i have never hunted in nc but with all this poaching going on ,where are all the game wardens at. these people that are poaching deer are not hunters they are '' killers'' and they are stealing from all true deer hunters. these poachers should be thrown in jail and the key thrown away. they have no concept of what a deer hunter is. i have made more than one phone call to law enforcement officers when i witness such lack of respect for such a majestic animal. such as their vehicle plate number & their permit number if worn on their person. we, as deer hunters owe this to the animals we persue'. if we are not part of the solution we are part of the problem. please '' report these killers to law enforcement officers when you witness such lack of respect for the law. these ''bubba'' hunters are stealing from all of us can be stopped if we as true hunters refuse to stand for it.

In NC here there is often only one game warden per county although they have sherriffs deputies and a supervisor that cooperates with them. Some counties have more I am sure but it does seem they are never around. If you call about some activity that is occurring consistantly then sure enough they will be on it! The one timers and occasional offenders are not likely to get caught unless they bragg. Folks today are just not threatened by law enforcement because so much respect for them and others has just been lost for too long.
You are absolutely correct that we should do our part and report wildlife violations. It is the only way that those with authority know what is going on in their area.
Of course the question should not be "Where are they" but "Why are there so few?" Hmmm I bet money has something to do with it and that just opens the door for many avenues of discussion......

Here in Idaho our Fish and Game has some really good anti-poaching enforcement. From stuffed deer used as traps to a 1-800 anti-poaching hot lines lots of folks are picked up for shooting deer out of season and from or on the highways along our roads.

Part of the problem that has increased poaching here is simply the cost of groceries. I certainly don't condone poaching, but have to say grocery prices sure have increased to where folks on the edge of the earning curve seem to be looking at that as a way to put meat in the fridge.

I hate to see a fella take the chance of getting fined and loosing his hunting privileges by breaking the law, but I see it happening around here more often now.

Poaching is a crime and at least here in Idaho you take the chance of loosing your hunting rights along with paying a hefty fine. You also can't hunt in the surrounding states if you loose your hunting rights here.

Poaching is a crime and at least here in Idaho you take the chance of loosing your hunting rights along with paying a hefty fine. You also can't hunt in the surrounding states if you loose your hunting rights here.[/QUOTE]


You will lose your liscence here too even if it is for a short time. (1year 1st offense). But guess what...ask those guys if they care....They will surely tell you no. I am right about this. It is not a few but many!
Along with the grocery bill there are those who do not have any where to hunt. You see here land is leased from timber companies and such. You're not part of the click you don't get in. You do not have the money, You do not get in. You then will hunt public lands. That is good though there is plenty. Of course your hunting methods will be trampled on by those whose methods dominate the lands or it will be quite crowded to say the least.
The seasons here are long and the deer population is immense. The numbers and the time just increases the greed. If there are two cookies in a jar and you have to share with your sibling then you will just be satisfied with the one you get. Fill the jar and there becomes plenty to take and if Momma doesn't keep order then you and your sibling will eat it all and compete for who gets the most. The crafty chances ways to win when mom lets down her guard. The longer this goes on the more daring they get. Mom becomes less affective when the kids become daring and defiant. I bet she may even say, "They just do not pay me enough for this crap!"
I personally can not say that I know anyone who is starving so much that he needs to kill illegally for food but if it is the case anywhere then let's let him in the club so he doesn't have to. Any volunteers?
If we need to control violators more then lets get more law enforcement. Oh. That takes money. No problem. We will just RAISE the prices of yet MORE needed items to pay for it, You know...resident liscenses, waterfowl stamps, Oh. Let's also make them get a liscence to partake in activities that never needed a liscence before.

