Missoula Legend gets poached

[Randy11]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-19-08 AT 05:07PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Oct-19-08 AT 02:54?PM (MST)

This is old news to guys that live in Missoula, but thought some of you guys might be interested.
There has been a really nice buck living in town for about five years now and has become a local hero of sorts. He wasn't extremely tame but you could still catch glimpses of him every now and then roaming the neighborhoods at night.
Well last week someone put an arrow in him, right in the parking lot of our local coke distributor, right in the middle of town. It was inevitable that it would happen, but still really sucks. The good news is fish and game was on the scene before he even had the buck in the back of his truck.
Hats off to F&G for getting the guy, i have a feeling they were keeping a pretty good eye on the buck anyway.

gross score is just over 200, I've heard both 200 4/8 and 204. outside spread of 36 inches. He had a 6 inch or so drop tine off his right side this summer, not sure when he broke that off. Hanging weight was 270 lbs.
I have pictures from two winters ago of him when he was roughly 28" wide and maybe 165, ill try to find them and post them soon.

If you've ever been in Missoula, its not much for muley country. lots of great whitetails in town, but seeing muleys in town is pretty rare, this buck was really one of a kind.
Hopefully the mount will be put on display here at the local f&g headquarters, not far from where this buck spent his life.

 

[Gator]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-19-08 AT 03:15PM (MST)[p]Such a great looking buck to meet his end as a poached buck is sad, I hope he breed alot of does before his time.

 

[OwnMoreBone]

I hope the poacher does time.........
OMB


There's room for all of God's creatures, right next to the mashed taters and gravy.

 

[cantclosethedeal]

Does Montana have a "trophy" clause in their game laws? When you see a buck like this get poached, you hope there are trophy penalties that will keep this guy out of the field for years!

The buck of a lifetime for most hunters should be the penalty of a lifetime for the poacher if he/she gets convicted.

BTW, AWESOME buck!

 

[Randy11]

Yeah there is a trophy clause, and this deer easily makes it. If they do it right, he shouldn't be able to hunt again in Montana. Although I do know of other guys getting off pretty easy on similar offenses, its pretty disgusting.

 

[Reaper]

That really sucks when someone kills the camp pet! He is a nice buck!

 

[troutsniffer]

I also hope he was able to breed a lot of does before his death. Even more than that I hope the poacher has plenty of time for breeding in jail. Let bubba breed him.

 

[BrowningRage]

Just out of curiosity... Why was it considered poaching??? Out of season? City limits? No tag?

It is always sad to hear a story like this... I hope they throw the book at him if it was poaching... Thanks for the post!!!

 

[NVBighorn]

BR I was going to ask the same thing. Not saying I condone it but what was he charged with?

 

[mooseman]

did you guys read that it was shot in a parking lot in the middle of town.

 

[NVBighorn]

Yes I did. Is that illegal? It was shot with a bow so no discharge of a firearm in a congested area. Maybe trespassing if he didn't have a the permission of the landowner. Shooting from a roadway? Maybe there's an ordinance that says no hunting within city limits. But it is Montana.

As I said I'm not condoning the act, just curious what the charges would be. I'm trying to apply my admittedly limited knowledge of my own state's laws. Having trouble coming up with poaching as long as it was in season and the shooter had a valid tag. I'm sure there is a law against something here. Help me understand.

 

[mooseman]

in utah you can not bow hunt with in city limits and with in so many feet of houses on the upper end of towns along the wasatch. I don't exactly know the particulars of montana but i went to school for two years in missoula and i know that even right above campus (which there was always whitetail and muleys roaming) you could not hunt them either even though there are no housing on the hill. (side note it made for diffucult times trying to study while in the library staring at the hillside being able to see the deer with just by eyes). i guess i just asssumed (i know what assuming gets you) that pretty much any town would have ordaninances (spelling) that prohibited even archery tackle to be used.

 

[NVBighorn]

Well, probably they do have such ordinances. I'm playing devil's advocate here. My thoughts were that if it is a city ordinance that prohibits bow hunting within city limits then there is a chance that the so called "trophy law" might not apply since it isn't technically a wildlife law but rather city code. I don't know that and certainly could be wrong. And if it's not a wildlife law but instead a city code would they be able to confiscate the animal? This thing might come down to one person's definition of "poaching" might not be the same as another's. It does sort of open a can of worms. I believe I remember a big fight on this site about a big elk that was killed (another state) practically in a subdivision while the residents watched in horror.

Such is the stuff lawyers love.

 

[Randy11]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-20-08 AT 08:42PM (MST)[p]It was trespassing, after shooting hours, mule deer are protected in the hunting district, and in Missoula city limits you can't shoot bows unless within designated areas (which this obviously was not).

 

[NVBighorn]

Well then, I guess we have our answer,. The guy is a #%$k up.

 

[huntn30inchers]

I hate to laugh at anything about this thread, but moose, Im glad im not the only one that has sat in the library trying to study watching the deer from the window. Very awesome, but makes it impossible to study.

 

[Randy11]

Heres a picture of him in the summer of 2006