Sickening poaching stories

[ksgobbler]

Happened this spring.
I was hunting my property and knew the birds were across the road north headed my way. I had decoys out. I wasn't far off the road since that is where the turkeys had been the last 2 days. Vehicle drives by and locks up the brakes then creeps by. I moved closer to see what would happen and used a larger tree as a shield. It goes and turns around. They then come back and stop. Guy gets out with his gun fully camo'd up. I am 20 yards away and say you got permission. He jumps back in and they take off. Then they were dumb enough to go back by so I could get a license plate.
Fast forward to that afternoon. Same vehicle comes back and shoots a turkey from the road. Fed warden went to Arkansas and interviewed the three of them. One confessed to a bunch of stuff but AR would only agree to help if they didn’t charge them with everything. Guy got $607 in fines and they all 3 say they are never coming back to KS.

2nd group of Arkansas poachers I have dealt with in 2 years

 

[ksgobbler]

People shooting from the road can cause other things alot worse than losing a deer.I central Kansas a few years ago a poacher that had been previously charged with deer poaching shot at some geese in a field from the road with a high power.Only thing was he picked a cover up decoy to shoot at a struck the young man in the chest.he died in that field.This case is part of the hunter safety classes now

I missed making that run by 15 mins. We had just been relieved and I was driving home when the call came out. That guy’s brother was in the truck when he sit him. The brother then poached a giant typical a couple years later and took it to the monster buck classic trying to pass it off a shot legitimate. Turns out he shots it out the window of the truck with a spotlight and a 9mm pistol.

 

[Catscratch]

I missed making that run by 15 mins. We had just been relieved and I was driving home when the call came out. That guy’s brother was in the truck when he sit him. The brother then poached a giant typical a couple years later and took it to the monster buck classic trying to pass it off a shot legitimate. Turns out he shots it out the window of the truck with a spotlight and a 9mm pistol.

I remember all that happening. That would have been a cappy call to go on!

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[j-bird]

I had one this year. I posted about it on my habitat thread, but I can toss some of it up here as well. It was roughly 10 at night and my wife and son both said they heard a shot from down by the road. My boy and I went looking and didn't see anything, but did see a vehicle twice but was unable to get a plate number. The next day I headed out to do some work and saw the deer. It was laying on a small slope where we simply looked over it. I was so PISSED! I took plenty of pics and called the DNR. I am not sure the DNR even came out but I did send them all my pictures. The area where the deer was shot typically doesn't hold deer it's just a fescue area, but across the road does and I am growing a cedar/MG screen there to protect the deer. The deer went to waste as I never heard back from the DNR until a week later and I was instructed NOT to mess with it. I want to screen this entire lower area now, but the wife refuses to allow me to do that because, "It's pretty when it's mowed". I would love to screen it and turn it into wild flowers and the like.....but I still can't get the green light from the wife. She claims "it looks trashy". Another one of those that don't understand that what appeals to people doesn't appeal to wildlife.

Below is they layout..... The yellow line is my screen (it's easy from the road to see the deer here between the road and the field). The red is where I found the deer. If I had to bet they came from the west (left side of the picture) and shot the deer, while near the intersection. I think the vehicle we saw twice that night was the jerk-offs looking the the deer.


Now this will give you an idea of how close to being at shooting at buildings and the like they had been. The large structure is the house to the right, the smaller structure is my detached garage and further left and out of the frame is my pole barn.

 

[IkemanTx]

I had one this year. I posted about it on my habitat thread, but I can toss some of it up here as well. It was roughly 10 at night and my wife and son both said they heard a shot from down by the road. My boy and I went looking and didn't see anything, but did see a vehicle twice but was unable to get a plate number. The next day I headed out to do some work and saw the deer. It was laying on a small slope where we simply looked over it. I was so PISSED! I took plenty of pics and called the DNR. I am not sure the DNR even came out but I did send them all my pictures. The area where the deer was shot typically doesn't hold deer it's just a fescue area, but across the road does and I am growing a cedar/MG screen there to protect the deer. The deer went to waste as I never heard back from the DNR until a week later and I was instructed NOT to mess with it. I want to screen this entire lower area now, but the wife refuses to allow me to do that because, "It's pretty when it's mowed". I would love to screen it and turn it into wild flowers and the like.....but I still can't get the green light from the wife. She claims "it looks trashy". Another one of those that don't understand that what appeals to people doesn't appeal to wildlife.

