BGH228
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(1/1/02 12:47:34 am)
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'Idiot' shows off big deer, finds out it's an elk
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'Idiot' shows off big deer, finds out it's an elk
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Kentucky hunter 'mistakenly' shoots an elk and then shows it off around town to friends thinking it's a deer, faces fines and jail time
By Roger Alford
Associated Press — Nov. 29, 2001
JACKSON, Ky. — Randolph Scott Stidham was so proud of the enormous deer he shot that he drove around town with the animal in the back of his pickup truck showing it off to friends.
They're the ones who broke the bad news: What he had bagged was no deer but one of the much larger and heavily guarded elk that Kentucky wildlife officials have been trying to restore to the state's Appalachian mountains.
“ Anyone who mistakenly shoots an elk is an idiot. If a person cannot tell the difference between an elk and a deer, they should get rid of their firearms. They have no business in the woods. ”
— Roy Grimes, deputy state fish and wildlife commissioner
Now Stidham, 38, faces more than $8,000 in fines and up to a year in jail for what even the local prosecutor says could be a case of mistaken identity.
But while Stidham is garnering sympathy around this eastern Kentucky town, state wildlife managers are incensed.
"Anyone who mistakenly shoots an elk is an idiot," said Roy Grimes, deputy state fish and wildlife commissioner.
"If a person cannot tell the difference between an elk and a deer, they should get rid of their firearms. They have no business in the woods," Grimes said. "These animals are as big as cattle, so the same person who mistakes an elk for a deer might also shoot someone's cow."
Elk can weigh as much as 800 pounds, with the antlers alone stretching 6 feet long and weighing 50 pounds. Deer are about a fourth the size.
Conservation officer Jamon Halvaksz said at least three elk were shot during deer season in surrounding Breathitt County. Someone took the back legs off one and left the rest to rot. Another was shot and left where it fell. Halvaksz said he doesn't believe any of the cases were accidents.
After friends told him the animal he shot wasn't a deer, Stidham turned himself in to Halvaksz, a move that the local prosecutor said bodes well for him.
"It was basically a case of mistaken identity," said Breathitt County Attorney Hershel Branson. "Obviously, he's guilty of it, but you have to look at intent. He tried to find a game warden as soon as he thought something was wrong."
“ He did have deer tags; he did tag it and try to turn it in. It was somewhat bigger than a deer would be, but at 100 yards, you wouldn't be able to see the difference. ”
— Hershel Branson, Breathitt County Attorney
Halvaksz said one of the first things he did in the investigation was check to see if Stidham has impaired vision. He said the man's driver's license showed he didn't need glasses.
"There is no part of an elk that looks like a deer," Halvaksz said. "It's like comparing a tractor-trailer to a pickup truck. The only way to make that mistake is to shoot in the dark, then it might have been a horse, a pickup truck or anything."
Stidham and his attorney, Andrea Williams, declined to comment on the case.
Branson said the elk was a young bull with spike antlers.
"He did have deer tags; he did tag it and try to turn it in," Branson said. "It was somewhat bigger than a deer would be, but at 100 yards, you wouldn't be able to see the difference."
The penalty for shooting an elk ranges from a fine of $1,000 to $5,000, up to six months in jail, paying $3,200 for replacing the elk, and losing hunting privileges for up to three years.
Wildlife managers began reintroducing elk to Kentucky in 1997 in 14 counties in the state's Appalachian region. Overhunting had pushed them into extinction in the state more than 150 years ago. The population now is about 1,300 elk, most of which were shipped from Utah, Arizona, Oregon, North Dakota and Kansas.
"I'm really upset that someone would claim to mistakenly shoot an elk, or shoot an elk and leave it lay," Grimes said. "It's poaching. It's dishonest. It's criminal. They might as well go out and shoot their car."
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warpig883
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Posts: 1829
(1/1/02 1:00:37 pm)
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I say he is a guilty fool with good intentions. Take his hunting license from him and fine him.
Had a fellow come to South Dakota deer hunting a few years ago. He was staying at a local farmers house. Shot himself a deer and drug it into the farm yard.
Farmer comes home and see the blood trail in the snow coming out of his pasture down the middle of the road and into his farm yard. He pulls in and sees the guys pickup with a damn cow tied to the bumper.
I also know a guy who was out poaching deer and shot a horse.
We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans... -- Bill Clinton, US President (USA Today, 11 Mar 1993, page 2a)
BGH228
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(1/1/02 4:36:35 pm)
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ezSupporter
Re: 'Idiot' shows off big deer, finds out it's an elk
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some people were born dumbasses!
