Poachers!

[EatDeer]

I know you guys have caught a few before! I want to read your stories about when you caught them? Last season me and my buddy were hunting his ground and I saw a guy walking out ahead of us..he didnt take long to run away when I flashed my light towards him!                I told my friend, and he said" oh no there wasn't" and said I was seeing things, then a few days later he saw the tresspasser from his stand, when the guy was leaving early at dusk. We found a few spent arrows near the middle of the 100 acres too. I'll be waiting to catch that loser this year! [:@]  

[JPH]

Great topic EatDeer!! IMO poachers should be public enemy #1! We talk a lot about all kinds of issues here, antis, 2nd Amendment, hunter recruitment, CWD, etc. But none of these issues have as big of a direct impact on the quality and safety of our hunts as poachers.
 
I have had more than my share of run-ins with these jokers. One of my most memorable came two seasons ago:
 I was in a mid-morning rifle stand in Mo. Suddenly I heard a shot from just out of sight. Then three more. They were very close! I assumed it was a lawful hunter, just across the property line. When a big doe came limping into view, I wanted to take her down for the hunter who had wounded her. One shot put her on the ground but she was still alive. Suddenly, an SUV came screeching to a halt in the picked field, just beyond the timber I was in. They had been chasing her and shooting from the window! The doe was spooked and tried to get up, so I shot her again. The SUV slammed it into reverse and got out of there. I was out of cell coverage so I did not get to the Warden until it was much too late to catch him. No plate number [:@].
 
Two weeks later, I heard the rumor that the poacher was the son of the farmer up the road. He had been telling the locals that I had shot at HIM while he was trying to recover his deer!!!

[PrairieShadow]

Dont even know where to start on this one. There are so many people who think they are hunters around here. In my book chasing deer with a truck, shooting from the window at 70mph across corn stubble, without a license, out of season, from the road, then having the nerve to ask me to go help them recover the deer that they probably didnt even hit while shooting at it but it died from exhaustion from just being chased through 2 counties are in no way shape or form hunters , just poor excuses for human beings.

I have gotten plates on these guys and call the warden but nothing ever really seems to be done about it. The warden is nice enough to call me back a couple months later after all charges have been decided and let me know how it ended up and most of the time they are get such a light penalty like a $100 fine that it makes me not to even waste my time calling them in anymore but i still always do.

I have had people see me walking out of my stand at night across a field and they start chasing me with their truck thinking that im a deer.

Im to the point that i dont even know what to do anymore. I saw one of the poachers out scouting my hunting area a month ago already!! of course driving around in his truck.

ok ill get off my soap box now. This is touchy topic with me as i have had all to many run ins with these slobs.
 
Does anybody have any ideas on how to stop this nonsense? Spike strips? Land mines?

[ranwin33]

I've never had to confront a poacher directly on our property.  Twice though we've had people shoot at deer, and me on our property.
 
The first occasion we had a hunter (out of state) who was a relative of the neighbor to our north.  Deer comes down the tree line on our side of the fence, he shoots it, a small 8 pointer.  We hear the shot and can tell it's too close not to be on us so my brother heads over on an ATV.  When the guy sees him he turns around and walks the other way, so my brother calls him over to where the deer is laying.  The guy comes over and claims he shot the deer on the other side of the fence, but it ran to our side.  My brother being the trusting sort believes him and lets him drag the deer out.  We went back later and could clearly see from the blood splatter that the deer was shot on our property.
 
The second ocassion I was still hunting about 40 yards inside our east border.  Heard a shot and then the bullet come through the trees about 3 yards away.  I ducked behind a tree and waited.  Eventually I headed out.  In talking to the neighbors to our east the next day I asked them if they had shot at anything.  One looked real sheepish and said he had taken a shot at a coyote.  I don't know if he actually saw one, or if I was the coyote, but it makes me real nervous when I travel that side of our property during gun season.

