Another Bust In Wyoming

[TOPGUN]

Wyoming Nonresident Outfitter Convicted of Transferring Licenses
SHERIDAN - For the second time in less than 10 years, a Wyoming professional outfitter has been charged and convicted of illegally using clients hunting licenses. Jon Ball of ?Jons Outdoors,? a licensed Wyoming outfitter from Oregon, recently signed a plea agreement with the Johnson County Attorney?s Office. In the agreement Ball admitted that during the 2017 hunting season he had a hunting client who was issued an antelope license and a deer license that could not make the trip to hunt in Wyoming. Ball transferred the antelope license to another hunter in his hunting camp and used the deer license himself to harvest a second buck mule deer.
?What makes this case even more serious is this is the second time Ball has done this in less than 10 years.? said Buffalo Game Warden Jim Seeman. In 2009, Ball was convicted of the same violation when he allowed an employee of his outfitting business to use a license that had been issued to another person. Ball pled guilty to that violation and paid $3,000 in fines and restitution and lost his hunting privileges for three years.
In the signed plea agreement, Ball agreed to pay a total of $8,000 including $4,000 in fines and $4,000 in restitution. Additionally, Ball agreed to the loss of hunting privileges for eight years in 47 states that are members of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact.
Two of Ball?s other clients were issued citations in conjunction with this case. John McDougal, from Pennsylvania, was issued citations for taking an over limit of big game animals (antelope) and hunting in the wrong area while his brother Earl McDougal, from Tennessee, was cited for accessory to those same violations. In all, this case resulted in fines and restitution totaling $9,500.

 

[BuzzH]

Doesn't say what, if any, action the outfitters board will take.

My guess, he'll be outfitting in Wyoming in 2018.

 

[TOPGUN]

>Doesn't say what, if any, action
>the outfitters board will take.
>
>
>My guess, he'll be outfitting in
>Wyoming in 2018.


That would also be my guess, but now with two serious violations in the last 10 years IMHO he should be brought before the Board and lose his outfitter license to operate in Wyoming for good!

 

[Hunt_the_West]

Heard he was trying to sell his outfit..... but I'm sure that's just a coincidence. Hopefully the landowners give him the boot if the outfitters board doesn't.

 

[callsalot]

He should also lose his hunting privileges in Oregon! If he break a rule in one state twice he'll break it in another state at least once or more.

 

[Hunt_the_West]

I believe Oregon is in the interstate compact so he will lose them as well there.

 

[jm77]

The Outfitter Board should have taken action the first time. That's the problem when outfitters police themselves.

 

[oregonmuley]

I've talked to that guy at our local Sportsmans show several times over the years. He has a big fancy booth with lots of pictures where he sells his hunts. Every time I did talk with him he seemed like a real piece of schitt, hope they can give him the boot in Wyoming.

 

[hossblur]

Sad thing, as a Utard when I saw OP, I thought "now what did one of us do?"

Seems like the penalties aren't stiff enough. How many hunts does he need to sell to cover? 1-2?

Now that guides are multi state, be nice if their licenses were also interstate. A violation in one being a violation in all


"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun"

 

[mightyhunter]

Thanks for the post Topgun. I read these things and I can honestly say that it doesn't surprise me. Buzz H is probably right that nothing will happen. I just read the article about Larry Altimus being convicted of harvesting a desert bighorn after falsifying his residency. As long as there is a dollar to be made or a trophy animal to be had, there will be a lot of dirt bags out there either doing these things or facilitating them. Many people who hunt or are involved in the industry, have just lost sight of doing what is right.

I guided for a few years in Montana. I became really jaded about outfitted hunting after doing that. I remember a hunter I guided who shot a trophy NT mule deer. The buck jumped the fence and died a hundred yards over onto the neighbor's property. The point of impact and blood trail were obvious. The landowner wanted thousands to retrieve the buck. I had another hunter who came into camp to shoot a 30" muley buck. The buck was in a hayfield over by Lewistown and had been previously scouted. The landowner and outfitter wanted big money for the "hunt" and it went to the highest bidder. The guy was done and on a plane out within 24 hours. My experiences in Wyoming have only made my feelings worse. The lying and underhanded activities that some outfitters engage in here, make me shake my head.

Are guys like me, that buy hunting magazines or look at pics on websites like MM, OYOA or Eastmans, at fault to a certain extent. We seem to idolize those people that kill the most game animals each year or the biggest and best. Is that the real reason why we hunt?