My Links: Hunter's HideoutSportsman's ParadiseNitro's Bulletin BoardThe Firearms ForumVIETNAM MEMORIES BULLETIN BOARDOutdoor-Sportsman
reedbuster
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Posts: 389
(1/2/02 11:25:14 pm)
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Poor bastard, fine him and use it as an example. We get an idiot every year shooting moose thinking it was an elk. Just more ammo for the anti hunt crowd.
Browning-The Best There Is.
the real fredneck
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Posts: 698
(1/3/02 7:36:27 am)
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I've never had the opportunity to go elk hunting but would think it would be easy to recognize the difference between one and a deer
kdub01
Senior Chief Moderator Staff
Posts: 110
(1/3/02 6:19:17 pm)
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The differences are pretty obvious when seen side by side.
For someone who isn't very familiar with elk, especially a smaller raghorn bull, I can see where in the thick woods a mistake could be made. Being as he turned himself in after realizing the mistake, I think the game dept should give him the benefit of doubt, fine him, yank the hunting privilege for a year or so, and get on with life.
These game and fish officials can get pretty narrow minded when it comes to "their" pet projects - such as reintroducing the Mexican Grey Wolf out here in my part of the world. Mistakes will be made by people misidentifying the animals and shooting them with the best of intentions. People should pay for their mistakes - not have their lives ruined!
Catching someone poaching is another matter. Throw the book and jail time at them with no mercy.
My 2 bits worth, anyway.
HondoJohn6508
Member
Posts: 22
(1/14/02 4:05:45 pm)
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That, IMHO, is two-bits well spent!!!!!
Str8shooter
Member
Posts: 5
(2/11/02 11:47:39 pm)
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If you let him off the hook you open the door for the next idiot to do the same. Ignorance is no excuse. Last year the DNR here in Iowa released 2 Trumpeter Swans in the attempt to begin its reintroduction here and 2 weeks later a couple of 16 year old boys shot them and claimed they thought they were snow geese. These boys were fined and lost the hunting and fishing priveleges for life.
KNOW YOUR TARGET!!!!!!!!
V.I.P. Member
Posts: 20
(1/1/02 12:47:34 am)
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ezSupporter
'Idiot' shows off big deer, finds out it's an elk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Idiot' shows off big deer, finds out it's an elk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kentucky hunter 'mistakenly' shoots an elk and then shows it off around town to friends thinking it's a deer, faces fines and jail time
By Roger Alford
Associated Press — Nov. 29, 2001
JACKSON, Ky. — Randolph Scott Stidham was so proud of the enormous deer he shot that he drove around town with the animal in the back of his pickup truck showing it off to friends.
They're the ones who broke the bad news: What he had bagged was no deer but one of the much larger and heavily guarded elk that Kentucky wildlife officials have been trying to restore to the state's Appalachian mountains.
“ Anyone who mistakenly shoots an elk is an idiot. If a person cannot tell the difference between an elk and a deer, they should get rid of their firearms. They have no business in the woods. ”
— Roy Grimes, deputy state fish and wildlife commissioner
Now Stidham, 38, faces more than $8,000 in fines and up to a year in jail for what even the local prosecutor says could be a case of mistaken identity.
But while Stidham is garnering sympathy around this eastern Kentucky town, state wildlife managers are incensed.
"Anyone who mistakenly shoots an elk is an idiot," said Roy Grimes, deputy state fish and wildlife commissioner.
"If a person cannot tell the difference between an elk and a deer, they should get rid of their firearms. They have no business in the woods," Grimes said. "These animals are as big as cattle, so the same person who mistakes an elk for a deer might also shoot someone's cow."
Elk can weigh as much as 800 pounds, with the antlers alone stretching 6 feet long and weighing 50 pounds. Deer are about a fourth the size.
Conservation officer Jamon Halvaksz said at least three elk were shot during deer season in surrounding Breathitt County. Someone took the back legs off one and left the rest to rot. Another was shot and left where it fell. Halvaksz said he doesn't believe any of the cases were accidents.
After friends told him the animal he shot wasn't a deer, Stidham turned himself in to Halvaksz, a move that the local prosecutor said bodes well for him.
"It was basically a case of mistaken identity," said Breathitt County Attorney Hershel Branson. "Obviously, he's guilty of it, but you have to look at intent. He tried to find a game warden as soon as he thought something was wrong."
“ He did have deer tags; he did tag it and try to turn it in. It was somewhat bigger than a deer would be, but at 100 yards, you wouldn't be able to see the difference. ”
— Hershel Branson, Breathitt County Attorney
Halvaksz said one of the first things he did in the investigation was check to see if Stidham has impaired vision. He said the man's driver's license showed he didn't need glasses.
