Reward Boosted To $2,000 For Info On Shootings Of Corvallis Bucks With A Crossbow

The Traditional Archers of Oregon have pitched in $500 for info leading to an arrest or citation in the illegal shooting of two Corvallis blacktail bucks with a crossbow this fall, bringing the reward to $2,000.

Both deer eventually died, one after a bolt hit near its spine, the other in its neck. The incidents occurred on the northwest side of town along Northwest Walnut and Northwest Witham Hill Drive on or about October 25 and November 18. Crossbows are illegal to hunt with in Oregon.

“As you can imagine, being traditional archers, using a crossbow to commit such heinous crimes goes against everything we hold dear,” said Riley Savage, TAO president, in a press release. “The operator does not need the same skills required to use a handheld, vertical bow, like getting close and knowing when to draw and when to shoot. They are an assassin, lying in wait, at long distance, with no detectable movement visible to their prey.”

The organization’s $500 matches the amount put forward in late November by the Mid-Willamette chapter of the Oregon Hunters Association.

“Our priority is to protect deer and elk, and their habitats, across the state,” said Ken McCall, chapter president. “Someone knows who did this, and we want to encourage that person to do the right thing and come forward.”

The standing offer for information on deer poaching is $1,000, or four controlled tag preference points.

Members of the public alerted state fish and wildlife troopers to bolts sticking out of the two deer, which died from them.

Anyone with info on the case is asked to call the Oregon STate Police Fish and Wildlife Division’s Albany office at 800-442-2068 or *OSP (*677) from a smartphone. Reference case #SP24-383408.