Hunter confuses moose for elk in CO
Elk
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spike78's Link
Happens more than you would guess here
I am beginning to think confusing one for a elk is going to only chance I have to kill one in CO.
Happens all the time. When they introduced the first six into the Laramie River drainage, two bulls, two cows, two calves, a big family from Arkansas shot all six. My friend, the DOW WCO, about crapped himself when he went into their camp to check their elk licenses.
Had a college buddy do that with a cow moose in Montana once. He told FWP about it and only got a $60.00 fine. He was 'new' to hunting at the time.
Mistakes happen, I guess. What blows me away is some of these dummies still think they shot an elk, even after walking up to it.
A game warden told me about one idiot who argued that the moose he had killed was in fact an elk, because....wait for it....he had "killed one just like it last year".
Proving, once again, some people should not be issued hunting licenses.
Matt
Lou, that’s a great story. I bet there were some pissed off biologists out there!! All that work for nothing to relocate them! I still don’t understand how it happens either. My dad said in the 60s he went on an elk hunt in Wyoming and a guy shot a moose thinking it was a bull elk. He said the outfitter was pissed!
Had a patient come in to my Office, that admitted to being the guy that shot the huge bull elk that's been hanging in the DFG Office for the last 30 years, when there was no Season on elk.
He was deer hunting, bull jumped out of the trees in front of him, and he rifle shot it (under the rush of adrenaline). After the shot, he knew something wasn't right, so he bugged out. Went back with a buddy to track it later, and they crested a hilltop, to see Fish and Game were already on the dead bull. They quietly disappeared, nobody was ever charged for it. I was surprised he told me the story.
Gray Ghost, I think some people should be eliminated from the gene pool if they are that stupid!
Not a case of mistaken identity but made me think of this one. I heard the story here in NM one of the Indian tribes bought a stud bull elk to enhance the gene pool of their herd, which command high $ for trophy bull hunts. Not wanting to risk him getting shot, they cut off his antlers when he was first turned loose. Someone legally shot him with an "antlerless" (cow) tag...
I wonder how many cattle get shot during elk season.
A guy brought a domestic goat into check station to register it. The guy at the registration station which was a gas station tried to convince the guy that it was not a deer and that the hunter should take the goat back to where he shot it and make amends with the goat's owner.
There are some moose out there that the antlers might look a lot like elk antlers if you only saw them through some trees. But still, anyone shooting a rifle should be damn sure of their target.
Long ago I was in Co & Elk hunting DIY, public land.. I was walking along a old, grown over logging road when I spyed an Elk bedded some 80 yds from me. I dropped my pack & stalked within 20 yds. I could not see it's head, only half the body. I started around to be able to shoot it in the ribs when "she" tuned her head from behind the tree & I realized it was a Moose. IF just the head was covered by the tree & I was able to shoot the rib cage I may have been one of those guys. Her color was also very close to an Elk, not the dark/black look. I took a pic of her & then a few yds away her calf got up.. A few days later I told the Warden about seeing her & the location. This was long b/4 draws & all over the counter, either sex tag.
Why is this surprising? Idiots regularly "accidentally" shoot people instead of turkeys, deer, elk, - you name it. A moose looks a whole lot more like an elk than a person looks like any of those critters. The sad truth is that people make mistakes quite regularly and sometimes they are tragic mistakes.
Wow, hey everyone look at the picture of those two awesome trophy elk that yellowjacket just posted. Man, I can just imagine getting a chance at elk like that!
They're so big they don't even LOOK like elk!
First year Indiana issued antlerless tags, guy showed up at a check station in Vevay with a tagged nanny goat.
BTW, that was NOT a jab at yellowjacket, it was simply my attempt at humor. Admittingly, the moose on the right does look like he has elk antlers.
Maybe I should have made this joke instead: I got an elk permit to hunt in KY and spent a whole week in the mountains and all I saw were moose...
I have faith in my fellow outdoorsmen. Then I read stories like this and think perhaps I shouldn't be so trusting.
Just this past Tuesday a friend of mine was telling me about deer season many years ago. They had stopped at a diner after a morning hunt and a guy showed up with a deer strapped on his car. It was a shetland pony. He said a doz wardens showed up shortly after.
I looked at this 3 times. Maybe I missed it but there doesn’t seem to be any news here. Hunters are dumb and they could and have make the mistake of shooting a moose thinking it’s an elk. Lot of anecdotal evidence on here but to me it doesn’t seem like this is worthwhile.
2019 gun deer season in WI a women shot 2 elk the same day. She was told the 1st one was an elk so she went out in the afternoon & shot the other elk. Thought they both were deer. Some people shouldn't be allowed to hunt ever again.
I remember reading an article about this sort of thing some years ago… Turns out that most of the people who had done it were experienced Elk hunters who had spotted parts of a moose and saw just enough to confirm that it had big enough (un-palmated) brow tines to be legal.
Probably an easier mistake to make at rifle range than at bow range.
A gal I know was leading a pack string of horses for her dad's outfitting business, she was on a tan horse, some idiot took a shot at her horse and she said she felt the bullet went right across the saddle horn. She spotted the guy and lit into him, he apologized but said it was an honest mistake, said her horse looked like an elk and she was obscured behind a tree...
Everyone makes mistakes. It has even happened to me.....ashamed to say more than once. Most of you guys just won't admit it.
