31 Point Oklahoma Buck
#1
31 Point Oklahoma Buck
Does anyone have more information about this story? Looks like a big mess right now. Sounds like the land owner got a little jealous and greedy after the shot.
June 2, 2005, 10:50AM
Courtesy Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
Michael Crossland of Tillman County, Okla., holds up his record 31-point whitetail deer in November 2004. The trophy deer, which is expected to be a state record, has been confiscated because of a legal dispute over whether Crossland had permission to hunt on the land.
Oklahoma hunter's record 31-point deer confiscated
By SEAN MURPHY
Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY � Michael Crossland didn't have much time to celebrate when he shot what may have been the largest whitetail deer ever killed in Oklahoma � a monster buck with a 31-point set of antlers worth thousands of dollars.
Instead, the antlers were seized by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and a charge of hunting without permission was filed against him. If convicted, he could be fined, face jail time, or both.
"It's been a heck of a mess," said Crossland, a 25-year-old farmer and rancher.
On Nov. 23, Crossland said, he was with a landowner's hired hand, who went to retrieve a four-wheeler and gave Crossland his rifle in case he spotted any big deer.
After walking around a bend on the west side of a creek, he spotted a doe, then saw the buck. After quickly loading the rifle, Crossland lined up the buck in his scope from about 70 yards away and dropped it with one shot.
"I didn't know he was that big until he fell," Crossland said. "He fell and he rolled his head, and that's when I said, 'Oh my gosh.' "
But as word quickly spread about the huge deer, problems started to mount for Crossland.
Landowner Ryan Hunt, 26, requested the hunting charge, and if convicted Crossland faces a fine of up to $200 and 30 days in the county jail. It would then be up to the court to decide who gets to keep the antlers.
Crossland said he considered Hunt a friend, but they haven't spoken since the deer was shot. Crossland also said he's previously worked for the Hunt family and was told he could hunt on their property as long as he was with a family member or Greg Platner, the farmhand who was with Crossland on the day he shot the deer.
Hunt wouldn't specifically say whether he and Crossland were friends or whether he gave Crossland permission to hunt on his property.
"I'll say that our family has a lot of land, and it's always been known that no one hunts on our property without permission," Hunt said. "It doesn't matter if it's fishing, turkey or a little bitty doe."
Although the antlers have not officially been scored under a standardized system, Yukon taxidermist Gerald Hillman measured the horns and said he's confident it will be a new state record for non-typical antlers, which refers to a lack of symmetry on each side of the rack.
Hillman estimated the antlers will score about 246 or 247 points. The current non-typical state record in Oklahoma is 240 3/8 from a whitetail in 2003.
Carl Eddy, the owner of Eddy's Northern Whitetails in Independence, Iowa, said the mounted head and horns would likely be worth between $20,000 and $30,000.
But Crossland said doesn't plan on selling and just wants them back.
"I want to keep it," he said. "That's a once-in-a-lifetime deal there."
June 2, 2005, 10:50AM
Courtesy Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
Michael Crossland of Tillman County, Okla., holds up his record 31-point whitetail deer in November 2004. The trophy deer, which is expected to be a state record, has been confiscated because of a legal dispute over whether Crossland had permission to hunt on the land.
Oklahoma hunter's record 31-point deer confiscated
By SEAN MURPHY
Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY � Michael Crossland didn't have much time to celebrate when he shot what may have been the largest whitetail deer ever killed in Oklahoma � a monster buck with a 31-point set of antlers worth thousands of dollars.
Instead, the antlers were seized by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and a charge of hunting without permission was filed against him. If convicted, he could be fined, face jail time, or both.
"It's been a heck of a mess," said Crossland, a 25-year-old farmer and rancher.
On Nov. 23, Crossland said, he was with a landowner's hired hand, who went to retrieve a four-wheeler and gave Crossland his rifle in case he spotted any big deer.
After walking around a bend on the west side of a creek, he spotted a doe, then saw the buck. After quickly loading the rifle, Crossland lined up the buck in his scope from about 70 yards away and dropped it with one shot.
"I didn't know he was that big until he fell," Crossland said. "He fell and he rolled his head, and that's when I said, 'Oh my gosh.' "
But as word quickly spread about the huge deer, problems started to mount for Crossland.
Landowner Ryan Hunt, 26, requested the hunting charge, and if convicted Crossland faces a fine of up to $200 and 30 days in the county jail. It would then be up to the court to decide who gets to keep the antlers.
Crossland said he considered Hunt a friend, but they haven't spoken since the deer was shot. Crossland also said he's previously worked for the Hunt family and was told he could hunt on their property as long as he was with a family member or Greg Platner, the farmhand who was with Crossland on the day he shot the deer.
Hunt wouldn't specifically say whether he and Crossland were friends or whether he gave Crossland permission to hunt on his property.
"I'll say that our family has a lot of land, and it's always been known that no one hunts on our property without permission," Hunt said. "It doesn't matter if it's fishing, turkey or a little bitty doe."
Although the antlers have not officially been scored under a standardized system, Yukon taxidermist Gerald Hillman measured the horns and said he's confident it will be a new state record for non-typical antlers, which refers to a lack of symmetry on each side of the rack.
Hillman estimated the antlers will score about 246 or 247 points. The current non-typical state record in Oklahoma is 240 3/8 from a whitetail in 2003.
Carl Eddy, the owner of Eddy's Northern Whitetails in Independence, Iowa, said the mounted head and horns would likely be worth between $20,000 and $30,000.
But Crossland said doesn't plan on selling and just wants them back.
"I want to keep it," he said. "That's a once-in-a-lifetime deal there."
#2
RE: 31 Point Oklahoma Buck
Yeah, it's all the talk 'round here.... I have heard a number of versions of this story. The supposed "real" version is that the rancher granted permission to hunt without asking the owner. That being the case, the owner will get the antlers. Bad deal all the way around...
Zac
Zac
#3
RE: 31 Point Oklahoma Buck
One this is if he is convited of this the antlars dam well should not be given to the land owner.I would like to see a real judge look over this case.One that did not let money or who was invalved sway how he deems fit.
#9
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: the Great Plains
Posts: 351
RE: 31 Point Oklahoma Buck
I'm a journalist here in Oklahoma, and we ran a story in our paper over it. I can tell you what...after 4 years of living out that way in Western Oklahoma, I can say the people out there are usually friendly, and I have a gut feeling the hunter's kill was totally legit, or else he wouldn't have called the landowning family to tell them he took a nice deer there. If he would have called and said he took a fat doe, they probably would have said, "Great! Enjoy it."