Not talking about the mule deer buddy ..lol ..i feel for him about the buck

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We all feel for Jeff regarding that buck,but to publicly question his ethics as a hunter, albeit through what I'm guessing is heresay, as my first question wasn't warranted an answer. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you have observed him in the field and there is an issue you have with his ethics. Afterall, you have an idea where he'll be hunting this week, and will be watching him once again. But I'll leave it at that. I would hate to be the reason that a "story" came out on the forum that would drag Jeff's name through the mud. You have your opinion, and I have mine.

Not mudslinging anyone .. pm sent .

The guy that knowingly takes antlers from someone else's kill instead of trying to find the shooter is the same type of guy that tells everyone he harvested the animal when all his friends see the mount and egos need stroked.

These are the same guys that take trail cams, stands, and blinds because it was on public property

This thread has saddened me and I'm stunned that any hunter would claim ownership on someone's trophy.

Who says that they did, you honestly think that every hunter is part of this forum? I know guys who live in Edmonton and once a year make a 6 hour drive to hunt mulies down south, that head could be anywhere, it's really unfortunate but things happen. Who knows it might show up yet, good luck to the op, awesome buck!!

Lots of guys questioning a hunters ethics over a buck with big antlers that he searched a week for. How many of those guys questioning him would look for a week if it was a doe they wounded or do ethics only apply to trophies.

Good post Bushrat.

Please explain :thinking-006:

Why does anyone questions anyone’s ethics on the internet? I have seen only one guy chiming in who seems to know the hunter personally and he had only good to say about him.

The guy asked if anyone has any info on the beheaded deer, not whether his kill and search for that deer was ethical.

Well this thread has taken an interesting and unexpected turn. LOL I'm genuinely curious as to where and how I'll be unethically hunting this week? Wherever it is I hope I get something. LOL
Are you sure you're following the right Jeff?
If you would like to follow along I'd welcome you to follow me on instagram @huntingjeep99 where I occasionally post live updates to my timeline/story. That's probably easier than following me in person. LOL However, I am occasionally looking for someone to run camera for me (I have video of every hunt I've been on in the last 5 years) so if I'm being followed at least I won't have to self film. LOL
Seriously though, if anyone has ever had any questions about the ethics of anything I have ever done (or am apparently about to do) in regards to hunting, I invite you to bring them forward, either privately or publicly as I am willing, able, and eager to discuss any and all of my actions.
If however, you have never witnessed, heard tell of, or suspected me of EVER doing anything illegal or unethical, then it's probably best to leave your insinuations behind. If anyone has any facts they'd like to present, I'm all ears! If not, I'm still all ears to hear your theory.

Cheers
Jeff Solberg

Never mind the naysayers Jeff...the concocted stories in their own minds are only fit for the silver screen. You did what you could to find the deer, even above and beyond. Sometimes things happen even when we do everything in our power. I hope you can find closure to this.

LC

I have not been involved in this thread other than to read comments....so here is my first post...lefty I agree!
Zip:)

Well Phrased Jeff.

Rotten luck on a heck of a deer. Hope you track him down!

Well said

Some guy is probably sitting at home looking at the giant set of antlers sitting next to his fireplace wondering what the story was behind who stuck an arrow in that deer. Believe it or not, not every hunter in Alberta is part of this forum and he probably has no idea of the crap storm going on here.

If I came along and found a long dead Monster Muley with a arrow sticking out of it I would cut the head off too. I’d feel bad for the hunter that lost it but I would more than likely not leave it. Why would I? The original hunter who shot it may never be back and even if he didn’t live hundreds of miles away the chances of him finding it after not finding it the day it was shot are slim.

I’d take them home and look at them just like I do the many sets of shed antlers I have. They would still tell a story and would have meaning to the person who found them. If I was lucky enough to find the original hunter who shot that buck I’d give them to him. In return I’d want a picture of myself, that skull and antlers, and the original hunter. I’d hang that picture up in my room and that too would be a cherished item and tell it’s own story.

The OP sounds like a solid guy. The person who found the skull/antlers probably is too. Crappy circumstances all around but I my mind no wrong has been done.

A thread that has gone the way this one has has probably done more harm than good in regards to the OP ever finding out who has the rack. I doubt anyone would speak up if they had the antlers for fear of repercussions. This story could have had a happy ending, but the Lynch mob mentality has probably prevented that from happening.

Agreed, would do the same myself. I really like that part about having a picture of the three of you as a memento.

That's one thing about hunting - you may not always come home with meat, but you will always come home with a story about your hunt.

dead heads and sheds are cool to find and I'd pack a good one out a long ways out. If I found a fresh one with an arrow in it, that looked like it was there a long time I'd probably assume someone had lost it permanently and pack it out too. Im sure almost all of us would, I'm also sure that almost all of us would return it to the shooter if we knew who it was.

