Your Privacy Choices
To the tactical community, it would be sacrilegious to fire a round that you know would damage the range. In most 3-gun competitions its an instant disqualification, purchase of the target, and shame for the negligent shot. In the hunting community, similar rules exist – primarily that animals are taken humanely and with the appropriate legal tags.
Bill Busbice, the previous host of Wildgame Nation on the Outdoor Channel, has been sentenced for poaching – specifically taking an antlerless elk on his own property in Wyoming and not reporting it along with allowing the game to go to waste. The incident was caught on video which was used as evidence. This is not Busbice’s first run-in with hunting regulations. According to OutdoorHub:
Busbice was cited before this incident in 2016 for purchasing a resident elk tag even though he was not a resident. He was also cited for purchasing more than the authorized number of deer tags and paid $1,430 in fines for those violations.
As part of the fallout of this episode, coupled with Busbice’s other run-ins, Plano Synergy (which bought Busbice’s outdoor brands a few years back) has formally terminated their relationship with the troubled hunter and cancelled his show, Wildgame Nation.
An Important Message from David E. Dudick, Chief Executive Officer
Over the course of the past 48 hours, Plano Synergy became aware of a situation which required swift and decisive action.
Today, Bill Busbice and Plano Synergy mutually agreed to end their association. Bill Busbice and his partners sold their outdoor brands to Plano Synergy in 2013. Since then, Bill has been providing services under contract to Plano Synergy, principally as a host of the Wildgame Nation television program, until today when that relationship was severed. Plano Synergy will also be cancelling the Wildgame Nation TV show.
Plano Synergy has a culture that is grounded in integrity and great respect for the outdoors. This comes with the expectation that we will always do the right thing. Our decisions will always reflect our commitments to our customers and consumers. We have a deep respect for the law, tradition and the ethical practices of our sports. We take pride in serving our industry and promote the fair and lawful practices of game hunting. Every day we strive to be a company that is trustworthy, respectful and fair with our consumers, employees, customers and business partners.
We thank you for your trust.
Sincerely,
David E. Dudick
Chief Executive Officer
Busbice has been sentenced two one and a half years of unsupervised probation, $23,000 in fines, and the forfeiture of his hunting license until 2019. Due to various reciprocal state agreements, this means Busbice will lose hunting rights in 45 states.
