speechless...

[bowtech21]

I have to start a new thread. UNBELIEVABLE! [:@]
I went spottin with a buddy of mine tonight. The property i hunt on is about 350 acres with roads surrounding it. So i always go around the whole property and spot it all. Well tonight, i was on one side of the property and i shut my truck off so i could focus on a couple deer in the field. Next thing i know i heard a gun shot comming from the other side of the property. CLEARLY DARK outside. So i hurried up and drove to the other side of the property and a truck passed me. Thought nothing of it, looked behind me and hes turnin around and commin up behind me. So i pull over and let him pass, only to watch him spotlight a deer while he was 30 yards infront of me and SHOOT at it twice!!!!!!???? Right infront of me!!?? Turns out its the farmer that owns the tiny peice of property (bordering the prop. i hunt) that the deer was on and he MIGHT have the right to shoot deer for crop damage but i dunno. Even so, how illegal is that? Shooting from the road from a vehicle at night with a spotlight. What can i do?

[msbadger]

Don't know where you are but...NY ya they can spot and shoot...but still think vehical shooting is illegal...and he can ONLY shoot deer off his land....I'd turn him in just to see if he really does have nuisance permits...what is said and what is true could be worlds apart

[mag30079]

I'd start with the sheriff,
 
Shooting a gun from a vehicle in the dark has to be a felony. There may be special permits for handycap people to hunt from a vehicle but if he's farming he's not handycap, thats hard work.

[RNC]

Hit the local law enforcement or the CO for the area. Having an uncased weapon in a vehicle is normally illegal. Having it loaded in a vehicle is illegal. Discharging a weapon from a vehicle is illegal Depending on how your state allows farmers to shoot problem deer is a question for the CO. I have heard of a couple states that will allow the spotlight (think the show The Management Advantage did a show on that in a southern state where deer were destroying a cotton crop) but I got a hard time believing they can shoot from a vehicle or a public roadway.

[Woods Walker]

I, for sure, would be concerned about the safety factor of it, as well as the legality.  But having some farmer friends that are in deer-rich areas, I can tell you that they suffer EXTREME crop damage, especially on ridge top or smaller fields where the ratio of edge to total area is higher. The one farm that I hunt in Brown County, Illinois, many times suffers crop damage to corn, where the first 20+ rows all along the field edge are destroyed. One year the Ag service estimated that he had 20% to 30% crop damage!!!
 
Do him a favor and shoot every legal deer you can!!!

[JOEL]

do you know who the person is?if it is the farmer maybe ya can talk to him and help him with his deer problem.As much as we as hunters love those deer this guy is running a buisness and the deer are stealing from him and he has a right to protect his investment.i know lots of guys in NY who can take deer during the summer months and they do shoot with lights at night from the truck.only they do pull over into the fields to do it

[hunter480]

Talk directly with your local C.O. Explain exactly what happened-he`ll be able to tell you how much of it, if any, was legal.
 
As to the comment about the deer stealing from the farmer, and him having the right to protect his investment-umm, not so much.
 
He`s perfectly entitled to kill deer using whatever depredation permits that area provides, but only as long as he`s following all the requirements, including hunting times and methods and limits. Otherwise, he`s stealing from all lawful hunters, who`ve paid billions of dollars nationwide to pay for the management of all game.
 
I`ll admit, it`s a balance, and I would like my crops destroyed either, but there are remedies provided to eliminate the nuisince animals, and if he`s not following the legal method, he`s the same as any other poacher.

[JOEL]

umm where did i say he could break the law.

[bowtech21]

Yea i know the guys. They are 2 brothers who run a tiny little farm and they are BOTH extremely nuts. If i wasnt 100% sure it was them i wouldve definetly stopped them and flipped out. But, I didnt want to get shot at so i just kept driving. Another thing that kind of upset me was the fact that it wasn't even in any type of crop, it was standing in a mowed section of grass. AND, they were blastin off rounds at it while it was running. Maybe they were drunk or something. Nutcases [:@]  There is a state cop that lives between me and these guys, i drive past every day and if i see him out i will definetly stop and talk to him.

[JOEL]

well i nthat case ya did the right thing and got out of there.probably no point in talking to them.i would go the police/dec route then too