# What in the...?



## mickeysdad (Mar 10, 2010)

I was hunting some public land in northeast Ohio today, and in one of the parking areas there was a decapitated buck. There were some local guys around that thought it was a poacher. But then I got to thinking, if you're gonna poach, why bother to drag the buck to the parking lot and then cut off the head? Then I thought maybe it was road kill, and someone just wanted the rack - but why take the head just for the rack? They didn't take any hide, so there's not enough to get them a mount. Did ODNR take the head for CWD testing? If so, why leave the body laying in the parking lot, as that would be counter to what they preach about setting a good public image. Any ideas?

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## Fish-N-Fool (Apr 12, 2004)

sounds like typical poacher MO to me and little more.
They often cut only the skull cap out...common not to take hide.


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## ldrjay (Apr 2, 2009)

Sounds like road kill business to me. I see that stuff a bit. 

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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

Though he has a good point, why would the poacher either drag the animal to the parking lot, or transport it there from somewhere else? There&#8217;s a chance it was legally shot and tagged, and then because of neglect the meat went bad and someone was trying to find the easiest place to dump the carcass. I don&#8217;t know, it really doesn&#8217;t make much sense when you think about it. That&#8217;s the only possible explanation I can come up with.


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## mickeysdad (Mar 10, 2010)

Exactly - a lot of work to do something illegal or little work by the ODNR

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## Fish-N-Fool (Apr 12, 2004)

Magis - I see the point and it certainly could have been a legal tagged deer with spoiled meat. No way for any of us to know.

However, through the years I've seen poachers do this several times. I reported 6 (yes 6) large bodied bucks dumped like this one a county road ditch in Muskingum county 3 years back. I got out and looked through the carcusses....it was Sat prior to gun season. They caped all 6 out, heads completely removed and you could clearly see gun shots as cause of death.
Nothing else taken, not dressed, back loins present...everything.

As usual I didn't even receive a response from ODNR. I called the local warden and left a message and also alerted the TIP line...nothing.

Frankly with my personaly experiences attempting to get DNR involved in anything like this I won't even waste the phone call any more. I've called and reported 3 times, used TIP twice and not once did I even receive a follow up.

The only warden that ever returned my call was Clark county - Byron Rice and that was about some private land fishing problems. He not only called me back, but 2 weeks later he arrested 5 individuals...not for just tresspassing, but they had drugs and firearms on them when he busted them. Deputies were called in and they were all 5 hauled to jail that night, both trucks impounded. Job well done officer Rice!


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

If you just decapitate the buck and leave the cape you can still do a euro mount. The bare skull with antlers.


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## Huntinbull (Apr 10, 2004)

It may have been a roadkill buck that someone got a carcass receipt for. They only Wanted the head and they dispose of the body improperly.

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