54 Elk - Rifle
- Thread starter SonofMike
- Start date
treedagain
Long Time Member
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Well Luke, looks like you have a great tag. I know they kill some bruisers out in the corn
Welcome back
Welcome back
willfrye027
Active Member
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- 395
Awesome tag! We’ve seen elk in most parts of the unit. Can’t say I’ve ever seen a true monster, but also have not really looked for them. Happy to chat via PM if you need some ideas for scouting
mtlionchaser
Member
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- 40
Congrats on a great tag!!
Blindnonresident
Active Member
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- 690
Wash your feet.
NateArchibald
Member
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- 6
My wife drew the muzzle loader tag in 54 this year! Which hunt did you draw?
NateArchibald
Member
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- 6
Which tag did you draw? Muzzle loader or rifle?
My wife drew the muzzle loader elk tag this year!
I grew up in Oakley so it will be awesome to be back hunting my old stomping grounds. If you have the rifle tag, I would be happy to give you some pointers on where to go.
NateArchibald
Member
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NateArchibald
Member
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lol funny guy!
Blindnonresident
Active Member
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From a helicopter?
Kidding.
Kidding.
IDbucks
Active Member
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- 138
It's a big loop from what I've heard.Definitely out of the loop on this one.
Soccerdude
Active Member
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- 768
Love that area. Good luck. Report back.
BowBuster379
New Member
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- 2
Enjoy prison, hope you find true love
I drew the muzzleloader also.
chasin(white)tail
New Member
- Messages
- 2
I drew the rifle tag but have been having issues finding 'the one' again. I thought I put him to bed last night but no dice today. Did you see this bull? Sorry for the low quality
chasin(white)tail
New Member
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- 2
Did you end up shooting a bull? Either of you?
208LOGAN
Member
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- 38
Did you end up getting one?
BowBuster379
New Member
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- 2
Man arrested for illegally killing and leaving deer in Madison County - East Idaho News
REXBURG — A 44-year-old man is facing many charges after Idaho Fish & Game reportedly found a dead deer that had been shot and left to waste. Nathan Archibald is charged with one felony for unlawful possession of wildlife and misdemeanor charges of hunting when privileges have been revoked, no...
www.eastidahonews.com
( Sent from East Idaho News )
OLDHORNHUNTER
Very Active Member
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- 1,052
This will be another case that he gets slapped on the hand, gets a few hours of community service will pay a few $$. He will lose his privileges for a year and be back doing it again !! Idaho needs to start making these Poachers do serious time behind bars ... They know they can get away with it without any major consequences !!Man arrested for illegally killing and leaving deer in Madison County - East Idaho News
REXBURG — A 44-year-old man is facing many charges after Idaho Fish & Game reportedly found a dead deer that had been shot and left to waste. Nathan Archibald is charged with one felony for unlawful possession of wildlife and misdemeanor charges of hunting when privileges have been revoked, no...
( Sent from East Idaho News )
andrew12gauge
Active Member
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- 823
I think the reason Nathan archibalds story was shared here is because his wife had drawn a 54 muzzy tag and he was here asking for information
Outdoordan
Very Active Member
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Another poacher. I can't add link, but Google Robert Zeko. Unbelievable.
Blindnonresident
Active Member
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- 690
Cheaters suck.
Even looks proud in his mug shot.
Even looks proud in his mug shot.
runamuk
Very Active Member
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- 1,677
TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Two hunting trips to the South Hills have led to 114 charges, after investigation shows a group of men didn't have tags for Game Management Unit 54's controlled hunt.
www.kivitv.com
- 13 hunters face 114 charges.
- Eagle resident Robert Zeko faces 34 charges — including 14 felonies — including illegal taking of game, out of season game, trespassing to hunt, and wasting of game.
- 53 felony charges for wildlife crimes like taking out of season, taking over limit, and wasting game for only taking trophy heads and leaving whole in-tact animals behind.
- Individuals are all being charged separately, preliminary hearings begin this month.
Hunting party hangover: 12 men face 114 criminal charges after a series of illegal South Hills hunts
After observing a hunting party load five deer heads into a trailer – but no meat - investigation leads to 114 criminal charges, including 53 felonies.
www.kivitv.com
runamuk
Very Active Member
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TWIN FALLS — Police say multiple Treasure Valley men are facing dozens of felonies after they engaged in unlawful hunting sprees in southern Twin Falls County, killing at least five deer in the most recent incident in October 2023, officials say.
Court records say violations of some members of the group date back to as early as 2017.
Robert Zeko
The crimes committed by the men include everything from unlawful possession, killing or wasting wildlife to failure to produce a wildlife tag for inspection and unlawful taking of game animals, records say.
Robert Zeko, 49, of Eagle is facing the most charges of the group, numbering 34, 26 of them felonies. He was one of the occupants of a pickup pulling a cargo trailer that was stopped on U.S. Highway 93 near Twin Falls in late October 2023, and the deer heads and a cooler containing meat were found in a trailer, records say.
At least 11 other men — Nicholas Zeko, 32; Austin Zeko, 24; Jeff Steven George, 33; Bobby George, 53; Darren George, 29; Bryan Bob George, 35; Robert Montes, 32; Bobby Ephrem, 51; Christopher Thomas Costello, 29; Chuck Costello Jr., 22; and Steve Holiday Marks, 28 — have been charged with felonies in the case.
Most of the men appear to be from southwestern Idaho. Jeff George, Bobby George and Darren George made their initial court appearance Thursday then were booked and released.
