# Poachers



## Kylesfishin (Jun 11, 2013)

Anyone seen much poaching activity this year? 

My story: Found a couple of deer (bucks) dumped across the road from my property. Had been shot and antlers cut off, but no meat taken. Look like they'd been cut open, but I'm not sure if anyone would have a reason to take any organs or if it was coyotes.

This kind of thing really makes me mad. At least if you're going to kill something, don't waste the meat.


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## Eastside Al (Apr 25, 2010)

Road kill posible? i see alot of headless deer next to the main roads


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## Seaturd (Apr 14, 2004)

Didn't see any evidence of poaching but there are a few guys out there who can't count to three. Heard several times when a full complement of five rapid fire shots were blasted from the same gun at what I assume were running deer. I don't like being around lead slingers....


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## Kylesfishin (Jun 11, 2013)

Road kill is possible. I just thought it was odd that 2 bucks would get hit and fall within a few feet of each other. One looked like it had a gunshot in its chest.

I've heard a few rapid fire shots too. Near me, could just be target shooting though.


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

I've seen deer that had been shot and gutted then dumped, often roadside or on public hunting areas. I've always thought they were probably taken home hung for a day or so then a worthless hunter decides he's too lazy to butcher the animal and it's wasted.
If you witness someone dumping an animal please report them, it is possibly a violation. 
Good luck and Good hunting !


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## catfishhunterjames (Mar 29, 2010)

The buck I killed bullet hole in the shoulder and a broad head just above his right eye.


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## beaver (Sep 28, 2010)

Plenty of poaching that goes on. Seems like there's more and more "easy way out" types as the younger generations start driving. That's how it is around here anyway. 

Not to mention it's hard to keep up with it or enforce when their is one warden to patrol an entire county, and the idiots they put in charge of them make it impossible for them to effectively do their jobs.


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## HookBender (Apr 2, 2012)

I stumbled across a pile of cracked corn at the Battelle Darby public lands the fall while squirrel hunting.


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## ErieGoldSportfishing (Feb 5, 2009)

catfishhunterjames said:


> The buck I killed bullet hole in the shoulder and a broad head just above his right eye.


Sounds like his name was "Lucky"???


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## Shaun69007 (Sep 2, 2009)

I have had a lot of new tire tracks in my field and across from me recently. Tracks go across 200 yards of field to the edge of the woods..


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## Drm50 (Dec 26, 2014)

In this area the most Buck Poaching is done from Thanksgiving to the night before season. Due to holiday the
traffic on back roads is light. The ego poachers are out with a rifle a light and a tank of gas. The game dept is
worthless, they go up and down the roads during season looking for chicken crap violations to harass hunters.
Checking lincenses, Guns, Ammo, and permission slips is all they are good for. They need to get out at night
a bust the real menace, the poacher.


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## Kenlow1 (Jul 14, 2012)

Agree with you 100% Drm50. We hunt Woodsfield area and this year was worst in last 5 yrs. Haven't seen any of the "shooters" we have pics of during season, neighbor across road says he hears gunshots at nite but by time DNR can respond, they are long gone. One game warden can't cover the whole county!


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## caseyroo (Jun 26, 2006)

Biggest form of poaching that takes place today, is the lack of honesty amongst people. How many thousands of deer are not checked in via the self reporting system? Why is the never mentioned or challenged?


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## Drm50 (Dec 26, 2014)

I hunted between Jerusalem and Woodsfield, saw nothing but dinks & does. We herd Ak fire on Sunday after
dark. I'm sure they weren't target shooting. The new generation of game wardens ride the roads during the
daytime, they aren't going to get their shoes dirty. How many people do they think they will catch with serious
violations on the road. The people that are doing the poaching are not doing it during the day, and wouldn't be
stupid enough to be caught near the road. The ego poachers can get awaywith a lot more, with the new self
tagging and reporting on line. The old time poachers wouldn't shoot a buck, they wanted a doe to eat.


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## beaver (Sep 28, 2010)

What does the online reporting have to do with it? It was just as easy to not check a deer in then as it is now. If anything, it's easier to check one in now.


