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Outfitter, guides and hunter charged in elk killing

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Outfitter, guides and hunter charged in elk killing

Old 03-22-2020, 09:14 AM
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Default Outfitter, guides and hunter charged in elk killing

Click on the link in the last sentence of this article for more information.

This is not the first time this outfitter had been involved with illegal activities. When I was looking for an elk guide in 2018 I was cautioned about this bunch.After a four-month investigation, the Pennsylvania Game Commission filed charges earlier this month in a case involving the shooting of a trophy elk in Karthaus Township, Clearfield County. Evidence against the accused parties includes video footage of the hunt.

The story began last August, when Richard Prentiss purchased just one $25 ticket in the Keystone Elk Country Alliance raffle. The ticket gave him a one in 10,580 chance to win the 2019 Elk Conservation License and a six-day fully guided Pennsylvania trophy elk hunt. His name was selected in the Aug. 18 drawing at the Elk County Visitors Center.

Each year since 2014, Elk County Outfitters have donated six days of guiding service to the lucky hunter who wins the drawing. TomBob Outdoors, LLC, of Ridgway signed on to shoot video of the hunt. Prentiss met with Elk County Outfitters later that day, and they agreed that the guides would call Prentiss when a large bull had been scouted.

The call came on Oct. 2 — a massive bull had been located. Prentiss made the 90-minute drive from his home in Lycoming County into the elk range. He hunted with guides and a videographer from TomBob Outdoors that evening and the following day. Then, on the morning of Oct. 4, they relocated the trophy bull on private property.
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#readlocalThe luck continued. According to Elk County Outfitters, Prentiss made a 136-yard shot with his 6.5 Creedmoor and hit the elk a second time at 175 yards. The bull was down at 7:20. Its large antlers were gross green scored at 458 inches. Prentiss had a big supply of meat and the trophy of a lifetime, or so he thought.

When reviewing the video footage, TomBob Executive Producer Brad Clinton noticed what he thought were potential problems with the hunt.

“I surrendered the raw footage to both the Game Commission and the outfitters,” Clinton said.

Although the Keystone Elk Country Alliance is not directly connected with the hunt itself, Rawley Cogan, President and CEO of the Alliance, also became involved.

“KECA became aware on Nov. 18, 2019, of potential game law violations after video footage of the 2019 Elk Conservation License hunt was being reviewed,” Cogan said. “KECA and TomBob Outdoors have zero tolerance for and do not condone any wildlife violations. Our organizations are fully cooperating with the Game Commission on this investigation and will continue to work to ensure all facts are provided and those responsible for any violations are held accountable.”

Prentiss’ elk hide, meat and antlers were confiscated, and all local parties involved were interviewed by the investigating officer, Clearfield County Game Warden Mark Gritzer. Prentiss was interviewed by a Lycoming County warden. Of course, there are two sides to every story.

“Elk County Outfitters was both saddened and angered when we learned that one of our 2019 hunts was put under investigation,” owner Jack Manack stated. “Something so special to a lucky hunter has been totally ruined. We’re not talking about just an elk rack or a freezer full of meat here, we’re talking about something hunters hold more dearly than that. The memory. The story. That’s gone. These things have been taken and cannot be given back.

“That is the shame here,” Manack continued. “That is the one and only crime that has been committed, and those committing that crime have no accountability, have no penalty, and pay no price for false accusations.”

On March 10, multiple charges were filed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission against hunter Prentiss and Elk County Outfitters’ guides Gary Couteret, of Frenchville, and Kim Rensel, from Butler. The charges were filed with Magisterial District Judge Jerome Nevling at his office in Kylertown, Clearfield County. If found guilty of all charges, the hunter and guides face fines and costs of more than $7,000 each.

The charges include unlawful devices and methods (using a motor vehicle to locate elk), shooting on or across highways (shooting at the elk after alighting from a vehicle while being within 25 yards of the traveled portion of the roadway) and unlawful taking of game. A $5000 replacement cost for the trophy elk accompanies the unlawful taking charge. In addition, Couteret was charged with making false or fraudulent statements regarding his involvement with the Prentiss elk hunt.

