days.

[Robb]

113. The anti-hunter responses here are HILARIOUS. Apparently none of them clicked through to read:

...This part of the article:

Rice said the elk, which is estimated to weigh between 350 and 400 pounds after being dressed out, likely escaped from a pen or farm after being transported into the state.

That's right, it was probably an elk farm elk. I've seen a few elk farms, it's the only way elk can get on a restaurant menu here in Colorado, what with the you-can't-sell-the-meat-you-shot laws on the books.

This heinous murder was the moral equivalent of shooting an escaped farm-raised pig while out hunting wild boar.

[Vinnie From Indy]

120. The hilarity is evenly spread methinks

There is also quite a bit of hilarity in the description of the event given by the hunter Tim "Quickdraw McGraw" Tomlin.

[Sheepshank]

123. hunting here in the West

Is most generally considered a blood sport. Especially the Bow hunt. I work with an avid hunter and when he goes on prolonged breaks from hunting, it's not unusual to hear this 'good, christian, gentle, man' say, "I just want to go out and kill something".