i did this in the 90's. i transfered to Utah for 18 months for work and drew a sweet muzzleloader elk tag as a resident, moved back to texas before the hunt. i was nervous about it but carried thru and got popped by a game warden. all he said was congrats and sorry you moved! no ticket no nothing
im thinking this boils down to jealous hunters and reputation of the hunter and his fame at guiding sheep hunters.

Yeah, but you didn't intentionally move to Utah for the purpose of scoring a tag, did you?

There are a lot more elk tags than big horn tags.

The statement “he was never a resident of the state,” was what I took issue with. He was a resident of the state and qualified for the tag. If he had waited to move back to Arizona until after he hunted, I don’t believe it would’ve been an issue.

He was qualified for the tag when he received it. Utah claims he wasn't because he moved back to Arizona. I wonder if it is actually written in the law that the tag holder must be a resident at the time he uses it. My thoughts is if it is not written in the law, he needed a better attorney.

DNS is right that the law says you can’t move there just for the purpose of getting a resident tag. By moving back to Arizona between the time he got the tag and the actual hunt, he provided enough to convince a jury his sole intention was to get a resident tag.

I agree with you that it needs to be explicitly clear and written in stone (which is why I said spirit of the law, which i said for lack of a better term).

I played the preference point game in Colorado for years. When I had enough points to draw the tag I wanted they changed the rules. Screw them! I will not even fly over Colorado.

Most of the state laws for resident qualification are written that you must establish residency with the 'intent to remain'. They are even written that way in the states that aren't big time western draw states. Lifetime licenses in many states are written the same way. Keeping in mind that most state regulations booklets are summary of the actual state code.

Seems he knew exactly what he was doing to circumvent the non-resident system and then moved back to AZ even before the hunt. Probably not a lot he could do at that point except hope for mercy.

I just wish that the guy in Denton who poached the 280" buck this year faced the same type of judge. He got a slap on the wrist by comparison for a trophy animal.

I highly doubt his flaw in this situation was his legal counsel. He auction clientele probably was a list of the who’s who of Attorneys, judges, and business men.

Well, he can still hunt in Delaware, Hawaii, and Massachusetts as they are not part of the Wildlife Violators Compact which consists of the other 47 states. I don't think they have bighorn in any of those states, LOL and all three could not be much farther away from his Arizona residence, also LOL.

Yup that's bs. It's just goes to show how crappy the system is. He tried for 21 years with no luck. If he wants it that bad why would someone who just happens to live closer be more entitled. Rules are rules but the system is not perfect and it shows. I don't know this guy but he sounds like a solid guy...not a poacher. He wanted it more then most and tried to work his way in. After 21 years I'd say he deserves amnesty at least. He has givin back in many ways. Bummer

Yep, like so many poachers that want it, and he wanted it so much more that he was willing to break the law for it.

Why should people who live closer be more entitled? Why do most (all?) states charge more for out of state hunters? Why should in state hunters be more entitled? Would you start a campaign to lower the out of state hunting license fees here in Texas? Do you feel strongly enough about your position to try to do something about this inequality that you perceive going on?

I highly doubt a Utah governor is going to grant an Arizona citizen amnesty after the Arizona citizen tried broke multiple laws to take something from Utah.