Although no one from the Game Commission is saying much about the pending court case, Warden Gritzer offered a short statement.

“We had a crime lab examine the video and it vividly depicts violations,” he said.

Likewise, for Elk County Outfitters.

“Since this is going to court, we cannot comment more about this matter other than we are confident that things will work out and this will be proven to be a totally legal hunt,” Manack said. “We are confident the rack and meat will be returned to the hunter, but the joy, the happiness, the great memories are gone for good.”

It should be noted that, in 2015, a different Elk County Outfitters guide and hunter were charged with similar offenses, and Judge Nevling dismissed the case. No court date had been set in the current case; however, it will likely be in April or May.
Mark Nale, who lives in the Bald Eagle Valley, is a member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association and can be reached at [email protected].
Read more here: https://www.centredaily.com/sports/o...#storylink=cpy

Last edited by Oldtimr; 03-22-2020 at 09:19 AM.
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Old 03-22-2020, 09:24 AM
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its a shame that folks feel a need to cheat at times in order to get there game animal
and even worse, IMO< its NOT all that un common
I had a gun shop for yrs and been around a LONG time at lots of hunting camps and like places where I heard MANY stories about KILLS

and sadly, IMO< there are a LOT of outlaw hunters out there, and many have not been shy about talking about them BUT proving them is another story! and most know it!

I hope if this outfitter/hunter is found guilty, they are banned from hunting or being part o any future hunts and get a hefty fine to boot! if not jail time
I hate cheaters!
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Old 03-22-2020, 10:09 AM
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This stuff pissed me off. I hope they get the worst.
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Old 03-22-2020, 01:11 PM
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I may be off track here but something sure sounds fishy about this. Anyone that knows anything about elk hunting knows that PA offers very few tags and has a very tightly controlled hunt. The OP mentions that when he personally drew a PA elk tag he was warned about this outfitter. Fair enough but if an outfitter is known to be somewhat suspect then why are they allowed to have any participation in the hunt at all? I draw your attention to the following line of the OP's post: "Each year since 2014, Elk County Outfitters have donated six days of guiding service to the lucky hunter who wins the drawing." It sure appears as though they have been allowed to be part of it for some time. In a guided hunt one of the main responsibilities the guide/outfitter have is to ensure they are adhering to all applicable laws and to make sure the client also adheres to them. So my question is, just where was the breakdown? With the guide/outfitter or with the state of PA by allowing them to participate? Something just doesn't sound right.

Now I will also state that I have ZERO respect for this so called hunter! Anybody that draws such a tag and then sits on their butt at home while the guide/outfitter looks for a big animals and awaits a phone call is not a hunter. That is a shooter and a killer but not a hunter. To sit around waiting for a call and then just making a 90 mile drive to the kill site isn't what I would call hunting. While it may not be illegal, it isn't ethical in my mind. Personally I would not allow an animal killed under those conditions to ever hang on my game pole. As always, feel free to disagree but the man didn't deserve that elk even if there were no violations. You earn elk through sweat and labor not a phone call.
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Old 03-22-2020, 02:02 PM
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Nothing is fishy at all, I was the OP and I also was a PA Game warden for over 33 years. Yes there are limited licenses, however there are two organizations that work with the PGC on improving the elk range and they each receive one license that they raffle off to raise money to improve the elk range or to buy land to add to the state game lands. Pa has some of the largest bull elk in the country. The hunter in this case was the one who wan the raffle tag from one of the organizations so he was not in the drawing for licenses. It was the guides in both cases that violated the law, sadly the outfitter is sheltered from prosecution unless it can be proven that he either ordered his guides to violate the law in order to make a client successful and pump up their business. The Guides work for the outfitter who does not need a permit to have an outfitting business, he is the person who brings the guides and hunters together. And yes I did my due intelligence before I hired an outfitter to make sure they had a stellar reputation because as a retired Game Warden I wanted nothing to do with anyone who had a less than stellar reputation. It took me 17 years of applying for an either sex elk license before I was drawn and I sure didn't want to hook up with a questionable outfitter. Sadly there is no facilitator license which is what an outfitter is. What happens on the annual elk hunt is closely watched by the PGC and the general public in the several counties that have a huntable elk population. In the 2018/19 elk season there were 27 bulls taken and 89 cows taken. There were 60,000 applicant for a little over 100 licenses. I don't know what you were eluding to with your post , but I can assure you there was nothing fishy with the issuance of license and certainly not when information of the illegal taking of a trophy bull elk was reported to the PGC. We certainly do not disagree that the way the hunt was run was not anything to be proud of, waiting until someone finds you a bull before you drive to the elk range is pitiful! However there are many people who unlike you and I, do not have a hunting ethic, their only thought is to kill something regardless of how. Since there is no permit required to be an outfitter the PGC cannot shut down this POS since it takes the general assembly to pass a law requiring an outfitters license, all they can do is prosecute the guides until such time that nit becomes less than profitable for the outfitter to operate became of lack of clients.

