[wildernessflyer]

Interesting. After years of speculation about this operation, there appears to be some basis in fact regarding the killing of moose to bait spring brown bears. Locals here in AK couldn't help but notice how 'lucky' the Sims' operation was at repeatedly locating dead spring moose and killing giant brown bears on the carcasses. All you had to do was watch the Jack Brittingham videos of his two successful world record hunts with the Sims'.

So the next question....were Brittingham's records legit? C'mon, Jack, please say it isn't so...:sad:

www.adn.com/2010/05/14/1278536/successful-but-cheating-guide.html

 

[pegasis0066]

Not good, but don't know how you could verify this was the case with previous bears taken.

 

[Sneaky Apasum]

More importantly, as far as Jack is concerned.....did he know about it?

Shame on anyone involved, if they did in fact do it, but don't go burning someone's reputation til you know for sure that they were involved.

 

[5MilesBack]

don't go burning someone's reputation til you know for sure that they were involved.

Oh come on........shoot first, ask questions later.

 

[wildernessflyer]

More importantly, as far as Jack is concerned.....did he know about it?

Shame on anyone involved, if they did in fact do it, but don't go burning someone's reputation til you know for sure that they were involved.

The newspaper piece, if you read it, said 30 charges have been filed for offenses committed during an investigation started back in 2003, and that federal GPS technology tracked the Sims' airplane to moose killed with buckshot and skinned bear carcasses, so it looks kind of bad for them. Charges were just filed this spring. That covers years during which Brittingham killed his record brown bears with the Simses, so the record bears could be part of the investigation...or not. Nobody's saying yet. Another hunter guided by Sims has been directly tied to one site where an aerially poached moose carcass were located, and he killed a bear over that carcass.

Agreed, one shouldn't trash someone's rep without proof, and that's why I'm not certainly not accusing Brittingham. Even if his kills were bogus, it is possible he might not of known what was happening...at least based on what we know now. But, unfortunately, if you run with turkeys, few are going to see you as an eagle. I understand Jack and the Simses are good friends and have traded hunts back and forth---moose and bear in Alaska, and mega-trophy whitetails on Jack's high-fence property in Texas.

I'm just hopeful that Jack will have something good to say because he's become a hunting icon, but also because he is one of many hunters who may come under close scrutiny due to the association and the timeframe. Right or wrong, that's just these investigations work.... Personally, I hope none of it's true, because if it is, nothing good for hunting, guiding, or hunters/bowhunters in general can come from it.

 

[BROWN DEVIL DOG]

I want throw something else in to this, check out UH for north American big game III. When he shoots his Brown Bear he is clearly shooting a Exspandable broadhead. That is aginst the law in Alaska, you can not use one for Moose, Brown Bear, Mountain Goat, and Musk-Ox.

 

[wildernessflyer]

I want throw something else in to this, check out UH for north American big game III. When he shoots his Brown Bear he is clearly shooting a Exspandable broadhead. That is aginst the law in Alaska, you can not use one for Moose, Brown Bear, Mountain Goat, and Musk-Ox.

That's been questioned by many Alaskans who noticed immediately. Haven't been able to get a clear commitment yet on that issue with regard to when the use of expandibles was made illegal by AK Fish & Game. I've never shot them, so was never an issue for me. Out of curiosity, and unrelated to this issue, I once asked an information officer at the Anchorage office, and even he was not sure of a date.

A quick web search tonight showed a proposal before the board of game in Feb 2004 sought to stop the ban on mechanical broadhead use for big game hunting, and it failed. The ban stayed in place. That would indicate the ban was in place at least as early as 2003. I think the bear you mentioned was taken in 2004, so it would seem the ban was in place barring the use of mechanical heads at that time.

 

[Sneaky Apasum]

The newspaper piece, if you read it, said 30 charges have been filed for offenses committed during an investigation started back in 2003, and that federal GPS technology tracked the Sims' airplane to moose killed with buckshot and skinned bear carcasses, so it looks kind of bad for them. Charges were just filed this spring. That covers years during which Brittingham killed his record brown bears with the Simses, so the record bears could be part of the investigation...or not. Nobody's saying yet. Another hunter guided by Sims has been directly tied to one site where an aerially poached moose carcass were located, and he killed a bear over that carcass.

Agreed, one shouldn't trash someone's rep without proof, and that's why I'm not certainly not accusing Brittingham. Even if his kills were bogus, it is possible he might not of known what was happening...at least based on what we know now. But, unfortunately, if you run with turkeys, few are going to see you as an eagle. I understand Jack and the Simses are good friends and have traded hunts back and forth---moose and bear in Alaska, and mega-trophy whitetails on Jack's high-fence property in Texas.

I'm just hopeful that Jack will have something good to say because he's become a hunting icon, but also because he is one of many hunters who may come under close scrutiny due to the association and the timeframe. Right or wrong, that's just these investigations work.... Personally, I hope none of it's true, because if it is, nothing good for hunting, guiding, or hunters/bowhunters in general can come from it.

Have you noticed the tags?

 

[wildernessflyer]

Have you noticed the tags?

Sorry, too cryptic for me before my first cup of coffee....Tags? Where, what?

Did read all the comments with the Anchorage Daily News story....didn't see any search 'tags' on that article/page. Point me in the right direction...