Below is they layout..... The yellow line is my screen (it's easy from the road to see the deer here between the road and the field). The red is where I found the deer. If I had to bet they came from the west (left side of the picture) and shot the deer, while near the intersection. I think the vehicle we saw twice that night was the jerk-offs looking the the deer.
View attachment 16185

Now this will give you an idea of how close to being at shooting at buildings and the like they had been. The large structure is the house to the right, the smaller structure is my detached garage and further left and out of the frame is my pole barn.
View attachment 16186

This makes me so glad that the fence lines have been let go on the family farm. A little line of MG to fill in the gaps, because the locals in that county would do the same thing you had to deal with.


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[j-bird]

This makes me so glad that the fence lines have been let go on the family farm. A little line of MG to fill in the gaps, because the locals in that county would do the same thing you had to deal with.


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I made a comment the other day about how farmers are pulling fence rows left and right in my area.....calling it "clean farming". I understand their reasoning, but it does have it's negative impacts as well. It may be better for water flow and equipment and crop production, but it removes a lot of habitat and the like as well. Indiana has seen huge losses in wild upland game birds because of habitat loss. It shows hows land use and the owners intent can be very different from owner to owner.. I also have some transplanted vine honeysuckle on my wire fence as well. As much as road frontage helps a properties value, it certainly has it's concerns as well.

 

[Garrett S]

In NY it’s about $100 for a resident hunting license, $50 fine if you’re apprehended and charged w criminal trespass (meaning the property is legally posted and the owner or leader confronted the sneak) and $250 if you can get someone pinned by ENCON for criminal trespass. Had two guys caught after running away shooting a doe, a fawn and a bleeding deer we never found off an active rail bed into a poly where the screening died- 8&6 citations each/respectively. Trespass, no license, no tags, rail property.... Had video of them etc. Think one walked out 150 and the other 250 w no hunting penalties. Boy- we really taught them.

I killed a stud in 15 that had been shot through the back w a rifle a month before bow season even began.


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[MRBB]

Poaching is SO bad here in PA< that even the game wardens know about and and do NOTHING at times
the property next to a farm I managed was 1500+ acres of a private housing, that had a NO hunting rule on its land, was over run with deer, people would drive thru the neighborhood in vans , with sliding side doors and shoot deer from van, run and grab and GO, local TV news would do stories on this, farm border was with this land on 3 sides, I used to catch about 50+ trespassers hunting from there side trespassing onto farms land, sad part was ALL they would poach was bucks, so buck to doe numbers were off the chart
many times they would shoot bucks, they would run onto the farm side and they would just leave them, as they sort of feared me after a while I patroled all the time and had helpers doing so as well

the GAME warden in the area wouldn;t even ASK them if he seen them hunting there, when I used to call him on night time shooting and poachings, or dead bucks I would find,
all he would tell me is, YEAH there is a BIG problem over there we know about it
and his answer to what are you doing about it??
was always NOTHING
I offered to show him bait piles on there side of things(illegal baiting), show him guys hunting out of season,as I knew when they were, I had legal access to there side with land owner giving me permission
and the warden would just tell me, he didn;t have the time, or maybe would come back IN hunting season, which in 18+ yrs he never did!
I would see them in tree stands bow or rifle in hand , a month before legal hunting season, and he could care less
not to mention there was NO legal hunting on the property at all to start with??
States like TX< and how they go after cheaters as I call them, just show there is places that laws mean something, but here ??
its generations deep on illegally hunting
ran the counter in a gun store for almost 12 yrs and you couldn;t believe the PROUD stories I heard of folks illegally hunting, even a few from game wardens??
I have hunted a LOT of states and places, and it saddens me that my home state is the worst I have even been in for game violations and lack of honest hunters!

 

[Bowsnbucks]

^^^^^ A number of camps around mine have planted Norway spruce trees along the roads, 2 or 3 rows deep. Fertilize the crap out of them and make a living "wall". No shooting out of vehicles when they can't see anything.

