Shady deer hunts cost man 12,000 bucks
Violations also led to loss of 32-point antlers

By CHRIS YOUNG
OUTDOORS EDITOR
Published Sunday, October 08, 2006


Coming to Illinois in pursuit of the ultimate trophy buck was more expensive than planned for one Florida hunter who broke the rules.

A pair of hunting trips ended up costing William Wessinger Jr. $12,000 in fines, plus the loss of a white-tailed deer mount and a set of antlers with 32 points.

Wessinger broke the law several times in the course of two deer hunts in 2001 and 2003. Among his violations were improperly tagging deer, having another hunter check in a deer he had shot, carrying uncased archery equipment while using an all-terrain vehicle to chase a wounded deer, and transferring one hunter's tags to another's kill.

"Every year, thousands of men and women enjoy the challenge of hunting for a trophy white-tailed deer in central Illinois," said U.S. Attorney Rodger Heaton. "Some pay thousands of dollars and travel substantial distances for the opportunity.

"Unfortunately, in reckless zeal for the perfect 'trophy buck,' a few flagrantly disregard laws and regulations designed to protect both the wildlife populations and fellow hunters," he said. "As reflected in Mr. Wessinger's plea agreement to federal criminal charges, such flagrant disregard carries serious consequences and will not be tolerated."

In 2001, Wessinger killed two eight-point bucks in Pike County in violation of his permit, which allowed for one antlered and one antlerless deer to be taken. To conceal the violation, he tagged the animal with a permit from a hunter who had not yet shot a buck. He then took the heads and antlers home with him to Florida.

In 2003, another hunter wounded a large buck - one with 32 points

on its antlers - but was not able to retrieve the animal. Two days later, that hunter, Wessinger and another man went to look for the deer aboard ATVs with their archery gear uncased. The three hunters found the wounded deer and chased it, eventually shooting it multiple times.

The deer was loaded on to an ATV and taken to a hunting lodge a few miles away to measure the antlers to see if they were of trophy stature. However, Illinois rules require a deer hunter to tag an animal before moving it, and the outfitter refused to touch the deer until it was tagged.

Wessinger then put his tag on the deer, even though it originally was shot by another hunter.

He also took the antlers and cape home to Florida in violation of the federal Lacey Act, which governs the transport of wildlife for interstate commerce.

Matt Bryant, special agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service based in Springfield, said he worked closely on the case with Illinois Department of Natural Resources conservation police officer Glenn Sanders.

"We both received complaints and we met as we were working the same case, so we teamed up," Bryant said. "His tireless dedication to the resource was instrumental."

Wessinger must pay one half of the fine - $6,000 - to the Fish and Wildlife Service's Lacey Act Reward Account and the other $6,000 to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Jake Wolf Fund. Both funds pay for law enforcement efforts to protect wildlife and natural resources.

Bryant said hunters should know the rules and not let their desire to bag a trophy overwhelm their common sense.

"Hunters need to remember that hunting is a privilege," Bryant said. "It is not a right."


Chris Young can be reached at 788-1528 or chris.young@sj-r.com.

It would be so nice if all the poachers could get caught.

quote:

Wessinger then put his tag on the deer, even though it originally was shot by another hunter.

Seems to be a "fine line" call on this one as "who" killed the deer is not necessarily dictated by who wounded it first. One would have to agree that if the three hunters agreed that the deer was killed by Wessinger, then his tag should have gone on it, no matter who hit it previously. Failure to tag the deer immediately is obviously a violation, but then who reported it? The "uncased archery equipment" violation seems silly, although I'm sure it is the law in Illinois. After all, how many times is it possible to get off an opportunistic archery shot when rumbling along on a four-wheeler?

It is difficult to understand how he could have been caught on the 2001 violation of using another's tag on a deer he shot. He must have somehow P. O.'ed some former friend.

This character must have surely been a worse actor than the actual charges he was convicted of indicate. Please understand, I'm certainly not defending him; it just sounds like the charges are not nearly as serious as his actual violations must have been. In other words, there is surely more to the story.

If a hunter shoots a deer and it is still alive(though wounded)and moving around 2 days later, and that hunter is no longer looking for the deer, I would no longer call that the 1st hunter's deer.

The second hunter should have tagged it immediately, but I would have considered it the 2nd hunter's deer(finding it and shooting it 2 days later)

When I teach Hunter Education classes, we teach the students you must track the animal until 1) you find it. 2) you completely lose all blood trail, or 3) you are sure it will recover.

He deserves the fines but the "shooting someone elses deer" sounds a bit strange from this account.

Does anyone know if this guy the same person also known as "Skeeter" Weissinger?
Rich Elliott