Residents v Out of Staters

[Mikeha33]

I have a question for those of you who spend 365 days a year in elk country, and it's based off of my thoughts as a whitetail hunter here in KS. When hunters from out of state come into KS, especially from the South, to hunt whitetails, often times they are thrilled to kill a 3.5 year old 130" buck, something that I'd let walk every day of the year. It's a monster to them, 200+ lbs on the hoof, with more inches of bone than anything they'd see in Alabama, Georgia, and a lot of the East Coast. I try not to let it bother me, but I have a hunting club that leases out ground 1 mile North of my farm, that I manage pretty meticulously, and when I see those guys shooting "little deer", by my standards, it kind of makes my stomach turn just a little bit, especially if I've watched that particular buck grow since he was a fawn on cameras and through binos, although I would never say anything.

Do you guys that are very selective about the caliber of bull elk get the same feeling about us incoming hunters that will shoot a raghorn given the first opportunity, knowing that it could be a 350"+ bull in 2-3 years, is there any sour grapes about it?

[razorback]

I like that post. I try to manage my deer in Southeast Missouri. I pass small bucks during bow season only to watch them get slaughtered during rifle season. Makes me sick but I only own 40 acres so nothing I can do about it. I know I have said I wanted to shoot something with 5 points on one side but others have said take a cow or something with legal brown tines. I have wondered what I will do if given the opportunity at a small bull. I know I certainly am not upset when I see a young hunter shoot a small buck, especially their first buck, I'm actually happy for them. Not sure if I consider myself in that category, I've never elk hunted but I'm not a kid either. I'm interested to see the resident elk hunters thoughts. One thing's for sure, if I do encounter resident hunters while in Colorado is I hope they can at least say this out of state hunter was respectful and courteous

[idahoghost]

I have management elk in the area in Idaho I hunt as well. If I manage to get close enough for a shot, I take it.

[under H2O hunter]

I don't think you can compare the two. Whitetail usually stick around the same area for long periods of time to where they can be managed more closely. Elk are migratory herd animals. Although they may come back to certain areas there is no way to manage them as closely as whitetail. I am very proud of Colorado for managing the elk the way they have. The four point restriction gives younger bulls the opportunity to gain some knowledge that may lead to larger elk. Back when I first was allowed to harvest an elk at age 14 you could take spikes during the final 3rd rifle season. The bulls were smaller and usually dumber. Now that we have added another rifle season and allowed these younger less wise bulls to grow a little I personally enjoy the hunt a bit more and think that the elk are a bit wiser.

Now to answer your question. No I don't get upset when people from out of state come and shoot rag horns. I am excited for them as I enjoy seeing people be successful. Now I do get upset when I see out of staters come in and treat our state like it's their own. And what I mean by this is that they take their ATV's and vehicles off road to retrieve down game when it's not allowed. They also hunt in a style where a lot of people will drive and push animals to others then those other members of their parties put down several animals to be tagged by members of the pushing party. When I have confronted these people they look at me like I am crazy and should mind my own business. I get upset at people who use the excuse " I have driven ____ Miles and paid blah blah amounts of money to harvest an elk so I am gonna take an elk regardless of the laws"
Other things that piss me off are the people who don't use common sense while hunting. This goes for residents and non-residents alike. A few years ago I was able to drive my four wheeler down a small portion of a mountain. That portion of this mountain is now closed to vehicle travel because some out of state yahoo's decided they would drive their truck down it while there was snow on the ground during 2nd rifle season and were not prepared for what could happen. They ended up calling the forestry service to come rescue them. So the forestry service decided to close off that portion of the trail to vehicle use. If those guys hadn't gotten stuck or if they would have used common sense or even been prepared then the archery and muzzleloading guys would of still been able to use that road which would make game retrieval easier.

[BRazz]

No I don't get upset when people from out of state come and shoot rag horns. I am excited for them as I enjoy seeing people be successful. Now I do get upset when I see out of staters come in and treat our state like it's their own.

H20 I agree with you - but it's not just out-of-staters. Plenty of locals drive offroad where they shouldn't.

Do you guys that are very selective about the caliber of bull elk get the same feeling about us incoming hunters that will shoot a raghorn given the first opportunity, knowing that it could be a 350"+ bull in 2-3 years, is there any sour grapes about it?

To answer the original question - I usually shoot the first legal elk I see so can hardly blame anybody else for doing the same.

[Lefty]

Many states manage elk and deer one can always select a unit that could be managed for trophy, any bull , brow tine etc.
Sometimes trophy is any animal .

Those that hunt for trophies do it for different reasons than those that meat hunt. It has notheing to do with Resident Non-resident.
Idaho hunters overall want to hunt with family each year not for horns

[Swede]

I don't care what you shoot. If you are a good sportsman you are welcome in my area anytime. Oregon, and most, maybe all western elk States have restricted draw areas and limits you what is legal. If I was concerned about what is being harvested I would write to the game commission and to ODF&W and attend more meetings. They don't always like to hear the complaints, but if they get numerous enough they are forced to respond. My advise is to hunt what you want. In the end, the State controls the populations and even the distribution, by gender and size.