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## Drm50 (Dec 26, 2014)

The main difference is the ego poachers can get away with tagging a illegally shot buck, a lot easier. They shoot
bucks day or two before season, with illegal rifles, and self report during season. These type of poachers don't 
want to shoot a buck they can't brag about. Most of the guys who don't tag are shooting does to eat. That is less
of a problem than it used to be.


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## Shad Rap (Nov 10, 2010)

Drm50 said:


> The main difference is the ego poachers can get away with tagging a illegally shot buck, a lot easier. They shoot
> bucks day or two before season, with illegal rifles, and self report during season. These type of poachers don't
> want to shoot a buck they can't brag about. Most of the guys who don't tag are shooting does to eat. That is less
> of a problem than it used to be.


A lot of those people are butchering the deer themselves though...I dont think anything that was going on back then isnt going on now...you could still do that stuff before the call check in was started...you can still brag about your buck...butchers arent analyzing every deer they cut up...nor should they really care to...it may have made the process easier...but it didnt change a poacher...and I dont really think it created anymore poachers than what we already had.


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## Drm50 (Dec 26, 2014)

That is true I didn't create more poachers, you missed the point, it's same people. It amounts to no tag, no brag.
When a good buck is shot around here, whether leagal or illegal, word slips out in a short time. The poacher is
not going to run his mouth about shooting a illegal deer. The few that get caught are because someone turns
them in. The self tag is a home run for buck poacher, Tag & Brag.


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## Shad Rap (Nov 10, 2010)

Drm50 said:


> That is true I didn't create more poachers, you missed the point, it's same people. It amounts to no tag, no brag.
> When a good buck is shot around here, whether leagal or illegal, word slips out in a short time. The poacher is
> not going to run his mouth about shooting a illegal deer. The few that get caught are because someone turns
> them in. The self tag is a home run for buck poacher, Tag & Brag.


So you saying they didnt do this before the call in system?..guess I am missing the point of what you re saying...so it made it easier...it doesnt make it happen any more frequent though IMO...they've been shooting bucks one, two, three days before season for a loooong time...and why couldnt you brag about it?..probably your close friends already know you poached it anyway so there's no bragging that really even takes place...unless its a worldclass deer(which 9 times out of 10 it isnt) you could always still claim it legal...until you get caught somehow...but 100's of people dont...


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## ErieEye (Jul 16, 2007)

Yup, they're argument makes absolutely no sense. An illegal deer is an illegal deer. If you don't have the numbers the dnr assigns to each deer at check in its an illegal deer whether it would have been on a metal or paper tag. The dnr makes it easier to check a deer in and get those numbers and somehow fewer people are doing it? I don't get it either.


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## ErieGoldSportfishing (Feb 5, 2009)

Reading through this thread and seeing the e-check system bashed and the work of our CO's called "worthless" doesn't sit very well with me. 

First, the check system has provided to enforcement the most effective tool for them since the 2 way radio. Information is now available to CO's real time to aid investigations instead of having to manually collect and sort through paper deer and turkey check slips. 

Stopping night time poaching of deer is and has always been very difficult without the help of tips from locals. The reality is budget limits the state to basically one CO assigned to each county and a handful of investigators to assist districts and that's it. If they drove the roads at night just blindly searching for poachers there is nobody left for day patrols. They do amazing work but like all law enforcement rely heavily on information from complaints and the tip line. They are understaffed......not "worthless" as one person claimed. The simple fact is if there is a complaint and investigation is warranted, those guys typically get the bad guys and get them convicted.

If you want to stop poaching on your local herd you need to pay attention and report illegal activity. Descriptions, tag numbers, vehicle descriptions, patterns, etc.


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## roundheadjig (Nov 9, 2016)

That is sound information, well said...!


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## FAB (May 26, 2013)

The main difference in todays system is the tag. It is self produced instead of tear off from the license . With the old system when you killed the deer, you tore off the temporary tag from your license and attached it to the deer. If you were found with a deer and no tag on it, you got a ticket. if you were found hunting again with the tag torn off your license , you got a ticket. No way to check now unless someone turns you in you could go on for years and never be caught. Provided you cut up your own deer.


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## beaver (Sep 28, 2010)

Just like you could write a landowner tag on the old law and do the exact same thing, regardless of wether you actually owned land or where you killed it , as long as you got it to the truck without getting caught.


