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The recent federal indictment of three New Mexico men has sent a ripple through the hunting community, serving as a stark reminder of what happens when ethics take a backseat to greed. Federal prosecutors have charged Danial Adair, Daniel Nicolds, and Lary Nicolds with operating a multi-year fraud scheme through their business, “Big Horn Outfitters”.
From 2019 through 2022, the trio allegedly rigged New Mexico’s hunting draw system by creating fictitious hunter profiles, using prepaid cards to obscure financial trails, and submitting forged medical transfer documentation to the Department of Game and Fish. Their goal was to illegally secure resident elk tags and flip them for profit to out-of-state hunters.
This wasn’t just a financial crime; it was an attack on the integrity of the sport. Every tag illegally siphoned through this scheme was a stolen opportunity for local New Mexicans, hunters who often spend years—or decades—waiting for their turn to draw a tag fairly. Doing It the Right Way
When you see shortcuts like this, it reinforces a vital truth: there is no substitute for doing your homework.
At Eastmans, we have always believed that the adventure begins with the research. Whether you are a DIY hunter or you are vetting a reputable outfitter, the process of planning is part of the experience. The temptation to “guarantee” a tag via questionable means undermines the very foundation of fair-chase hunting. It turns a pursuit of heritage and skill into a transaction.
If you are looking to hunt, do it the right way. Utilize tools like the Eastmans Member Research Section (MRS) and TagHub to understand draw trends, analyze unit success rates, and identify areas that offer genuine opportunity. We have spent years standardizing this information to help you compare units—whether in Wyoming, Montana, California, or Idaho—so you can make informed decisions based on real data, not shortcuts.
Invest in the Experience
Successful hunting is built on preparation, not loopholes. If you haven’t already become an Eastmans EHJ/EBJ subscriber or TagHub member, now is the time to secure your access. Use our tools to research trophy forecasts, terrain difficulty, and public land accessibility.
We’re here to help you turn an overwhelming number of choices into a manageable, actionable plan. Let’s keep the hunting community honest, ethical, and focused on the real reward: the hunt itself.
While obviously unfortunate and despicable this actual alleged fraud pales in comparison to the actual reason it was even possible and the miniscule number of tags taken from the public it represents.
The New Mexico Game Commission is solely responsible that this fraud was even possible abd the commission takes 25,500 NM big game tags from the public every year in private landowner tags. The New Mexico Legislature takes another 3,600 tags from the public with its 10% outfitter draw set aside.
By commission rule if a hunter draws a tag and either becomes medically unable to hunt or is in the military and cannot hunt due to military order, the hunter is allowed to transfer the tag to anyone they choose. It is an obvious open invitation to the alleged fraud. The worst kept secret in New Mexico is that for years outfitters in New Mexico have been exploiting the hunters directed transfer rule and applying sick and infirm applicants to bank tags for transfer to clients. Also it is well known that on every military base in New Mexico there is a big game tag slush bucket of applicants that either are not hunters or know they wait be able to hunt when they apply.
For years we have been begging our game commission to stop allowing hunter directed tag trashes and shut down this gaming of the system. Why didn’t they stop it? The answer is obvious to anyone that understands the mind is the New Mexico game commission. The commission liked the fact that it was making even more tags available to outfitters than the 25,500 landowners permits and 3,600 outfitters set aside permits. What a few dozen or hundreds more by the transfer rule? It meets the overriding policy of the New Mexico game commission. A public big game tag in the hands of a resident and no payment to a landowner or outfitter is a tag gone to waste. That is the real story of this alleged tag fraud.
WELL SAID – BRANDON
I had no idea that was how things were run in New Mexico – that is a travesty. These individuals who committed this particular crime should be going to prison.
Brandon GETS it!