Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire The money isn't worth it Antler hunters nearly drown

The annual antler rush started off with tragedy and mishap early Friday morning when the cold, fast and full Gros Ventre River drowned a horse and swept boats and people downstream.

The incidents occurred at the location on the Bridger-Teton National Forest where people typically cross the Gros Ventre annually at midnight April 30, when winter closure restrictions are lifted on public land and the antler-hunting season kicks off.

This year the early melt has the river near Kelly running at nearly 1,000 cubic feet per second, according to a U.S. Geological Survey monitor. That’s about double the average for May 1.

“I think a lot of the people that are partaking in antler collecting … they’re not really river people,” said David Bonham, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement officer who helped patrol this year’s antler rush. “That was probably the biggest issue.”

Details were few about the horse that drowned. It was not being ridden but was being used as a pack animal, Bonham said.

Grand Teton National Park rangers are looking for its body so it doesn’t attract bears, a National Elk Refuge statement said. As of mid-afternoon Friday it had not been recovered.

The antler hunters who needed rescuing had tried to cross the Gros Ventre with five people in a hard-sided john-style boat, Bonham said.

“They attempted to get across and started taking on water, and the boat capsized,” he said.

Three of the boatmen made it ashore on the south side of the Gros Ventre, clinging to their vessel, but two were swept downstream. One man found dry ground in the near-vertical cliff at the jumping rocks.

“One of them climbed up about 5 feet and was stuck on the cliffs, and he couldn’t climb any higher,” Bonham said.

The other person rescued wound up on a gravel bar, he said.

Two Grand Teton National Park rangers trained in search and rescue recovered the wet, cold but mostly uninjured horn hunters in a raft. An ambulance was on standby, but victims declined transport, the refuge release said.

The other three who made it ashore attempted to return to the north side of the Gros Ventre. Their retreat failed.

“During their return, the boat again capsized,” the refuge statement said. “They were able to self-rescue without injuries.”

Also early Friday, three other boats became lost downstream in the Gros Ventre River, Bonham said. The vessels’ occupants were OK, he said, but details of the incidents were scant.

Boating is always prohibited on the Gros Ventre west of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, where the river forms the boundary between Grand Teton park and the refuge.

Bonham was thankful there were no serious injuries or worse.

“I’m glad everyone was safe,” he said. “Unfortunately we lost the horse, but I’m glad the two guys made it to dry land and we were able to get the

over a few lousy bones.....obsession will get you killed.

It use to be great to walk thru the woods and find an antler then sit there and contemplate the animal of how big it was and where it was now. Maybe pack it back to camp and take it home as a momento of that hunt.
Now all these guys comb the wilderness areas and lot of them don't even hunt. More greed in the society.

Exactly saddlesore. It is a money making proposition now.

At $10.00 a pound for good antler, a fella could make a buck or three for a days walk in the woods. But it's such a zoo with those guys camping out and rushing around, I don't want any parts of it.

A few years back some guy tried to collect antlers in YNP and float out with his contraband on The Yellowstone via an inflated raft. Only the raft made it.

How does one sell antlers? I've got barrels of the damn things at my dad's house just taking up space and a collection at my house as well. All from legally taken deer. $10/lb sounds pretty sweet. Tell me more!

Several antler buyers out here. For $10/LB they need to be fresh...not old sun whitened racks. And they need to be dropped and not cut off the skull plate for top dollar.

http://www.monstermuleys.info/dcforum/DCForumID18/5615.html#.VUf5mfCrGzk

http://www.shedordead.com/

Top dollar paid if they are still in the velvet.

April 28, 2015 3:30 AM EDT Send to a Friend

Jackson Hole Wyo., (PRWEB) April 28, 2015

Elk antlers are iconic in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Each year nearly a million visitors tour the National Elk Refuge just north of town to see the more than 5,000 elk that overwinter there. And in the town of Jackson, four massive elk antler arches mark each corner of Town Square – a famous vacation photo backdrop. This year the last of those original arches – on the northeast corner of Town Square – will be auctioned to the highest bidder as the town celebrates its connection to this giant of the deer family with its ElkFest weekend of activities, May 16-17, 2015.

The original Town Square arches were built in the early 1960s, comprised of approximately 2,000 antlers and weighing 10-12 thousand pounds each. Over time, the arches began to deteriorate, so in 2007 the first of the landmarks was auctioned with proceeds going toward creating a replacement. Since then two more of the original arches were purchased and replaced with new antlers, and this year the final original arch goes on the auction block at the end of the 48th annual Jackson Hole Boy Scout Elk Antler Auction on Saturday, May 16.

Since 1967, the Boy Scouts have been assisting in gathering antlers shed naturally each winter by male elk on the refuge, auctioning them to buyers from around the world. The auction was created as a fundraiser for the National Elk Refuge, with last year's record-setting 13,968 pounds of elk antlers yielding more than $200,000 in sales. Begun in connection with the Boy Scout auction, the ElkFest weekend has evolved into a fun-filled celebration of nature, outdoor skills, hunting and ecological education and awareness – as well as a celebration of spring warming the valley after another famous Jackson Hole winter.

Additional Saturday events for this year's ElkFest include a traveling conservation exhibit with some of the largest bull elk in the world from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, a free concert by Jackson Hole Community Band, a special Kids' Corner, and the return of the Mountain Man Rendezvous and Traders Row at the Teton County Fairgrounds. The mountain man event, which traditionally begins on ElkFest weekend and continues through Old West Days, May 22-25, includes interactive competitions such as bow and arrow, hawk and knife and atlatl rivalries among the costumed mountain men as well as refreshments and hand-crafted goods for sale.

Sunday, May 17 brings back the High Noon Chili Cook-Off from noon – 3 p.m. on the Town Square, winding down the weekend with a delicious competition among local chili aficionados. Hot and spicy, sweet or mild, the chili contest is open to all with the call for entries ending May 11.

Directly following ElkFest, Jackson celebrates its Western history with the annual Old West Days, set to take place over Memorial Day weekend, May 22 - 25, 2015. The four-day event allows visitors to enjoy a roundup of exciting Wild West fun, including live music, theatrical entertainment, arts and crafts, delicious food and drink and the rodeo.

About the Jackson Hole ElkFest:
Conveniently located just 20 minutes from the Jackson Hole Airport, Jackson, Wyo., is served by major airlines including Delta, United, American and SkyWest. Reservation information for Jackson's numerous hotels and schedules for events and activities year-round may be found at http://www.jacksonholechamber.com. For additional information on the May ElkFest, visit http://www.elkfest.org or contact Maureen Murphy at Jackson Hole Chamber, 307.733.3316.