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Oopsy!! Tom Shankster charged with game violations "A hunting guide from Colorado has been charged with wasting game and filing a false record in Alaska. Thomas Shankster, 60, faces eight counts of hunting violations while acting as a big game guide in Game Management Unit 19, which encompasses McGrath, Alaska State Troopers said. According to troopers, an investigation into Shankster and his guide business, Alaska Trophy Hunts, began in the fall of 2014, when wildlife troopers in McGrath found evidence that Shankster had failed to fully harvest the edible meat from moose and caribou on at least five occasions. Shankster also failed to report two known violations by assistant guides. On one occasion, a sub-legal sheep was taken and on another, antlers were taken before meat, troopers said. Shankster also falsified a hunt record and claimed meat had been harvested when it had not been, troopers said. Investigators took samples of spoiled meat from caribou and moose carcasses. Sub-legal sheep horns were also confiscated during the investigation. According to the Alaska Trophy Hunts website, Shankster is a bush pilot, trapper, tanner and master guide who's been working in Alaska since 1985. Shankster is expected to be arraigned in Aniak in late January." ______________________ DRSS ______________________ Hunt Reports 2015 His & Her Leopards with Derek Littleton of Luwire Safaris - http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/2971090112 2015 Trophy Bull Elephant with CMS http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/1651069012 DIY Brooks Range Sheep Hunt 2013 - http://forums.accuratereloadin...901038191#9901038191 Zambia June/July 2012 with Andrew Baldry - Royal Kafue http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7971064771 Zambia Sept 2010- Muchinga Safaris http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4211096141 Namibia Sept 2010 - ARUB Safaris http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6781076141 | |||
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The wheels of justice finally turn but turn they did. I hope Larry Kolek sees this. | |||
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+1 Don't mess with the State of Alaska and its Troopers. When wildlife is being destroyed around the world especially in Africa and Asia and hunting threatened. North America - the US and Canada are the shinning examples of how it is done right for wildlife and hunting. Alaska is special and Game Management Area 19 is spectacular and in 200 years it will still be around and as pristine as it was 200 years back. I am really glad the State of Alaska is going after Shankster. This was a nice X'mas present for me. I also hope this thread helped the State of Alaska in anyway and AR did its primary job for me - exposing frauds in the hunting industry. Mike | |||
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I wonder if one of the assistant guides is Kolek's grandson. I'm still amazed that the scumbag POS would do that to his own grandson. ____________________________________________ "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett. | |||
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Don't think so - Kolek grandson was a packer. Mike | |||
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You know the most puzzling this about this entire unfortunate episode is that Larry Kolek kept defending Shankster in spite of Shankster trying to pin the blame on his grandson. No one has said anything but good things about the kid. | |||
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Serious groupie behavior. Kolek always wanted to be in the game as unpaid booking agent, camp cook ect. Always surprised how many clients want to become involved with the operations side of hunting businesses. Mike | |||
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That certainly hasn't done his name any good on many forums, not just this one. ______________________ DRSS ______________________ Hunt Reports 2015 His & Her Leopards with Derek Littleton of Luwire Safaris - http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/2971090112 2015 Trophy Bull Elephant with CMS http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/1651069012 DIY Brooks Range Sheep Hunt 2013 - http://forums.accuratereloadin...901038191#9901038191 Zambia June/July 2012 with Andrew Baldry - Royal Kafue http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7971064771 Zambia Sept 2010- Muchinga Safaris http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4211096141 Namibia Sept 2010 - ARUB Safaris http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6781076141 | |||
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I would sure like to know if Kolek knows about this and his reaction. I mentioned Mike's experience to an Alaskan operator who is a friend of mine. It was interesting. He knew all about Shankster. | |||
