Caribou Gear

Bigtime poaching bust in WY

Gawd damn. One guy had 4 bull moose and multiple sheep. Who would buy a story about someone getting 6 basically once in a lifetime tags?
My grandpa is a lifelong WY resident and he’s drawn 6 bighorn tags and a couple moose tags in his 82 years of life. He’s always claimed that he has dirt on the governor but now I’m starting to question his story…
 
all that taxidermy looks so bad from a distance I feel like they already served their time.

All those elk with a weird looking squinty head.
And that bobcat mount. Ugh! Looks like a week old road kill.

Poacher #3 Russell "Rusty" Vick is supposedly the owner/operator of Vick Taxidermy at 12048 Pate Road, Buhl AL. I checked Google Maps. It's a railroad crossing next to the intersection of Pate Road and County Road 103. No building there eight years ago, now, or ever. It's a railroad right-of-way. Fake address and probably a fake business. Certainly looks like he's also a fake taxidermist. Still trying to determine what kind of business the SD poachers were involved in. Those are some big time fines. I hope these clowns have the means to pay them.

Edit: Maybe not. Research into the background of the Underwoods produced interesting results. Robert currently lives in a modest, rather small, country home in Oklahoma that backs onto high tension power line right-of-way (at some time in his past he also lived in Spearfish, SD at undisclosed address). He formerly apparently lived at two different similar split level houses in Gillette, Wyoming. Robert Underwood also at one time held an FCC radio license with address listed as a very small mobile home in a Gillette trailer court. Curiously, none of these homes appear to be big enough to hold many mounts. Still looking for details on his son David now living in SD. At age 78 I kinda think Robert may have a hard time getting a mortgage on his OK property to pay his hefty poaching fine. He may have to sell his home and find another trailer park rental. Boo hoo.
 
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Here's a more complete report of the offenses and final judgements for these three jerks.


Interesting disposition. "Fines" are used to support public schools in the jurisdictions where the offenses occurred. The "restitution" goes to the Wyoming wildlife agency for purchasing more public access land.

I see from the article that Robert Underwood was also charged with making false statements to support his other son Vic falsely obtaining a resident license. But apparently Vic wasn't charged? Maybe this was Rusty Vick the taxidermist?

Son David's major offense seemed to be as an "assessory" to Rusty Vick's multiple incidents of poaching. Something to keep in mind for those who might want to turn a blind eye when someone in the hunting party engages in poaching. You may also wind up wearing a striped suit.
 
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This article from the Cody paper in February 2021 provides complete details of what these guys did. Taxidermist Vick needed to be hammered hard. Unbelievable that this guy could still be wandering around Wyoming with a gun given his brazen previous history of poaching violations. At his sentencing he expressed remorse and blamed his actions on being "young and stupid." Rusty Vick is 56 years old. He got it half right anyway. 😄
 
“He additionally abandoned three bighorn sheep rams, three moose, seven elk, eight antelope, one mule deer, a walrus mask, and one gull mount to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service after the November 2017 search warrant.”

I’m not sure what that word “abandoned” entails- anyone care to explain?
The mounts were confiscated during the investigation and he relinquished his claim to ownership. Sounds like the authorities maybe didn't have enough evidence to prove the animals were all poached by him. Without proof the animals were taken illegally, the stuff would have to be returned to Vick. None of the three rams confiscated were legally taken in Wyoming, that's for certain (horns were not plugged by F&G). But maybe they were shot by someone else or someplace else. By abandoning his claim to the trophies, Vick probably hoped to end further investigation. He just as well let them go. His business as a taxidermist and/or illegal outfitter is finally done for good. Getting sentenced to a year smashing rocks in Rawlins must have been a huge reality check.
 
It baffles me that residency can’t be verified in some manor. Especially with WY’s 6 month rule in place, this shouldn’t happen.
 
It baffles me that residency can’t be verified in some manor. Especially with WY’s 6 month rule in place, this shouldn’t happen.
people will cheat at just about anything. Them lying about residency isn’t a new or unique thing. People do it all the time
 