It does bring up the question of "first blood" though doesn't it? If a fellow wounds a deer in a non mortal way and the second shooter hits it mortally...it belongs to the second guy. If the deer was mortally wounded before being shot again it belongs to the first shooter. I think anyone would agree, this deer was killed by one arrow and belongs to the first shooter..... Unless someone found it wounded and the meat was beyond salvaging and they took the head, that's conjecture though.

I just want to point out that I've never indicated that any wrong has been perpetrated by whoever has the head. I'm sure he had no idea who had shot it.
I'm simply trying to use the networking power of this forum to hopefully find some answers. Maybe a friend of the guy is on here, who knows.
It could definitely be argued that the finder is the rightful owner of the head. And I believe technically and leagally, that would be the case.

My sympathies go out to the OP.
There are quite a few people assuming the worst about the person who took the head. Reading what the op has written makes me think something quite a bit more innocent has happened.

Your pics look like they are from down south. Given the time of year, it would have been warm out. Meat would begin to spoil quite quickly.

You are describing a large effort by many people to help find this deer. You don't mention how big the property is but I'm thinking that your crew would have been hard to miss. I would also think that someone from your group would have seen someone packing out ( or driving out ) your deer's head.

This leads me to think that your deer was discovered by the other person in the days after your group had given their best effort to find the buck. Given the time of year, the meat would be spoiled, the smell would be ripe and the flies would be thick.
This other hunter would come across this scene and make the logical conclusion that the deer has been shot, not recovered and has been laying there for several days.
He cuts off the head and takes it home. End of story. Nothing sinister. It's just a 'look at I found' kind of situation.

To the OP. I know that it is near impossible to include every detail of the story, but have you contacted the land owner? At one place that I hunt, the landowner keeps a record of who has permission on which days. Perhaps the landowner could be of assistance to you.

Wow,this is interesting. Such a range of opinions.

It was ISIS! :scared:

I hope that the OP gets a chance to see it. If I found it he could have it if he wanted it.

That brings up an interesting dilemma, at least for me. If something like this happens how would I feel about getting the head back and displaying it as I would for a successful hunt. It would feel a bit like cheating to me I think. I'll have to give this a little thought . :thinking-006:

When I got the deer I had lost back, the wolves and coyotes and birds had consumed anything of value...including most of the cape.

I could have got another cape but it wouldn't be the same deer, so I got a euro mount done.

LC

Are you allowed to continue to bowhunt other mule deer after you find the carcass with your arrow in it ?

That would be a sealed tag and season over for me.

He put in a good effort it’s to bad he made a bad shot it can happen to anybody happened to me before. As far as looking who really cares to look anything past probably 10 hours at the temp he shot it in the meats bad so what the point. Finding it would be a good learning experience for what happened to it and it is really nice rack but as far as a trophy I don’t think I l would put it in my wall. Not blaiming the hunter at all this can happen to anybody

Obviously some people misinterpreted my post. I was condemning the folks who were questioning the original posters ethics. As far as I'm concerned he did everything he possibly could to find this deer. Was trying to say the people questioning his ethics probably have wounded a doe or whatever animal that wasn't a trophy, looked for 15 minutes if at all and moved on. Yet when the same thing happens to another hunter who loses a trophy buck they point fingers and cast aspersions on that persons ethics.

I see on instagram that jeff has the antlers, or at least got to hold them. I assume there isn't an update here because the thread was full of bull****...

Excellent! Congrats to Jeff!

:)That would not happen here!:)

Hey everyone, I just want to add a quick update. I honestly thought I'd never see those antlers again! Well, thanks to the networking power of this Forum, and the absolutely unbelievable generosity of a complete stranger, I not only got to see the antlers, but they are now in my possession.

I didn't want to post anything on here until I was sure that everything was legal and that all the proper steps had been taken. But long story short is:

I was called by a gentleman who said he had the head in question. He said that they were rightfully mine if I killed the buck and that he would just give them to me if I wanted them. (I almost choked up when I heard that) I called my local warden (who I had been in contact with since Sept 2nd) and he told me to bring them in to the office.
Upon reviewing my footage, pictures, and story it was determined that I had legally killed that particular deer, with my bow, in a general archery season. I was able to use my unfolded tag to acquire proper ownership from the Crown.

I thought I was cursed this year, and was having the worst season of my entire life. In reality it was all just part of God's plan to teach me patience and persistence, and was the greatest hunting blessing of my entire life!

There are so many details and so many people that I need to thank, that I just don't have time to do it properly now. I will post pics once the head is back from being cleaned by TopNotch Taxidermy in Coaldale.

For now I just want to say thanks to everyone who took an interest in this thread and my story. Really it was that interest that triggered this remarkable sequence of events.

If you'd like to follow along with the rest of the story, or go back and catch up on the original details, please check out my Instagram @huntingjeep99