Poor hunting decision: There will be no spot in the record books for Wayne N. Long II, a Watertown hunter who claimed to have killed a state record buck in Rutland Corners on Thursday.
Instead, he received a ticket Tuesday from the state Department of Environmental Conservation for filing a false statement.
Mr. Long claimed he bagged the non-typical deer, which recorded a Boone and Crockett score of about 220, while hunting in the town of Rodman on property belonging to a family friend. The state record score in the category is 210 and 4/8.
But officials of the company that certifies rack sizes said they believe he shot the deer on a deer farm, then took the deer to Rutland Corners, where he was photographed with his prize.
When called Tuesday afternoon by a Times reporter about the challenge to his story, Mr. Long denied receiving a DEC ticket, and hung up before he could be asked any other questions. Read more….