Two brothers are accused of illegally killing a deer and fox, as State Police look into whether the pair are responsible for past poaching incidents in the region.

Worthington man Ira Doull, 46, and Colrain man Seth Doull, 51, are now facing several gun charges and MassWildlife violations after they were arrested in western Massachusetts over the weekend.

Mass State Police troopers and Massachusetts Environmental Police officers on Saturday responded to a report that a deer in front of a Colrain home had been fatally shot by someone inside a gray Toyota Tacoma pickup truck.

A responding trooper stopped the pickup, and saw two men along with many unsecured firearms in the Tacoma.

Troopers and officers found a loaded .22 caliber rifle, another rifle, two shotguns, a loaded handgun, four muzzleloaders, and four thermal scopes for seeing targets at night.

They also found an illegally killed gray fox with gunshot wounds to its body and apparent blunt trauma to its head.

Police also examined the buck that had been killed and was lying in the road. A necropsy of the deer revealed three .22 caliber slugs in its head and body.

The brothers have been charged with: hunting from a vehicle; carrying a loaded shotgun/rifle in a vehicle; hunting deer with a rifle; discharging a firearm near a highway; improper storage of a firearm; hunting at night; and hunting out of season (fox).

Both suspects face mandatory Firearm Identification Card revocations, and could face revocation of hunting rights in almost all 50 states. Environmental Police took possession of all firearms and contraband located in the vehicle.

Police in this region have received several reports of poaching in the last two years by an offender or offenders operating a gray Tacoma pickup. Police continue to investigate whether the suspects arrested over the weekend are habitual poachers responsible for the past incidents.