Dylan Boyer with one of the trophy bulls he poached | Facebook
A federal-level investigation into one of Montana’s more notable recent trophy poaching cases has resulted in a third defendant being sentenced. The case, which was centered around the unlawful killing and possession of at least 14 big-game trophy animals, resulted in over 30 charges spread across four suspects who put on a three-year clinic about how to defy Montana’s wildlife regulations.
Dylan Charles Boyer, who was identified as the primary shooter in several of the most serious incidents, was sentenced Wednesday in Lewis and Clark County District Court.
Boyer changed his plea to guilty on January 14th, and under that plea agreement, was convicted on four of the original 10 charges he was up against including one felony count of unlawful possession, shipping, or transportation of a game animal by common scheme. He also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of hunting, fishing, or trapping without a permit; waste of a game animal; and hunting or killing over the limit.
The violations involved illegally killing and transporting game animals across at least six Montana counties, including Lewis and Clark, Jefferson, Toole, Pondera, Deer Lodge, and Broadwater, between October 7, 2022, and November 25, 2023.
At sentencing, Boyer was ordered to pay approximately $20,691 in restitution and fees. He also received a 10-year revocation of his hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges in Montana.
"The bottom line from the court's view is that you stole from the people of Montana and you violated the sanctity of being allowed to hunt in the state," Judge Michael McMahon said. "Hunting is a privilege, not a right.”
The original investigation by Montana game wardens was spurred by a few anonymous tips regarding headless elk carcasses. Those tips soon led to the discovery of what authorities at the time referred to as a brazen “trophy poaching ring.”
The illegal activity took place between 2022 and 2024 where the four individuals targeted high-value game animals such as mature bull elk and mule deer in hard-to-draw districts where permits are extremely limited.
Over that three-year period, Cameron Ray Wyant and Christian Gerald Wyant, along with Dylan Charles Boyer and Maxwell Lawton Krupp, allegedly killed or possessed at least 14 big-game animals without valid licenses, without landowner permission, or in outright violation of season and area regulations. Among the animals were six bull elk—including a massive trophy taken in the limited-draw Hunting District 380 near Anaconda—three mule deer bucks, four white-tailed deer, and one black bear.
Wardens eventually connected the dots to the four men through social-media photographs, DNA matches from discarded meat recovered in trash searches, GPS data from hunting apps, and direct admissions during interviews. One particularly damning piece of evidence was a 2023 Facebook post in which Cameron Wyant and Dylan Boyer posed with a District 380 trophy elk they had just killed illegally; the same animal’s decapitated body was later found nearby.
With Boyer’s sentencing now in the rearview, that leaves one sole defendant left on the chopping block. As was reported back in December, Maxwell Lawton Krupp has since received a four-year loss of privileges plus roughly $1,800 in fines and restitution. His buddy Cameron Ray Wyant was ordered to pay nearly $20,000 in restitution and fines, lost privileges for 10 years (with possible early review), served limited jail time, and forfeited mounts and firearms.
And with that, Christian Gerald Wyant (Cameron’s brother) now remains the lone unresolved defendant. His case has seen multiple delays, and court records show he was booked in Broadwater County in late March 2026 on allegations of violating release conditions and failure to appear. Reports indicate that his next hearing is scheduled for July.
