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Big One Down-Poached

KSHUNTER

KSHUNTER

PMA Member
I hate this time of year around here, we are about a week out from the Kansas firearms season opening and every year it is the same; starting the weekend before Thanksgiving traffic on gravel roads around my house increases 10 fold. I live in a fairly remote part of the county and really only have a couple cars go by during the day or in the evening, that all changes this time of year.

On Sunday from my stand I kept seeing a white Ford with a flatbed circle and slow cruise around, it was a unfamiliar truck. My father in law had seen the same truck the day before while he was cutting beans.

Well last night I met the truck again when I was pulling in the driveway. I had to go check some cows and jumped on my ranger and sure enough met him again going a different direction.

Well about 9:30 I get a text with a picture of a good buck in the back of the truck. Well my neighbor had seen the same truck while he was helping his son with fence and about dark they heard a rifle shot and then the truck comes by again. So they left and then hid their truck and waited and about 30 minutes later the guy comes back and pulls down into a field. The guy ended up getting stuck when he backed up to the buck. They called sheriff and game warden. Ended up being two guys, one lives about 10 miles south of me, the other was from Pennsylvania.

Hopefully they can make the charges stick, of course they admitted nothing and didn't have the buck loaded yet. Game warden told my neighbor it would be a $8,000-$10,000 fine, but neither admitted anything, had some bull story about chasing some truck they seen poaching the buck(mind you there was no other tracks), and they hid their gun before the landowner drove down to them(he was going to go look for it this morning, figured they came back in the night and got it).

I hope they somehow get something on these guys but I have my doubts. I didn't ever have particular deer on camera, but it is less than a half mile from my main farm I hunt and just a little over a mile from my personal farm I own. I knew what they were probably doing driving around that much, but don't know how to stop them, I really hate to know how many times they have done this.

I'm going to go see it tonight but here are a few photos I have of him at this point.

Game Warden took it into local processor and said we would be back in a day or two and that the landowner could have the deer once they get charges filed and their investigation done.

Sorry for the long ramble, the entire situation just infuriates me to no end. For someone to come along and try to reap the rewards of everybody who goes out and puts in the time, money, and effort of getting a buck to maturity and then just to poach him just drives me insane.
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See the same thing...same vehicles driving slowly around multiple times a day, every day. I need to start carrying before I try to confront anyone. Idiots

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I think most of us would be in the same boat in that we are all very frustrated with those that take part in these terrible activities. Relying on law enforcement is minimal at best. They do their best, but are stretched entirely too thin. Sheriff departments seemingly have a “who cares attitude” as they have more pressing concerns ( at least around me anyways). So my question is what can we do as a group of concerned citizens collectively to try and curtail these characters? Could we start a running county by county listing of suspicious vehicles and associated license plates that members could be on the lookout for? The more eyes the better type theory? I think confronting these dirt bags is an accident waiting to happen as at some point tempers would get flared from confrontations and terrible actions would follow. Anyways, we are all super frustrated with this type of activity, just looking for ideas from this group. The road warrior activity will be picking up in IA soon as well (not that it hasn’t been noticed since about the first of November)
 
That is what I need to do, stop people so at least they know people are watching and paying attention to odd traffic.

It was about 5 years ago I caught a guy that poached a doe off my farm, I'm sure that was just pure laziness of not wanting to get out and hunt but figured if he would shoot a doe he would shoot a buck. The game warden was as pissed as if it was a big buck, I haven't seen him drive around since.

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That sucks. It's incredible how many are out and about a week or two before the season especially in more remote areas.
Trespassing laws in Iowa don't help things. The farm I hunt neither the landowner, nor the renter are willing to pursue any action....
 
KSHUNTER said:
That is what I need to do, stop people so at least they know people are watching and paying attention to odd traffic.

It was about 5 years ago I caught a guy that poached a doe off my farm, I'm sure that was just pure laziness of not wanting to get out and hunt but figured if he would shoot a doe he would shoot a buck. The game warden was as pissed as if it was a big buck, I haven't seen him drive around since.

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I should add when we stop them we don't approach them like they're doing anything wrong but do ask them 100 questions. Make small talk, ask how their day is going and what their up to. All while making mental notes of plate info, names if possible (and take them for a grain of salt until verified later), description of vehicle and people, and just introduce ourselves and let them know they're being watched without having to tell them. We've done this to some neighboring hunters (not on purpose) but they were appreciative to know others are watching the area.

Approach the people nicely, and build a case against them later if one presents itself. If you approach them and assume they're poaching, or whatever, you'll piss someone off guaranteed.
 