Va has alot of them too.

i live and hunt in upstate ny. i have hunted for over 20yrs and still have my first time to be checked by any law enforcement officers or what have you, here they leave it up to each hunter to report any deer harvested, by computer or phone this leaves the door wide open for illegal deer from who ever as long as they make it home with their deer. it would be nice if everyone hunted by the law but as we all know this will never happen. true money is a big part of it, but i would not object to paying more money for permits if it would help the deer heard in upstate new york .when i take hunting trips to west virginia i always prepare to get checked by game wardens quite nice fellows if all your ducks are in a row, but break the law and get caught your on your way to jail. you also lose your gun, vehicle and your hunting license in certain offences. i got checked three times in one week & went through two road blocks looking for illegal deer meat i had no problem with this. some times theyare in the deer woods dressed as any other hunter untill they show you their badge.but the number of deer they have reflects their concern of illegal deer hunting but we all have to do our part also

There was a time when harvests in West VA were low to nonexistant in many counties. Today the harvests are huge even compared to here at times. I doubt anywhere in NY has a suffering deer population either. Again the more there is in the jar the greedier we get. It is good there are many like you who are law abiding but I do not want to pay more for anything!!!! Everything and everyone running it has some excuse why everything needs to cost more! The need for money to have more law enforcement is because there is no one who wants to work for the meager pay they will get when they have to work long hours and face the idiots with the ability to kill them! If we can afford higher priced lisences then fine but it is already noticed that some folks are poachers because they supposedly can't afford groceries.

Poachers will allways have excuses.Having no money to buy groceries?What is this person doing with his
welfare ceck,and foodstamps?I will answer my own question.I've personally observed known poachers
loading up on groceries in markets,paying with the goverment welfare card.Also they are never short on beer money.Poaching game,is a crime,and should be severely punished.Confiscating guns and cars is not
harsh enough.A minimum of six month in jail,would take care of most of the ridge runners,including of
revoking hunting priveleges for five years.I support these thieves with my taxes,and they steal the game
while I'm working.I support a sharp increase of license fees,if it is used for law enforcement.

They must have beer money because they save so much on meat.

if my family was starving, you bet i`d shoot a deer to feed them. there wouldn`t be a bank safe either but lets get real about people going hungry or the price of groceries for poaching deer. with welfare and other government assist programs that deserving people (AND UNDESERVING FREELOADING GENERATION WELFARE RECEPIENTS ) can acquire today, even hinting that people are poaching cause of the price of things is absurd. the area in southeast ohio were i live is country and mostly middle to low income. the problem here is alot of people are young and healthy, but it seems to be the trendy thing to do ,lay up on welfare,sleep all day(WHILE THE REST OF US WORK) and cruise the roads at night poaching. p.s. sorry if it sounds like i got beside myself alittle, just gets old.

The poachers down here do it just to see if they can. The ones that get caught are NEVER the poor. They are mostly middle income people that want a challange, or their father did it,and their fathers father did it, so they feel that they have to do it. A somthing to prove thing I guess.

You see the poachers at the diner in the AM bragging on their poaching,and on Sunday in the front pew of the church shoutin' "halaluya amen". Sad,very sad. -----pruhdlr

Let's all be carefull that we don't start sounding self righteous, me included. We all do something we shouldn't except on Sundays......Okay, maybe not all Sundays.....Aw heck, I'm hungry. I'm going poaching...........KIDDING!!!! JUST KIDDING!!! SHEEEEESH!!!!!!!!!

One of my buddies made the bad mistake of shooting one of the Wildlife enforcements fake deer one night. The bad thing was that he worked at the parish courthouse and all the agents and lawmen knew him. Needless to say he caught heck from all of us who ragged him about it and he lost his hunting license for the next year. The fake deer are made out of styrofoam so a couple of the smart elect Wildlife agents took some styrofoam and cut it up like steaks and wrapped it up in butcher paper. One morning they came in the resturant where we were all eating and put a box full of these styrofoam steaks on table in front of the guy and said that they felt so bad about giving him a ticket for shooting the fake deer that they had decided to let him keep the meat. Boy did we have a good laugh.

See even the law guys think it is a joke. I remember a certain sherriffs deputy in my county when I asked if he had his limit in deer yet, which at the time was 6, and he said," SHoooot Heck! I got me at least 13 so far. Humph I kill so many I don't even count 'em anymore!" ....

Well, I gotta go check my deer snares......Talk to ya soon!

I don't think the fine and loosing your hunting license for a year is much of a joke. We were all friends but the wardens still charged him with hunting at night and discharging a firearm from a roadway. The judge also knew the guy but still fined him the same as he did the other violators. But still, when you are dumb enough to shoot a fake deer, you are going to get ribbed. I still laugh when I think about the styrofoam steaks.