In college I woke up next to a cow moose when I could of swore it was a beautiful elk just hours earlier.
Imagine my surprise and shame!
Ummmm... they’re not even the same color! That’s insane.
“Ummmm... they’re not even the same color! “
Well, they are when they’re all muddy, and in low light (aka Prime Time) the difference in color of the head/neck/shoulder between the two is probably not great, people expect an Elk’s head to be dark, and they see dark, and if they aren’t actively considering the possibility that they’re looking at a moose, they won’t be able to notice the difference.
Also, we Archery types expect to have a fairly large opening to shoot through (because Trajectory) and we need to know where the shoulder is, and we all really prefer a broadside at almost any range.
A good hand with a rifle only needs an opening of a few inches at a couple hundred yards to anchor an animal with a shot in the neck. Add in a little Buck Fever and a little bit of beings rushed because you can only see parts of the animal for brief glimpses, and it’s no longer so “unbelievable” that people make this mistake EVERY YEAR.
Yes, there are stupid people out there who do inexcusably stupid things - one more reason to prohibit crossbows and scopes, IMO, at least on Public land.
But I can see how some folks - even those who know what they’re doing - could make an honest mistake.
A VERY BIG, honest mistake, but honest nonetheless.
That's bad... But, Spike, do you remember early in the Quabbin Res special hunt here the guy that shot a moose mistaking it for a deer? I dont get the mistaken identity thing in general... but at least elk are both big - though different color, not as leggy, very different antlers... ha ha ha. But a whitetail mistaken for a moose - dolt.
Years ago our neighbor had a family member come in for Buck season. He was so excited when he shot his "spike"......which turned out to be another neighbors goat.....granted it was a pretty big goat.
My hunting partner was guiding a former Army sniper who dropped down to prone and sighted on an outfitter horse pack string coming up a trail across the valley. The riders in front and rear wore orange vests, and a couple horses had orange sheets over their panniers. He asked excitedly, "Which one is the bull?!"......
There are some absolute idiots out there. If you can't tell an elk from a moose you have no business in the woods. Period!
Well, a few years ago now, a lady shot a cow moose with a bow thinking it was a deer here in Wisconsin? To bad they cannot give an idiot test to get a hunting license.
I call BS on the sniper story. Not saying your buddy is a liar, But I'll bet if the army vet or poser was not a sniper.
one of my outfitters had a packhorse shot with an arrow while in a friggin' packstring. gut shot. killed it. did not find guy who shot it thinking it was an elk i guess. the horse did have a rack on his back.
Probably one of those pot smoking liburels
Yep. Leave the buckskins and palominos at home, eh?
Anyone who mistakenly shoots at a horse thinking it is an elk is NOT making an honest mistake. Not even close to resembling honest.
prolly a 6.5 creedmore user at 2000 yards
aside from a juvenile moose maybe looking like an kind of an elk for a hot second if you do a double take... moose look nothing like elk
A friend of mine had his Montana cow elk decoy staked in front of him in a meadow. He watched a guy "stalk" it with an arrow nocked right across the open meadow. He thought "no way this guy really thinks he's stalking an elk". Yup the guy closed to 20 yards, shot it in the arse and then was utterly confused and blown away when my friend exploded out of the brush and began to verbally rip him a new one. The guy actually believed he was the best stalker ever. And the best shot too...
My friend showed me the triangle 3 blade hole thru the rump of his decoy. Good thing he wasn't in line with the shot. This wasn't a case of the decoy being tucked into the brush and only partially visible. It was standing in the wide open and the guy "stalked" for several minutes. Almost unfathomable a decoy like that would be mistaken for the real thing. I think sometimes people see what they want to see.
The year Colorado produced a Rifle Either Sex elk tag, 20 some moose were killed statewide during the rifle elk season, rifle hunters thinking they were shooting an elk. "if it brown its down" That was the end of the either sex rifle elk licenses.
Smarba, that would have been a good one for video.
It happens every year in Colorado. I have no idea how someone can do that. Moose and elk look nothing alike!
I’d bet a lot of these aren’t accidents thou. Probably on purpose
Even with an either sex tag where the shooter actually shoots an elk, the "if its brown, its down" mentality can result in an illegal kill. In most cases spikes are not legal even with the E/S tag. That is why you still have to have proof of sex even if you have an either sex tag: udder if a cow or scrotum AND antlers if a bull
Very, very few of these incidents are actually "accidents". The vast majority are negligence, plain and simple. Hunters, without the patience and discipline to make sure of what they are shooting at.
Many years ago, early in my elk hunting experience, I almost succumbed to the same thing. I had already killed 2 or 3 bulls with a rifle in as many years and expected that to continue. On this hunt, I had been following tracks in the snow of a small group of elk. About mid morning I caught up to them in some cover, at about 60 or 70 yards. At first I saw antlers, but didn't have a shot. Then the elk milled around a bit and a very dark elk was in the same spot as where I saw antlers, but I couldn't see anything above its neck because of branches. I came pretty close to talking myself into believing it was the bull. Fortunately, I didn't let myself shoot until I was SURE it was. After about half a minute, the cow finally stepped clear. I never did see the bull again.
If you can't maintain control of yourself in the excitement of the seconds before taking a shot, you have no business walking around with a lethal weapon.
Hunters don't mistake moose for elk! However, some city slicker dude aka (dud) might.
But hunters may mistake wolves for coyotes. Just say'n !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!