POACHERS on TV show "Hunting in the Sticks"
 

HUNTERS PAY HUGE PRICE AFTER VIEWER TIP LEADS TO INVESTIGATION, BUST

March 15, 2017 By David Strege

A hunter on the national TV show called “Hunting in the Sticks” on the Pursuit Channel talked about doing an elk and mule deer hunt on the public lands of Wyoming during an episode called “Western Redemption.”

Ricky Mills admitted on the air he and his partner, Jimmy Duncan, “didn’t know what we were getting into.” What the hunters got into was a whole lot of trouble.

During the episode, an alert viewer notified the authorities after noticing that the area they claimed to have killed elk didn’t match the area of their licenses, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

The tip led to an exhaustive investigation and a case was built against the poachers, both of whom are from Bedford, Kentucky. It came to a conclusion Monday when the hunters confessed and faced the consequences.

Mills and Duncan both pled no contest to numerous wildlife violations. They will pay fines totaling more than $31,000 and lose their hunting privileges for 15 years in 43 states participating in the Wildlife Violator Compact.

Duncan was sentenced to pay $17,740 in fines, restitution for the elk and antelope, and court costs. Mills was sentenced to pay $13,700 in fines, restitution for the elk, and court costs. Both forfeited their elk mounts to Game and Fish.

“This case could not have been made without the assistance of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources agents,” Mike Ehlebracht, investigative supervisor for the Wyoming Game and Fish, said in a statement. “Through search warrants and interviews we were able to make a case and both men confessed.

“I believe the two defendants were driven to get kill-shot footage for the television show and that resulted in their making bad decisions.”

The Game and Fish Department detailed the infractions:

At the conclusion of the investigation, it was determined that in 2014 while deer hunting in Deer Hunt Area 10 in northern Converse County, Mills and Duncan each killed a mature bull elk on private property. Both men also had elk licenses that same year, but the licenses were valid for Elk Hunt Area 51, which is in extreme northwest Wyoming bordering Yellowstone National Park, not for Elk Hunt Area 113 where they shot the elk. Elk Hunt Area 113 is a highly coveted hunt area with very few licenses. In this hunt area, bulls are only allowed to be harvested every other year.

It was also discovered that the two defendants attempted to do the same thing in 2013. Other evidence showed that Duncan harvested an antelope buck in September 2013 without a license. The two were also charged with waste of big game animals in connection with the two illegally harvested elk, along with a small game violation.




http://www.grindtv.com/random/hunter...tigation-bust/

Glad they caught them. I can't imagine losing hunting privileges for that long. My entire lifestyle would have to change.
-Jake

Good to hear they got caught, I am seeing alot more amateur hunters trying to make it big and hope this gives them a heads up to do it right and lawfully.

Threw the book at them to set an example it looks like.

Not very smart "hunters" and whatever career they thought they had in the outdoor industry is ruined forever.

Getting to the point...
 

where there is not enough time to be a "big game hunter" on TV.
Wouldn't take their job for all the world. They have to paint an illusion beyond an illusion.
But then I don't watch the big game hunters" on TV and don't wear the latest in camo wear. I've always been a "part-time hunter."
I keep the pressure off myself. Never had to pay for the latest in rifles, camo wear, or fishing gear.

They similarly bagged a Hunting TV guy who illegally shot a big bull elk in the Rocky Mountain National Park a few years back. Good forensics and a public tipoff brought that guy to justice too. Hear! Hear!

Those shows set high expectations and I don't particularly care for them. Fair chase all the way and I am proud of my state (CO) for their commitment to that, even at the expense of lower success rates.

This is why I cannot STAND "hunting" shows..especially this latest generation of youngsters that think because they have a few videos on youtube makes them "experts." Most of these kids have no instincts and, as proven by this post, have to cheat in order to bag something...it's disgusting.