Two poachers in Steuben County were caught redhanded after a New York State trooper pulled their truck over during a traffic stop at around midnight on Nov. 3.

The trooper noticed a deer still moving around in the bed of the truck and called Department of Environmental Conservation police for assistance.

When ECOs arrived, they observed a cocked crossbow inside the truck and two dead deer in the cargo area, still warm to the touch. At first, the poachers claimed they’d shot the deer earlier that day, but eventually admitted to illegally shooting them at night with crossbows from a nearby field illuminated with the truck’s headlights.

Neither poacher possessed the required crossbow privileges, including a bowhunting education course. ECOs charged them with illegal take of deer, taking de

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