alwyshntn

A friend of mine and I found a set of horns attached to a the skull w/ the remains of the deer close by. The horns turned out to be a tremendous set scoring over 200'' gross. They had been badly bleached out by the weather and had a few spots where squirrels and mice had eaten on them. My buddy sent them off to a man by the name of Tom Sexton in Iowa who is known as being the best in the buisness for fixing horns. While all this sounds great let me throw in the twist. My friend raises deer on his small farm and it has to be inspected annually by a local conservation agent. A week or so after finding the horns the agent was out to inspect and excited about the find my friend offered to share the story and show the agent the horns and explained to him his intent on getting them fixed. The agent thought this wonderful and expressed he would like to see the horns once completed. Well he got the horns back nearly two years later and they looked wonderful. This spring only a couple of weeks after recieving the horn the same agent returned to inspect his herd. He once again excited about the horns told the agent he got the horns back and if he would like to see them. Of course the agent said YES!. After looking at the horns and admiring them he asked if he had a permit for the horns. He told the agent no and the agent informed him he would have to confiscate the horns. My friend asked why he hadn't mentioned needing a permit before and the agent explained he hadn't gave it much thought until now. I understand the law is the law, but I just thought this was a pretty shady deal and it could have been handled differently.[:'(][:@]

alwyshntn

Heres one pic of the horns once completed...

psychowolverine

I would be pissed!!!!!!!!!!!11[:@][:@][:@] He knew what he was doing, he was just waiting so he could show them off at his house. I hate those wardens, cops, etc who screw people like that!! One better not play me like that.[:@]

Dean C

Permit? I've never heard of that! I think you got "flim flamed".
dean

alwyshntn

In the state of MO any horns attached to the skull must have a permit. We asked to see the rule in print and it took forever to get the answer but its there. Now on the other hand shed horns do not have to have a permit. I would just like to know how many of us have found a set of horns and brought them home innocently. I would also like to know if it were a fork horn or a 100'' deer if he would have bothered taking them. I'm sure they will be adorning someones office wall in the MDC.

uncle matt

What state are you in?!?!?! State of confusion? Do you need some permit for sheds, too? What exactly is this "permit" called and what does it cost? Do you neee a hunting license first to be eligble for these "permits"? Are they limited in numbers? Are there resident and NR permits? Man! If I'm going to go out shed hunting, do I need to get a permit prior to looking? That agent could have told him at the first mention of the antlers, their jobs are not just limited to enforcement but education too. He has personally taken a big step to giving folks a bad impression of conservation officers. (Somehow I don't think it was his first step, or even close!)

Uncle Matt (in IL)

psychowolverine

Your absolutely right, he couldnt have cared less if it was a small set of antlers.

Tribal

I think I would be making some calls on this one. Find out what happened to the antlers and tell someone at the DNR the story. That just don't sound right to me. Don't just assume that because he is a conservation officer he is in the right with the way he handled it. That even ticks me off just thinking about it. MAKE THE CALLS RIGHT NOW!!!!!

rick_reno

He got ripped off. I'd write this up and send it to every newspaper and elected official in your state you can find. Be sure to include the name of the guy who stole the horns.

recurver67

Is there any chance he can get it back after he applies for the permit? If not I'd [:@] too.