Yeah it was actually a bit funny.

Hmmm, well the deer snares came up empty guess I'll go look for some deer elsewhere.......Now where did I leave that darn crossbow? Gotta remember to get fresh AAAs for the minimag.

I would pay good money to see you get a deer out of a snare. :)

Ya gotta use thin cable and non-relaxing locks.



I am kidding about the snares of course.

Years ago the state of Vermont put a fake deer just a bit into the woods right on a sharp curve on a paved road. The first night they couldn't write the tickets fast enough. And everyone that got one looked like an idiot....... Come to think of it, they were idiots!!!!

Yeah really! If they weren't so lazy and use their cars they could just have placed a tree stand up over looking some feed corn and killed all the deer they wanted with a bow...ticket free.



Snares empty again...gonna have to move 'em.

I dont mean too high jack the thread,

I have been calling and CALLING the game wardens too report spot lighters and poachers for yres in my ara.Specially last year,I called at least half a dozen times,WITH EVIDENCE ! And trhey always tell me someone will come see you,WTF ????? (put nicely)
I live just about on the Natchez trace here in Utica,MS,and my land runs for about 2 miles down the side of it.Well last year the olady and I were lying in bed when I was woken by a BANG , I jumpede up fro mt deep sleep half naked grabbed my light and threw on some boots and ran out the back door in my boxers and boots and deadly light in hand.Well I saw a truck on the trace turning around too come back my way and I took chase threw the woods after them.When they saw me comming they tried too turn around and got buried up on the bside of the road due too the intense rain.They finally caught traction and disapeared.
So there I was calling the local authorties on my cell standing in the rain half naked with a light,waiting on the bastards too come back.The local law man told me it was late and they would half too wake someone too come there,and said they would send someone the next day,well that was a year ago and still no one has come too see me !
I thought about calling the local news media too make this problem public.
Its bad enough for someone too shoot a deer a night and off your property but too shoot one out of your yard !!!!!!!!!! I have a 3yr old son and his bed room was on the side of the house where the shot came from.
I swear too god if I had a gun in my hands that night,the law would have had NO choice but too come that night.
BTW,this is just one of the MANY calls I have made over the years.

Yep that'll get you mad for sure. I wonder why the man won't come around. If you are seeing consistant poaching they will have good reason to sting the area with the dummy deer.......

YES YES YES , They have told me on the phone that my issue would be great for a sting,but Im still waiting !

Sure sorry to hear a story like that. Perhaps our calling the wrong folks. I'd get in touch with my local state senator and at least the head of the game department. Those folks you called do have bosses.

It's not always the game warden's fault either. We talked to a warden in our town about some poaching and he told us that he had written up a bunch of people for poaching and the judge just tossed out the tickets. He said, " My court is too busy to bother with trifles." You can guess how well that motivated the warden to go out and catch more of them.

Hmmm, Time for that warden to be a deer killing son of a gun!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thought about an inexpensive "game camera?" Bringing some hard evidence to the DA might stir up some results.

And if it doesn't, a quick letter to the attorney general, asking why the locals are protecting known criminals, will sure bring some results I bet.

Do they make an inexpensive camera that has an infrared flash? I doubt it. The standard flash will surely attract theft. Plus the shooters would have to be 40 feet or less to the camera.

I have no idea where you live, but it sounds like it might be Montgomery co., NC
I retired from the Army in '99, and because the money was right I moved here from Tn. Bad Move.! Any way, I live in Mt. gilead, about 15 miles east of Albemarle. I literally got lucky last year, and killed 2 deer. A total of 3 since'99. Pretty sad since I moved from TN, and was used to having at least 6 or 7 a year. I'm also a meat hunter. Last year, I went to the ranger station just outside of Troy, NC and was talking to a girl ranger that worked there. I don't want to use her name , but she told me that the LEOs and the sheriff's people are about the most crookedest people that she has ever seen. We'er talking about the Troy police dept. and the Mont. co. sheriff's dept also. That is kinda bad when they should be upholding the law. Not surprised though, because everyone there in the county is kin to each other. Even though this sick, can you say "incest is best" You can bet that it's true here. Kinda reminds me of Deliverance, the movie.
tommy