My hunting is always on public land going DIY. I don't have an online map system as I try to stay miles away from private property. I could have done something different and gone guided for bighorn sheep in 2017. If my only goal was a big ram, that might have been the outcome with a guide. I have nice whitetail bucks living in my backyard. I won't hunt them. It offers no challenge. I don't begrudge people that use guides and outfitters as long as everyone plays by the same rules.

I don't know if hunting can turn the page on all these dirt bags doing this crap. Topgun, BuzzH and jm77 point the spotlight on a lot of this. I think it helps. However, I think there are a lot of folks out there getting away with illegal activity year after year.

just sayin...mh

 

[jm77]

^^^^+1 antlers and horns make people do stupid things

 

[hossblur]

+2

I find myself wondering the same thing.

The more I listen to Rinella and Newberg he more it bugs me.

I would hope chasing fame would be tamped down with more guys getting hit, but then the Kardashians are still on tv so I'm a realist.


"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun"

 

[rambopup4]

mightyhunter - an excellent post - you are to be commended for your insight! Sadly as long as large sums of money and the gratification mindset that "mine is larger than yours" is involved in big game hunting things like this will continue to happen. The outfitter in Wyoming and the Larry Altimus sheep residency violation are just the tip of the iceberg! Whatever became of the Hunt Fair Chase concept?

Here are other notable examples some may not be aware of:

Garth Carter, founder of Huntin Fool, charged with illegal possession of a bighorn sheep by the Hinton, Alberta game warden in August 2010.

David Hale and Harold Knight of Knight and Hale Game Calls in 2001 pled guilty in federal court in St. George, Utah to hunting elk illegally with an ATV in a closed area of the Fishlake National Forest. Their outfitters, Mitch and Daniel Carter even pled guilty to illegally guiding them on the Beaver District of the Fishlake National Forest.

Bill Busbice of the now defunct outdoor TV show Wild Game Nation has been noted on MM for his wildlife crimes in Wyoming - illegal residency application for a big game tag and waste of wildlife by shooting a cow elk, having his ranch manager dump it in a ditch and continuing to hunt ON FILM FOR HIS TV SHOW for a bull elk. (2015 - 2016)

Aaron Nielson of Sports Afield on TV and who posts hunts for sale on MM as Global Hunting Resources pled guilty on 6/25/1997 in Wray, Colorado to:
hunting on private land without permission
illegal possession of wildlife
second degree forgery
and obtaining a signature for a hunting tag by deception
Nielson later followed this up by hunting in Kansas without a license on 11/29/2000 for which he was issued a citation. Why Brian Leturnner, owner of MM, continues to allow Aaron Nielson to post hunts for sale on MM defies logic!

And finally there is now deceased Troy Gentry of the country singing duo Montgomery Gentry. Several years ago he filmed himself bow shooting/killing a very large black bear in Minnesota. Notice I did not use the term hunting. Trouble was the bear was born and raised in captivity it's whole life behind a fence of no more than about 60 acres and was known nationally to photographers as "Cubby" - all 600 pounds of him. Apparently Gentry did not even have the appropriate Minnesota hunting license or tag. When authorities investigated he purchased the license or tag after the fact and it was for a different area of the state. To make matters worse he took the hide to Tennessee to have mounted and then placed it in his home near Nashville. Minnesota notified the USFWS and a Lacy Act violation ensued. The bear was confiscated and later taken back to Minnesota. Interestingly the headline entertainment one year at the Wild Sheep Foundation banquet in Salt Lake City was Montgomery Gentry. When WSF was notified of Gentry's wildlife related crime they refused to pull him from being the headline entertainment.

Fame, money, and gratification make strange bedfellows in the world of big game hunting!

 

[callsalot]

Mighty hunter, I'm glad you brought this information as it brings to light the dark side of hunting. For eight years I've had some ownership interest in an outdoor business and have attended my share of Sportsman's shows. My conclusion is not near enough focus on enjoying the outdoors, great time with friends and family, and celebrating any success whether it be a fork in horn or giant buck. Everyone wants to be a pro staff and feels the need to compete which brings out an uglier side of a great sport. I long for the good old days.

 

[kilowatt]

I have know and talked with Jon at many Sportsman's show in Sacramento over the years. He was not there this year so he must have gotten fined big time for 2nd incident. He used to post here on MM as he is or was a STURGEON Guide on the Columbia River in Oregon/Washington.

Brian
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