POLL--Would you shoot these elk?

[Zenzele]

Agree, I'd try ambush them on the way in to town?! Shooting them in town could cause trouble! Even though they are seen as nuisance! J

[Shawn Leonard]

Sorry but I would hunt( I use that term loosely) them right off a front porch if legal and safe. Something needs to be done and as Jeremy said, it is up to us to do it. I hunt in a bow only area in southern NY and I have hunted deer in peoples back yards more than once. I have seen some amazing things doing this and have never had a problem with anyone in the community complaining about it. Shawn

[Curveman]

I don't think hunting is a shameful thing and needs to be done "off camera." There would be some PR problems at first but I am convinced that the more people learn what hunting is really all about the better it is. PETA in contrast would come off as a bunch of freaks as they do whenever they grab media attention. The comparison would help us. OF course, I can't claim certainty on this-Blacktail may be right!  

[Wannabe1]

YEP!!

[vermonster13]

The anti's are going to hate us regardless what we do. I'd hunt them and donate the meat to the local food-bank and make sure it was known the meat was going to such an effort. We don't need to cower from PETA and we need to educate the public on the good we can and do make happen.

Put out the statistics on property damage, elk related accidents/deaths and even pay the town a small trespass fee to take care of their elk troubles.

It is all in how it's handled. I also don't see any high fences other than the one on the antlers.

[Matty]

So I live 50 miles from ESTES PARK colorado, which is the Gateway to Rocky mountain National Park...... I kid you not there are elk by the THOUSANDS roaming this town and MANY of them are Trophy Bulls.  The Controversy is MASSIVE and the Sollutions are all dead ends.  Get it under control fast before it turns into estes park

[Jedimaster]

I don't think it's PETA and those types you have to think about.  Their minds are already made up.  It is the other "ordinary" citizens that you can either win or lose depending on how the "hunters" handle themselves.  I have no problem shooting nuisance animals, the problem as I see it is that you could not make any situation exclusive to those that have impecable ethics.  As they say, "build it and they will come".  The slobs will turn out and the stereotypes will be seen.  Plenty of opportunity for bambi's blood and guts all over the screen.  Alot to consider and even though I'm very much pro-hunting, I would not want to set up any situation that could cause animosity or future trouble.

[steadman]

I'm sure there are places to hunt them without being in the spotlight. I've hunted near estes park in CO a few times and it's not walking up and shooting a tame elk. I even had access to the McGreagor ranch one year, still no elk. The elk are still wild. The problem with estes is the enormous amount of private land the elk can not be hunted on, this creates a sanctuary. Therefore, the only thing the elk have to worry about are vehicles    And that's not good as well. There are other urban hunting areas throughout the U.S. I'm sure one could be implemented here successfully.

[Paul WA]

The elk are only visible at first light they disapear into the hills early AM, I think opening up a few more units to archers might help the problem and maybe extending the bow season till Dec31 might help too, since its too late for cow permits to be drawn...PR

[j yenney]

The only problem is that there's always going to be that one bowhunter who does not use his little brain and doesn't wait for that perfect shot, and puts an arrow in the back leg or ham and you've got an elk running around town bleeding with an arrow in it. I've seen it. And to be truthful it's a turnoff to me also, even though bow hunting is my passion.

[Brian Krebs]

I am guessing most of you have not carried a bull elk out of a timbered ravine 3 or 4 miles!
 
Elk on level ground near the cutting board and meat grinder? This is an easy answer for me - hunt them !

And- like in the case of CBS televisions program about the heritage of hunting in America: "The Guns of Autumn" - they took movies from 5 angles of one deer being shot; and then played all several times- one shot looked like a machine gun going off !  So - they will make anything look bad if they want to. Even if you hunt them at night and have a curfew- they will have some protien defecient crying woman holding the hoof of one of them... face it- they are shamelessly cutting down the rainforest to grow soy beans - your not ever going to make them happy.  

 Treestand would insure arrows go down - not through living room walls and cars; kids etc- and everyone gets to see reality.