I have no idea where you live, but it sounds like it might be Montgomery co., NC
I retired from the Army in '99, and because the money was right I moved here from Tn. Bad Move.! Any way, I live in Mt. gilead, about 15 miles east of Albemarle. I literally got lucky last year, and killed 2 deer. A total of 3 since'99. Pretty sad since I moved from TN, and was used to having at least 6 or 7 a year. I'm also a meat hunter. Last year, I went to the ranger station just outside of Troy, NC and was talking to a girl ranger that worked there. I don't want to use her name , but she told me that the LEOs and the sheriff's people are about the most crookedest people that she has ever seen. We'er talking about the Troy police dept. and the Mont. co. sheriff's dept also. That is kinda bad when they should be upholding the law. Not surprised though, because everyone there in the county is kin to each other. Even though this sick, can you say "incest is best" You can bet that it's true here. Kinda reminds me of Deliverance, the movie.
tommy



Hmmm...If you are in Montgomery then you are just North of Anson co. One of the largest deer harvest producing counties in NC. The surrounding counties have average harvests. That is average according to all counties in NC. Seeing as how MOST counties exceed 1000 - 2000 total deer harvested in a single season with quite a few going over 3000 - 4000 I would say that if it is luck that an individual only killed 2 deer then he needs to modify his tactics a little. I mean this constructively, of course. I have friends in Mont co and they kill some of the nicest bucks I see in NC. Consistantly and repeatedly as they are effective property managers. The deer there are a little bigger than I see on the east coast here. A good buck here is maxing about 170 - 180 lbs. I have family in Tennessee around Lafollette in the valley. There are some nice deer killed there! Here in Pender/Onslow it is quite easy to get 6 or more deer and the poachers kill far more. We can legally kill an unlimited amount of antlerless deer and many are filling freezers. Many folks here can't give the meat away! But back to my friends in Montgomery county... I am sure they who own very profitable, respectable businesses and nice homes who will think nothing of giving the shirt off their backs to any in need, family or outsiders, would not take too kindly to the opinion that they are low class or comparable to the stereo type that Deliverance had portrayed.
Oh yeah....If it absolutely, positively MUST be destroyed overnight......call the MARINES. Semper Fi!!!!

Maybe not, and I wasn't talking about everyone. But what I've heard in proshops and all the places where you can buy sporting goods, I hear all the time how this guy got a deer during bow season, using a ML or a 300 mag. to his buddy. THESE ARE NOT HUNTERS, THEY ARE POACHERS, PERIOD! You try that crap in TN., you get your gun, truck or car, and everything confiscated, plus a nice fine, and to put the icing on the cake, 30 DAYS IN JAIL! That's the reason, the deer hunting in Tn. is very good, a whole lot better than here!;) I know there are some good hunters here, but I've yet been able to count on both hands, how many I've met!:mad: I've benn hunting whitetails for almost 40 yrs. And I use different tactics to get the deer i've got; stand ,blinds, still hunting, stalk, but most of all, it is done legal. The last time time I went out I saw where someone had suitcased 4 does and left the rest to rot. If I catch someone poaching, rest assured they WILL BE REPORTED AND TURNED IN, and I don't give a flying rat's behind, who knows it!
tommy
They even brag about killing birds of prey which is a big no-no. This kind of behavior is exactly what a lot of people think how hunters are. These are not hunters, period, and should be dealt with accordingly! Sorry, but that is how I feel, and if we don't change it, our children and our children's children won't know what is a TRUE HUNTER!

These darn snares just aren't working!

These darn snares just aren't working!
Meet me at Flatwoods and I'll get ye some better snare war(wire)!:D

Where the he(( did this thread come from? Is NC the only state with Poachers? WHat prompted this thread? Yes, we do in fact have a healthy(?) crop of poachers, but I don't think we have the market cornered! You telling me NY has no poachers? I don't believe it for a second. Same for Idee ho and all the rest. There are a lot of good decent hunters here, and until someone explains the source of all this BS, you can just count me out.

