Trail Cam Photo Trips Up Kansas Poacher

Two weeks ago I received a photo of this giant whitetail rack, which was brought to the Monster Buck Classic, a Kansas deer show held the last weekend of January. According to buzz, the huge antlers would threaten the Sunflower state’s record in the typical category; no small stuff when you consider that mark sits at 198-2/8″. But details on the buck’s harvest were sketchy so I decided to sit on the story until further details emerged. Yesterday I learned that waiting was the right call.

According to this report from the Wichita Eagle, Topeka resident David Kent–the man who brought the antlers to the MBC show–has been charged with at least four violations, including killing the deer with a rifle during a closed season and spotlighting the animal.

Kansas wardens confronted Kent after viewing a trail camera photo of the buck taken in Osage County in early November of this year. Osage lies in east-central Kansas; Kent claimed he killed the buck in the northeastern part of the state. Kent confessed to poaching the buck after an interview, and the antlers have been confiscated. Interestingly, this is the third potential state-record buck that has been poached in recent years.