Absolutely not. You should earn your kills. Not pay for 'em.

Another rich guy buys a trophy. That's definitely not fair chase. But, is that any different that the hunter who pays $50,000 to shoot a lion in Africa or $5000 for a guided elk hunt in Colorado?

it is truly amazing what a couple hundred thousand dollars can buy.

By traditional more narrowly defined fair chase, which focuses on the legality and means of taking the animal, and whether it stood a chance to evade the hunter (i.e was not fenced in), then yes, it qualifies. But it surely points to a dialogue that needs to happen because pretty clearly this moves significantly away from the North American model of wildlife management, and pretty much sticks in my craw. Maybe it was fair to the animal in terms of how it was hunted but it sure doesn't seem real fair to the hunters who had zero chance to pursue, not to mention kill it.

Gotta love crap like this. I live in the east and even whitetail deer seem to be moving this way also. Just look at the Outdoor Channel or Versus. Yes there has always been marketing in TV hunting but there used to be a story with the commercial. All hunting is marketed to how to manage your "lease" or for the less inspired which outfitter has a 150 class buck scheduled to come to a feeder at 10am sharp. In the case of this elk, showing up at camp and the guide knowing where he is bedded.
As for a rifle during any season, everybow hunter knows how impressive their wall could be had they a 270 instead of a bow on certain occassions.

Yes it was fair chase!! Mr. Austad hunted hard for two weeks, took a one week break and then harvested this trophy the first week after returning. When hunting Monroe mountain there is no easy times. This is a very physically demanding hunt. True mountain hunting, not hill hunting!! As far as paying thousands of dollars to hunt with an extended season, so what? This money all goes to benefit everyone in that state who hunts. Bow hunters all had an equal chance at this Bull during this time. Utah was known as the raghorn state for Elk in the early nineties and look at them now. Easily the best Elk hunting state in North America. This is what the sportsmen of Utah wanted and this is what they GOT!!!

This is not a rich man poor man issue. Why do you have to take it there. This is one person, one person purchasing one tag that it would take tens of thousands of average hunters to equal the revenue that is generated from this one tag. EVERYONE who hunts benefits from this money. Habitat improvements result in more tags for EVERYONE!!!!

In my eyes it shouldn’t be counted, how is that “fair” when other hunters can hardly afford an $800 Elk tag?

I also would like to say that regardless of how it was killed the spiderbull was a wild elk that acheived large size and was an incredible animal. Unlike many whitetail deer that reach record book size because someone is feeding them enhanced food plot clover. Bucks that result from food plots should not be recorded in the books.

too bad he got this amazing elk instead of the local hunters in the area who actually do the work themselves

I hate to say it guys but if you have the cash to spend you can just about buy whatever trophy you want. A friend of mine just got back from Saskatchewan (sp?) with a 440 bull, a whitetail that will go well into the book, and a monster bison bull. All acquired for a sizeable piece of money. He is the great hunter, just look at the photos, one of which is already published in a local sportsman's magazine. The average paycheck to paycheck guy does not have a chance to even make the trip this guy did let alone afford the hunt. Does that make the average guy less of a hunter? Hell no, it is the the disposable income differential that created this situation. Like lots of things in life are not fair but are reality just the same. Honestly I don't think there is anything we can do but complain. Maybe we should jump on the guys selling the hunts and animals as much as the buyers.

this is the problem with the way hunting is going these days. the commercialization of the game is doing nothing but harm to our hunting traditions. if this guy wanted to be a stand up guy and a true sprotsman he could have donated the money to the state to help with game management and bought a normal tag and hunted a trophy bull like the rest of us.

Golfings got it right. Fair chase? I guess, no high fences here.
He did buy the tag($170,000). Was on a guided hunt(well, paid the guides to find/keep eye on him). Should he be "counted"? I don't know because he WAS rifle hunting during bow season after all. It is a nice bull, and the money collected will go to a good cause. Maybe they should do "The Gov. Tag " like they do elk here in Ark., by lottery draw.

PS:
If the thousands of hunters that flood elk country during "spike only" seasons in WA are any indication of interest, I doubt that one or two Governor's tags will quence the fires of many, save for a few super idealists.

The bull was taken by Mossback LLC and should be stated so on the record books. One man did not kill this elk, a company killed the animal.

We tread a slippery slope these days, i'm afraid. Lots of grey areas. I hate grey