We can bait deer here with corn or salt. Legally.
We can use rifles, scopes, buckshot or slugs, and even .22lr(though I know no one who actually does).
We can (and DO) use deer hounds, with great effect.
We can hunt by boat, or out the door of a truck, provided they aren't running. I know lots of old guys (WWII vets still with us) who park in the T of a logging road and roll the windows down. They turn on the Country music lightly and light one last Marlboro, or chew of Plug, and check the .30-30. If they get one, they'll ask for help loading it. I hope their kind (old guys still at it) never leave the woods, even if all they do is hunt from a parked Ford. And YES, it IS legal to do this here if you're on a private road.

If you don't like NC, I'll go on record as suggesting that there are 49 other states to choose from, and I suggest you find them!

Y'all have a nice day now, heah?:cool:

Just a few more thoughts. There are poachers were you live. Deal with them before you start throwing rocks at somewhere you've never seen.

I have been a poacher. I now consider myself reformed. We have here what one old timer called "killer instinct". That is, the desire to take wildlife, shoot it, and EAT it. Young hunters are incouraged to KILL. Not hunt, not harvest, KILL. Are we viscious? Do we hate deer? No, we have the killer instict, and it is honed to a razor edge. When I grew up, our old men didn't sit around the fire pontificating the majesty of the great stag, or the gracefullness of the beautiful doe. We said things like "Pass that sharp knife" or "Open the cooler" and "This'n'll go GOOD with gravy". We were, and are meat hunters. We have more deer per square mile in the eastern part of our state than anywhere I've traveled or hunted, and while I'm not the great traveler, I HAVE been a few places. Deer are nuisances on the road, and good on the table.

What is a Poacher? Is he anyone who breaks a game law? What about the 50 year old guy, who is married with no kids at home, and shoots less than his limit of 6 deer, but WAY more than he will eat?(His wife won't touch the stuff, he hardly eats it, and uses deer meat as "crab bait" come spring). Then there is the good ole boy who shoots more than he can eat, but shares with old folks who love deer meat, are DIRT POOR, and can't hunt for themselves? I grew up like this. No, they wouldn't have starved, but I DID help them out, and have no shame in that.

When I came in from hunting, my Granddad would ask me: "Did you do any good?". He grew up in the Depression. His Dad was a market hunter that hurt his back and became invalided, back when this meant you almost starved. He raised a small garden, and commercial fished. And hunted with a dire need. When they ran out of meat, they didn't eat any. Period. To this day, Grandad hates potatoes, and won't touch them; they were survival food for him. There was no store nearby to buy meat, and no money to buy it with. So when Granddad asked "Did you do any good today?" it didn't mean did you have fun in the woods, or enjoy being in nature. If you said you enjoyed watching a sparrow bounce on your shoulder, he'd say you were "messin'". If you killed a deer, or sack of ducks, he'd be proud. He was looking for that killer instinct that kept him ALIVE when times were tough.

I'm a meat hunter. Always have been and will be. Though we rarely eat hearts, livers or tongue, I save all sorts of meat my buddies are too lazy to cut out. We have an electric hamburger grinder. I have fed 80 year old folks who own 30 year old beat down cars, and live in houses you'd turn your nose up at before going in. I've fed widows on welfare. And I've been blessed in return. I don't have to hunt to eat, but I do, and will. It is part of who I am, because I have been raised with a Killer Instinct, and I'm proud of that.

I don't condone hunting with a spot light, though I've probably tresspased on "NO HUNTING" property owned by rich, anti-hunting Johnny-come latelys. I absolutely HATE folks who waste meat, or just rob the hams and backstraps and leave the rest for the coons and coyotes. Many(though not all) of the "Trophy hunters" fit this bill here, may be different where you are. I'm not fond of folks hunting out of season, though I don't care if others use rifles while I'm hunting with a compound. It just proves I'm better than they are! I don't trap deer, nor do I like to take poor shots, though I will in a flash if I feel I need to. It's nothing for a fellow to take 4-6 deer in our 10 or so weeks of gun season. I only took 3 deer this year, and am almost out of deer, having made most of it into burger, and giving a bit away to Granddad so he won't think I'm a lazy sparrow watcher. Things just must be different in other parts of our country, but this is just the way things are here in Caroline.

