I would still want more details even if I knew what the specific violation was (which we don't). But because you asked and it's just specultaion, let's take one. Shooting the deer after legal hours. O.K. was it just a minute or two aftersunset or before sunrise, something that's done ALL the time, orwas thehuntersystematically hunting in the wee hours by moonlight in blatant disregard of the law. IMO, in the former 500 is way too much and the latter, way too little.

How about another. Not having the right tag. Was it a violation because the hunter shot a doe and didn't even possess a doe tag (again a blatant disregard for the law) or was it because he thought the spikes were 3" long making it a legal buck but it turns out the longest was only 2 7/8" which technically would require a doe tag. Again imo it matters. In one example the 500 is too little, the other too much.

I'm sure anybody with a little imagination can think of many examples where the circumstances arounda violation would make a big diferrence in the severity ofa reasonablepunishment. But the article gives us no circumstances, no details, it just tells us that they broke the law. What should the fine be for breaking the law?