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I haven't been following this thread until I stumbled across it this morning. Being a long-time resident of the State of New Mexico, I was curious about my fellow resident, Larry Kolek, as I seemed to recognize his name but could not remember doing business with him. I did a few minutes of searching and found info here: NM Case Lookup Just follow the prompts and type "Kolek Lawrence" in the name search field. I believe most of the court cases involve a young Larry Kolek, possibly his son, but many involve the Larry Kolek involved with this thread. The prison break young Larry Kolek was allegedly involved with played big on the news here when it happened and I'm guessing that's where I heard the name. Seems like an awful lot of either bad luck or bad judgment for both these men. Searches like this just might be invaluable when deciding to do business with someone you've only met on the Internet--might avoid a lot of angst. I personally would be very cautious in doing business with people so involved with our judicial system. John Farner If you haven't, please join the NRA! | |||
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Discovery channel gave Shankster a whole lot of free PR by featuring his lodge build on "Building Alaska" ... Shankster had a falling out with his contractor and then in order to get his lodge finished he enlisted a couple of his guides, his wife, a friend or two, but I never saw him swing a hammer on the show. The one thing that stuck out in my mind was Shankster boasting that he could now house 8 hunters upstairs in a bunk room and another 8 downstairs in two bedrooms .. who wants to be in camp with 15 other hunters? Reminds me of an Alaska guide I once hunted with whose name I don't recall ... an electrician from AZ ... who double booked my group in camp with some German hunters. I resolved at that time never to hunt AK again. Russ Gould - Whitworth Arms LLC BigfiveHQ.com, Large Calibers and African Safaris Doublegunhq.com, Fine English, American and German Double Rifles and Shotguns VH2Q.com, Varmint Rifles and Gear | |||
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Whole construction project was a joke. The contractors were specialist in laying epoxy flooring for highly specialized industrial plants. The came to Alaska cause they were promised TV time, vacation and then a hunt. When they got there they realized - they had to harvest the timber to build the cabin. The only reason the cabin got its frame set up was because some hunters without guides were so bored they decided to work on the cabin instead of hanging out. I sat there and told them - Shankster is f*cking you over and you guys are giving him free labor. They were just so bored they rather work on the cabin than do nothing. Shankster is a total scam artist - glad the state of Alaska is going after him. Mike | |||
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I am now told that Larry Kolek is aware of this. He didn't have much of a response. | |||
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Larry - I think Saeed and Don banned Larry Kolek from AR after he was caught posting as circle something and trying and selling hunts without disclosing who he was or the outfitter knowing he was selling hunts on AR. Mike | |||
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\\Mike I should have said that Larry Kolek is aware of this. I know about the ban. | |||
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I don't expect much from Larry Kolek or from Tom Shankster. I am just glad the State of Alaska is taking Shankster to task for serious game violations. Mike | |||
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Did you get your moose back Mike? | |||
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No Never expected too and after writing anything negative on AR the probability went to zero. The dirty secret of the the hunting business is trophy is captive/hostage even after a crappy hunt. I may be the exception as I don't much care about trophies and taxidermy. I bought a replica moose european mount from restoration hardware for under $200. Works for me. Mike | |||
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Me and a buddy hunted moose with Tom this year. I enjoyed the trip a great deal. I took a 66" moose and my buddy took a 61" moose. I had read this thread, and the others, prior to going on (but after paying for) the hunt, and therefore was very nervous about what I was in for. Sure, he's a little disorganized. Yeah there were other hunters in camp who didn't have as good of luck, but I'm sure glad I went on the hunt and my experience was worth every hard earned cent I paid. I believe Tom to be a good guy. He obviously made some mistakes during the 2014 season (most of which are related to him allowing the filming of a tv show in camp during hunting season dumb dumb dumb and he knows it) and he's paying for them now. I live in a glass house. I'm not chunking rocks. I've made my share of wrong turns and paid the associated tolls. I too am disgusted by the thought of wasted meat, and assure you that every morsel of our moose was flown out. This thread has turned into mostly a personal vendetta/witch hunt with a mob mentality, as threads on Internet forums tend to do. I hate that so many hunters in 2014 had bad experiences with him. However, based on my experience in 2015, I'd hunt with him again. It's a beautiful extremely remote place, with lots of game. His guides were all great. It was my first trip to Alaska and it was just like I dreamed it'd be, except with more weirdos in Anchorage. Eddie Wyrick Atoka, OK ebrownw2@gmail.com | |||