 There is this assumption that if kids see an elk die they will be traumatized for life- well that could happen; but we are natural born hunters- more kids would be turned onto hunting statistically.

 A good way to do this is to make elk summer sausage; and elk burgers; and have a big picnick for the kids at the local school. Once they understand elk taste like candy - they will start making obsidian heads and every turkey and goose for miles will be without primary flight feathers.

 Might be best to prime the kids with a few weeks of delicious lima bean meals every day.

 Quickest way to mans heart they say is through his stomach.... well ???

         I say let them eat elk!!

[Stone Knife]

I would rather they were shot and eaten than hit by a car and left to bloat by the side of the road, at least they would be fit for human consumption. As far as PETA filming me, I would care less, I feel I'm doing nothing wrong when I hunt and it is my God given right, I don't need to hide in a dark corner out of sight from my critics.

[wingnut]

Washington has had this type of hunt for years.  The elk won't stay in town once the pressure is turned up a little and that's what they are after.  Packwood is an old timber community and at least used to have a bunch of hunters.  

If I was still a resident of Washington, I would apply for the hunt.  Elk meat in the freezer is . . . well elk meat in the freezer.

Mike

[d. ward]

I better jump in here as this has been ongoing for 50 years there.Relocateing elk in that area will not work do to the fact the town has been built in the elks area.Where are you going to move them to ??? They are not going to leave town and trapping elk is no good.Especially after last time the game dept tried.The game dept.tried to catch 30 of those elk and ended up only catching 7 and 3 of those died in the process.One got hung up in the nets and was choked to death and two died from stress..now you tell me whats going to work best.....chokeing or stressing them to death or just getting it over rather quickly ? The fact of the matter is....if the towns people whats to get rid of some of the elk they need to alow hunting on thier land...nearly everyplace near that town is posted NO HUNTING and just outside town is also part of the Nat.Park boundry...The towns people are to blame for this one and in no way should our tax bucks help out those people getting rid of a problem they caused...If they would have had controled hunts outside of town on all on thier POSTED land they would not be having this problem they are having now..they refuse to alow hunting as the elk were thier pets.....kind of funny how the worm turned on them huh ? pets to public enemy # 1....... I say relocate the towns people....one way or another....bowdoc

[Tom Leemans]

Boy, nothing like having a target on your head!

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

I'm with bowdoc on this one.  Especially if they're feeding them apples and such.  It's kinda like feeding a stray dog and then getting mad because it won't leave. They brought this on themselves so maybe they should accomodate the Elk instead.

[mikecc]

Letting bowhunters hunt them in or near town would be a bad idea. I know thousands of elk have been killed with archery equipment but in this situation it wouldn't be the best route. I would say that atleast 30-40% of elk, especially bulls that get shot by bow and arrow are wounded and not recovered. I have come to these figures from talking to fellow bowhunters and personal experience. All you would need is 1 elk running around town with an arrow sticking out of it's shoulder and it would get shut down. Sharpshooters with rifles would be the best bet.

[Kingwouldbe]

I'm with the Bow Doc.

 

[eidsvolling]

Originally posted by j yenney:
The only problem is that there's always going to be that one bowhunter who does not use his little brain and doesn't wait for that perfect shot, and puts an arrow in the back leg or ham and you've got an elk running around town bleeding with an arrow in it. I've seen it. And to be truthful it's a turnoff to me also, even though bow hunting is my passion.

This is why there is no moose archery hunt in Anchorage except on the Army base.  The last time it was done in town was a disaster.

[pumatrax]

I started hunting with a bow over twenty-five years ago for several reasons ; none of them have anything to do with "hunting" in town or shooting "trophy" elk in someones' driveway...I've tried to promote "Traditional" archery to advance the sport and get others to experience the benefits of trad-archery.Somehow this culling of elk by trad -archers goes against everything I'm about...nothing mystical or magical or spiritual applies here (at least not for me).To me it would be a disservice to ALL true traditional archers...just sayin': with all due respect