[passin through]

Ok ...heres two stories from the Bayou State

Keep in mind we live way out in the country and saying we're a touch on the redneck side is like saying bacon tastes good fried.[:D]

11 years ago my Dad heard a shot late one night come from our NW pasture which has highway frontage.  Upon looking out the window he saw two people being guided into our pasture by a spotlight held by another person in a truck sitting in the middle of the highway....they were dragging a deer out.  So out the front door the old man goes ...figuring moms car is faster and quieter than his diesl, he takes off down the drive way in her new Lincoln.  We have a long drive way and he traveled down it at about a 90 degree angle from the poachers, the only problem was at the top of our drive way instead of turning right to go down towards the poachers his house shoes got tangled up in the floor mat and he managed to shove the accelerator down...pushing him straight into the hill on the other side of the road.  Presto bent frame and all four doors jammed closed.  Then the poachers fire up thier truck and head up the highway towards him to get out of there and try to make it back to town.  Knucklehead Ned (my dad [:D]) backs the car up and blocks the highway (And rolls the window down)...The poachers go around and make thier escape  (with two loads of thee inch magnum buckshot to encourage them not to stop)  When the sheriff arrived (he lives close to us ...sorta)  he and the deputies found one dead doe deer, a bloody butcher knife and one ticked mom type..and a highly embarrassed dad type.  Six thousand dollars worth of damages to the car!  The deputy asked if dad did not have a rifle,  when told yes, the sheriff chimed in and said well let them shoot first next time and then you shoot.[:D]  I Really like our sheriff!  Coincidentally they caught those folks a few weeks later on a burglary bust and they all ratted one another out ...from illegal turkey poaching to selling those poached deer to local resturants (they killed 12 deer the night they had the run in with dad)....lots of people got a free ride to jail.   & now the highway in front of our house is ranged for 180 grain handloads delivered by .300 weatherby magnum --- Cartidges is cheaper than cars.

#2 ===== The year before last we came upon two guys shooting from the highway into a friends beaver pond.  We chased em' long enough to get a license plate and went back to see what they had shot....really freaked me out because the camp is just up the hill from there and all the kids go down the trails to the pond to play.  Turned out the two highway hero's killed a set of twin button bucks every body in the community had been watching all summer ....we reported it and a few hours later the wardens showed up to recover the deer and take our statements.  They ran the plates and on a hunch checked in with the Public Game reserve that is our close proximity...the poachers were checked in but had not checked out for the day.  One warden was very angry because he had to go arrest those two and would be missing his son's first birthday party.  (needless to say it was gonna suck to be those guys when that warden caught them) When the wardens were going through the reserve to get to the check out station and wait on our highway hero's they saw truck lights coming up a atv only trail....they backed up killed thier lights and waited...unbelievably it was the same guys...with three more button bucks in the truck.  I think they got between 25 and 30 tickets  and served the max time.  Gotta love small towns...my cousin dosent hunt and doesnt like most hunters but she hates poachers worse than rattlesnakes and she was the prosecuting attorney[:D]

[PrairieShadow]

ORIGINAL: passin through

Ok ...heres two stories from the Bayou State

Keep in mind we live way out in the country and saying we're a touch on the redneck side is like saying bacon tastes good fried.[:D]