 

[MRBB]

^^^^^ A number of camps around mine have planted Norway spruce trees along the roads, 2 or 3 rows deep. Fertilize the crap out of them and make a living "wall". No shooting out of vehicles when they can't see anything.

that can hekp or also make things worse
we planted like rows of pines about our hunting cam,p property, and since then, we have had the cabin shot , as cannot be seen now from road way/
next iissue is, we have caught a bunch of folks hunting the property/poaching, but hunting and NO one being able to see them
a bunch of yrs back when the pine tree's were just 4-5 ft tall
we had one idiot, in late Feb, drunk, run over a bunch of trees in about a ft of snow, to drive out into our one field, and shoot a doe, then got truck stuck, and came to cabin for help?
dumb luck we were there, 3 am, this happened, and well, local warden wouldn't show up, said NO way he could prove he shot the deer, 1 ft of snow, drag marg from field to truck , gun and deer in truck and wouldn;t come?
told us to call state police, which we did, got guy arrested for trespassing, property damage and he got DUI'd, he was NOT a local, he was about a 150 miles from his home, BUT had a hunting camp near by

SO< again, just planting tree's doesn't stop poaching or hunting on your lands, wish it did
as it can be a double edge sword, folks can hunt and be harder to see doing so, even poachers, harder to see there lights and such, and things behind shields can get shot too, ever see so street signs shot up >>


On a side note, I plant a LOT of corn , 5-6 rows wide or more around a lot of the food plots for the same reason, to help shield things from peeping eye's, it also seems to help many bucks show up more in day light, more rows around plots the earlier I get bucks into them, plots like clover, beans, turnips, winterwheat
I leave standing corn till spring time then too! when possible, I even leave longer and plant corn PAST first yrs planting, and then plant something I don't care so much about, like buckwheat where cron is, once new corn is tall enough to shield, and then vice versa next yr

 

[Bowsnbucks]

^^^^^ Spruce in double rows won't keep trespassers off the land, but it sure curtails the road shooting / easy getaway by driving episodes. And our cabin is up on a ridge top, out of sight of the mountain road. We don't get stray shots / bullets. The road shooting near my camp happens at a camp that has open fields / plots that come right out to the road. They have pines planted along part of the road, but the lower limbs are thinning and dying, so you can see right through them. The rest is all wide open. It's a shooting gallery.

 

[H20fwler]

I was out at the farm the other day and a truck pulls up with a guy calling me by name. It was a local that helped us bale one summer about thirty five years ago, he asked if I see many coyotes I told him every now and then but not much. Also told him we trap/snare and call for them late season and we had bought the farm for a family hunting spot. This guy has been a shady character all his life. He then asked if he could run his coyote dogs through our place in the winter listing neighbors way south of me he hunts on. I told him the boys bow hunt right up to end of archery in early February and we like to hunt them ourselves. Then he goes into this whole spiel about his dogs cant read signs and he may need to just come on my place to pick them if they corner a yote on me. I explained to him that I had already given the warden the green light to ticket anyone he see's on our place that doesn't share my last name. He small talks about some other stuff for a while including how he shoots about ten deer a year (we are a two deer county) and I tell him I have things I need to do then he backs out and calls me a prick as he starts to pull away...I flag him right down and walk up to his window and tell him he is more than welcome to spend a few hundred thousand on a farm sexy it all up for wildlife working at it year round so it's a nice place for the family and then let everyone and their brother roll through it. Then I told him to let all his friends know I will prosecute anyone I catch to the fullest who trespasses on me for any reason, he rolled off with his mouth shut.

 

[MRBB]

BIG Issue in PA with trespassing, and poaching is the fines for trespassing are a JOKE< no one cares, few law enforcement even act like its a real issue when you call them on it, game dept here in PA< refuses to help, passing the buck as its NOT there job(they are law enforcement and can enforce any law they WISH)
I have thrown out hundreds of trespassers over the past 30 yrs and NOT kidding, average about 50+ a yr, its crazy as most all times its NEVER the same person twice!
I personally use the Criminal trespassing law here , over just basic trespassing, one if a fine, and the Criminal trespass is a felony, they will loose rights to own a firearm, that treat does seem to keep repeat trespassers, but DAM new one's every yr
the better your land is, the more idiots seem to think they can sneak onto it? some yrs I really wish I could shoot trespassers LOL
as many yrs I spent more of my hunting season chasing/hunting trespassers than deer!
for yrs I have wished I could BUY seeds for things like multi flora rose Autumn Olive, just so I could plant it all around my borders, that crap grows into a mess NO one wants to go thru, but its illegal to plant here
I'd gladly live with the invasion of the plants than humans ! HAHA!