Agree fully. Seems like a little common sense wasn't used in both parties.

The State probably needs to look at this incident and re-define what and where is legal to shoot an animal there.

If everyone and their dog can (and apparently did) witness this incident from 101, it wasn't the smartest place to kill a big animal, legal or not.

Wonder how many tree huggers from Seattle called in the "poaching" incident that they were watching right in front of their eyes??? Many, I'm guessing.

They have 1340 acres to patrol and these officers were at least 10 miles away from their reservation.

Here is the contact information at the Tribe.

Natural Resource Dept.
phone: 360/297-4792
fax: 360/297-4791
info@pgst.nsn.us

I'll be calling and emailing them today. Paul McCollum's extension is 237. He is the director of the natural resources department.

If they truly are a sovereign nation, what was this war patrol doing in our country?

The guy shot the elk fair & square. Nothing to be ashamed about there.

"You being a non-hunter it's easy to see how you wouldn't know what you're talking about. Par for your course."

I grew up hunting dip sh$t.

And I know he wasn't the hunter. But to some of us who grew up hunting and fishing it's tantemount to beating the brush up and down a stream only to find some spawning nates and slaying you're one. Go for it. It's legal.

I also don't think you are pounding that much brush with a 2 year old in tow.

Keeping an eye on what they Think is their Meat.

The hunts for these elk are damage/harassment hunts. That is why they want the elk culled. The elk in the area are responsible for a number of accidents each year, so they try to thin the numbers through limited accees permits. Damage hunts are not necessarily a trophy hunt, but every one of the 9 elk I killed on a damage hunt ate just the same. The damage hunts are used as a management tool, plain and simple. Not everyone's cup of tea, so don't apply for the hunt.

They have collared a number of cows so that when they get near a few of teh road signs, they light up, saying the elk are in the area.

Adam was the driver of the truck. He would drop them and pick them up after they walked through an area. His kid was along for the ride. Again he was not the hunter.....the other guys were. They scouted/hunted the bull for weeks hoping to get it. Just found it in a place close to the road. Not ideal but a big 6X6 you have been chasing/watching for weeks and there he is on land you have permission for.....Just sayin'. They did not just happen to drive by and go.....O'crap, theres a bull by the side of the highway, BANG! Just happened that way.
You arguement seems about the same as stating "I am not going to shoot that whitetail in the field I have been chasing all season.....that is not sporty enough. Lets let him get into the trees and I will go after him there". Or for those who dont hunt. "Lets not fish within 100yards of the hatchery as the fish will be stuck there.....not sporty enough". I doubt many here follow that way of thinking but I see the point of it being close to the road. You just need to know how much work they put in prior chasing this one bull.....it makes a difference in the story or at least it should.

Wow. I would say there are a plethora of f-ups contained in this story.

First, congratulations to the hunter. The elk for whatever reason were trapped on that point. It does not look like a 'sporting' hunt, but as docspud related other portions of the hunt may have been sporty. To me that is immaterial. There are a lot of folks out there who hunt elk by applying for tags in farm areas, and then going door to door to get permission.

It is essentially a meat hunt, a harvest of organically raised, fat free beef. There is still work required, there is certainly much opportunity for failure, and it beats the sh!t out of buying chemical laden beef at Safeway.

Some of us (most of us) enjoy the hunt for the hunt itself, other folks want to provide good clean food for their family, and most of us are out for both.

The f-ups were made by the authorities. There was probably a crowd watching this debacle from 101 and these Tribal PD jumping out with an assault rifle pointing at the hunters is ludicrous. It almost looks like it was more for show than protection. Could they have taken 10 minutes to call and find out if this hunt was legal? Probably. Could they have approached the hunters like a regular cop approaches someone they are pulling over? Honestly, I probably could have laughed it off, if I was in the field with my buds, but if one of my kids was with me and saw me get laid on the ground, cuffed at gun point, amid a bunch of yelling and carrying on. .. That makes the blood boil. The poor kid will probably start shaking every time he sees a cop car after this. The tribal LE deserves to pay a big settlement for this.