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LoessHillsArcher said:
I should add when we stop them we don't approach them like they're doing anything wrong but do ask them 100 questions. Make small talk, ask how their day is going and what their up to. All while making mental notes of plate info, names if possible (and take them for a grain of salt until verified later), description of vehicle and people, and just introduce ourselves and let them know they're being watched without having to tell them. We've done this to some neighboring hunters (not on purpose) but they were appreciative to know others are watching the area.

Approach the people nicely, and build a case against them later if one presents itself. If you approach them and assume they're poaching, or whatever, you'll piss someone off guaranteed.
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I think this is wise...people with bad motivations generally aren't comfortable with "the locals" knowing their business. :)
 
Obsessed said:
Dude, you'd get your ass shot if you did that to me. Just sayin.
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We don't come off as dicks to everyone when we do it - I can see where it sounded like that in the first post. Only a couple times have we been 'dicks' about how we stopped the people, when someone drives by your house 10+ times at dusk you get just as curious as they apparently were and we will find out what the heck they are doing. First couple people were lost, so we helped them find their destination, others were high schoolers out and about. The rest of the people we try to not start off on the wrong foot, until they give us good reason to go there, always give them the benefit of the doubt. But we also always stop and chat with them to gather some info if we need it later. Sucks but had enough stolen you start to do your own policing

There was one group who was busted for poaching - we did confront them like dicks. They got busted later on thankfully. Nothing more frustrating.
 
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Obsessed said:
Simply stopping in the middle of the road to block a 'suspicious' vehicle is a dick move and could easily be interpreted as a threat. Again, just sayin. I wouldn't respond kindly to it.
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Understood. We only take it to that level if we really feel the person is doing something illegal. If you have driven by just a handful of times we’ll wave ya down with a friendly wave. Or if you’re parked pull up beside ya and say hi and chat. Seldom have we had to jump right to stopping people. That’s taking it to the extreme, we don’t go there until we have had enough and there’s reason to take it there .


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Obsessed said:
Simply stopping in the middle of the road to block a 'suspicious' vehicle is a dick move and could easily be interpreted as a threat. Again, just sayin. I wouldn't respond kindly to it.
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You must be some of Chuck Norris's relations.
 
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Obsessed said:
I hear what you're saying, but man... I moved to a neighboring county from the one I grew up in, but I still often hunt my old home county. Due to my out of county plates, my vehicle has been vandalized and I have been verbally and physically confronted, while I've been in my truck. Never when I've been out and on foot, but always while I'm in my vehicle. I've got a good idea of why that is and it makes me laugh. The last time it happened, I was pulled over on the side of a gravel road, where I had reception, and was talking to my father on my cell phone. Some old boy pulled up and started reading me the riot act. "Who the F are you?! What the F are you doing out here?!" It pissed me off a bit, but little did he know that I was holding my phone in my left hand and had my right hand on my sidearm. He'd already identified himself as being a hostile asshole, had he taken any further action, he would have been a dead hostile asshole. It ain't worth it boys...
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Hey, if you're minding your own business and not doing anything wrong you definitely don't deserve that. I'm not looking to make enemies each time I see a vehicle I don't know.

Sorry to take this post down a rabbit hole KS!
 
That’s a horrible story & unfortunately - a common one. Why, IMO - every state should have laws with steep fines with Robo-bucks being used. Would nail this common BS.
Sorry- that’s just crap. I think any area I’ve seen in my whole life has this stuff happen periodically. Total garbage. Hope they nail this clown!!!
 
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No offense, conversation about poaching and how to handle/address people and situations is good conversation. And really that is a big problem is with how to deal with the situation. You can't call the game warden Everytime a truck you don't know drives by but you also don't want to sit by and do nothing when it seems obvious what they are doing.

I see both of your sides and it is good to hear how people can interpret other people's actions. I have stopped people before for different reasons, most of the time it was someone pulling out of property somewhere they shouldn't have been or driving back and forth, turning around constantly. Every person I have ever stopped has been by stopping my truck as I met them and waved my hand at them, they could drive on by if they wanted. The few people I have stopped were lost, confused about getting to someone's house, or looking for a little old cemetery by my house where their great great someone is buried. Most we're appreciative that someone helped. I have never had a bad interaction doing it and like LoessHills said conversation was always started with a smile and being polite and just making general conversation.

I posted partially to tell a story and blow a little steam. But knowing that rifle seasons are starting or are in full swing in and around Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri I thought the story would serve as a good reminder to keep your eyes and ears open for suspicious activity because it takes a extremely small window of opportunity for guys to poach a deer and get away with it.

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