Hays Man Found Guilty in District Court for Hunting Violations Involving Bull Elk

By Justin Stakes

Glasgow, MT -(AmmoLand.com)- Clay Chandler, 20, of Hays was found guilty in the Montana 17th Judicial District Court for the illegal rifle harvest of a bull elk.

Chandler was charged with hunting during a closed season, unlawful possession and transportation of a game animal, and hunting game animals while his privilege to do so was suspended. Chandler had pled guilty to each violation in Blaine County Justice Court, and appealed the case to the District Court.

The violations took place on October 1, 2013, on State of Montana School Trust Lands property in southeastern Blaine County, outside the exterior boundaries of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. Chandler’s privileges to hunt at such locations within the state of Montana had been forfeited due to a 2012 conviction for unlawfully harvesting two bull elk.

FWP wardens and Fort Belknap Fish and Wildlife tribal wardens worked together to compile evidence during the investigation. Wardens had received reports of the illegal harvest, and photographs surfaced showing Chandler with the harvested elk. Later, a spent rifle cartridge was collected that ballistic analysis showed belonged to the same 30-06 rifle that was seized and later …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand