Posted: 10/1/2009 10:49:09 AM EDT
For the last 4 years I have been watching a certain group of 5 bachelor mule deer bucks grow bigger and bigger. The largest was 4x5 and easily over 200 inches. Last year was the year I decided to get the big boy, but after my hunt was ruined (that story is part of an ongoing saga HERE) I looked forward to going after him again, until last night, when a friend and fellow hunter who hunts the same area showed me this picture and told me what happened:
You guessed it - that's the bruiser. Head cut off in such a manner that the cape will not be fit for mounting. Gut shot twice with a rifle during early archery elk season. Left to rot - not an ending fit for a king. This type of waste is never acceptable, but if he had been killed by a legal hunter at least I wouldn't be so mad. My buddy found him laying less than a hundred yards from the powerline road, a favorite for those idiot road hunters. The local Game Warden is on it, but I'm not sure what will come of that. I'd love to get my hands on this moron - chances are this isn't his first time, or his last. It's like the saying goes "poachers aren't hunters, they're thieves". |
| I know exactly how you feel. I had almost the same thing happen to me except that I know who it was. Heard a rifle shot during archery season, watched him dump the body in the trash. Even got pictures oh him doing it. Called dnr and they came out looked at the dumpster and left. Nothing ever happenned. And they were on my buddys property. To top it all off it was the neighbor! |
| And now the plot thickens: talked to a buddy of mine today about the buck, and he tells me that about 3 weeks ago, less than 2 miles from where this buck was laying, he found a dead antelope fawn that had been shot in the rear quarters, also close to a road. My guess is it's the same person / group of people. He didn't call it in to the Warden 'cause it had been dead for awhile, but now he's going to contact the Game and Fish about it. I told him he should have called it when he found it 3 weeks ago, but either way maybe this will help the Warden develop some kind of pattern. My bet is there are more dead animals out there that haven't been found yet. |
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Quoted:
Most dead animals are eaten by coyotes or vultures so you can really tell what happened. I once came apon a dead horse in the middle of the woods. Dont know whats going on. Zombies? ok sorry ill go back to my forms......... 
But seriously, thats messed up, if your going to poach, at least eat the thing.....what a waste. |
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Crap like that really bothers me; I have seen many animals shot and left to lay, Deer / does, lots & lots of Cows.
One of the rancher’s lands I hunt on, I will typically find 8 - 10 cows that someone has just shot and god knows how many more that I did not see. The last one was a bull and the rancher said that will cost him +/- $ 1,600 - wow that's a lot of cash. Not to mention all of the trash I find… Some people just suck! |
| I know how you feel! My family has been hunting the same ground for the last thirty years, and just two weeks ago when my uncle and I were doing some scouting, we found a dead doe only 100yds off the road. It was shot the night before, and left to rot. It is sad that the actions of a few unethical and lazy people make ALL hunters and gun owners look bad. THEY ARE NOT AND NEVER WILL BE TRUE SPORTSMEN, NO MATTER HOW MANY ILLEGAL HEADS THEY PUT ON THE WALL!!!!! |
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Wait a darn minute!!! There MUST be some mistake here. EVERYONE knows that poachers are ONLY down on their luck & trying to feed their families!! Why raise penalties for poaching?? You would just be persecuting some poor sap whose down on his luck. Raising penalties for poaching is just stealth gun control!! Oh.... wait. Your picture seems to indicate a different story... |
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Quoted:
That Robodeer cracks me up! The Arizona Game and Fish has a video that they play at all the Sportman's Expos of nothing but idiots shooting at that Robodeer - that video is like an hour long! My father in law is a game warden in WV and his department has a robo deer. He has all kinds of stories of guys blasting away at it. |
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Florida Man Fined; Loses Rifle and Hunting Privileges For Killing Bear
June 24, 2009 A Franklin County man who illegally killed a black bear last winter is finding out that justice can be costly. Larry Joe Colson, DOB 4/25/54, of Apalachicola, appeared before Gulf County Judge Fred Whitten last week and pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge. He must pay a $1,150 fine; forfeit his .30-06 rifle and scope to the state; serve six months probation and see his hunting and fishing privileges suspended for three years. His license suspension will apply not only to Florida but also in 26 other states who are members of the Interstate Wildlife Violators Compact. Colson was charged last January after Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission law enforcement officers found a dead bear on his hunting lease in Gulf County. He later admitted killing the bear. The leased land is owned by the St. Joe Company. The company has since notified Colson he is banned from hunting on any of their lands for the next five years. |
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I feel ya on the frustrating deer hunt brother. I had a frustrating season this year culmanating in this screw up.
http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=23&t=629620 |
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Quoted:
I'm thinking since they took the head, maybe they were looking for a mount? Did you check with any of your local taxidermists? They didn't cape it out, just cut off the head. My guess is they want the antlers to either sell or possibly mount with another cape, which is not uncommon even with a legal kill. |