LETTERMAN BUCK...... #1 MT state record
northern
9/4/08 6:41pm
We went up to Billings montana yesterday and stopped by the sportsmans warehouse. Inside we came across the Letterman buck.... For those of you that have'nt heard..This buck was poached in montana, it is the #1 typical in B/C in montana. it scores I belive 207 7/8. The deer is massive to see in person. Here is my wife and daughter standing next to it.
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8,769
But that aside The deer is HUGE!!!!!
While law enforcement authorities were executing a search warrant on Frank’s home, they found a huge set of mule deer antlers that will rival the current state record. Acting on a tip from an informer that Frank had killed the deer last winter during the closed season, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department (FWPD) game wardens confiscated the antlers.
At his court hearing, Frank pleaded guilty to possessing the antlers, but said although he didn’t personally shoot the buck, he knew it had been illegally killed. In exchange for guilty pleas, prosecutors dropped charges of solicitation to kidnap. Frank received a 10-year sentence on the theft charge and a 5-year sentence on the wildlife charge and was ordered to pay Letterman’s ranch $1,500 and $8,000 to the state.
According to the Montana FWPD, the buck was officially measured for the compensation phase of the lawsuit against the poacher and officially scores 207 7/8 B&C which tops the current state record typical mule deer that was killed in 1983 and scores 205 3/8 B&C. After contacting the Boone & Crockett Club, it is possible that the buck will be accepted as the new state record if it is listed as a “pick up” with ownership going to the Montana State agency ensuring that no credit be given to the poacher.
I didn’t have all the room I wanted to in the magazine to include more information about this story. One question has come up as to how can this buck be entered into the Boone and Crockett record books since it was poached and not taken by Fair Chase standards? That is a good question, but after contacting B&C, they wanted to make sure that the following was elaborated upon to help people understand how this could happen. This is from their response:
“Basically, as ludicrous as it sounds, it obviously wasn’t the deer’s fault it was poached. Some legitimate sportsman was possibly robbed of the opportunity of taking this trophy himself. However, since it was confiscated, the Montana Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks is the legitimate owner of this trophy and holds it in trust for all the hunters of Montana. It should be recognized for the conservation efforts it represents of legitimate, Montana sportsmen.”
Therefore, what this means is the poacher could not get this buck entered in the books. However, since the antlers have been confiscated and is now in possesion of the Montana Department of Fish and Wildlife, they have the option to enter it into the books as a “pick up”, with credit going to the Fish and Game. No mention or credit will be given to the poacher.
I also tried to get more information about the buck from the Montana Dept. of Fish and Game. I asked the following questions: How wide is the buck? What is the gross score? What is the Montana FWPD going to do with the antlers? Are you going to submit the score sheet to B&C for official entry into the books? However, all answers were either a “no comment” or “don’t know at this time”.
So what did we learn from all of this? A buck was taken illegally in Montana. It was confiscated by the Montana FWPD. It scores 207 7/8 net typical B&C. It exceeds the current state record. If the Montana FWPD decides to enter the buck into Boone & Crockett (B&C) as a “pick up”, they will accept the buck. The buck has not been submitted to B&C at this time.
I guess we will wait and see what the Montana FWPD decides to do with this great potential state record typical mule deer rack.
UPDATE: (01/23/05) This buck has been submitted and accepted by Boone and Crocket with a score of 207 7/8 net typical. It is classified as a pick up and owner is MT Dept. Fish, Wildl., & Parks with a date of 2004. This buck is now officially the Montana state record typical mule deer.
I hope that this clarifies that this is now the #1 montana state typical mule deer.
Don't want to argue with ya. It's a shame that a great deer was taken in that manner.
BTW have you looked in the book recently? How many Pickups have you seen in there. If a deer Dies and someone finds it out of season It still goes in the book IF it makes the Score.
Im not trying to start an argument Im just pissed that B&C and the MT F&G would consider entering it,wtf for?And how did it end up in SW,sold?B&C preachesfairchase,how is a deer shot in deep snows after the season Fair Chase?They should hang it in the F&G office next to his shriveled sac. :thumb
I can only hope to get one that freaky :thumb . I beleve that fwp loanes it out to different sporting good shops. I know that when we had the big bust here in Forsyth, they have the heads of all the goats and deer scattered all over for the public to see.
+1
:thumb
Here is the blog from MTfwp
"This is a major win for the people of Montana to see these two widespread investigations brought to a successful conclusion," said FWP Enforcement Division chief Beate Galda. "Defendants in 10 states, some a far away as New York and New Jersey, were involved and it required five years of dedicated work to get the job done."
Both investigations involved breaking the law on licenses and limits for big game hunting and transporting illegally killed animals across state lines. Operation Palmetto-Peach involved an outfitter located in Marietta, Ga. with ranch land near Broadus. The investigation, beginning in 1997, eventually involved 21 defendants who paid $14,000 in fines and $16,000 in restitution to the State of Montana. The defendants lost a total of 12 years in hunting privileges in Montana and 12 other states and handed over trophy mounts from 36 animals. The case included the states of Montana, Georgia, and South Carolina.
Operation Rosebud involved two Forsyth area outfitters and generated $149,000 in federal and state fines and restitution. The investigation eventually resulted in 40 years of revoked hunting privileges in Montana and 12 other states for 21 state and seven federal defendants, worldwide hunting privileges revoked for a total of seven years and trophies from 54 animals were seized. Charges included killing big game animals without a license, tagging animals with licenses issued to others, killing over the limits and federal Lacey Act violations for transporting illegally killed animals across state lines.
"These two cases illustrate how a few people can do an obscene amount of damage to the resource in a relatively short time," said Warden Sgt. Mike Moore of Miles City, who worked on both cases. "Our wildlife is a very valuable resource coveted by people who will go to extremes, including breaking state and federal laws. This kind of complex, time consuming investigation is the only way to learn the extent of the damage going on around us and to put a stop to it."
State and federal law enforcement is strengthened by an agreement among 13 Western states, known as the Wildlife Violator Compact, that a loss of hunting privileges in one state will extend to all the others in the agreement.
Moore said over 50 FWP Wardens and other state and federal game authorities across the U.S. worked as a team to collect the evidence and complete the investigations required to bring these two cases to a close. Another important partner in solving wildlife crimes is the public. In 2000, the TIP-MONT hotline logged over 1,000 calls, the most calls in the 16-year history of the hotline. The toll free number, 1-800-847-6668, is open 24 hours a day and callers can remain anonymous, do not have to testify in court and may receive a reward for a tip that helps to protect Montana’s fish, wildlife and parks resources.
Moore said the forfeited trophy mounts will be made available to local and state government entities, to be displayed with tags noting their illegal origin and the loss of resources to legal hunters. A "Wall of Shame" in the conference room at the Miles City FWP Region 7 office also attests to the waste of public resources involved in these two cases.
"We aren’t naive, we know these are only two instances out of who knows how many other cases," Moore said. "But, when we do get a lead we follow it. Putting a stop to even one poaching ring of this size is a major accomplishment for the resource and the people of Montana.