FUNB

I knew that my nose did not belong there so you are right. At the time I thought that you were using the forum to vent. Again, my mistake. Who knows? Maybe someday he might reach out to you. Thanks and I would be interested in your book when finished. chs

That being said, Mr. Darner did something that is far beyond shooting five minutes before legal hunting hours or chasing a wounded animal onto private property without first obtaining the landowners’ permission: He stole publicly owned elk and sold them to be shot on a game farm for his own profit. This is not an excited young man or woman shooting over a fence that their pounding hearts didn’t want to allow their eyes to see. The dumb mistakes that too many of us made as youths, while still wrong, are so different than going out and trying to defraud all of our fellow sportsmen and women for the purpose of gaining more money. I do believe that there are very few of us who have lived in our glass houses that have the right to cast that first stone, (Just recently, the DIRECTOR of our Game and Fish Department was put on probation for hunting on private property without permission). I just feel that it is much easier to accept and forgive the small, dumb judgement errors because we’ve all been there. I once saw an experienced, knowledgable hunter knock down two near-twin bucks because he thought he’d missed his first shot and never saw the deer fall. When the second buck stood, he dropped the hammer on him believing him to be the first deer he’d observed-unharmed. After speaking with some of the hunters who went out with him on an annual basis and seeing his reaction, I was convinced without a doubt that this was an honest, dumb mistake. (In spite of the letter of the law, their group tagged both deer and made sure that neither animal was wasted. Yes, he should have called a game warden but being as freaked out as he was, tried to do the best thing in a bad situation. One of his buddies had to give up his deer tag for the year and the hunter sure seemed to be doing a more than adequate job of punishing himself). I think for the most part that us hunters are a forgiving group. Also, let’s face it-The business of hunting is one of the most serious around-there simply is no calling back a bullet or arrow once they’ve been sent on their way. With time and experience we all learn just how severe and unforgiving circumstances can be and hopefully take that extra five seconds to ensure that we are not about to do something stupid. I still regret shooting a sky-lined buck at the age of eighteen and even though there were no adverse consequences for my actions, would never squeeze on that shot again. We owe it to ourselves, our fellow sportsmen and most of all, the animals that we hunt to become better at what we do everytime we’re in the field. These actions make us deserving of understanding and patience from our brothers and sisters and more often than not, serve as teaching tools to more than the individual making that dumb mistake. (I learned to always assume that my shot had connected until I had absolute proof to the contrary, thanks to the unfortunate hunter I described earlier in this writing, so I know for a fact that more than one person can learn from a mistake). Knowing that the field can be a harsh teacher, I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt- I’m not the first guy on the cell phone every time I witness somebody doing something stupid.

But.

This is not Mr. Darner’s first brush with the law. He got in trouble with Colorado authorities when he was driving a vehicle and guiding a hunter who shot from that vehicle, at night, at a decoy being operated by DOW. The hunter didn’t have a permit for the unit where he fired at the mechanical elk, (although that seems like nitpicking when you’re spotlighting animals from a truck-rules obviously weren’t that important to them). Granted, Kirt didn’t fire himself but I find it very hard to believe that he didn’t give consent for the hunter to do so. It seems pretty damn hard to shoot an animal seen from a moving vehicle at night if the driver doesn’t stop and shine his headlights on that animal, I would think. If Mr. Darner had simply continued driving, there’s no way in the world the hunter could have chambered, much less fired at an elk that night. Even while trying to give people the benefit of the doubt, it’s difficult to believe that he wasn’t an accomplice to his hunter in that instance.

The new charges against Mr. & Mrs. Darner and the other landowner basically accuse the three of them of trapping large, wild bull elk, tranquilizing them and releasing them into captivity for the sole purpose of them being shot and killed by well-heeled shooters, (I won’t get into the ethics of THAT situation, neither will I call them ‘hunters’). The elk were not released into a large area for a hunt, they were released into a high-fence pasture, (not sure that would make a difference, one way or the other). These people went so far as to obtain the narcotics and antidote required to tranquilize the bulls for transport. Knowing the legal wrangling that has already ensued in this case, I can daresay that if the state of New Mexico’s case were difficult to prove, he wouldn’t have pled out before the trial. The Darners have been fortunate enough to have great legal representation throughout this. I seriously doubt that they would not have fought the charges if there were any chance of winning.

The last accusation that I read about, while extremely sad, is probably the most understandable. It shows Kirt Darner to be as egocentric and flawed as so many of us are in our youths. The co-author of two of Mr. Darner’s books has alleged, and provided photographic proof of, that he took credit for a deer killed by another man in Arizona in 1948, (Kirt claimed that he killed the deer in the late 70′s). This deer is a non-typical monster and was actually entered into the Boone & Crockett record books twice-once under the original hunter’s name and a second time under Kirt Darner’s name. While still sad, this is probably the most understandable of Kirt’s lapses in judgement. However he got hold of the enormous rack, I can under stand him claiming that he killed it. A young man, a monster deer that no one knew he hadn’t harvested, ego and a story that snowballed beyond belief is a mistake that, while unforgiveable, I GET. All of the animals on my walls were harvested by me, but I cannot know for a fact that had I come into possession of such an animal as a young man that I wouldn’t have been tempted to claim credit.
I honestly don’t believe that Kirt had any way of knowing how this could come back to bite him, (both B & C entries have since been disqualified, as were several other animals entered by Mr. Darner) especially when he started bragging about this deer as a kid, maybe even after a couple of beers. I do think the line was not only crossed but stomped on quite seriously when he put this particular mulie on the cover of one of his books.

Just the same, it’s easy to see how a stupid mistake can take us down an unfortunate path. What’s sad is that some of us can use those errors as tools to learn from and become better people as we continue our hunting adventures yet others only seem to be drawn deeper into the dark side of our sport. That these mistakes brought Mr. Darner from what was, I’m sure, a young, avid, enthusiastic sportsman to the end of his hunting career is beyond sad. He seems to have lost all of the passion and love for the sport and its’ creatures somewhere along the line, turning these magnificent animals that we spend weeks pursuing and years learning about into a shortcut to profit. That, in my book, is the unforgiveable part. I can get past so many screw-ups and still see the good in my fellow outdoorsmen and women. I will never be able to understand the fact that he trapped, drugged and transported these glorious animals to a place to be slaughtered like mere sheep. Somehow, during the outdoor shows and book-signings, the seminars and endless profits, he started buying into his own hype. He turned something beautiful and priceless into the bottom line, the almighty dollar. This is his biggest crime, the largest sin that we can commit. (I am not speaking about people that make their living hunting or guiding, I’m talking about stealing from every single hunter out there to line his own pockets). I hope that I will have the sense to hang up my bow long before my heart stops pounding when I see my quarry, years before I no longer get dry-mouthed when I can see and smell the fresh animal sign all around me. I never wish to stop being enthralled and amazed by everything I see in the outdoors. If that day ever comes, I hope to walk away from this sport with many beautiful memories and having made it better than when I first fell in love with it.

Perhaps that’s just what Kirt should have done.