Archive for July, 2008
Elk video taken by Barry Pitt
The Spider Bull
There is a new big bull elk in town, and he is causing quite a stir this summer. Right now everyone is trying to get a glimpse of the Spider Bull Elk from Utah. This huge velvet elk has points all over the place, and so far has been quite easy for people to find and video. It will be interesting to see how things pan out as it gets closer to the hunts.
Archery hunters are going to get first crack at this monster bull in August. How much bigger will he grow by then? Hard to imagine.
Is this a new World Record Elk?
Are we looking at a possible world record bull elk on our hands? Some people think so. If he is taken with a bow, I think he could do it. Currently world record non-typical elk is the Franklin Bull from Arizona which scores 442 0/8 P&Y.
If he squeaks through the archery season and is taken with a rifle (or Governor Tag holder gets on him), then the current world record is 465 2/8 B&C. In order for this bull to exceed that mark, he is going to have to gross score around the 480 plus mark!
How big is this bull?
So just how big is this bull? Some people are throwing out the 500 number. Yikes, that is big. Others are confident in the 480 class. You think 450 plus is not enough? He has great mass, tons of points, but does have an average to small inside spread and main beams.
Guess the Score
Go ahead and take a stab at the score. What does he score now, or what do you think he will grow into? Do we have a potential world record on our hands?
Win a FREE Backpack! Guess the score and when/if this bull gets taken this year by a hunter
Conspiracy Theory
Ok, so I have to throw this out….is this bull really legit. Is this a bull that has escaped a high fenced elk farm? There are some around here in Utah you know. Why haven’t we seen more of this bull last year? Or maybe he was a big 420 class bulll that was broken up and passed on, not knowing just how big he was. Are there any sheds to this bull laying around? Some good questions. I guess we will have to see just what happens in the next few months or so and I’ll keep you posted on the outcome.
Conclusion
I think this bull could cap off an amazing run for Utah with huge bulls. However, he may not be so easy to get to once he rubs his velvet off. He could very well hightail it out of dodge after he rubs and gets more pressure with the archery hunters. He could end up in an adjoining unit 20 miles away?….
Let’s take another look at this unique monster bull. This footage is from the guys at Tines Up.
July 26th, 2008
Just got word yesterday that the 2007-2008 Arizona Raffle Tag holder just shot a monster velvet bull elk on Monday. Elk in July you say? This is the raffle winner from 2007 and Arizona gives them the whole year to hunt and ends on July of the next year. Crazy! He had until the end of July 2008 to fill his tag.
So the raffle tag holder, Clark Guy, held out for a big bull and had passed on two other 400 class bulls in two days before getting this big boy. With the help of Mullins Outfitters he was able to down a monster velvet bull. It is a 7×6 non-typical that green scores 422 gross. There is an extra in-line type point on the right side by the third point. Beautiful bull and the velvet looks to be in very good condition.
This bull is massive and has 76-inches of mass!
Look for more on this bull and you will eventually get the whole story in a future issue of Hunting Illustrated Magazine.
July 24th, 2008
The above photos is what started a little excitement that was posted on message boards and forwarded to emails all over the place. The problem was, once again incorrect information was passed along and some people made ill-advised conclusions even though they really didn’t know - most of them just from looking at the photo itself.
So what was the problem?
This photos started getting emailed around that these were huge 480, 490, even 500 class elk sheds. The problem came when some people saw the background terrain where the photo was taken and assumed the sheds were picked up in that area. The photo was taken in Southern Utah, therefore assuming that the elk sheds were picked up recently in Utah.
So what is the real story?
One thing is for sure….these are some monster elk sheds. However, everything else about the above rumors are not true. These elk sheds are about 10 years old and they are not from Utah. Not even from the U.S. They are from an elk from New Zealand. Yes, that is right. So all of you that are excited about a huge elk running around packing these antlers for the 2008 season is not true.
Are they really that big?
These antlers are currently owned by Richard Dorchuck. They have been roughed scored between 480 to 490 gross. They are big. Richard also owns the sheds from the same bull from the previous year. Those sheds are a 440 class as well. Very impressive.
I have posted some additional photos of these sheds…from an elk 10 years ago that was originally from New Zealand.
Elk sheds from New Zealand. Not from Utah.
This shows both sets of sheds. A 440 class on the left and the next year grew to an enormous 480 class.
July 23rd, 2008
What a turn around of events. Wolves are delisted, wolf hunts are in the works, and now wolves have been temporarily put back on the endangered species list. How can this be so? About 12 Environmentalist Groups (Earthjustice, Humane Society, Defenders of Wildlife, etc.) is how it can be so. I told you about their pending lawsuit they filed April 28, 2008. Exactly 60 days after the delisting was signed. They know they law very well, have a ton of money and do just what they need to do to stall this thing out.
