Contributors to this thread:
The price for illegal shooting, shooting from the road, poaching, unlawful hunting, being a game slob.
Report all the above every chance you get. Trust me, it is painful to lose someone close to you thanks to their criminal actions.
They clearly learned their lesson, didn’t they? Sad deal and remember it like yesterday. I met a friend of a friend who was supposed to be out with them that day. For his own mental health, I’m glad he wasn’t there with his friends. Sorry about the loss of your friend, Trebarker. I remember your posts after the event and the story of your friendship with Beau.
Don’t need the reminder, think of it every year, but thanks for bringing it up.
I remember that day well. My brother and I were out pheasant hunting when he got a phone call form his wife telling him that Beau had been shot while goose hunting. We did not know the details at the time only that he had died. I never met Beau but my brother had taken him hunting a few times and thought highly of him. Randy: I know you were a positive influence in his life.
I apologize for my ignorance, but can someone explain what the second picture has to do with this tragedy? Thank you.
The poacher of the state record buck was the brother of the guy that killed Beau.
David Kent was in the truck when the shot was fired that killed Beau...
In the article from the attached link above, it said they were coyote hunting, which is not true. They were driving around the country side drinking booze and shooting their guns at whatever wildlife they saw, wherever they saw it. They had ZERO permission on any of the properties they shot onto that day, the day before, or as far as that goes anytime that they came to stay in a friend's cabin on a very small property located West of Americus along the Neosho River. They testified in court that they stopped to shoot at a coyote. The legal hunters with Beau had literally hundreds of geese decoys set out that day. I know many of you reading this waterfowl hunt. Have any of you ever seen live geese stay on the ground when there is a coyote running amongst them or remotely close to them? Doesn't happen. The driver of the truck stopped on the road, stepped out and took aim at one of the decoys to show his dirtbag employee and brother what his rifle would do to a goose. The decoy he chose to shoot just happened to be the one out of hundreds of decoys in a large open already harvested grain field that Beau was laying in his ground blind directly behind. The high powered rifle bullet from the shot went thru Beau's heart, he didn't have a chance of surviving it. He screamed out in pain. The other hunters stood up out of their blinds and began waving at Kent and yelling to get his attention to stop shooting. Kent got back in his truck, drove off recognizing that he had shot into a group of hunters, he did not stop to offer aid or man up to his criminal acts. They drove back to the cabin, loaded their gear, and went home to Topeka to avoid being caught and charged. They claimed in court that they did not know that the hunters were in the field, or that they had shot anybody. BUT, when they returned to the cabin for their gear, Kent set the spent cartridge from the gun used to kill Beau on the bedroom dresser in the cabin. From the time the incident was reported, the local media as well as the statewide regional television and radio media reported on the incident, details and descriptions of their truck. When law enforcement caught up with them, Kent told the investigators where to find the gun and the cartridge, admitting he had saved it because he "had a bad feeling about that day". Through the whole ordeal they maintained their story of shooting at a coyote claiming it was legal to shoot at coyotes wherever they saw them, with or without permission on any land. They even had a retired Judge testify for them, claiming they were great outdoorsmen and upstanding citizens that just had a unfortunate hunting accident. They had a man, noted to be a longtime respected Hunter Safety Instructor that was a friend of theirs, testify that what they were doing was ethical, "coyote hunting" from the road.
Our CA refused to press charges against the brother and employee. The sentence was a slap in the face to anyone with a conscience and ability to recognize that they MURDERED Beau, they did not have a hunting accident.
The guy who pulled the trigger will have to live with what he did for his entire life. I hope it haunts him every day.
It makes me sick that these two were let off with such light sentences. I never met Beau, but I know his folks, and his siblings, they are good people. Can't imagine the pain they live with because of the actions taken by those fools.
Thanks for not letting us forget Randy, still have one of his memorial stickers on my truck and it reminds me quite often to live each day to the fullest!