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## Fishballz (Aug 15, 2015)

I really don't believe the "system" has created anymore poachers. Poachers gonna poach regardless of the law. I love the tagging system, it has made it easier and more convenient for all of us ethical hunters! Are we supposed to change all laws and make it a pia for us to discourage poaching? No, your not going to discourage anything. Should we put governors on all our cars so no one can drive over 60, automatic seatbelts on all vehicles, windows that dont roll down so people can't litter... What I'm trying to say is you can't write or change all the laws or regulations in hunting or society to try and make it harder for the poacher/criminal because it also inconveniences all of us and does not seem deter poaching. Does anyone believe or know of anyone that now picked up poaching because of the tagging system?


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## FAB (May 26, 2013)

Fishballz said:


> I really don't believe the "system" has created anymore poachers. Poachers gonna poach regardless of the law. I love the tagging system, it has made it easier and more convenient for all of us ethical hunters! Are we supposed to change all laws and make it a pia for us to discourage poaching? No, your not going to discourage anything. Should we put governors on all our cars so no one can drive over 60, automatic seatbelts on all vehicles, windows that dont roll down so people can't litter... What I'm trying to say is you can't write or change all the laws or regulations in hunting or society to try and make it harder for the poacher/criminal because it also inconveniences all of us and does not seem deter poaching. Does anyone believe or know of anyone that now picked up poaching because of the tagging system?


Don't mean to imply that the self tag system encouraged poaching it merely made it more difficult to discover in the field. However that system also relied on a one hunter one deer philosophy. Also the self check in system while very convenient also made it difficult to determine real harvest numbers. As a result many states that use the call in method use a formula where a certain percentage of permits sold are deemed to have killed and not reported a deer. Pennsylvania is one such state and although I have not seen confirmation of it, I believe that Ohio my interject some hypothetical number to balance the kill report.


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## beaver (Sep 28, 2010)

I don't see how it is any harder to get real numbers. I think it's easier actually. The numbers are real time, not months later when all the papers are gone through. 

How is people buying one tag and killing three deer now any different than them doing it with paper tags then? Are you insinuating that it didn't happen then? It happened just as much then as now, and it will happen just as much years from now.


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## ostbucks98 (Apr 14, 2004)

I wish the DNR would employ all these PI's who can recreate crime scenes based off sound. 

Also I'm done hearing people cry about hearing these war zones. So I recommend we move to single shot options only.


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## caseyroo (Jun 26, 2006)

ostbucks98 said:


> I wish the DNR would employ all these PI's who can recreate crime scenes based off sound.
> 
> Also I'm done hearing people cry about hearing these war zones. So I recommend we move to single shot options only.


I get it's sarcasm, but in reality that's all it should take. How often are those last 2 shots effective?


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## ostbucks98 (Apr 14, 2004)

How do you know its one person?


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## Seaturd (Apr 14, 2004)

ostbucks98 said:


> ....
> 
> Also I'm done hearing people cry about hearing these war zones. So I recommend we move to single shot options only.


I'm in - can't remember the last time I took a 2nd shot at a deer.


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## catfishhunterjames (Mar 29, 2010)

I was in the woods Saturday and I heard over 200 shots in one area of the wood and 30 shots was a .22. Sorry but I hate that **** and do they really think they are going to see something.


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

ostbucks98 said:


> I wish the DNR would employ all these PI's who can recreate crime scenes based off sound.
> 
> Also I'm done hearing people cry about hearing these war zones. So I recommend we move to single shot options only.


X3 on the second item. I use a well sighted in, scoped in-line .50 cal. I only have One Shot so I only take standing or slow walking shots. Have never, since 1971, lost a deer! Not bragging, just proud of that fact. I (respect!) the animals, and the opportunity/privilege! to take one, too much to chance wounding one on a bad shot. Having said that(and I'm certainly no "tree hugger"!), I often tell family and friends that if there is an 'after life', please do not send me back as a white-tailed deer in Ohio!
On "poachers", late Monday night of regular gun season, my brother and I had just finished the last adult beverage and turned-in in the valley we hunt in Harrison cty. Just about to snooze off when we hear a volley of shots high up on top of the adjacent hill where there is a large field. Pitch black out and raining, I will never understand the mentality of jack-lighters!(Yeah, I know, they were after coyotes!!)