These hunters did the homework and took advantage of a situation. The fact that motorists on 101 got to watch the whole thing to me is great. I hope that the folks who complained enjoyed their cheesburgers when they got to McDonalds in Shelton or PA. I know the argument is that this gives the antis more ammunition to take away hunting, and possibly it will result in the state restricting this particular hunt to the upland side of the highway. But really there is already plenty of ammunition for the antis on Youtube.

Good thing the native cops didn't see Parker holding his native steelhead out of the water for a photo...they might have shot him and stolen his Simms outfit and GLoomis rod...

My original argument was, by the pics, it looks suspicious and probably did to the LE as well. Sure would look that way to me. And I said if it's legal it's legal but if I were LE seeing that I'd sure want to check it out. And, if I were the hunting party, it'd scare the crap out of me to be staring down a barrel. So, trying to see it from both sides, taking the elk that way probably contributed to what went down.

I just emailed king5, hopefully they will run this story. I am so tired of legitimate sportsmen being portrayed in a negative light and the tribes being praised for all of their "stewardship." I do not condone tribe bashing I just want a level playing field, when we sportsmen screw up the media is quick to jump on it, turnabout is fair play. I doubt they will run the story, few news agencies have the sack to do a story like this, I suppose it is out of fear of being seen as racist/insensitive.

i think the key question is why the indian cops where ten miles from where they belonged. they should be arrest for something.

Lay off on the 6-martini lunch. Your story doesn't make any sense.

The last native steelhead I've held out of the water for a photo wasn't in this country and there were no native cops. I was also using a Sage rod, not a Loomis rod. You got me on the G4 waders, boots, and G3 jacket though.

If they were shooting away from the road which is F'in common sense,then what's the big deal.Looks like water in the back ground to me and as long as the round didn't cross the road,game over.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

Dead elk on private property during October. I see your point now. That is suspicious.

And yeah, cuffing and stuffing these guys at gun point definately seems more reasonable than "Hello Sir. Can I see your hunting tag please"...

No question these clowns should be held responsible for their actions.

gw---True dat....but more like..."Hello sir I have no jurisdiction here and am over stepping my authority by a long stretch but can I see your hunting tag please?"

In any case I have depredation cow tags for my buddies ranch in EW each year and hope to have meat down soon. It ain't a trophy hunt but like Dogfish said it still tastes good.

docspud, I'm all in favor for your friends. I think almost everybody that's posted thinks they abided by the law and had a fair hunt. I've been associated with "easy" hunts and hard ones. IMO ya gotta take 'em as they come.

Now, what still boggles my mind........"assuming" there's no reciprocity between the tribal fuzz and United States fuzz, what would possess the tribal fuzz to even think that they have the right to "act" as a law enforcement official outside of the rez????? Again, I'm assuming that they can't? Plus, it's a wildlife issue. I've witnessed the State Patrol call Game Cops, because the SP doesn't know how to handle a wildlife issue.

I'm still in dismay at the indian fuzz....IMO the little kiddo won't remember any of this after a year or so. But maybe his daddy will with a decent settlement! Any pics of the bull?

What part of NO jurisdiction don't you get ? If they were so concerned, the Tribal cops should have called local "LEGAL" LE to check with the Hunters to make sure everything was on the up and up.

Look at all of the houses in the background. Not the best place.

"rare elk tag acquired"
So not normal right now.

By their reaction I make the assumption the tribal police thought there may have been a poaching. Someone could have even called claiming it was a poaching. We don't know.

Should they have:

Done nothing.
Called WDFW while watching the truck drive away.
Check it out. (I say they should have. They are still LE).

So boils down to were they reasonable about it. One side say's they weren't. We haven't heard from the other side though. It sounds like they went over board but this may lead to "doing nothing" from now on.

Who's the guy in the light green shirt? Is that WDFW?