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You do know that he is being charged on January 20th in Anika, Alaska with criminal charges relating to wanton waste in addition to other hunting violations? http://kdlg.org/post/awt-charg...t-hunting-violations AK Wildlife Troopers AK14075385 Location: McGrath Type: Unlawful Acts Guide Dispatch Text: On 12/23/15, the Office of Special Prosecutions, Fish and Game Unit, Charged Master Guide Thomas G. Shankster, 60 of Aurora CO, with eight counts of Unlawful Acts while acting as a Big Game guide in Game Management Unit (GMU) 19. This investigation began during the fall of 2014, where the Alaska Wildlife Troopers, McGrath Post, accomplished an investigation regarding Shankster and his guiding business “Alaska Trophy Hunts” (ATH) which is primarily based near the Mouth of the Dillinger River and substantiated that Shankster had committed the crime of Wanton Waste on at least five occasions (both Moose and Caribou), failed to report two known violations by his assistant guides (sub-legal sheep and antlers before meat), and committed Unsworn Falsification on at least one Hunt Record showing that meat had been salvaged when in fact it hadn’t. Spoiled meat samples were collected from three caribou and three moose and three sets of caribou antlers, three sets of moose antlers, and a sub legal set of sheep horns were seized as part of the investigation. The scope of this investigation was substantial, requiring extensive asset usage, including both fixed-wing and helicopter, and involved intensive man-power (nearly 1,000 hours) from nine Alaska Wildlife Troopers. At least 41 separate witness and/or suspect interviews were conducted for the investigation in addition to essential evidentiary compilation and a lengthy report documenting the illegal acts. Shankster is to be arraigned in the Aniak District Court on January 20, 2016. Mike | |||
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Being charged with felonies does not seem like a personal vendetta. Reporting the facts as they happened does not seem like a personal vendetta. Truth hurts sometimes. If people here ganged up on anyone it was Larry Kolek . When one comes on AR and lies, expect a backlash. I got the messages from Mike while he was in camp . I was concerned enough that I was going to arrange to get him out myself. I was that concerned for the welfare of my friend. Biebs though, I would have left him!  On one of the other forums that this was reported on , Shankster himself came on and lied . Then the client posted copies of documents which proved Shankster was lying. Good guy? Not in my book. | |||
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TURD! :-) | |||
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You know I was kidding Jon. | |||
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The flight out of spike camp - I saw Beibs grab his blaser and run to the plane faster than Usman Bolt. He left behind his ripe clothes and other stuff for me to gather and bring back the next day. But that was perfect - bob Graham pulled out the only Potatoe and onion that we had with some moose steak. I think biebs only had stale moose meat in base camp. Tells you something when spike camp had better food than base camp. Mike | |||
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I watched the Building Alaska season 4 with Tom Shankster. The show is very damning evidence of what Shankster was up to. The show runners and producers have it all on video - dates, people ect. Some of these dates are when I was at base camp - these where the days one of the moose was killed and the carcass was not recovered. All the guides and packers are working on the cabin build while hunters were out on their own hunting and killing moose. The only reason there was no recovery was all the guides and packers were building a damn cabin and its all on video. Mike | |||
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Yes, I saw the article about Tom being charged with wildlife violations that allegedly occurred out of his camp in 2014. I was in Oklahoma in September 2014 and therefore have no business passing judgement on anyone for what may or may not have occurred in a very remote corner of the Alaska wilderness thousands of miles away from where I was at at the time. It sounds like a thorough investigation was done, and the truth will come out of that. I can, however, tell you all you want to know about what occurred during the 10 days I spent hunting with the same outfitter, Tom Shankster, in September 2015. It bears little resemblance to what is being described as occurring in 2014, except that in both cases moose were killed. I'm not saying those things didn't occur, because again, I was not there in 2014. However my 2015 moose hunting experience with Alaska Trophy Hunts was a good one. Both me and my hunting partner were able to fill our tags. We were well fed with good food the entire time we were there. There was no evidence of any game violations by anyone. Our guide was absolutely a top notch guy who I enjoyed hunting with, and would love to hunt with again. The other guides I met were just as good. We picked our moose carcasses clean of every bit of meat and it was flown out for processing. I brought all of it home with me that I thought I could fit in my freezer and signed the rest over to Tom. Larry Kolek's grandson was there working in the base camp again. There were two hunters in camp who had been there for the 2014 season and returned to hunt again in 2015. The guide who was involved in the hunt that resulted in a illegal ram being shot was there. I had a lot of conversations with all of