Buck Fever, does it make us Stupid?

I just wanted to throw this out here because I don't know where else to throw it.

This morning was pretty awesome, I got in my car pretty late after getting the kids off to school and went to where I could glass the foothills on the Wasatch, I watched through my spotting scope as a decent 3 point was pushing around 4 does. I then saw a hunter come over the hill just up from the deer and make a great shot on the buck. The buck only went a little ways and dropped. I was driving over to the trail head to go help him pack it out when I saw right on the snow covered dirt road a huge bloody mess left there probably last night. This was disturbing to me because this road is a main recreational place with literally hundreds of people running, hiking and biking on it daily. Most of these people would not appreciate this violent scene, they still think meat comes from a store, it was a really poor spot to gut a deer. I went a little further up the road and noticed across the canyon that is inside well posted city limits and on the DWR maps is clearly not part of the extended, but that didn't stop two guys with buck fever from hunting this hill, they probably felt so lucky to find a hill full of deer that for some strange reason no other hunters had found.

I saw all of this within 100 yards of where I have seen two bucks on different occasions get shot in the butt by guys so excited to get shots on the Extended, one of which threatened to beat up my friend who was good enough to expertly hunt down and finish off the buck that had been chased into Neverland after the fevered guy had pushed it so deep into the stuff that made him give up searching for it. We kept telling him to slow down and quit pushing it but he just rudely told us to do something to ourselves that was anatomically unlikely and went on shooting way too far and running after it. He looked for a while in the thick stuff where the buck went and then he left. He came back a couple hours later with his thug buddies and scared my friend away from the buck that he had finished off and started processing. Maybe he did come back with the help he needed to find it but to us it looked like he just left it? Either way, He was not the one to kill the average sized, tall, narrow 4 point buck.

last week I saw 3 guys shooting way too far at a running buck and of course missing the deer that was much closer to another hunter who was making a quiet, patient stalk. I've heard the saying that you can't hit what you don't shoot at but I don't think that ethically applies to big game archery hunting, what do you all think?

All of this is just to remind everyone how lucky we are to have the opportunity to hunt the Wasatch extended and that it can easily be taken away if we don't slow down and realize that our actions don't just affect ourselves. Please don't gut your deer on the road, Please take a moment to respect these animals enough to pass on shots that are too long and only hunt them within the boundaries. If someone else is working an animal, stay back, give them a hand and realize that we are not competing but are all out for a good time of enjoying God's creations that sometimes happens to put delicious meat in the pot and once in a while, as a bonus, some antlers on the wall.

I love bow hunting because I have a much more personal experience with the animals than when I have rifle hunted. I don't look down on rifle hunters, I just don't like doing it as much as bow hunting. I don't get a shot at most of the animals that I see but when everything does come together and I harvest an animal it is a pretty emotional experience that I hold very dear. If you are just looking for the kill, why hunt with a bow? That is what baffles me about so many I have come across on the Wasatch extended, so desperate for the kill that they would behave in ways that for me would bring regret later. I like that the majority of bow hunters share my sentiments and are usually much more fun to share the hill with for that reason. But something about being among so many other hunters brings out the disappointing behavior of many of us.

Just so y'all know, I'm not perfect, when I was younger, I was so excited to take shots that I made some bad ones and have felt that terrible feeling of not recovering game that I had hit badly. It has been a few years now since I have missed an animal I shot at let alone hit one badly. I shoot heavier arrows built for penetration instead of just flat trajectory and I have found that it is not worth the regret to take a risky shot. I take a lot less shots now but when I do shoot, the animal usually falls where I can see it. Take a lesson from those who've made the mistakes so you don't have to, slow down and enjoy the journey, the harvest is just a bonus.

Unfortunately, I was not able to help the lucky guy with his deer, the road was pretty bad and my Nissan Altima had a hard enough time getting up while the ground was frozen, the sun had just hit and the road was thawing quickly so I had to get down before the messy road would prevent it later.

Happy Hunting Y'all!