Caribou Gear

The Prince of Poachers

Have any stage game agencies in the SE ever sent an agent undercover who ended up shooting a 200k animal in an attempt to get an outfitter convicted and then botched the whole thing and failed to get a conviction?

Montana certainly has some good poaching stories as well since elk, sheep, etc can make people do crazy things, much like whitetails.

Would you guys read stories of a hunter who poached elk or mule deer on Ted Turners places or Wilkes ranches in MT? I get the feeling that is his appeal with Texas hunters as he was stealing from wealthy ranch owners (King Ranch among others) who many hunters may dislike for a variety of reasons.
 
I should offer some clarification, as my original post did not quite convey what I wanted to:

1. I did not mean to infer that MT is without poaching at all. In fact, I am very familiar with a few of our more egregious cases out of the Seely-Swan valley. Any and all poaching is loathsome, and none of it should be discounted or elevated in anyway.
2. What the focus of my post was regarding was the whitetail world and how it can compromise and corrupt those in search of being in the records books. There are numerous scandals that can be found about "record" deer that were falsified, tame and entered as fair chase, and breeding operations for larger antlers. There is what seems to be an insatiable drive for more inches on a deer and that the score is the end game.
3. My experience has been that the majority of issues I have seen have come mainly from a certain area, I'd estimate half. That is not to say they don't come from other areas or specifically my homestate. Indeed they do. I think it is because whitetail in the western states are not as popular as mule deer or elk, and possibly not as plentiful (although that is changing too.). Whitetail deer are extremely popular and plentiful on the eastern seaboard. That was what Beaty's target species was, that's why I spoke to it.

For those offended, I meant no offense and offer my apologies. Hopefully this offer some clarification on my thoughts.

While I definitely understand where you are coming from now. In regards to comment #2 there isn't anything illegal about taking a high fenced type deer and trying to enter it into P&Y or B&C record books, at least to my knowledge it isn't illegal. Definitely against their rules that's for sure but not illegal. High fence operations are more popular in the midwest, south, east and I believe even a handful of western states have made them illegal. But I don't believe that is what this book is about. It's more about taking wild animals against state and/or federal game laws, along with living in the wild for weeks at at time while doing the illegal activities.

Debating the positives or negatives of a high fence operation that's an entirely different subject that I'm sure will end up in dozen of pages and eventually a locked thread. But you definitely shouldn't mix them in with people taking animals illegally per state game laws. Two different crowds imo. And yes the chasing massive antlers is probably the number one factor in poaching and high fence operations may even contribute to the desire for this but so can most other shows on tv and the internet that are fair chase. I can't remember the last time I saw a tv or internet show that someone shot a spike or forkie(legally) that wasn't a youth or disabled type hunt. It's always mature bucks and bulls or nothing. So it's the hunting community as whole that has contributed to the horn porn that we see.
 
"In Prince of Poachers , you will read how Charlie Beaty hunted many ranches, including the world-famous King and Kenedy Ranches and illegally poached an incredible 116 trophy whitetail deer over a 22-year span."

I found that he was arrested in 98 then started doing shows in 02. Couldn't find out if he actually did any time but wtf.
 
Being from Texas this just pisses me off. I'd love to meet this asshat in a dark alley.....:mad: I see far too many like him.
 
Get in line to tread the book on Texas Bowhunter Forum. One guy has it and is passing it around for some to read without buying it to support him.

Why not just post the whole book online? This guy obviously doesn't care about theft....
 
I'm thinking the boots that looks like animal tracks might actually be a lot of fun beyond running from the cowboys while poaching. From cows to griz the possibilities are endless. Lion tracks in the neighbors yard would be a great prank.
 
I'm thinking the boots that looks like animal tracks might actually be a lot of fun beyond running from the cowboys while poaching. Lion tracks in the neighbors yard would be a great prank.

Not a great prank at my house, at least not for awhile...Our Jack Russell dog was attacked by a lion on our deck Friday night, six feet from the sliding glass door in bright floodlight. He survived. I ran out super fast as the attack started and was about to kick what I thought was a dig on my dog when the lion looked up at me and then ran off. I was a foot or two at most from it at that point. And then that sucker came back an hour later...I look out and he is standing in the same spot as before 6 feet from the door. he was pretty darn big to boot.

IMG_4960.jpg
 
Not a great prank at my house, at least not for awhile...Our Jack Russell dog was attacked by a lion on our deck Friday night, six feet from the sliding glass door in bright floodlight. He survived. I ran out super fast as the attack started and was about to kick what I thought was a dig on my dog when the lion looked up at me and then ran off. I was a foot or two at most from it at that point. And then that sucker came back an hour later...I look out and he is standing in the same spot as before 6 feet from the door. he was pretty darn big to boot.

View attachment 92434

Kudos to your dog for trying to put him on tree though!
 
Side comment, glad all is well with your dog, KHunter. Shoot the cat. It's already presented the potential to cause severe bodily injury. Then shoot it a few more times... To make sure it's dead, of course. Kill that farker.
 
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