Hunter stripped of his elk

RICMIC

RICMIC

Veteran member
Feb 21, 2012
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Two Harbors, Minnesota
I caught the "Warden" program yesterday on the Outdoor Channel. I saw the header "Failure to Tag", and thought that they were finally going to put this story on the air. Well, it wasn't this case, but a different one in Montana by a different warden. He watched three hunters shoot and retrieve a mule deer buck, and when they got back to the road, they were walking back to their truck when he confronted them. The group was fairly young, with one female and only one rifle in the bunch. They were obviously excited and exhausted. The warden was polite and friendly. It turns out that the shooter had left his tag in the truck, and they were going back to get it. The warden verified that he had a license, called it an honest mistake, and wrote a warning ticket.
I've learned to put my license in a secure pocket and not my pack. You can leave you pack behind, but so far I have always remembered to wear my pants. This warden handled the situation far better than Drew Scott did.
 
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shootbrownelk

Veteran member
Apr 11, 2011
1,535
196
Wyoming
I watched the same episode. The warden writing that warning for what seemed to be an honest mistake, did exactly the right thing.
The other warden must think he's a silver screen star or something. He needlessly damaged public relations with non-resident hunters when it wasn't called for. What he did to those two brothers was way,way beyond "By the Book". They ought to put him in a boat electroshocking fish at night, so he can't interact with sportspeople.
 
M

Murdy

Active Member
Dec 13, 2011
359
0
North-Central Illinois
Jim-MN-ELK said:
They say it didn't rot. We say it did. I have asked for proof of the place and time that my animal reached any processor. Then I'd like the processor's statement. And what about warden Drew Scott's statement to me... "The head will be kept in a locker as evidence, the meat will be processed and frozen until the outcome of your court date."??? That obviously did not happen... but why? Do they think that out-of-state hunters will not question tickets handed to them? Do they think we won't take the time to return to Montana if there is a court date? Before my case was thrown out by the Justice Judge, I had a court date of tomorrow (12/22/2014). I would be in Montana right now, were it not the use of common sense on the part of the County Attorney and the Judge.
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File a freedom of information act request (or have your brother do it -- not sure if you have to be a resident) seeking any documets relating to the processing, handling, and/or donation of the animal. If they exist, they would have to be produced; if they are not produced, that's strong evidence that they don't exist and the animal was not donated.

Here's a FOIA link:

http://www.nfoic.org/montana-foia-laws
 
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Jim-MN-ELK

New Member
Dec 13, 2014
9
0
fishduluth.com
UPDATE! A raw deal for me has turned into a good deal for future MT hunters. Because of all the unwanted attention the FWP received over this case, Montana has re-written and recently passed a new law on tagging game animals. A copy of the new law is being mailed to me so I can post it word for word just yet, but from what I understand the word "immediately" has been removed. Ironically, the new rule sounds very similar to Minnesota's and Wyoming's laws which were written by someone with common sense. Montana's "immediately" rule had been in effect since the 1950s... really??? Glad I could help out!

In our quest to find justice, or any type of cooperation with the FWP regarding warden Drew Scotts bad judgment, our letters (all the way to Governor Bullock) did nothing other than provide us with "lip service". The result is, even if the wardens are wrong in their actions, they will circle the wagons and a cover up to some degree will take place... just like this case.

My brother and I still have a problem with the legality of how my elk was confiscated and the refusal of the FWP and Muddy Boot Productions to sit down for a viewing of the video taken of us that morning. Not to mention false, and or misleading statements to newspapers concerning our hunt. So, we are still busy...! In the mean time, if you are hunting in MT and see a warden / cameraman approaching you, I suggest you pull out a camera or better yet, an I-Phone and start filming/recording the situation to protect yourself.
 
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WY ME

Very Active Member
Feb 4, 2014
549
47
Wyoming
What a joke! The spirit of the law was never violated. Their "circling of the wagons" shows their us-versus-them mentality.
 
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Jim-MN-ELK

New Member
Dec 13, 2014
9
0
fishduluth.com
jjenness said:
Here is the bill as it was proposed. It is a good change for everyone that hunts in MT, to bad it took something like this to move this along.

http://leg.mt.gov/bills/2015/billhtml/HB0279.htm
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Thanks for posting this. I just want to add that my brother from Clyde Park is the one who first introduced this change by contacting one or two (or more) legislators, asking them to bring this to the 2015 session. From there the FWP pretty much took credit as stated in the Billings Gazette on Wednesday 2-4-15, page A9. As far as I know, this change was only set into motion due to the wide spread publicity on the confiscation of my elk. With that being said, I want to thank Mr. Essmann for being the primary sponsor.
 
C

CrossCreeks

Veteran member
Mar 6, 2014
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Dover, Tennessee
I really appreciate you and everyone who stood up and help make this thing right ! This whole incident has left me feeling sick, at least the proposed corrections is something to feel good about !
 
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shootbrownelk

Veteran member
Apr 11, 2011
1,535
196
Wyoming
Did the episode ever air? If it did, I must have missed it. I guess FWP is in the SSS mode perhaps. Nothing to see here folks, move on!
 
25contender

25contender

Veteran member
Mar 20, 2013
1,638
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I received my permits and license today and they had a insert explaining in layman terms the new law.
 
ore hunter

ore hunter

Very Active Member
Jul 25, 2014
699
114
welcome jim to the forum,,sounds like you got the shaft to me.I would have gone ballistic myself by the sounds of it and if it was me,it could have turned into the wild west..Just another reason not to spend my non-res dollars in Montana.I guarantee you I would not have filled out my tag until I got to it first,what if it got up and took off?. Hearing about this just pisses me off.
 
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Dark Mavis

Active Member
Mar 6, 2015
237
17
Vernon Parish, LA
Interesting story. Like the old saying goes, there's a A--hole born everyday. I can't believe they won't/can't provide any info on what happened to the meat. (If I missed any details on that please let me know) My grandfather is a retired Captain with LDWF, and he said that if the warden in question let that meat waste, he should be fired. Glad to hear the MT legislature did something to help.
 
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Againstthewind

Very Active Member
Mar 25, 2014
973
2
Upton, WY
I think the Casper article, and probably the Billings one, said that the meat was already donated to the Livingston food bank, so he couldn't have gotten that back. I could be all mixed up, though. I didn't read the Spokane one referenced above to see if it said anything about that.
 
Musket Man

Musket Man

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Jul 20, 2011
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colfax, wa
From what I have read about it some people have doubts if the warden actually took the elk somewhere to be processed before it spoiled.
 
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shootbrownelk

Veteran member
Apr 11, 2011
1,535
196
Wyoming
Musket Man said:
From what I have read about it some people have doubts if the warden actually took the elk somewhere to be processed before it spoiled.
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The man and his brother had said (I believe) that the warden confiscated it on a particularly hot/warm day in the morning, and they saw it still in the warden's truck in late afternoon. Montana G&F doing a SSS or damage control?
 
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