Montana’s Hunting District 380 is one of the most difficult units to draw a bull elk tag. The success rate in 2023 was well under one percent. According to court records, multiple people bypassed the draw system entirely, illegally killing multiple bulls as well as several deer over a two-month period that ended in multiple convictions.
The case centered on Tylor Castona and Alisha Byrd of East Helena, who illegally shot three six-point bull elk with rifles during archery season in the Elkhorn Mountains. They also took three whitetail bucks, including one deer left where it fell after a landowner heard gunshots on his property at night and turned on the lights to investigate.
The landowner reported the incident to Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. His call kicked off a year-long investigation. Game wardens uncovered multiple violations that included hunting without valid licenses, using artificial light to locate and shoot deer at night, and transferring tags between hunters, according to court documents.
Montana’s Hunting District 380 requires a permit to harvest a bull elk, which you can only get through a lottery process with extremely slim odds of success. Hunters often apply for years before drawing a tag. In the 2023 season, just 0.94% of hunters who applied for those tags drew one. Court records show this case removed multiple mature bulls from that system without a single legal permit in play.
“It’s just a very flagrant poaching case that demonstrates they will use any means to take the most vulnerable animals and that they are targeting our largest trophies,” game warden and lead investigator Troy Hinck told reporters.
He added, “If a person were to do this for a private outfitted hunt, each one of [those bulls] would probably be about a $10,000 opportunity.”
By December 2024, Castona, 40, faced 16 misdemeanor poaching charges tied to over-limit hunting, illegal possession of game animals, and violations involving licenses and equipment.
Castona joined his sentencing hearing via Zoom on June 25 from Montana State Prison, where he is currently serving time for sexual assault. Judge Kathy Seely gave him 6 months in jail, $12,650 in restitution, and a 30-year loss of hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges.
Byrd pleaded guilty in April to four misdemeanor poaching charges and one felony count of tampering with a witness or information. Six other misdemeanor charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal.
On June 13, she was sentenced to six months of jail time by Lewis and Clark County District Judge Michael McMahon. All but 30 days of that sentence were suspended. She was ordered to pay a $50 fine and $1,100 restitution. Her hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges have also been revoked for 10 years.
Additionally, Castona’s nephew, Tracer Castona, plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges for helping recover one of the bull elk.
For hunters who spent years applying for a chance at Montana’s Hunting District 380, Castona’s case comes as a gut punch, robbing them and the mountain of three bull elk.
Feature image via the Independent Record
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