11 years ago my Dad heard a shot late one night come from our NW pasture which has highway frontage.  Upon looking out the window he saw two people being guided into our pasture by a spotlight held by another person in a truck sitting in the middle of the highway....they were dragging a deer out.  So out the front door the old man goes ...figuring moms car is faster and quieter than his diesl, he takes off down the drive way in her new Lincoln.  We have a long drive way and he traveled down it at about a 90 degree angle from the poachers, the only problem was at the top of our drive way instead of turning right to go down towards the poachers his house shoes got tangled up in the floor mat and he managed to shove the accelerator down...pushing him straight into the hill on the other side of the road.  Presto bent frame and all four doors jammed closed.  Then the poachers fire up thier truck and head up the highway towards him to get out of there and try to make it back to town.  Knucklehead Ned (my dad [:D]) backs the car up and blocks the highway (And rolls the window down)...The poachers go around and make thier escape  (with two loads of thee inch magnum buckshot to encourage them not to stop)  When the sheriff arrived (he lives close to us ...sorta)  he and the deputies found one dead doe deer, a bloody butcher knife and one ticked mom type..and a highly embarrassed dad type.  Six thousand dollars worth of damages to the car!  The deputy asked if dad did not have a rifle,  when told yes, the sheriff chimed in and said well let them shoot first next time and then you shoot.[:D]  I Really like our sheriff!  Coincidentally they caught those folks a few weeks later on a burglary bust and they all ratted one another out ...from illegal turkey poaching to selling those poached deer to local resturants (they killed 12 deer the night they had the run in with dad)....lots of people got a free ride to jail.   & now the highway in front of our house is ranged for 180 grain handloads delivered by .300 weatherby magnum --- Cartidges is cheaper than cars.

#2 ===== The year before last we came upon two guys shooting from the highway into a friends beaver pond.  We chased em' long enough to get a license plate and went back to see what they had shot....really freaked me out because the camp is just up the hill from there and all the kids go down the trails to the pond to play.  Turned out the two highway hero's killed a set of twin button bucks every body in the community had been watching all summer ....we reported it and a few hours later the wardens showed up to recover the deer and take our statements.  They ran the plates and on a hunch checked in with the Public Game reserve that is our close proximity...the poachers were checked in but had not checked out for the day.  One warden was very angry because he had to go arrest those two and would be missing his son's first birthday party.  (needless to say it was gonna suck to be those guys when that warden caught them) When the wardens were going through the reserve to get to the check out station and wait on our highway hero's they saw truck lights coming up a atv only trail....they backed up killed thier lights and waited...unbelievably it was the same guys...with three more button bucks in the truck.  I think they got between 25 and 30 tickets  and served the max time.  Gotta love small towns...my cousin dosent hunt and doesnt like most hunters but she hates poachers worse than rattlesnakes and she was the prosecuting attorney[:D]

 
I could really use your redneck system (no disrespect intended)up here. I would love to get the go ahead to shoot back!!  heck i would just love for the wardens to do something when i give them leads or license #'s.

[howhill1]

about three years ago i was bowhunting after the 1st gun season. i was leaving the property about 2:00 p because i had to pick up my daughter.
  as i drove up the road i saw a deer in the ditch. when i stopped to check it out i found what appeared to be about a 3 1/2  year old buck with about 3" base's. the antlers had been sawed off, the deer had been dressed and tagged at one time. im sure the deer hadnt come from our farm but had just been dumped. i dont know if they shot somthing bigger to put their tag on, just didnt want it , or had let it lay in the back of their truck too long. at any rate it was a disscusting display of someones wastefullnes.
 

[JPH]

I think that most hunters would agree that our Wardens are spread too thin. And non-hunting people in rural areas often look the other way. They seem to fear reprisals or see no harm in what is happening.
 
Hunters need to form our own "neighborhood watch" in order to catch poachers.

[howhill1]

ours are definitely too short. and our gov cuts em back more every year.
  one of the guys i work with has a cousin who is a dnr off. he does not go out tpo patrol any more because of gas prices. hes been told to go nowhere unless called.

[howhill1]

this gentleman wasnt a poacher per say but it demonstrates the take a mile mentality of some people. several years back a buddy and myself were trurkey hunting in the spring. about 8:00a we saw someone coming through the timber. i promptly confronted this person and found out he was mushroom hunting. it seems he would drive around until he found someplace that looked good and just walked in. i informed him that he was tresspassing and told him my name. as it turned out we knew alot of the same people and my big heart got the better of me. i told him he could hunt all the mushrooms he wanted as long as it was after noon(we couldn't hunt after noon in il. its one now). he agrred and thanked me. the next year about ten a.m. geuss who came walkin right in on us again. i again asked him to keep out intil after hunting hours. yea you guessed year three 7:30 a.m. here he came. i ran him off that time with STRICT orders to never return.