Potentential new state record was a hoax - It was a high fence farm deer

As most of you when we first saw pictures of this buck we were pretty amazed. It was a huge non-typical with approximately 22 points with a score of around 220. There were stories and posts popping up all over about the deer on ArcheryTalk and other hunting websites including our forums. The story eventually made it into a few newspapers and hunting magazine websites.

Original stories / posts:

http://www.watertown...RTS01/710029803

http://www.archeryta...d.php?t=1860103

http://www.deerandde...cord-nontypical

http://www.nybowhunt...on-typical.html

Photos of the buck:

http://huntingny.com..._20#entry149787

The Real story:

Unfortunately this deer was taken off a high-fence farm, tagged (illegally) with a NYS tag, and pushed off as a deer that was taken in the wild.

It's a real shame that people would go through these lengths for their 15 minutes of fame. Hopefully the publicity that this story is getting serves as a reminder to those that were thinking of doing the same thing.

http://www.watertown...EWS03/710039822

Below quotes are from the Watertown Daily Times, article linked above.

Matthew J. Cooper, a local scorer for Boone and Crockett and vice president of the New York State Big Buck Club, said he realized something was amiss when he was called by Mr. Long to measure the deer at Wilderness Walt’s Taxidermy, 10641 Station Road, Lowville.

Mr. Cooper said hunters will “periodically” enter an ineligible deer for record attempts.

“I give hunters the benefit of the doubt every time. ... it’s a very happy moment for them,” Mr. Cooper said. “I want to share and contribute to their special moment. It’s very disappointing to see someone make an attempt to defraud the record book.”

Measuring the buck Friday afternoon, Mr. Cooper asked to take the deer’s lower jaw, which can be used to estimate its age. He said he determined the deer was about 2 years old, which he felt was not old enough to have naturally developed that size of antlers.

Suspicious, Mr. Cooper then had Mr. Long take him to the reported kill site, off Jacobs Road. Mr. Cooper was surprised when Mr. Long told him the deer fell about 30 feet after being hit. Mr. Cooper said most deer hit by an arrow travel 50 to 100 yards before falling.

“They have to bleed to death,” Mr. Cooper said.

He said there was no blood near the area of the deer’s reported death.

“The kill site was unrealistic,” Mr. Cooper said.

He said he was able to learn enough by Friday evening that he could tell Mr. Long that his deer was farm-raised, and as a result would not be eligible. Mr. Cooper said he gave Mr. Long two options: Either remove the record attempt request or he would be forced to prove publicly that the deer is ineligible.

Mr. Cooper said Mr. Long told him he would withdraw his request.

Mr. Long met with a Times reporter to talk about the deer late Friday afternoon, after the Times was contacted earlier in the day by his girlfriend, Mandy Petrie. Mr. Long also did not mention the questions about the deer’s eligibility when called by the Times on Saturday and Monday about submitting a photo.

After a story about Mr. Long and his hunt was printed in the Times on Tuesday, Mr. Cooper said, he left a phone message for Mr. Long. Mr. Cooper received a phone message later from Mr. Long, telling him again he would not attempt to set a record with the deer.

“He’s put himself in an awkward position,” Mr. Cooper said.

A message left with the taxidermy shop’s owner, Walter A. Graf, was not returned Tuesday afternoon. An email message to Ms. Petrie on Tuesday afternoon requesting comment did not receive a response.

Stephen W. Litwhiler, a DEC spokesman, said Mr. Long, 39, of North Pleasant Lane, was given the filing a false report charge instead of one for possession or transport of an improperly tagged deer, which are done mainly for hunters who make an error when filling out their tag.