April 5, 2012
Bob Beck, host of "Extreme Outer Limits" on the Sportsman Channel, made several statements to us about the legal trouble he found himself in after bagging two white-tail deer during a televised 2010 Idaho hunt. He said in part:
1. The violation was merely an administrative mistake.
2. He is sorry he made this mistake.
3. He repeatedly implied he has cooperated fully with Idaho Fish and Game.
4. He has publicy refuted media reports on our radio show that his hunting priviliges are revoked in 36 other states due to his guilty plea in this case.
We attempted to ask Bob Beck more questions about this situation but he said on the advice of his attorney and the network he can't comment. He also made several other comments in another blog post at
www.northwesternoutdoors.com.
That's when we decided to reach out to Dave Overman, a Senior Conservation Officer and Regional Investigator for Idaho Fish and Game. Overman confirmed Bob Beck never purchased a second tag for the deer he shot in November of 2010 even though he said he did so on the TV episode this violation aired on. Overman said Beck never contacted Fish and Game investigators until an investigation started 10 months after the incident and his show had already aired. Even then, it wasn’t Beck who spoke to investigators. Instead, it was Mr. Beck’s attorney, learning that witnesses were being contacted, who reached out and contacted an Oregon State Police Trooper assisting with the Idaho investigation. In fact, Mr. Beck has never personally spoken to the lead investigator of this case.
Regarding his comments about being allowed to hunt in the other 36 states that are part of an Interstate Compact – Overman simply replied, - "Mr. Beck’s statement is not factual." Overman went on to explain that Beck will have to contact each individual state that is part of this interstate hunting compact to get his hunting rights back.
Hunters make mistakes, that is understood. However, how a hunter handles mistakes dictates in large part how others view him as a person and sportsman. Mr. Beck had to have known shortly after he shot his second deer he didn't have a tag for it. Why he didn't do the right thing and contact Idaho Fish and Game about it right away I don't know. Why he did the dumb thing and put the violation on television for the world to see is beyond me. One thing Ido know though...The whole episode puts Beck's statements, and ethics as a hunter, in a questionable light at best.
JK