Judge Donald Molloy issued on Friday, July 18, 2008 an injunction to suspend the removal of wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains from the federal Endangered Species List. Wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains were removed from the Endangered Species List in March 2008. A number of environmental groups are challenging the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s delisting decision. Friday’s injunction effectively returns management authority for wolves in the region to the federal government while these legal challenges are heard.
What about Wyoming’s open hunts?
As a result of Friday’s injunction, wolves can no longer be taken anywhere in Wyoming except in cases where wolves are in the act of attacking livestock. Ranchers who are experiencing livestock depredation problems anywhere in the state should contact their local Wyoming Game and Fish office.
What about Idaho’s upcoming hunts?
There will be no wolf hunting season in Idaho this year. Idaho Fish and Game will not issue any wolf hunting tags.
Wolves have reverted to management under a section of the Endangered Species Act known as the 10(j) rule, which was revised in January.
Link: View the text of the revised 10(j) rule - (PDF)
So what happened?
The Environmentalists convinced the judge that the State agencies didn’t follow all of the rules to delist the wolves. Even though the states have established laws that will maintain a stable population and breeding pairs, regardless of the hunts, the Environmentalists argue that the states won’t do this. The federal biologist who led the wolf restoration program, Ed Bangs, defended the decision to delist wolves as “a very biologically sound package.”
“The kind of hunting proposed by the states wouldn’t threaten the wolf population,” Bangs said Friday. “We felt the science was rock solid and that the delisting was warranted.”
Here is the conclusion from the judges ruling:
For these reasons, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction (dkt #2) is GRANTED. Endangered Species Act protections are hereby reinstated for the northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf pending final resolution of this matter on the merits.
Dated this 18 day of July, 2008, 16:04 p.m. th
So what were the reasons. I have provided a link to the judges ruling and you can read the whole thing here:
Link: Judges Ruling on wolf injunction (PDF)
In a nutshell, the main argument that the Environmental groups used was the fact that the wolves have not had a chance to interbreed. What that means is the wolves from Wyoming, Idaho and Montana need to interbreed to provide a stable population 60 years down the road.
Here is an excerpt from the the ruling:
Plaintiffs claim the Fish & Wildlife Service violated the Endangered Species Act by delisting the wolf while knowing there was a lack of genetic exchange between populations in the three northern Rocky Mountain core recovery areas. The legal deficiency claimed is that in doing so the Service ignored its own recovery criteria and ignored the best science available.
Here is an excerpt from the introduction of the ruling:
Introduction
This case, like a cloud larger than a man’s hand, will hang over the northwest states of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming until there has been a final determination of the complex issues presented. Those issues must be answered in accordance with the intent of Congress as stated in the Endangered Species Act and its implementing regulations. Here, Plaintiffs challenge the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s decision to designate and delist a northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf distinct population segment under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), 16 U.S.C. § 1536. In
seeking to alter the course of that decision, Plaintiffs move for a preliminary injunction. They ask the Court to reinstate ESA protections for the wolf, at least while this lawsuit is pending. In support of their motion, Plaintiffs argue (1) even though the environmental impact statement on wolf reintroduction specifically conditions the delisting decision on a Finding of Subpopulation Genetic Exchange, the Fish & Wildlife Service delisted the wolf when there is no plausible showing of that genetic exchange between the Greater Yellowstone core recovery area and the northwestern Montana and central Idaho core recovery areas; (2) the Service approved Wyoming’s 2007 wolf management plan even though the Wyoming plan still contains provisions that the Service earlier deemed inadequate; and (3) the Fish & Wildlife Service did not consider the several states’ liberal defense of property laws in concluding the states’ wolf management plans were adequate. The argument concludes with the claim that a preliminary injunction is necessary because wolves are not likely to survive the increased incidents of human-caused
mortality that will occur under state management.
So what happens next?
The judge is going to determine if keeping the wolves on the Endangered Species List will continue or not. Unfortunately I think the anti-groups are going to keep pumping money into this ruling and tie it up in the courts as long as they can. What’s even more unfortunate is that this is not about proper animal management and conservation. This about pushing an agenda - a way of thinking - that is anti-human, anti-hunting and that animals (specifically predators) should rule the earth. This is the case of the wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Could be a shaky future and the excitement of finally getting some control and management of the wolf here in the West is at a standstill.
July 22nd, 2008
Reports have just come out that Wildlife Officials have captured two wolves in western Okanogan County and fitted both with radio collars to track their movements and learn more about them. They took hair samples for DNA testing to confirm that the wolves were not hybrid animals.
One of the wolves was a lactating female nursing pups. This would confirm that this is the first pair of breeding wolves int the state of Washington. The DNA test results will be back in a few weeks.
Link: The Seattle Times
July 21st, 2008
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Hope everyone has a safe and fun fourth of July. Click on the image above and then just right click on your mouse and get the menu. From there you can set the image as your desktop image.
God Bless America
July 3rd, 2008
