Two Montana men are facing felonies after being accused of going well over their daily and season possession limits while duck hunting in Central Montana. According to reporting by the Billings Gazette, John Carullo of Simms and Matthew Krekelberg of Bozeman were hunting near the Sun River on January 14.
A Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) warden was patrolling the area and received landowner permission to check the so-called hunters. The warden watched the men kill several greenheads before making contact.
That’s when he noticed something amiss: each hunter had two shotguns, and there were dead ducks, lots of them. The warden counted 66 in total—well over the combined daily limit of 14. Krekelberg, according to court documents, told the warden he didn’t know how many birds he’d shot and admitted to grossly exceeding his limit because “it had been a poor year for hunting, and they wanted enough meat to last year-round.”
FWP wardens then searched Carullo’s property and found additional birds that had been recently killed and broken down—223 in total, of which 120 were killed on January 13 and 14.
The two men are staring down serious repercussions: felonies for the “unlawful possession, shipment, or transportation of game fish, birds, or furbearing animals. If convicted, they face up to $50,000 in fines, incarceration of up to 5 years, and at least a three-year ban on hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges. The duo’s cases will be held at the Lewis and Clark County Justice Court.