It baffles me that residency can’t be verified in some manor. Especially with WY’s 6 month rule in place, this shouldn’t happen.
From what I've been able to determine Robert Underwood's mom and dad moved to Gillette in 1968 when he was 24 (source = Pearl Underwood's obituary). He had at least two, maybe three, former residences in Gillette before moving briefly to SD then to Oklahoma. I suspect Underwood spent most of his working life in Gillette and probably made many acquaintances. I suspect one of them issued the resident licenses, perhaps without knowing Underwood had moved. It's an easy matter to simply continue renewing a driver's license years after relocating to another state. I had drivers licenses from Montana and Ontario for several years while I maintained a residence here in Canada and drove truck in Montana. I DID NOT USE IT TO PROCURE AN ILLEGAL RESIDENT LICENSE IN EITHER JURISDICTION. When I met the six month residency requirement, I bought a resident deer tag in Montana (did not hunt in Ontario that year). Filled it with a buck the next day. Earlier that fall before I had six month's residency, I bought a Montana nonresident bird license. By the following spring I was back living in Ontario but continued to hold the Montana CDL license until it expired. In fact I tried to renew it to maintain employment options but left eye would not pass exam. I returned to hunt birds every year while the Montana CDL license was still valid BUT ALWAYS ON A NONRESIDENT TICKET. No way did I want to lose hunting privelidges! A couple of pheasants aren't worth it. Or deer or elk for that matter. Anyway, you can see how it wouldn't be that hard for a former resident to continue using ID for resident licenses long after he'd moved away. He simply returned to Gillette to renew his driver's license using the same old address. I'd like to know how Robert Underwood managed to facilitate getting his nonresident son David a resident license. As I recall Vick wasn't charged with an illegally obtained Wyoming license. He was just hunting without one.
 
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people will cheat at just about anything. Them lying about residency isn’t a new or unique thing. People do it all the time
What is new and refreshing is to see guys lose their home and business for doing it ... and do jail time! I hope the punishments hold up on appeal. I have a hunch they won't.
 
From what I've been able to determine Robert Underwood's mom and dad moved to Gillette in 1968 when he was 24 (source = Pearl Underwood's obituary). He had at least two, maybe three, former residences in Gillette before moving briefly to SD then to Oklahoma. I suspect Underwood spent most of his working life in Gillette and probably made many acquaintances. I suspect one of them issued the resident licenses, perhaps without knowing Underwood had moved. It's an easy matter to simply continue renewing a driver's license years after relocating to another state. I had drivers licenses from Montana and Ontario for several years while I maintained a residence here in Canada and drove truck in Montana. I DID NOT USE IT TO PROCURE AN ILLEGAL RESIDENT LICENSE IN EITHER JURISDICTION. When I met the six month residency requirement, I bought a resident deer tag in Montana (did not hunt in Ontario that year). Filled it with a buck the next day. Earlier that fall before I had six month's residency, I bought a Montana nonresident bird license. By the following spring I was back living in Ontario but continued to hold the Montana CDL license until it expired. In fact I tried to renew it to maintain employment options but left eye would not pass exam. I returned to hunt birds every year while the Montana CDL license was still valid BUT ALWAYS ON A NONRESIDENT TICKET. No way did I want to lose hunting privelidges! A couple of pheasants aren't worth it. Or deer or elk for that matter. Anyway, you can see how it wouldn't be that hard for a former resident to continue using ID for resident licenses long after he'd moved away. He simply returned to Gillette to renew his driver's license using the same old address. I'd like to know how Robert Underwood managed to facilitate getting his nonresident son David a resident license. As I recall Vick wasn't charged with an illegally obtained Wyoming license. He was just hunting without one.
You spend WAY too much time looking up shit that is really none of your business to post on the internet.
 
You spend WAY too much time looking up shit that is really none of your business to post on the internet.
It was already on the internet...

Also, $40k in fines? So he'll have to forego a new truck in the next 5 yrs, big woop. The jail time is real, but he'll probably get out early. Hell, we barely make violent criminals actually stay in jail anymore.
 
I just don't understand people like this. If you get lucky and draw a dream tag good for you. I might be jealous, but thats my problem, lol. Guys that intentionally don't follow the rules, lie and cheat to get what they want ticks me off. Honestly, the sentencing he got sounds a bit light to me.
 
There was a fella down in Texas who wrote a book on poaching, down to boots that had cow hooves so the ranch hands on the places where he trespassed would not find tracks.

These guys went to great lengths as well, mind boggling what horns/antlers do to people.

The African poachers you can at least somewhat understand as there is $ involved in the parts they sell but these guys likely just wanted them to hang on the wall.

The real interesting part was thousands of hours were put into this, wow. Glad they got such steep financial penalties.
 
It was already on the internet...

Also, $40k in fines? So he'll have to forego a new truck in the next 5 yrs, big woop. The jail time is real, but he'll probably get out early. Hell, we barely make violent criminals actually stay in jail anymore.
I meant the family history and descriptions of houses and jobs and such. Sure, it may be "already on the internet" but let others decide if they want to play detective or not and don't put things out there for the heck of it. It's not going to change the story and it's called doxing if I remember correctly. Not cool no matter who the subject is.
 

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