these people about 2014. Those conversations were private and I won't quote them on the internet without their consent. However, the fact that they all returned to work for or hunt with Tom again the next year is plenty of evidence that there are always two sides to a story. I'd never met Tom before I landed in his camp. I haven't spoke with him since I left his camp. I don't have an agenda here. It's just that after reading all this stuff before I went and expecting the worst, and then going and having a great hunt, I felt this thread needed updated with a 2015 report/perspective in the name of fairness. I'm not saying it's a perfect outfit or the best place or best guy in Alaska to hunt with (only time I've ever been to Alaska). There are definitely areas that Tom needs to improve in to avoid these conversations from ever happening again. He obviously overextended himself trying to film a show about building a cabin during the hunting season and the result was some very unsatisfied customers. Furthermore, if he is found guilty of wildlife violations occurring under his watch, I agree he deserves whatever punishment the state of Alaska dishes out. I'm just saying that in 2015, I had a good hunt:  Eddie ebrownw2@gmail.com | |||
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I'm no carpenter, but I would have helped on the cabin... either "forgotten" some screws here and there or just come back with a saw/axe or matches before my time was up to leave camp i'm generally pretty level headed but the cost for a moose hunt is to much for me to get anything but excellent service. I understand it's hunting, but whomever is in charge had best be doing what they can to keep each client happy with the amount of $$ changing hands | |||
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Did you ask for your deposit back when you found out about the 2014 season or you took the risk of hunting with someone being investigated by Alaska State Troopers ? Do you think you were well feed and they were no game violations cause Shankster was under investigation by Alaska State Troopers ? The hunting is great cause it public land owned by the state - its also the reason why if you break the law you can get jail time unlike in Africa. Would you recommend other AR members hunt with Tom Shankster even though he is being indicted for felony game violations? He is innocent until proven guilty after all. Mike | |||
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i would hope 2015 he was more carefull than in 2014! lol shows he has half a clue at least... | |||
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Fourtyonesix: i would hope 2015 he was more carefull than in 2014! lol shows he has half a clue at least...[/QUOTE Yup. Only an idiot would repeat the 2014 mistakes. I am glad the gentleman had a good hunt. | |||
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I hate to the be the lawyer Larry but I am pretty sure/certain the State of Alaska would not bring criminal charges and spend 1000 investigative hours using 11 troopers and calling 41 people for mistakes  These were intentional criminal acs with "mens rea".Now Shankster is innocent until proven guilty but given the amount of work the alaska state troopers have done and the video evidence from the building alaska show - as as a betting man I am willing to take the guilty outcome for even money odds. Glad Mr. Wyrick had a great hunt. Block 19c is a great hunting area that is owned by the state - hopefully going forward a far more ethical and law abiding outfitter will be hunting there instead of Tom Shankster. I watched the last episode of Building Alaska where Shankster tearfully invited everyone who helped him build the cabin to his new home. Might be a big house with a uniform provided by the State of Alaska  | |||
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Nice meese. Glad your hunt was a good one. "If you’re innocent why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?”- Donald Trump | |||
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Jeff, I always wondered what the plural of "Moose" was! | |||
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I think, technically, it depends on the day of the week and the moon phase "If you’re innocent why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?”- Donald Trump | |||
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not blazers .... | |||
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I saw Shankster last night on Building Alaska or whatever it is called. I have never seen the show before. It would be interesting to know who all of those people were. It might provide a lot of documentation. Interesting show and a fantastic house they are building. | |||
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I saw the show on demand. A lot of people are guides and packers. They should have been working on stuff other than building the cabin. Why I think Alaaska Troopers should use the dates and time from raw video to show why all the moose carcasses were left to rot. Mike | |||
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Thus the saga ends http://www.ktva.com/story/3837...a-over-illegal-hunts Thanks for the info Kathi. Mike | |||
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Hopefully the guy's hunting business is at an end as well. Sounds like one very shady fellow. | |||
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