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 all 50 states.
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.
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