Did find this statement in the 'Comments' that seems to fit a lot of knowledgeable Alaskans view of this mess:


jtmjam wrote on 05/15/2010 06:19:25 AM:
"There are a few hunting videos out that have a prominenent TV hunters from the lower 48 hunting with the Sims clan. Each time the hunter (term is used loosely) shoots what might be a new B+C record. The bear is laying on a mound of covered up dead moose. Anyone who has hunted brown bear, dreams of finding a bear on a kill. Sims just made sure it happened everytime. The Troopers involved in this case are some of the best brown shirts this state has. They are tenacious, fantastic pilots and are the last enforcement guys I would want chasing me if I was doing something wrong.
Anyway, educate yourself about this poaching family and find those DVDS. And yes it sometimes takes 7 years to take down an operation like this. This goes way beyond a snagged fish and ticket. If Sims hired a competent attorney, this never goes to trial. Wolves, bears, disease might kill moose and caribou and not use all the meat, but so do some people. Predator control is for bears and wolves, what about the Sims family?"

 

[marty.301]

not Jack !

I hate to hear this!
I hope something comes out quick!
Jack is one fo my family's favorite hunting hosts!
I did not want to believe it when one of my buddies pointed out that one of Jack's videos about a deer hunt in the Northeast was misleading - turned out to be a fenced property.
Marty

 

[Sneaky Apasum]

Sorry, too cryptic for me before my first cup of coffee....Tags? Where, what?

Did read all the comments with the Anchorage Daily News story....didn't see any search 'tags' on that article/page. Point me in the right direction...

Did find this statement in the 'Comments' that seems to fit a lot of knowledgeable Alaskans view of this mess:


jtmjam wrote on 05/15/2010 06:19:25 AM:
"There are a few hunting videos out that have a prominenent TV hunters from the lower 48 hunting with the Sims clan. Each time the hunter (term is used loosely) shoots what might be a new B+C record. The bear is laying on a mound of covered up dead moose. Anyone who has hunted brown bear, dreams of finding a bear on a kill. Sims just made sure it happened everytime. The Troopers involved in this case are some of the best brown shirts this state has. They are tenacious, fantastic pilots and are the last enforcement guys I would want chasing me if I was doing something wrong.
Anyway, educate yourself about this poaching family and find those DVDS. And yes it sometimes takes 7 years to take down an operation like this. This goes way beyond a snagged fish and ticket. If Sims hired a competent attorney, this never goes to trial. Wolves, bears, disease might kill moose and caribou and not use all the meat, but so do some people. Predator control is for bears and wolves, what about the Sims family?"

The tags on the bottom of this page.

Sounds bad. If Jack was in tight with these guys, then he probably did know. But so far, all I've seen is speculation from people reading about it on the internet. Didn't see anything in the article, or from anyone else involved in the investigation that says anything about Jack being directly involved with the moose killing or even knowing about it. Maybe I missed that part.

 

[Bobmuley]

More importantly, as far as Jack is concerned.....did he know about it?

Shame on anyone involved, if they did in fact do it, but don't go burning someone's reputation til you know for sure that they were involved.

Isn't that what we do?

Chuck Adams and the rumors that its private land or guided to his big elk. The Spider Bull fiasco, the Rompola buck, or some unknown Amish kids must have been poaching.

Congratulations is too hard to say anymore at least until all the evidence and charges are complete.

 

[brodie1978]

where there is smoke, there is fire...sorry jack

 

[valleycreek]

where there is smoke, there is fire...sorry jack

enough said

 

[grfox]

where there is smoke, there is fire...sorry jack

+1 :darkbeer:

 

[Beendare]

Thanks for the link WF

The real problem is for every one they catch plenty more skate

 

[wildernessflyer]

The tags on the bottom of this page.

Sounds bad. If Jack was in tight with these guys, then he probably did know. But so far, all I've seen is speculation from people reading about it on the internet. Didn't see anything in the article, or from anyone else involved in the investigation that says anything about Jack being directly involved with the moose killing or even knowing about it. Maybe I missed that part.

Aha!...nope, i missed 'em. Mouse-type. Thanks!

 

[wildernessflyer]

The tags on the bottom of this page.

Sounds bad. If Jack was in tight with these guys, then he probably did know. But so far, all I've seen is speculation from people reading about it on the internet. Didn't see anything in the article, or from anyone else involved in the investigation that says anything about Jack being directly involved with the moose killing or even knowing about it. Maybe I missed that part.

So the tags go back to this thread, as far as I can tell. Pretty misleading, it seems. Who generates them? Any ideas?

 

[wildernessflyer]

Isn't that what we do?

Chuck Adams and the rumors that its private land or guided to his big elk. .

Interesting you mention Chuck. I've hunted in that region last 2 yrs. The area biologist told me a story that indicated he hunted public/private land. Sounds paradoxical, and it is...sort of. Lots of checkerboard ownership in SE Montana. It's possible to hunt public land that is only accessible by crossing private land, which makes the hunt like a private ranch hunt, but still technically meets the 'public' land definition by legal description. Interesting, eh?

 

[Sneaky Apasum]

So the tags go back to this thread, as far as I can tell. Pretty misleading, it seems. Who generates them? Any ideas?

Anyone that wants to. Just click on edit tags, and put whatever you want in there.

It's pretty clear by the responses of this thread that most WANT Jack to be involved with the poaching. Guilty until proven innocent, right?