# Big Deer Poached and Put on Display at the Expo



## MuscleWhitefish

http://www.gohunt.com/read/news/breaking-story-230-inch-mule-deer-buck-poached-in-wyoming

Wow


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## Dunkem

Glad they got him!! To bad ,beautiful animal.


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## CPAjeff

Thanks for the link - it's this kind of crap by these jackwagons that give hunters a bad name.


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## 3arabians

Besides the horrendous poaching of this buck I cant believe the level of greed displayed by this individual!! That buck he took legally before the poaching was the buck of a lifetime for most. To turn around after bagging a buck like that and poaching this buck is unfathomable!!


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## SidVicious

You would think that you wouldn't mount a buck that you poached and put it on display at an expo. I hope they string this guy up. I can't stand people like this.


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## Springville Shooter

What an a-hole. Perhaps this poached deer was not even the worst travesty to adorn the expo?-----SS


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## Critter

Any of you remember the guy from Montrose, Colorado back in the 70's that was killing 200" bucks all over the place that they found out were actually poached? I remember the outdoor magazines calling him the mule deer whisper for being able to find trophy bucks where ever he looked.

The last that I heard about him he was looking at some major jail time.


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## 2full

If I ever got one like that (legally), I would retire from deer hunting. :mrgreen:


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## torowy

I ran into the guy that reported him. I can't believe how dumb and sick for attention some people are.


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## AF CYN

Very interesting (and unfortunate) story. Thanks for sharing.


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## wyogoob

If I was gonna poach a deer that would be the one.

.


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## Springville Shooter

Poached would likely be the best way to prepare that tough old bugger. Leave it to Gooby to come up with the best culinary solution.----SS


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## wyoming2utah

SidVicious said:


> You would think that you wouldn't mount a buck that you poached and put it on display at an expo.


Actually, that is the crazy dumb thing about a lot of poachers...they are driven by their need to brag about their kill, so they have to show them off. Mounting it and displaying it is to be expected by some of these dumb pricks. Social media is another way that many of these jackwagons are being caught...they just have to show off their kills.

This is, in my opinion, a symptom of what is wrong with hunting these days--too many people are driven by the need to brag about their kills. For these people, the joy in hunting is bragging about their exploits or kills. I think it is sad...


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## Packfish

This is wrong and I certainly do not condone any type of poaching but there is a semi humorous side line to this- I will stay out of names but the poacher has something to do with Big Piney High school sports- they are called the Big Piney Punchers- when they played Pinedale- the Pinedale fans where chanting
Big Piney Poachers Big Piney Poachers


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## DallanC

So the SFW Expo is the place to go to see big Poached animals?


-DallanC


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## Don K

I cant believe that he thought they would get away with this


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## wyogoob

*230" poached WY deer exhibited at the Expo*

Ya just can't make this stuff up.

http://blog.eastmans.com/world-class-buck-poached-jail-time/

.


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## CPAjeff

I read a few of the comments at the end of the story, and they range from a lynch mob to "he is just a human and humans make mistakes." I love it when people say that he needs his hunting privileges taken away forever - he poached once, what makes people think he won't do it again??

Why is it that the wildlife agencies put such a low value on the individual animals? It seems that every other industry in the world uses a fair market value approach when setting a price or replacement value. I think the fine of $5,000-$10,000 is pretty low. In my opinion, make this guy pay up - maybe $40,000-$50,000.


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## DallanC

CPAjeff said:


> Why is it that the wildlife agencies put such a low value on the individual animals?


I go the other way, why do individuals put such a HIGH cost on a animal? 300k for a AI deer tag? Are people that insane?

I really feel lately like antlers are the modern day Idol's for alot of people. People build up such a fenzy, demand over antlers that it drives alot of sketchy behavior, poaching, way beyond their ability long range shooting, wounding 3 or 4 before they finally kill one, trespassing, etc etc. I just dont get it. Geeze I dont even pick up a shed when I'm out hiking. I just dont understand it personally...

-DallanC


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## CPAjeff

DallanC said:


> I go the other way, why do individuals put such a HIGH cost on a animal? 300k for a AI deer tag? Are people that insane?
> 
> I really feel lately like antlers are the modern day Idol's for alot of people. People build up such a fenzy, demand over antlers that it drives alot of sketchy behavior, poaching, way beyond their ability long range shooting, wounding 3 or 4 before they finally kill one, trespassing, etc etc. I just dont get it. Geeze I dont even pick up a shed when I'm out hiking. I just dont understand it personally...
> 
> -DallanC


Great, valid points! I agree completely with the statement that antlers have become idols for some people!


