BEAVER COUNTY, Utah, Aug. 19, 2024 — An investigation into a hunting dispute in Beaver County over the weekend found that no crimes were committed.
A Utah Division of Wildlife Resources conservation officer received a report Saturday about two hunters having a dispute when attempting to harvest a bull elk during the opening weekend of the general-sessional archery bull elk hunt.
“Through collected video evidence and assessing evidence at the scene, the officer determined that the first individual who had shot the elk had hit the elk, but it was not a lethal shot. A second hunter had also shot the elk, but had not killed it either,” the DWR said in a statement Monday.
“Then a third hunter shot the elk three times with a lethal shot that killed the animal. The third hunter tagged and processed the harvested elk. During the course of the investigation, the officer concluded that the third hunter had not committed any crimes in shooting and harvesting the elk.”
DWR officials called the dispute an “ethical issue” rather than a legal one.
“If both hunters were in a legal spot with a valid permit and using proper equipment, they can legally shoot at and attempt to harvest an animal. However, there are laws that state whoever kills the animal must tag it,” the statement concludes.
Milford bow hunter Mayson Smith shared the story in a social media post Saturday night that since has been deleted.
In the post, Smith accused Millard County sheriff‘s deputy Mike Blad of stealing a bull elk that he had shot.
“I shot this bull today with [an] over the counter archery tag. I bedded it down after I shot and was giving it time to pass,” the post said.
A YouTube video shows Smith shoot the elk in the left front leg, injuring the bull but not killing it.
Later in the video, another hunter, identified by Smith in the post as Blad, shoots the bull with at least two more arrows and brings it down.
Prior to the second hunter’s shots, Smith says he interacted with a young hunter who asked if he was going to sneak down for another shot. Smith informed the boy he was going to “give him some time” to die.
“Then he asked if it would be alright if [he and his dad] snuck down and shot the smaller bull that was with mine and I said that should be fine if they didn’t spook the one I had already shot,” the post says.
Smith says he waited about an hour before sneaking down the ravine where he had seen the bull go down. That’s when he found “this kid and his dad with my bull half way quartered and skinned.”
“I said what the hell that’s my bull and he proceeded to say no it isn’t,” the post says.
According to Smith, Blad then told him, “[You] were letting it sit and suffer so I put it out of its misery and now it’s my bull.”
In an updated post Monday, Smith said he has since chatted with the other hunters and the issue has been resolved.
“They both sincerely apologized and we agreed things could have been handled differently,” the post says.