[Elkduds]

Zip code notwithstanding, a chump's a chump. When I encounter nonresident hunters in CO, it is usually back in a ways. Typically they have several years of experience in CO, are serious hunters and decent folks. Rarely slobs. Can do without people who "hunt" by riding ATVs and make new trails, though.

[Rangerz]

Interesting topic. When I lived in VA I hunted a big farm that tried to manage for trophy deer. Problem was the yahoos next door would shoot every thing that crawled even when you could shoot does if you just wanted meat.

Harder to manage elk for trophies unless you have some huge areas. This season we are planning on trophy hunting as per the tag we have, but if I was going along ways away I might be tempted to take a smaller Bull, but feel if you are just meat hunting, get a Cow tag.

I have seen more locals acting badly than I have out of towners.

[ctdad]

You can't save wild game for later. It's your decision to let it walk, but you can't expect it to be there next time. Hunters, predators, disease and pattern changes are going to change things. I don't care what species or where. You can't save wild game for later.

Once I accepted this, my attitude towards others hunting completely changed. If another Hunter has as much fun as I do, then we are both winning.

[toasty tiger]

I am pretty sure it is a proven fact that the only way you can actually manage any species is with a fence. Now if you cut off all their legs you could probably keep them in the same spot...maybe. I think it goes back to most trophy animals have us patterned way better than we have them patterned. And regardless of who pulls the trigger, there is nothing to say that letting a animal walk means that they are going to get any older, Mother Nature doesnt follow horn management rules like all of us hunters do.

[twinkieman]

Shoot whatever you want, as long as it is legal. Trophies are in the eye of the beholder, so to someone who has never killed an elk, a cow might be a trophy to that individual. While it would be great for all of us to kill a big bull, it is not feasible. As far as residents, versus non-residents, quite a few states have raised non-resident fees in the past few years, and left resident costs virtually alone. Non-residents also bring dollars into the state they hunt. Resident, or non-resident, we should all respect each other, after all we are all hunters.

[mongopino915]

Shoot whatever you want, as long as it is legal. Trophies are in the eye of the beholder, so to someone who has never killed an elk, a cow might be a trophy to that individual. While it would be great for all of us to kill a big bull, it is not feasible. As far as residents, versus non-residents, quite a few states have raised non-resident fees in the past few years, and left resident costs virtually alone. Non-residents also bring dollars into the state they hunt. Resident, or non-resident, we should all respect each other, after all we are all hunters.

Shoot whatever you want, as long as it is legal. Trophies are in the eye of the beholder, so to someone who has never killed an elk, a cow might be a trophy to that individual. While it would be great for all of us to kill a big bull, it is not feasible. As far as residents, versus non-residents, quite a few states have raised non-resident fees in the past few years, and left resident costs virtually alone. Non-residents also bring dollars into the state they hunt. Resident, or non-resident, we should all respect each other, after all we are all hunters.

Totally agreed.

I would hate for out of staters to fork out $500/tag and go home empty handed. Yes, there are big bulls hiding in them OTC public land but finding and taking a mature 6x6 down is not that easy.

My recommendation is shoot what you think is a trophy to you, whether it be a 360" plus class bull or a cow for the freezer.

IMHO, any elk is better than no elk.

Good Luck.

[luvelkhunt]

wonder if you would feel the same way if you didn't have a farm to grow those big bucks on? and only a week or so to hunt the area.

[8seconds]

Some great compaissionate response to this post; very thoughtful. I'm proud to be associated with all of you.

All things are relative in life. To see a first time hunter take his first deer/elk/bear/moose/goat regardless of age (as long as it is legal) is an outstanding moment for him and a thumbs up for conservation. We need these upstarts. The road to hunting maturity is with that first kill; the rest is a life's journey. That's where we as seassoned hunters come in; to educate tomorrow's outdoorsmen the savvy of not taking certain aged animals.

I have two sons both of whom i have exposed to hunting and fishing and general outdoors. Oddly enough, they have opted for fishing. One is an outstanding fly fisherman in fresh and salt water. The other is still making his way; but fishing seesm to be the route he is taking. Who knows. I couldn't be prouder of both of them.

I have two daughters, the older one got her first deer when she was in junior high. I was in the stand with her when she got it. The second one likes neither fishing nor hunting that much. More of an intellectual (got it form her mother). The older one married an outdoorsman and their freeer is always full of deer meat. they have two daughters and a son; all of which hunt with their Dad and bring home some bacon.

If we as conservationmen can instill into just one other person the true meaning of fair chase when it comes to hunting and fishing, we would have done our jobs well. I can't condone anyone for shooting their first animal not knowing it could have been a monster in 3 or 4 more years. I can't tolerate somenone who is a seasoned hunter and for selfish reasons violates the code for that purpose.