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## Cazador

I honestly feel the $5-10,000 fine just isn't sufficient. They should have a formula to calculate the cost of an animal such as the one below. 

In 2013 Denny Austad paid $310,000 for the antelope Island Tag and ended up shooting a 247 inch buck. 

If we take $310,000 divided by 247 inches we end up with $1255 per inch for that deer. 

To compare

The poached buck was 230 inches multiplied by the $1255 per inch gives us a whopping $288,650 for the poached buck. 

Now do I think this is the exact formula that they should use? No, but it just goes to show how small the fine that they are looking at is. I feel that poaching needs to be dealt with much more severely than they are currently doing.


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## DallanC

Realistically you should take the mean price, not the top. What is a deer worth? You can probably average it out based on landowner tags, which are what, 2500 to 4k for average CWMUs (someone will correct me if I'm too far off). I know for a fact those permit holders arent killing all 4x4 bucks... my wifes last CWMU tag was filled on a big 2pt. Sooo work out the math again using that. 5-10k for a fine seems pretty reasonable actually.

-DallanC



Cazador said:


> I honestly feel the $5-10,000 fine just isn't sufficient. They should have a formula to calculate the cost of an animal such as the one below.
> 
> In 2013 Denny Austad paid $310,000 for the antelope Island Tag and ended up shooting a 247 inch buck.
> 
> If we take $310,000 divided by 247 inches we end up with $1255 per inch for that deer.
> 
> To compare
> 
> The poached buck was 230 inches multiplied by the $1255 per inch gives us a whopping $288,650 for the poached buck.
> 
> Now do I think this is the exact formula that they should use? No, but it just goes to show how small the fine that they are looking at is. I feel that poaching needs to be dealt with much more severely than they are currently doing.


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## willfish4food

Having never taken an animal to a taxidermist, I don't know the process. Do you have to produce a tag with the animal you bring in? If so, seems like the taxidermist should have known pretty quickly something was amiss. If not, seems like that would be a good SOP to provide one more layer of difficulty for poachers to get their prize.


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## DallanC

Dunno about other states, but in Utah tag goes with the biggest piece of meat.


-DallanC


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## Cazador

DallanC said:


> Realistically you should take the mean price, not the top. What is a deer worth? You can probably average it out based on landowner tags, which are what, 2500 to 4k for average CWMUs (someone will correct me if I'm too far off). I know for a fact those permit holders arent killing all 4x4 bucks... my wifes last CWMU tag was filled on a big 2pt. Sooo work out the math again using that. 5-10k for a fine seems pretty reasonable actually.
> 
> -DallanC


I understand taking the mean from a mathematical stand point, but isn't worth pretty subjective? I've always been under the impression that something is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, and antelope island is the perfect example. The 2016 tag went for $410,000 for the opportunity to harvest a 200+ inch deer. So shouldn't that be what a 200+ inch deer is worth if somebody paid that much?


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## johnnycake

I think a better base average would be the auction tag prices from the unit where the buck was taken or the average of all the units within a 50 mile radius, etc.


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## CPAjeff

There once was an incident near where I currently live with a trespasser, I know this is different than a poacher, but the story is still an interesting one. This happened back before the DNR would confiscate the animal if it was harvested while trespassing...

A hunter shot a bull elk on private property that he did not have permission to hunt on. The local warden was called and proceeded to give this guy a trespassing ticket. The hunter made the mistake of saying, "One of your coworkers has given me a trespassing ticket up here 4 out of the last 5 years. I will gladly pay the $150 ticket to harvest a bull elk like this every year up here." This statement did not sit very well with the warden and he made a few phone calls to the owner of the property. The owner filed suit against this hunter and the judge ruled that the hunter had to pay the owner the fair market value of that animal. Inflation rates from the time it happened to current day place that fine at $14,500.00 for a 320" bull elk.

I would think that a 230" mule deer would warrant a stiffer fine than $5-$10k.


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## wyogoob

I merged the two similar threads about the 230" poached Wyoming mule deer.


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