i have worked for this family, and have known the kid that killed this buck since he was a youngster.he did not poach the thing for starters. i had personally seen this buck several times as it used to come up to their feedlot to eat corn and feed out of the feed bunks. the feedlot is 4 miles "southeast" of corning, not far from my farm,not"northeast" of corning as most of the blabber mouths around this town here that don't know what they are talking about say.he simply bought the tag from texaco and they made a mistake, and gave him a doe tag. i have personally had that same texaco screw up on my trapping license and had to go back and square it away.he simply took for granted that they knew what they were doing and went on about his business, shot the buck,put what he assumed to be the right tag on it and then took it to town to show some friends,called the dnr "himself", asked them to come score it for him and in the process the dnr noticed the wrong tag.it's that simple. the kid isn't as stupid as the people who go around making accusations and running off at the mouth without the whole story, or the people who say they hope the judge puts the screws to him.that family has been here alot longer than most of the folks from town have been here. they farm 4,000 acres so he sure as heck doesn't need to run off northeast of town and shoot a deer on someone elses property.they have more hunting spots than most folks.he only has one sister in law and she doesn't drink,so whoever said they saw her in a bar must have seen her at the bar at the corning country club where she works part time.now for the real stupid part of this whole deal!! the people at texaco, who i know, have the video footage of him coming in to buy the tag with the date and time, which blows the dnr's claim that he killed the buck 3 days or more before(the buck had fresh blood still on it), then went to town to buy a tag, then went back home and tagged the deer then came back town.texaco employees are also standing behind him that it was their fault and that he specifically asked for the buck tag, and the girl who did the transaction wasn't overly familiar with the process and made an honest mistake.then the iowa dnr has the nerve to run their mouths before the kid had his day in court,and make these accusations. then they were soliciting public bids for the 80 acre parcel that their feedlot sits on,where he shot it.all that because texaco screwed up. the family had to get a lawyer and go to court and have a judge tell the dnr to put a lid on it and quit being judge jury and executioner and taking bids on property that had not been seized through a judges orders. the kid did not loose his pickup,he did not loose his firearms,he did not loose his hunting privelages,he did not loose his land,the dnr confiscated the rack,the judge gave him a $165 fine for wrong tag.he should get the rack back, and file a lawsuit against the dnr for spreading bs stories to out of towners who don't know what they are talking about,and for taking open bids on land they did not own, and they should make a public apology to him and his family on their website. those are the FACTS.nothing more nothing less. now just remember that that could have easily happened to anyone of us seasoned hunters who put faith in the dnr approved licensing stations every year.granted he should have verified what the tag was before he left the store, but kids make mistakes just like all of us did when we were his age.and finally,i live on a farm outside of corning,and this farm has been in my family for 144 years.i am related to a good chunk of the people in this community and county,and am well aquainted with the rest of the population around here,so let me tell you from first hand knowledge rumors get started real easy in this little town.adams county is the least populated county in the state,and boredom get's the best of some folks around here and they have nothing better to do than take a story and turn it inside out and stomp it to death.i see that some of the folks on here are from cities.word of advice to you folks,don't believe most of what you hear around here, and only half of what you see.trust me!!! also be aware that the dnr is not infallible.the local dnr is also prone to the boredom factor around here at times and can tend to go after some situations like they're stomping snakes,before they get it straight.on a lighter note,any of you sportsmen and gentleman who are looking for a very good place to hunt,guided or un-guided, a good friend of mine has a hunting lodge here in adams county. it's 640 acres of timber,pasture,ponds and a lake. their is more deer on that place than anywhere i've been in the state.he has alot of guys from california,wyoming, etc that come every year and always leave happy.he does not advertise so if you are interested pm me and i can put you in touch with him. you won't be disappointed.happy trails!!
