I hate what idiots like this do. that buck could have been a kids first deer or something, and he had to steal it from us.

I think people like, Chris Kiernan do the things they do for a combination of reasons. None of which are mutually exclusive. Stupidity, greed, desire to be recognized and a complete lack of ethics probably all have something to do with it.

Unless it is completely necessary, i.e., you and your family are starving to death, poaching is a despicable act. The fines and loss of gear are a good start but I think his hunting privileges should be taken away for a lot longer than two years. They should make an example out of that jerk.

I think the point some are trying to make on this board is, states have taken what has historically (common law in the US) been a public resource (wildlife)and privatized it. In almost any other similar instance, trespassing is a minor offense. Walk on your neighbor's lawn and kill a spider, you won't be fined $10k. I am not making the case for trespassing. I am just arguing this shouldn't be considered poaching. Wildlife doesn't belong to the landowner. If hunter damages property, cuts fences, destroys gates, punish him or her for that. But fish and game officers, at least in Utah, have been turned in to rent-a-cops for absentee landlords and developers who use lobbyists and legislators to lock up public access to river systems and public space.

Ray and buckhunter. It is a form of theft. It is no different than someone coming on your property to steal. In this case, which I have followed closely since it began, the item taken was valued at $10000. Had it been a car, instead of a deer, it would be called grand theft. The consequences in this case are less punitive than if he had stolen a car. He just didn't wander across a property line by accident and kill a deer. The pursuit of the record buck and the other two deer were premeditated acts. Kiernan and friends (Elite Archery prostaff and a company officer) went to great lengths to access this property as covertly as possible to harvest these deer.
The depth of the conspiracy no doubt had an effect on the sentencing, as it should have.

Author Bestul suggests that today's wardens are better at their jobs than ever. While that might be true, I'd suggest that today's poachers (assumed to be as stupid and unethical as ever) are undone more and more by the power of the Internet and smart phones. With digital photos flying all over the place, via text, email, websites - it draws more attention & scrutiny to what they've done. While I'm sure they realize this, their ego trips them up, thankfully.

For this guy, a lifetime ban would be appropriate.

On a different note, as a resident of the highly disfunctinal state of Illinois, it comes as a shock to me to hear praise heaped on any state agency. Seriously. This state could corrupt and ruin most anything. Happy to hear the game warden mechanism functions well.

How can people live with themselves for killing deer out of season and not having tags for them. How could you.

So what hunting show is he on?

Where did theft come from? The guy was poaching. Plain and simple.

Thanks for your response, Buckhunter.

Poaching is taking an animal where you have o right. Robin Hood was a poacher because he shot deer in the king's forest. We hunters need to respect property rights; property owners need to post. Poaching 3 times should get him a lifetime ban -- this was not a case of missing a posting.

Wild game does belong to the public no matter whose land it is standing on. However, the state may regulate how that game can be taken and most state laws state that public game can be taken on private property only with the landowner's permission. If it is taken without the landowner's permission it is POACHED simply because it was taken contrary to state regulations, i.e. against the express desires of the people who legally own the game animal that's killed.

I was born and raised in Illinois, and it has one of the best Conservation Law Enforcement Agencies in the country. I can not stand poachers! My father raised me to only take what I need, and to always fallow the laws. Today while fishing, I came upon an illegal fish trap. I swiftly reported it to PA Fish & Boat. People forget that we as outdoorsman are stewards of the land and water we love. If we don't protect it, there will be nothing left for our children.

Every hunter who buys a hunting license gets a booklet of their state hunting laws and regulations. The state Fish and Game Department Conservation Officers enforce all these laws. If a hunter violates a state law while taking a game animal then that animal should be confiscated. Trespassing is a crime. This scum bag poacher pled guilty of killing three large bucks. He should have lost his hunting license for a minimum of five years and got a large fine for each buck he killed. Another hunter who is law abiding could of bagged one of those three bucks without breaking any laws.

The law is the law and poaching is poaching. This guy is a poacher!

I believe what many posters aren't considering is the aspect of trespassing on private land. In our state most land is privately owned, obviously the state does own large parcels that allow access. People that own land, pay taxes on that land, have the right to regulate who accesses their land. Leases generate income to rural landowners that can be significant, depending on the quality of the resources on their land. Someone who tresspasses to harvest those resources is stealing. Stealing can be in the form of harvesting fish, and wildlife or as simple as trees for firewood. Trespass fines can be as little as $50.00 whereas leases can exceed thousands of dollars. Why lease when all you have to do is pay a $50.00 fine if you got caught.

Maybe he was lost. Maybe the land wasn't posted. Really there is not much information on what actually took place to judge the man.

Thank God for wardens

I think the suspension should be longer....maybe two years per deer----CONSECUTIVELY!

The man is a poacher which is evidenced by his willingness to break the law (trespassing) in order to shoot a record book deer. It's not about who owns the deer. It's about following the laws and regulations set forth by the state. To top it off, he broadcasts his achievement to the world by taking photos and having it officially scored.

I think the fines are in line. I am not sure about Illinois but I know in Iowa the fine is tied to the scoring of the antlers (and in this case the fine would have been similar). My only issue is like several others who posted on here. When you take away a poacher's hunting rights for two years (or any length of time), is this really a punishment? They have already proven that they are willing to break the law in order to shoot a record book deer.

If, as another person wrote, trespassing was his only "crime" then he was treated unfairly.His only charge should have been trespassing which carries a fine. The other charges should have not been brought against him. If he "poached" by using an illegal weapon or hunted out of season he did not receive enough punishment.

"So what hunting show is he on?"

Hmmm...I'm guessing if he's illegally harvesting game, it's either Spook Nation or Ted Nugent's show. Poachers stick together.