I'm not so sure I like the angle the reporter was taking. What the hell is a "high powered bow"? Clearly the language is aimed at the sympathy for the elk and the cry baby populus of his readers. Yes, bowhunting is gory to watch as the cause of death is pure bleeding and hemoraging not unlike a gun shot where the animal dies from bleeding and shock. The hunters clearly had permission to be on the farmers land and they did what any hunter would do and that is GET CLOSE TO THE ANIMALS SO YOU CAN SHOOT THEM. It may not fall into the definition of the one-on-one bowhunting that happens in the mountains but like Dogfish said its a damage hunt wher the object is to reduce the damage caused by the elk.