Mule Deer Fanatic

It is indeed unfortunate that a man with so much potential finds himself in such a situation, but Kirt Darner may have fixed himself up good this time.

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According to reports from several New Mexico newspapers and the Colorado DOW, Darner admitted to illegally transporting wild elk and receiving two stolen bighorn sheep heads.

His plea was entered Monday in New Mexico District Court in Grants. He faces more than 41⁄2 years in jail and a minimum of $10,000 in fines and restitution. Sentencing has not been set.

Darner’s name and near-legendary reputation are familiar to many hunters.

Once featured in Remington advertisements for bolt-action rifles, Darner had his hunting license revoked for three years in 2001 by the DOW after wildlife officers discovered a hunter Darner was guiding illegally shot from the window of a truck at an elk decoy.

Also, the hunter did not possess a valid permit for that hunting unit.

Darner made his name on his purported ability to outsmart and kill trophy sized mule deer bucks, but over the years his reputation faded considerably after run-ins with wildlife officers and at least one of his trophies were discovered to have been killed by other hunters.

Darner also once was featured in the popular book, “Colorado’s Biggest Bucks and Bulls,” and had several entries in the Boone & Crockett Club record book. He pulled those entries himself after a disagreement with Boone & Crockett officials over the validity of his claims.

An Associated Press report Monday said Darner and his wife, Paula, were co-owners of the 40-acre Lobo Canyon Ranch north of Grants when they were indicted in February of 2006 on multiple charges related to the theft of the sheep heads and the transport of the stolen elk. The Darners were accused of drugging and illegally moving three state-owned elk from the Lobo Canyon Ranch to the Pancho Peaks ranch and game park in southeastern New Mexico in 2002. Kirt Darner was paid $5,000 for each elk.

Mew Mexico Game and Fish Department officers, during a search at the Darner property in February 2005, discovered the heads of desert bighorn sheep and a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep inside a vehicle.

The heads allegedly were stolen in 2000 from a Montrose taxidermy shop. The shop was preparing the mounts for the Colorado DOW, which estimated the value of the heads at more than $20,000 each when stolen.

The DOW had offered a $4,000 reward for information about the sheep-head thefts. According to the DOW, no one has been charged with the theft of the heads; Darner was charged with receiving stolen property.

As part of his plea, Darner, 69, agreed never to hunt, fish or possess firearms in his lifetime. He also agreed not to operate as a guide or outfitter in New Mexico or Colorado