Here’s the thing about trying to turn Montana into your personal, all-you-can-poach buffet: eventually, someone’s going to call the manager.
That’s exactly what happened to Harrison residents Jeremy Michael Hill and Ryan Francis McGuire, whose multi-county, multi-year illegal deer hunting spree just hit a massive dead end.
According to FWP, the beginning of the end started with a classic rookie mistake: wasting a whitetail buck. A concerned citizen spotted the wasted deer in Hill’s possession and tipped off Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Game wardens dug in for a year-long investigation and uncovered a laundry list of violations that reads like a “what not to do” manual.
Turns out, Hill had spent three years treating bag limits like gentle suggestions, killing multiple antlered deer a year and sneakily tagging them with his family members’ licenses. Meanwhile, McGuire was playing the ultimate bad wingman, helping Hill spotlight and shoot deer from a vehicle well after dark. Their wrap sheet included everything from hunting from a public highway and trespassing on private land to straight-up wasting game.
The judge finally threw the book at them, and it turns out that book has teeth. Hill is facing a $2,980 fine and a 36-month suspension of his hunting and fishing privileges. McGuire got slapped with a $670 fine and a 24-month suspension. And thanks to the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, those bans aren’t just for Montana—they are officially locked out of the woods in nearly every state in the country.
Consider it a win for the good guys and a reminder that keeping an eye out pays off—literally. Wardens rely on folks speaking up, and if you report wildlife crimes at tipmont.mt.gov, you might even snag a reward up to $1,000.
Editor’s note: Corrected a claim about the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact: it covers nearly every state (48 members), not all 50.
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