It is hard not to feel for someone who has had misfortune on a hunt.
Who wouldn't?
The obvious white elephant in the room is when that person is someone with thousands of posts about their experience, marksmanship skills, hunting accomplishments, and pages of advice to others. That bragging sets the bar high for themselves. No one else is doing that but them. OK to play cowboy as long as it is not all hat and no cows. Torture elk with novice mistakes and then expect sympathy? No.
Private ranch with limited access in a state hunting program? Most of us would treat that with respect from the start. Can't get in range on a ranch? Flinging a long shot under those circumstances? Even if you were a public land DIY guy faced with the only shot opportunity of the trip are you gonna risk that? Ya gotta think your hunt still ends well if no shot is fired. Not so if it turns into a rodeo. If you really are, for lack of a better word, an 'expert hunter' how do you justify that risk over a cow?
So for whatever reason an accomplished hunter decides this is acceptable risk. Goes bad. Still - this could happen to anyone. The cardinal rule no matter what type of trouble you are in is don't make it worse. There is more to being an experienced hunter than hunting skills. Most do not get to that point without developing some better judgement and skills - for instance, - becoming experts at contacting landowners. Gotta think that nearly any ranch knows its adjacent ranches. If not - the phone number on his burglar alarm system will know to contact the owner for sure and it is often posted at the gate. Locked gate call CSP or county dispatch and get help. That's just a few offhand ideas. With a smartphone there are more possibilities.
Continue to hunt? Some years go by where I don't come across an elk carcass fully in tact that was never found by that hunter. Most years I find one.
What is worse than finding that carcass?
Finding a second carcass nearby. Hope he got the 3rd one.
Possibly even worse still is someone else finding it - someone not on the side of the elk hunter. But just tell them it's nobody else's business. If you are at that stage where you are supposed to be setting an example and showing leadership how is continuing to hunt doing so ... and over a cow?
One could empathize with young man making these mistakes who is doing his best to improve. On the other hand someone who talks themselves up but then devotes more explanation to their radio programming than their elk recovery - not so much.
