BeaverJack

Strongest measure of a man is how he owns up to his mistakes. If I ever make one, I hope I' m as gracious.

BareBack Jack

I' m a meat hunter,yes I will take a big elk or deer if it happens to cross my path.My for most cuase of my hunt is the outdoors,2nd is to fill my frezzer.In montana you don' t have the option to harvest a second elk calf or yearling next to her,regardless if it is opening day or the last.As for the ethics of some hunters I seen the cream of the crop last year in centeral montana,there was a heard of elk that go caught in the open between two mountain ranges, out of 600 head, 400 and some were killed, there were pepole(not hunters in my book) who would shoot the cows around the bulls to get a bull,or run them down in pick-ups and 4 wheelers. Yes there were fines and jail time involved for some and others who played by the book got their elk.Any more you see hunters put their principals a side to kill a trophy,my farther always said" If you wan' t to see what kind a morals a person has take them hunting" I' ve seen good pepole do un-ethical hunting for the trophy.BBJ

121553

Like you said Bareback, these folks ain' t hunters, the' re slobs who go out shootin with no regard for respect for the animal and what ever cost it takes for these weekend warriors to obtain their goal. I think you get maybe a 5% of the A-holes that give the other respectable 95% a bad name. Bobby

AceHand

Cow moose tag here is good for any except with a calf at its side. Dunno why. In front or behind is maybe ok. lol. Seriously, Could be ethics or a better chance for surviving the winter. Just thought I' d mention it.

trapper T

I' ve never been in that situation, but I know I would let the two pass. About ten years ago, I put a heart shot on a Buck, and he evidently ran right between a Doe and Fawn. They scattered and the fawn was screaming it' s head off. Fearing my bullet went through the Buck and hit the Fawn, I went to find the Fawn. I found it, but all that had happened was it got scared when Mama took off. Man that tore me up when that little guy was crying like that. But they did get reunited about a minute later. One Doe walked out took one listen to the Fawn and bolted when it realized it wasn' t Her' s, then the real Mama came out and found Her baby.

And yes, I did retreive the Buck also.

BeaverJack

Las' calf I shot squawled like a baby bein' cooked with a blow torch. Lil' feller laid there an' cried an' it was hard shootin' him agin. Eve at that age, elk hold onto life sumthin' fierce.

Beans Morocco

Most cow/calf pairs are part of a bigger herd led by a mature cow. Another cow in the group will often adopt, and nurse, if necessary, an orphaned calf. If you are not concerned with quantity of meat, but desire quality, you might take the calf if legal. Never done it myself, but a hunting buddy of mine did ' bouta half dozen years ago, and it was like wild veal. Absolutely fantastic eating. He did however take some heat for taking what some of our clan described as a " hooved" Great Dane. (as a receipient of some of that meat, I have no criticism...mmmmm...)

Dally1up

First of all, one must realize that the Wildlife Department allows cow hunting with this in mind. Next, it sounds like the proper question should be " Should I shoot a cow, period?" . Most cows have calves on their side in the fall and most of the time hunters may not even see the calf.

I was faced with this dilemna a few years ago when a cow/calf pair came by on a bowhunting trip. Knowing the fact from raising by own cattle I knew that weaning was fast approaching and that by the size of the young, he/she would get along just fine. I elected to take the cow as a clean shot was offered.

This is merely a personal decision based upon one' s comfort zone. Morally I feel I could not bash someone for taking a cow with a young calf during season as State game managers are aware of the situation and do not address it. Most calves born in early spring will probably be fine on their own and fit into the herd for future years.

rather_be_huntin

Just thought I' d share some readin I did this weekend. The name of the book slips my memory and when I find it I' ll edit this message but it touched on this subject.

First it basically said that if a calf isn' t old enough to survive without its mother by the time fall rolls around it probably isn' t big enough to survive the winter anyway. Those calves that are borderline will probably be accepted by another cow because they are such a community animal but have a slim chance of surviving if they don' t have a last minute growth spurt. I think a couple others already touched on both points but just thought I' d share it.

BeaverJack

Shootin' calfs is irresponsible in the wolf reinterduction area. Yellerstone herds used to average about 26-33 calfs per 100 cows. Now they' re down to 9 per 100. If you don' t care ' bout the future of huntin' , go ahead an' slaughter calfs. Otherwise, stick to dry cows an' bulls.