The charges came after almost a year of investigation, involving searching suspects’ phones for evidence including photos and videos.
Bryan George
One of the videos, shot in 2022, shows multiple deer head mounts. A voice in the background, a voice which investigators believe to be Nicholas Zeko's says, “pretty good deers, and the best part about it, every one of them didn’t cost us a dime … not too bad for free.”
An affidavit of probable cause completed by Idaho Department of Fish and Game regional investigator Nathan Woods details a two-week-long surveillance of the men after a headless deer was found Oct. 12, 2023, in Game Management Unit 54, which comprises parts of southern Twin Falls and Cassia counties.
An investigator became aware of a traffic stop two days before in which Robert Zeko, driving a UTV holding four passengers, was pulled over by an Elko County Sheriff’s deputy for failing to stop at a stop sign. He was contacted again later that day, along with men in a red pickup truck at a Jackpot, Nevada, convenience store.
There was blood in the bed of the pickup, and one of them said they had shot a coyote and were hunting in Idaho, court records say.
The men had been staying at Cactus Petes Resort Casino in Jackpot, and arrived in the vehicles, one of them towing a cargo trailer.
The men “hastily departed” late in the day after being contacted by the deputy, court records say, but investigators identified each of the 10 individuals in the group and found that only one of them had a valid tag for Game Management Unit 54, records say.
On Oct. 26, 2023, a white pickup pulling a trailer, observed earlier in the month with the group of 10 men, was seen parked along Hot Creek Road in Unit 54. Robert Zeko, Nicholas Zeko, Darren George and Jeff George were identified as its occupants and they were again staying at Cactus Petes. The group was put under surveillance and investigators said it was apparent that they were acquainted with the group of other four men.
A Fish and Game conservation officer pulled the men over on Oct. 29, 2023, on an investigatory traffic stop, and one of the men had a blood smear on his white sweatshirt, records say.
The deer heads, some of them trophy-sized, and three bags of meat, which did not equate to the edible portions of a mule deer, were recovered from the trailer, along with four firearms, the affidavit says.
The deer appeared to have been killed within a week earlier, and the meat in the cooler was still warm, even though it was sitting on ice, reports say.
Court records say violations of some members of the group date back to as early as 2017.
Robert Zeko
The crimes committed by the men include everything from unlawful possession, killing or wasting wildlife to failure to produce a wildlife tag for inspection and unlawful taking of game animals, records say.
Robert Zeko, 49, of Eagle is facing the most charges of the group, numbering 34, 26 of them felonies. He was one of the occupants of a pickup pulling a cargo trailer that was stopped on U.S. Highway 93 near Twin Falls in late October 2023, and the deer heads and a cooler containing meat were found in a trailer, records say.
At least 11 other men — Nicholas Zeko, 32; Austin Zeko, 24; Jeff Steven George, 33; Bobby George, 53; Darren George, 29; Bryan Bob George, 35; Robert Montes, 32; Bobby Ephrem, 51; Christopher Thomas Costello, 29; Chuck Costello Jr., 22; and Steve Holiday Marks, 28 — have been charged with felonies in the case.
Most of the men appear to be from southwestern Idaho. Jeff George, Bobby George and Darren George made their initial court appearance Thursday then were booked and released.
The charges came after almost a year of investigation, involving searching suspects’ phones for evidence including photos and videos.
Bryan George
One of the videos, shot in 2022, shows multiple deer head mounts. A voice in the background, a voice which investigators believe to be Nicholas Zeko's says, “pretty good deers, and the best part about it, every one of them didn’t cost us a dime … not too bad for free.”
An affidavit of probable cause completed by Idaho Department of Fish and Game regional investigator Nathan Woods details a two-week-long surveillance of the men after a headless deer was found Oct. 12, 2023, in Game Management Unit 54, which comprises parts of southern Twin Falls and Cassia counties.
An investigator became aware of a traffic stop two days before in which Robert Zeko, driving a UTV holding four passengers, was pulled over by an Elko County Sheriff’s deputy for failing to stop at a stop sign. He was contacted again later that day, along with men in a red pickup truck at a Jackpot, Nevada, convenience store.
There was blood in the bed of the pickup, and one of them said they had shot a coyote and were hunting in Idaho, court records say.
The men had been staying at Cactus Petes Resort Casino in Jackpot, and arrived in the vehicles, one of them towing a cargo trailer.
The men “hastily departed” late in the day after being contacted by the deputy, court records say, but investigators identified each of the 10 individuals in the group and found that only one of them had a valid tag for Game Management Unit 54, records say.
On Oct. 26, 2023, a white pickup pulling a trailer, observed earlier in the month with the group of 10 men, was seen parked along Hot Creek Road in Unit 54. Robert Zeko, Nicholas Zeko, Darren George and Jeff George were identified as its occupants and they were again staying at Cactus Petes. The group was put under surveillance and investigators said it was apparent that they were acquainted with the group of other four men.
A Fish and Game conservation officer pulled the men over on Oct. 29, 2023, on an investigatory traffic stop, and one of the men had a blood smear on his white sweatshirt, records say.
The deer heads, some of them trophy-sized, and three bags of meat, which did not equate to the edible portions of a mule deer, were recovered from the trailer, along with four firearms, the affidavit says.
The deer appeared to have been killed within a week earlier, and the meat in the cooler was still warm, even though it was sitting on ice, reports say.
I did not shoot one.
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