Last edited by Oldtimr; 03-22-2020 at 02:07 PM.
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Old 03-22-2020, 02:47 PM
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I could be wrong, But I think the point, FLAGS, is trying to make here, is, if this outfitter was known for some other issue's
why in the world would the Keystone Elk Country Alliance , use or recommend them at all, or associate them with there event!

I Know if I was running a event that was lucky enough to get a Elk tag that is so cherished and low odds of getting, I sure wouldn;t involve myself with any questionable outfitters whit MY name attached to things!

and Shame on the PA game commission if there is NO lic needed to be considered a GUIDE in PA, that just seems rather half witted to me!

The Guides work for the outfitter who does not need a permit to have an outfitting business

everyone that claims to be a outfitter or working for one, should need to meet a certain criteriaand meet a set standard on what they MUST know and are responsible for, like in many other states!
IF I am following your above(in bold) above.

I have never looked into rules on outfitters or guides in PA< so have NO clue hat there are or are not on them, but there SHOULD be some IMO!
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Old 03-22-2020, 02:54 PM
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You must have missed where I said the PA general assembly is the entity that creates law requiring a permit. If the PGC could do it, it would have already been done. While guiding and outfitting may be old hat in the west, it is new in PA.
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Old 03-22-2020, 03:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Oldtimr
You must have missed where I said the PA general assembly is the entity that creates law requiring a permit. If the PGC could do it, it would have already been done. While guiding and outfitting may be old hat in the west, it is new in PA.
I stand by what I said, if the GAME COMMISSION< the entity that is in charge of defending the wildlife in PA
doesn't have ability to have input in hunting guides and outfitters, its a SAD situation
and they should be getting off there butts and doing what ever it takes to see that there are laws and rules on this subject
and as for it being NEW< I will call BS< there have been adds in old Hunting Magazine for outfitters in PA< for decades back in the 80's awhen PA's fame was a million plus deer for hunters to have access to and all teh game lands to hunt!
SO,. NEW< NO guiding in PA is NOT new
it MAYBE something getting more attention now than ever, since QUALITY of bucks has gone up
but there have been folks offering guiding services in PA, for decades
from bear hunting, to deer, to turkey, to waterfowl hunting!
so if a game dept, is claiming they don;t have SAY, in it, I say again BS< , they should have say in it, and be doing all they can TO have say in it, !
how many yrs does it take or should it take??
if they haven;t known about guides and ioutfitters for decades, I again say, someone if the dept, hasn't been paying attention and well, , sure doesn't make the game commission look that good in my eye's!

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Old 03-22-2020, 05:17 PM
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Originally Posted by mrbb
I could be wrong, But I think the point, FLAGS, is trying to make here, is, if this outfitter was known for some other issue's
why in the world would the Keystone Elk Country Alliance , use or recommend them at all, or associate them with there event!
You nailed it that is my point. Not in how they issue the permits or run a raffle for tags but why let a questionable outfitter participate? Seems to me they would tell them to stay away. I'm sure there are a lot of other outfitters that wuld be happy to take their spot. As I stated, something fishy.
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Old 04-16-2020, 11:06 PM
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Hope they got the worst
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