"There is no part of an elk that looks like a deer," Halvaksz said. "It's like comparing a tractor-trailer to a pickup truck. The only way to make that mistake is to shoot in the dark, then it might have been a horse, a pickup truck or anything."
Stidham and his attorney, Andrea Williams, declined to comment on the case.
Branson said the elk was a young bull with spike antlers.
"He did have deer tags; he did tag it and try to turn it in," Branson said. "It was somewhat bigger than a deer would be, but at 100 yards, you wouldn't be able to see the difference."
The penalty for shooting an elk ranges from a fine of $1,000 to $5,000, up to six months in jail, paying $3,200 for replacing the elk, and losing hunting privileges for up to three years.
Wildlife managers began reintroducing elk to Kentucky in 1997 in 14 counties in the state's Appalachian region. Overhunting had pushed them into extinction in the state more than 150 years ago. The population now is about 1,300 elk, most of which were shipped from Utah, Arizona, Oregon, North Dakota and Kansas.
"I'm really upset that someone would claim to mistakenly shoot an elk, or shoot an elk and leave it lay," Grimes said. "It's poaching. It's dishonest. It's criminal. They might as well go out and shoot their car."
My Links: Hunter's HideoutSportsman's ParadiseNitro's Bulletin BoardThe Firearms ForumVIETNAM MEMORIES BULLETIN BOARDOutdoor-Sportsman
warpig883
Moderator
Posts: 1829
(1/1/02 1:00:37 pm)
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I say he is a guilty fool with good intentions. Take his hunting license from him and fine him.
Had a fellow come to South Dakota deer hunting a few years ago. He was staying at a local farmers house. Shot himself a deer and drug it into the farm yard.
Farmer comes home and see the blood trail in the snow coming out of his pasture down the middle of the road and into his farm yard. He pulls in and sees the guys pickup with a damn cow tied to the bumper.
I also know a guy who was out poaching deer and shot a horse.
We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans... -- Bill Clinton, US President (USA Today, 11 Mar 1993, page 2a)
BGH228
V.I.P. Member
Posts: 21
(1/1/02 4:36:35 pm)
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ezSupporter
Re: 'Idiot' shows off big deer, finds out it's an elk
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some people were born dumbasses!
My Links: Hunter's HideoutSportsman's ParadiseNitro's Bulletin BoardThe Firearms ForumVIETNAM MEMORIES BULLETIN BOARDOutdoor-Sportsman
reedbuster
V.I.P. Forum Host
Posts: 389
(1/2/02 11:25:14 pm)
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Poor bastard, fine him and use it as an example. We get an idiot every year shooting moose thinking it was an elk. Just more ammo for the anti hunt crowd.
Browning-The Best There Is.
the real fredneck
Moderator
Posts: 698
(1/3/02 7:36:27 am)
Reply | Edit | Del Re: 'Idiot' shows off big deer, finds out it's an elk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've never had the opportunity to go elk hunting but would think it would be easy to recognize the difference between one and a deer
kdub01
Senior Chief Moderator Staff
Posts: 110
(1/3/02 6:19:17 pm)
Reply | Edit | Del Re: 'Idiot' shows off big deer, finds out it's an elk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The differences are pretty obvious when seen side by side.
For someone who isn't very familiar with elk, especially a smaller raghorn bull, I can see where in the thick woods a mistake could be made. Being as he turned himself in after realizing the mistake, I think the game dept should give him the benefit of doubt, fine him, yank the hunting privilege for a year or so, and get on with life.
These game and fish officials can get pretty narrow minded when it comes to "their" pet projects - such as reintroducing the Mexican Grey Wolf out here in my part of the world. Mistakes will be made by people misidentifying the animals and shooting them with the best of intentions. People should pay for their mistakes - not have their lives ruined!
Catching someone poaching is another matter. Throw the book and jail time at them with no mercy.
My 2 bits worth, anyway.
HondoJohn6508
Member
Posts: 22
(1/14/02 4:05:45 pm)
Reply | Edit | Del Re: 'Idiot' shows off big deer, finds out it's an elk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That, IMHO, is two-bits well spent!!!!!
Str8shooter
Member
Posts: 5
(2/11/02 11:47:39 pm)
Reply | Edit | Del Re: 'Idiot' shows off big deer, finds out it's an elk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you let him off the hook you open the door for the next idiot to do the same. Ignorance is no excuse. Last year the DNR here in Iowa released 2 Trumpeter Swans in the attempt to begin its reintroduction here and 2 weeks later a couple of 16 year old boys shot them and claimed they thought they were snow geese. These boys were fined and lost the hunting and fishing priveleges for life.
KNOW YOUR TARGET!!!!!!!!