I can't believe it's been this long. Time flies.
What a tragedy. I didn't know the killer got off. Terrible.
I use this story a lot when speaking to the fact you never know what is behind what you MAY be shooting at, legal or not.
Thank you for letting me know. I was aware of what happened to Beau but not aware of the poached deer. Truly sad.
The killer spent less than 15 months in prison, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, hunting without permission and criminal discharge of a firearm. When released from prison he got soft probation, in other words little supervision if any.
His brother went on to poach other deer illegally on property that he did not have permission to shoot onto, killed the huge buck at night, with spotlight etc. He only got caught with one. It should be fairly obvious that there were likely many other deer killed by him and his POS brother when they were not caught.
Kyler- He was still playing it off like he was a victim of the court system, that it was merely an accident after all he said. He cried and pled leniency at his sentencing so that his life and business wouldn't be ruined by him going to prison. Said he was worried for his employees of his company who would lose their jobs if he wasn't able to continue to run his business.
Kent is living his life like it never happened now. I guarantee you he didn't lose sleep last night, did not remember nor think about Beau one second of today.
I spent some time at the gravesite this morning. I had to drive by the cabin the pukes stayed in and probably still visit on occasion on the way there and back. I drove to the scene of the shooting this afternoon, sat alongside the road remembering my time with Beau, remembering how wrapped up he was with being out in the outdoors, his love of the hunt, his strong desire to learn as much as he could about hunting and fishing. I remembered his mother Christine expressing her concern to me about Beau's safety while he was out hunting. I assured her that Beau would be in far less danger out hunting than he would be running around town with his buddies chasing girls and partying instead. She told me she was going to hold me to that, hoped I was right. That was just days/weeks before Beau was killed. Going to their home later in the afternoon after the shooting 13 yrs ago, I was not sure how Bob and Chris were going to react when I walked into their home, was one of the toughest things I have ever had to do in my life. They both told me that they had been worrying about how I was going to react to the news, were worried about me. They had suffered the unthinkable tragedy of losing a child that day, yet they were concerned about the well being of Beau's hunting friends? That's the Arndt family in a nutshell. I went there to console the family on their loss, and ended up being the one being consoled.
That is such a hard story to read. I cannot believe that they were let off so easily. I’m sure Christmas is not the same since this happened. I wish it was possible for those two to have to experience what all of you go through whenever you drive down roads that had good memories, see the cabin or visit the memorial. Sadly, we can do a lot of things in the world, but we can’t give someone a conscience or empathy. Kindest Regards, John
So tragic. Sorry Randy. Praying for you and his family and other friends.
I remember the grace, and faith, Beau's parents had during an interview that evening that Randy helped arrange.
Agree, the lowlife has convinced himself what he's told others is the truth.
They shooting lead to the video on this link, which Bob helped produce.
Those that have followed my hunt threads, read my posts about "hunting road hunters" with my cameras during firearms season, made comments about road scouts, field voyeurs that scope our fields, should with the info in this thread understand why I have issues with game slobs, poachers, trespassers, and careless firearm hunters. I watch the traffic on the roads that surround the properties that I am hunting in just as much as I do watching for game in the field. There are so many people that "hunt" the way the killers did that day, from the road. Nobody should have to worry about such. If you have children, or mentor other kids on hunting as I was doing with Beau, teach them ethical hunting practices, teach them to never shoot unless they absolutely know what is behind their targets. Please have them watch the above the video. Never turn your back to road hunting and game slobs, everybody knows one or has them in their family or peer group. I have made many enemies because of my stance and actions taken on unethical hunting, unfortunately the practice is far too common in rural areas. I have lost three friends to road hunting, I have good reason to despise the practice.
As I said I never met Beau. Like Kyle, I have met his parents and they seemed to be the nicest people you would ever know. I know they handled this terrible situation far better than I could have ever done. Randy again thanks for reminding everyone that road hunters are not hunters at all but criminals.
