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Elkaddict

What are the odds?

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Here are some photos of an unfortunate experience that Noel Arnold had on a recent elk hunt. The bull was shot across a small feeder draw that led into a major canyon. The bull tried to go up this small chute.

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He died at this point.

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Then the bull slid off a 50’ cliff landing on another vertical rock pile that had a small cut in it. He wedged in this cut with only his horns holding him. Noel took these pictures after finding a way down that got him to a ledge below the bull. This ledge was very small with loose rock making recovery impossible

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Here’s a photo looking into the canyon several hundred feet below.

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Noel considered a rappel, but the cliff above was at such an angle he figured it would be suicide. The bull will be there till the bones disintegrate.

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We thought of many options of getting him,including hiring of a repell team.We were only about a one hour drive from a very popular place were people go to repell off cliffs.The pictures do not show the severity of the cliffs and the cliff that he fell off to get were he ended up was above and behind him.If you would have repelled down and hooked a come along to him,there is no way you could have cranked him out because of the angle.And If you would have cut his horns off and got him to fall,then he would have taken you with him off the next cliff.If my wife knew how dangerous it was just to get the pictures,she would have killed me herself.We figured the only way to get him was a helicopter and lift him straight up out of the crack.

Noel

 

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That is some bad luck. Just curious how that plays out with the G&F. Does he forefit his tag after not being able to recover the bull? Did he continue to hunt. Not sure how the law reads on that one. Whatever the outcome that is crappy for him not to be able to get him out.

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That's a quick way to go from OH YEAH to OH S%!T. What a crappy turn out. I think you can hunt till you put your tag on something, but I'd be so sick, I don't think I would be able to leave the beer cooler.

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Wow that dude didn't want to get tagged did he? I saw a hunting show where a bull was shot and was running along some rocks and slipped into a crevice. It was not near as bad as this guy though. They had like 6 guys and finally got it out.

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Dang! What a bummer!

 

Just currious.... looks like you got all the way to the bull... couldn't you bone him out just as he was hangin' there and recover him one chunk o' meat at a time? I was not there and camera angles do not show it all so that is why I'm askin'..... I've boned out bulls on canyons so steep that you had to rope them off to work on them.... that one was already hangin'! Again... just askin'.... not tryin' to stir anything up.... ;)

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Dang! What a bummer!

 

Just currious.... looks like you got all the way to the bull... couldn't you bone him out just as he was hangin' there and recover him one chunk o' meat at a time? I was not there and camera angles do not show it all so that is why I'm askin'..... I've boned out bulls on canyons so steep that you had to rope them off to work on them.... that one was already hangin'! Again... just askin'.... not tryin' to stir anything up.... ;)

I was wonderin the same thing, the 6th pic down all I see are backstraps ;)

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Coues n sheep,

As a sheep hunter I sure you know that pictures never show the whole story.The problem was that when I took the last pictures up close,I really should not have been there. I was scared out of my mind.The last 10 feet I was sliding rocks out from under me as I climbed.And when you got to him there was no room for him to get by you if he would have come down.The next cliff was at least 100 foot.Also there could have been a rock slide at any time that would have taken you down.My brother shot a sheep two years in a very bad place and he recovered it.(HE WOULD NOT EVEN GO UP TO THIS ELK)

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