Poached Buck!

[bowman]

I recieved a call from the landowner of my best hunting property the other day. He stated that he had found a buck with the head cut off and wanted my opinion. He assumed that it had been hit on the near by interstated and that someone had spotted it and removed the headgear. When I inspected it I found that it was a huge bodied deer with a entrance hole approximately the size of a pensil (entered by last rib) and an exit hole through the gut that was the size of a nikel. It was in an open field approximately 250 yards off of the interstate but well within sight. The skin was cut cleanly with a knife but the spine had been sawed. My assumption is that for a gut shot deer to bed down in an open field it had to have been a night time operation. We have contacted the local game warden about the incident. I searched the area for tracks but unfortunately the heavy rain on Monday washed all clues away. Interestingly, the gates to all access pionts are locked so it was entered from the interstate or hiked about a 1/2 mile in. There are other big ones in the area but it sure is a shame. I have seen several good bucks but there is no way of knowing if this was one of the truly huge bucks. My odds are a little less now. Bum deal. I wish that I had photographed it.

 

[vman]

Thats a shame. Why cant people just do it the honest way.

 

[moosehunter]

scumbags. i'd love to catch one in the act...

...........

 

[deadeye]

That really sucks.

Packing it that far reminds me of my dad's good friend. He has a cabin around where we hunt. He always has it locked. He figures two guys brok in through the door and took a bunch of his neat nic nacks around the cabin. They also made off with his pot belly wood stove. They had to lug it 1/4 to 1/2 mile to the gravel road.

Some people...

 

[mole]

Time for a little Charlie Daniels Red neck justice.

. A big tall tree and a short piece of rope will cure that problem. It wasn't too long ago that horse theft was a capital offense. Don't hear too much of that anymore.

Maybe a little extreme for poaching, but you get the idea. If they know nothings going to happen, whats going to stop them??

mole

 

[moosehunter]

Bowman. As long as you brought this up I have something to run by whoever reads this.
I know the CO's are short staffed and do the best they can with thier limited budget. But I've heard more than once about someone talking to a CO about a suspected poacher and the reply is something like "Yes, we know about him and we've been watching him". The latest post here was about the guy that got busted in Iowa and Colorado I think. I can understand to a certain degree that there maybe an ongoing investigation and they don't want to compromise that. But sometimes I think if they would go up to the suspect and say, "We've had you under surveilence and we know what you've been up to. You'd best stop now or you will be arrested and forfeit your guns, vehicals, rights, ect". I would think that would stop many people right there just out of being scared straight so to speak. I mean, How many deer have to be shot by one guy before he gets arrested? Then a lawyer will get 10 charges reduced to 3 or 4, the guy pays a fine and walks away. Too me, having those deer alive and reproducing means more than a few thousand bucks that may not ever get collected anyway. Maybe because of legal reason's they can't do that but I bet that would end alot of nice bucks from getting shot at 2 in the morning. If blindsow see's this he would be the best one to address this.

 

[bowman]

I can address this from a law enforcement point of view, not necessarilly that of a conservation officer. The only way to prosecute these guys is catch them in the act or search their residences for evidence. Obtaining a search warrant is a tricky thing as the judge requires quite a bit of evidence to sign one. They are considered inoccent until proven guilty therefore, a judge won't sign a search warrant unless the evidence is fairly good and the informants are credable. This is actually good as it protects your rights (if you are innocent!) When you are told, "we are watching them", they are telling you that they know what they are up to but they are trying to either catch them in the act or get enough evidence for a search warrant. Once they are caught in the act a search warrant is easy to obtain, but until then it takes good information. So, it is up to us to report any and all suspicsious activity as this little information that you provide could be just what the CO needs to get that search warrant. I hope this clears some things up. Again my information comes from drug and other criminal cases but I hear the same complaints from people on these types of crimes.

 

[moosehunter]

i guess mole said it right then. maybe a little back woods justice would be in order.........speaking hypethetically that is

 

[straitshot]

In the area I hunted this year in northern MO. The CO drove up on 17 deer poached stacked line firewood next to a fence line without tags. I know the deer are thick in that area, but these idiots don't care to do what it takes to take the deer leagaly. The landowner only has to write his/her name on a piece of paper and thier address to be legally tagged. However they must not be able to write. I know what I would like to do to poachers. This only ruines the hunting for legit sportsmen.

 

[teeroy]

a farmer near me found e headless bucks in one of his fields this fall. a 12 pt was found in a field by another (gut shot..guessing it got away from the poachers) then....iowawhitetail's own 1969hunter saw poachers in the act, and gave chase. after 5 miles of gravel roads at 80mph, they made it to the interstate and got away. but they got the plates and called the CO. last i had heard, the polk county sherriff's deputies were sitting in their driveway, waiting for them to get home. a couple vietmanese dudes from the south side of des moines. maybe 1969hunter can find out if they got caught and post back

 

[TimberPig]

There simply isnt and probably never will be enough law enforcement personell to catch alot of these guys as they can only be one place at a time. It takes involvement from the public.
Any type of information, even if its old and the poachers are gone, should be given to your C.O. and local Sheriff's Office. If you hear that so and so is doing such and such, pass it along as it gives them a place to start.
You wouldnt believe the number of people who see and hear things, even in the act, and never call for one reason or another. Meanwhile, a C.O. or Deputy might be watching a dark timber 3 miles away and never know what just happend. I just dont understand it, but it really is sad. For some reason most people just look the other way.