MILES CITY – Two Montana men pled guilty to charges related to the illegal harvest of a brow-tined bull elk in southeast Montana.
On November 26, 2024, game wardens received an anonymous tip that a bull elk had been taken illegally in Hunting District 704. Region 7 Game Warden Sgt. Casey Prell and Game Warden Oliver Gulig identified two suspects, collected evidence, and determined neither suspect possessed the required permit for legal harvest of brow-tined bull elk in HD 704.
Cooperation and support from a private landowner showed that the suspects drove off road on Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and private property and killed the elk on private property without permission. Both suspects provided full confessions for their crimes.
Archie Swift, 22, of Miles City, and Jack Lufborough, 47, of Miles City, recently appeared in Custer County Justice Court. Swift pled guilty to Hunting without a License/Permit, Unlawful Possession of a Game Animal, and Failure to Obtain Landowner Permission for Hunting. He received a total fine of $1,375 and $1,000 restitution.
Lufborough pled guilty to Unlawful Possession of a Game Animal and Failure to Obtain Landowner Permission for Hunting and received a total fine of $820. Swift and Lufborough also lost their hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges for two years.
Anyone with possible information about an incident is encouraged to visit tipmont.mt.gov or contact a game warden in your area directly. You may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.
-FWP-
