Hunter Ethics Include Following

By Craig Mickelson Wind-driven snow pelts my face as I stand next to a dead cow elk in a blizzard on a steep slope above the town of Lucille. How the elk died is a mystery, but I'm about to find out. The elk appears to have tumbled down the mountain but also had blood coming out of its mouth and nose, indicating a lung wound. I unsheathe my knife, don my pair of surgical gloves and begin my search for clues on how the elk perished. Constantly changing my position to stay upwind of the incredible stench, I skin around the front shoulder and find a small wound on the right side of the ribs. This wound has significantly less trauma than others I have examined from high-powered rifle bullets. As I remove the skin around the wound, I find a puncture wound and a broken rib. I stick my knife blade in the hole and notice the lungs look intact, except for a small hole through them. It's obvious that the lungs did not suffer the shock and trauma that occurs when hit with a high-powered rifle round. Cutting open the hide on the other side of the ribs I find a mushroom-shaped muzzleloader round that appears to be a sabot-type bullet. It is obvious that whoever shot this cow elk did not follow the Hunter's Code of Ethics by following up their shot. An ethical hunter will always carefully inspect the area where the animal stood and where it retreated to ensure the animal was not hit. It appears that this elk did not go far from where it was shot and was not hidden in deep, thick timber, but was lying in open grassland country in steep terrain. The elk is completely wasted and no meat was salvageable for needy families in the Riggins area. Earlier in the day, I examined yet another elk in the same blizzard just south of Riggins along the Little Salmon River. This cow elk had been shot by a muzzleloader round in the hind quarters. The round entered one of the rear quarters and lodged near the diaphragm. It appeared this elk ran a significant distance before it died from a poorly placed bullet. Muzzleloading enthusiasts need to remember that muzzleloaders do not perform like high powered rifles, and experienced, ethical muzzleloader hunters do not shoot over 100 yards or at running game. After finding numerous other wasted deer and elk in my patrol area, I surveyed the other conservation officers in the Clearwater Region, an area that covers from Potlatch to Pinehurst. Nine officers responded to the survey that 17 elk, 34 deer and two bear were wasted in 2005 with the majority wasted during the hunting season. Of these cases, regional officers have either solved the case or have cases pending on nine elk, nine deer and one bear. Of course, these were animals that we knew of and investigated. How many more animals were shot and wasted is unknown but is likely much higher. Besides following up every shot, it is very important that all hunters, including muzzleloading enthusiasts, attempt to get close enough to their quarry to ensure a quick, clean kill. By ensuring their weapons are accurately sighted-in, and through considerable practice, hunters can learn the distance at which they are most confident of harvesting game cleanly. Ethical hunters also expend extraordinary effort to retrieve and dispatch game they wound even if it means interrupting their hunting plans. Ethics generally cover behavior that has to do with issues of fairness, respect, and responsibility not covered by laws. At some point, every hunter will be faced with an ethical dilemma such as an animal appearing beyond their effective range for a clean kill, or running directly away from them. Should the hunter take the shot anyway and hope to get lucky? Ethical hunters would not. Craig Mickelson is a Senior Conservation Officer for IDFG stationed in Riggins.