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## ostbucks98 (Apr 14, 2004)

catfishhunterjames said:


> I was in the woods Saturday and I heard over 200 shots in one area of the wood and 30 shots was a .22. Sorry but I hate that **** and do they really think they are going to see something.



Are you serious? How in the world do you know it wasn't someone target shooting?


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## Shad Rap (Nov 10, 2010)

ostbucks98 said:


> Are you serious? How in the world do you know it wasn't someone target shooting?


Exactly...he's probably hunting near a gun range...lol...or someone target shooting at their home...c'mon now 200???..were you hunting or just counting shots all day?..I'm sure its not someone in a deerstand lobbing rounds...and personally I think it should go back to allowing more ammunition like it used to be for years and years and years...guys are out there with 5/6 rounds in their gun and no one to check them anyway...


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## beaver (Sep 28, 2010)

Let's not forget that south zone waterfowl came in Saturday too. A group of goose hunters can sound like the battle of Gettysburg.


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## beaver (Sep 28, 2010)

Edit... wrong thread. Apologies.


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## catfishhunterjames (Mar 29, 2010)

ostbucks98 said:


> Are you serious? How in the world do you know it wasn't someone target shooting?


Oddly it only happened durning the two gun season and yes I counted every shot I heard and killed a 166 inch buck. Also there is not gun range with-in 15 miles of me if so what dumbass would be out in the rain and 45 degrees target practicing.


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## ostbucks98 (Apr 14, 2004)

I shoot 1000's of rounds a year from my covered porch. I don't really take weather into consideration.


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## Eatmybait (Apr 14, 2016)

ostbucks98 said:


> I wish the DNR would employ all these PI's who can recreate crime scenes based off sound.
> 
> Also I'm done hearing people cry about hearing these war zones. So I recommend we move to single shot options only.


I have used single shot since 1998 and killed many deer.
Both my sons started with a single shot and killed many deer.
One shot makes you try harder for that ONE GOOD SHOT.


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## ErieGoldSportfishing (Feb 5, 2009)

catfishhunterjames said:


> Oddly it only happened durning the two gun season and yes I counted every shot I heard and killed a 166 inch buck. Also there is not gun range with-in 15 miles of me if so what dumbass would be out in the rain and 45 degrees target practicing.


What self respecting deer....or any animal other than decoying birds for that matter..... would stay in an area long enough to give 200+ shot opportunities anyhow? I agree with the "somebody was target shooting" theory.


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## catfishhunterjames (Mar 29, 2010)

MageeEast said:


> What self respecting deer....or any animal other than decoying birds for that matter..... would stay in an area long enough to give 200+ shot opportunities anyhow? I agree with the "somebody was target shooting" theory.


Guess they allow target shooting on government land during deer gun season.


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## ostbucks98 (Apr 14, 2004)

On Saturday there were several people shooting at the lake hope range.


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## roundheadjig (Nov 9, 2016)

caseyroo said:


> I get it's sarcasm, but in reality that's all it should take. How often are those last 2 shots effective?


Only the shots that are aimed....


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## Monark22 (May 25, 2015)

Have you ever thought of someone shooting a buck gutting it.. and it's filled with puss and stank? I killed one this past gun season and it could hardly go.. all infected from being shot up during the week. Tagged him, but was not going to trust the meat.


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## roundheadjig (Nov 9, 2016)

Monark22 said:


> Have you ever thought of someone shooting a buck gutting it.. and it's filled with puss and stank? I killed one this past gun season and it could hardly go.. all infected from being shot up during the week. Tagged him, but was not going to trust the meat.


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## roundheadjig (Nov 9, 2016)

I don't think I would tag a sick deer........


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## bobk (Apr 30, 2004)

roundheadjig said:


> I don't think I would tag a sick deer........


That would fall under the topic of discussion.


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## Monark22 (May 25, 2015)

Exactly what I was thinking..


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## roundheadjig (Nov 9, 2016)

bobk said:


> That would fall under the topic of discussion.


I guess if one shot the buck for the antlers then I would. But I'm not a horn hunter and have passed up some very nice bucks because I didn't have a shot that I thought I could make.


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