PS-don't knock hunting deer with hounds till you try it. Our briars form walls that you CAN'T stalk through without an IV drip, and there is no snow for tracking. When a lively young buck crosses the path ahead of Walker dogs, you have 3/4 second to figure how far he is(range), is he a "shooter" or "let him walk"(target), aim, and fire. All as the deer crosses an 8' path, or logging road, at full tilt. Not sporting? Are you MAD man? Some folks hunt all season without scoring a hit, and it is little different from the "manned drives" I've seen elsewhere, and participated in.

Interesting to read about places where you can kill more than one deer a year. I've felt pretty lucky to get my one here in Idaho and the last few years medical problems have kept me from doing that.

We seem to have plenty of deer here, at least around home and we certainly have poachers. I know several families that live on deer meat year around. I know that with the "town deer" population near a hundred it's easy to kill as much as you want and most of the folks here wouldn't say a thing if you did.

This one lives in the ally behind my house. She's a nice fat doe.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q172/faucettb/Around%20Home/TownDeer.jpg

Killing out of season is a personal decision that everyone has to make on their own. Getting caught can be a big issue for some, but simply is ignored by others. Some of us simply feel that doing something that is illegal is more than we want to do or in fact teach those that live with or around us that it's OK to do.

In this day and age where most everyone breaks the law the minute they get in their vehicle I guess it's easy to go ahead and break another, I know If I drive the posted speed limits I sure will hold up traffic on most any highway today.

Each of us has to decide what's right and what's wrong, but remember the children are watching.

.

Each of us has to decide what's right and what's wrong, but remember the children are watching.

That's the thing that too many people forget, Bob.

I absolutely HATE folks who waste meat, or just rob the hams and backstraps and leave the rest for the coons and coyotes.
That legal? :mad: .

That legal? :mad: .
No, but it's hard to prove, and unfortuneately, easy to do here. You've got to realize we have 10's of thousands of hunters, millions of acres of dense woods and swamps, deer legally registered as taken in the 10's of thousands, and about 15-25 game wardens in eastern NC. So when Virgil fires up the Ford and breaks out the spotlight, with the intentions of shooting 3-4 tonight, and has no money to pay an attorney, he gets more 'warden time' than a well paid business man who shoots 6 legal deer, takes only the hams and loins or even gives the whole deer away, and has money to hire a good attorney.

I think the thing folks miss is there are a tremendous amount of small deer here, and a high volume of them taken in dense terrain that in places is not unlike the jungle. A skillful poacher can easily slip through the cracks. The season is 10 weeks long. It is not unlike rabbit season, with small deer and hounds, and generous bag limit. Not a bad thing, just different from what most folks are used to up North with a 7 day season, no dogs, bait, or etc.

We also don't usually field dress deer where they fall these days, because with a lot of bears, and a 10 week season, who wants to smell guts every Saturday for another 8 weeks? A normal doe is 100 lbs or so, a normal buck from 100-150 or so. Not a bad drag, if you can get them back to your shooting lane.

In the old days I know folks who used to hunt with empty bread bags and an empty back pack. They'd bring deboned meat home, because they walked backroads and swamp paths, and might take a deer 5-6 miles from home on foot, often over a mile from the nearest road. 12 gauges with buckshot and 30-30s ruled in those days, and those boys could really hunt, but then they sorta had to.:o

BTW-I've only hunted out of state a few places, but folks in Canada and Missouri are A-OK by me. You don't live in Sask do you?

^Nope, Yukon and so I have to draw for a deer tag but then we get better stuff. We too have huge issuse mainly with Caribou,morons fire it to the herd without taking aim, it is getting better one Outfitter just lost his outfitting concession worth over 100,000 for waste of meat however we have more Conservation Officer per person then out guys have so we getting the bad guys/

If I'm fortunate enough to visit Canada again I'd most like to take a caribou(most any legal one, to eat). Shooting any legal 'bou would be trophy enough for this ole Tarheel(NC person)!

I used to want to shoot an elk, but now when I see a picture of one, I sorta envision a price tag hanging from it's ear, and for me, that's sorta repulsive. A caribou, a few hogs, and a bison would round out my 'trophies' nicely.