[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/poached-a-well-known-buck-taken-from-a-milwaukee-county-park\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/poached-a-well-known-buck-taken-from-a-milwaukee-county-park\/","headline":"POACHED: A Well-Known Buck Taken From a Milwaukee County Park","name":"POACHED: A Well-Known Buck Taken From a Milwaukee County Park","description":"What does it take to turn an accidental act to something with deliberate intent? Chances are if you\u2019re a hunter...","datePublished":"2015-12-23","dateModified":"2018-06-12","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/#Person","name":"Hector Agosto","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Legendary Whitetails","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","url":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","width":522,"height":226}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/BowTie-21-e1450905622423.jpg","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/BowTie-21-e1450905622423.jpg","height":1192,"width":2048},"url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/poached-a-well-known-buck-taken-from-a-milwaukee-county-park\/","about":["News"],"wordCount":1532,"keywords":["News"],"articleBody":"What does it take to turn an accidental act to something with deliberate intent?Chances are if you\u2019re a hunter you likely understand the majority of the laws that coincide with the sport.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 It\u2019s simple . . . to respect the game and the land, and to prevent yourself from doing something that is illegal.Bow Tie is the buck pictured\u00a0above and was a favorite of local photographers. \u00a0Photo Courtesy of Randy CrawfordEvery now and then hunters may make a mistake and not realize it until after the fact.\u00a0 Whether you accidentally forgot to tag an animal immediately upon recovery, trespassed without knowing, or hunted without the correct license, it all comes down to the intentions of the individual committing the crime.\u00a0 And yes, crimes can be accidental.If I told you a hunter accidentally violated three obvious laws all while harvesting a very well-known big buck in a Milwaukee County park, would you say it was an accident?When James Crawford, a fellow employee here at Legendary Whitetails, told us about the events surrounding the death of this community legend named \u201cBow Tie\u201d the morning after its demise, it was obvious it was no accident.\u00a0Bow Tie was a giant buck that frequented the Milwaukee area suburbs. Photo By Randy CrawfordJames had a unique first hand understanding of the giant buck, as his father Randy had been photographing Bow Tie since 2007 near the Menomonee River Parkway.\u00a0 His dad was the one to give him his nickname due to the unique white patch on the buck\u2019s throat.\u00a0 Over the years this buck called the park and community home.\u00a0 Not only was his bow tie shaped throat patch a dead giveaway to onlookers, but he also supported a large 160 inch set of antlers that even non-hunters could identify.\u00a0\u201cThe buck would spend most of his time in the park,\u201d Randy said in a recent visit to the office, \u201cbut over the years he became a regular guest at neighboring bird feeders, as well as at the Blue Mound Country Club.\u201d\u00a0Randy Crawford, a hunter and nature photographer knew Bow Tie so well he could practically find him hiding in the park any day of the week.\u00a0 He wouldn\u2019t wait for the deer to come to him, but rather would actively seek the deer out.\u00a0 \u201cMost of the time I would find him bedded down and he wouldn\u2019t perceive me as a threat,\u201d said Randy.When I asked how many photos he had taken of Bow Tie throughout the years I was shocked when he said, \u201cRoughly a thousand or so every year.\u00a0 You know how it is, for every 50 to 100 pictures taken, you get one or two good ones.\u00a0 He was just a beautiful looking whitetail and made for some really good photographs.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Crawford most recently photographed Bow Tie the Friday before he was shot with a bolt from a poacher\u2019s crossbow on Sunday, December 13th.\u00a0 Jim Bagley, one of Crawford\u2019s friends, was walking along the Oak Leaf Trail when he saw the buck and snapped some pictures.\u00a0 Shortly after his encounter he noticed a blood trail on the ground further up the trail and then the \u201chunter\u201d as he would call himself in this video.Jim confronted a man who was wearing street clothes with waders and holding a crossbow. He asked the hunter what he had done.\u00a0 After a short and nervous conversation the \u201chunter\u201d fled the scene.\u00a0 Bagley, being a hunter himself, knew hunting was prohibited in the park and called the authorities.\u00a0 Soon after, Bow Tie was found dead at the end of the blood trail and the DNR wardens had caught up with the poacher.Jason Elliott, who you can see pleading his case in the above video link, was charged with $1,540.00 in fines, loss of hunting privileges for one year, and his crossbow seized.Photo Courtesy of Fox 6 NewsWhile he claimed the hunt was accidental, there is no way any self-proclaimed \u201cseasoned hunter\u201d could accidentally break multiple laws.Although the popular buck is dead, the real damage is the blinding bad light that Elliott forced upon the hunting community.Paul Smith of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel perfectly explained this detrimental light in a recent article, stating:The shooter violated many rules:He hunted in a prohibited area.He was not wearing blaze orange.He was not wearing a backtag.He shot an antlered deer during the statewide four-day antlerless-only hunt.He discharged a crossbow in a prohibited area.Could an adult hunter be so far out of touch with regulations to commit so many violations?Or was it a calculated, illegal kill concerned only with getting a big set of antlers?The DNR will attempt to determine such details through its investigation.Smith goes on to explain the true damage caused by a poacher who illegally harvested the well-known buck, reporting:This much is already known: Even if conducted by a poacher, such cases put hunting in a bad light.When such violations occur in rural Wisconsin, they don’t get much attention in the state’s biggest city.But when one takes place in the Milwaukee suburbs, and the target is a charismatic animal known to hundreds if not thousands of local residents, it’s bound to result in criticism of hunting.What happened is condemnable, no doubt about it. The shooter will face justice and suffer penalties.It’s important for the non-hunting public to know the violator does not represent the hunting community.The vast majority of hunters are law abiding and ethical. About 99% of licensed hunters in Wisconsin will not receive a hunting citation this year.You should also remember this: Jim Bagley is a hunter (he tagged three deer this fall in Sauk County). If not for his actions on Sunday, the violator might not have been caught.As hunters, we are responsible to know the rules. And follow them.And when we see illegal acts, report them.The future of hunting depends on it.To read Smith\u2019s full article on Bow Tie click here."},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Legendary Whitetail's Blog"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/poached-a-well-known-buck-taken-from-a-milwaukee-county-park\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"POACHED: A Well-Known Buck Taken From a Milwaukee County Park"}}]}]