RED WING, Minn. (AP) A Cannon Falls man accused of poaching a world-record eight-point buck has pleaded guilty to three charges and was sentenced to 245 days in jail.

Troy Alan Reinke had claimed he found the buck already dead when he was hunting in the Cannon Falls area last Halloween night. But the 33-year-old had already taken two deer, the legal limit in the area.

The deer had the highest-scoring eight-point antlers ever measured by several methods.

Reinke got credit for 120 days already served in jail on a separate matter. He also must pay $1,500 in restitution and $583 in fines, forfeit his bow and the deer’s rack, and give up the right to hunt large and small game for five years.

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And the more interesting story is that of John Lewton. Apparently the Montana Fish and Wildlife people got a tip that this taxidermist and video maker was illegally guiding sheep hunters. So they sent one of their agents under cover with an extremely coveted tag for the Missouri Breaks region, one of twenty opportunities such tags made available in all of 2009. The undercover agent arranged to hunt with Mr. Lewton and eventually killed a 204″ monster. Apparently up to that point the state had only gathered evidence of a handful of misdemeanors and many Montana hunters are wondering why such a wonderful animal had to be killed for a relatively minor crime. Some months later the agent did further the crime by agreeing to sell the ram to Mr. Lewton, making an illegal sale of wildlife which is a minor felony. It seems like an entrapment defense to me, but I haven’t seen the evidence or watched the trial. Not surprisingly, the defense made an issue of the unnecessary killing of the ram. As of today the case went to jury, so stay tuned for a result. If you want to read more you can follow the coverage at the Montana Standard.