Fake Pheasant....

[PA_BOW_HUNTER]

Fake pheasant traps hunter
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
The Associated Press

MEYERSDALE, Pa. -- When a hunter got out of his vehicle and shot at a pheasant, he didn't realize it was part of a ploy.
The bird actually was a mechanical pheasant used by the Pennsylvania Game Commission to trap hunters illegally shooting within 25 yards of the road.
Bryan Harris, 22, of Meyersdale, Somerset County, was cited for the Oct. 26 incident. Yesterday, a district judge fined Mr. Harris $150.
Game officials said illegal hunting is a year-round problem and they use phony deer, turkeys and pheasants to battle the problem. When the hunters shoot, hidden game officials appear.
Mr. Harris declined comment.


I know there would be no statistics on this, but PA is becoming one of the leading states in poaching!!! $150 hardly seems worth the time the PGC put in to nab him and for the judge's time to hear and sentence. Fines need to be a little steeper to deter this behavior.

[SPIKEHORN11]

You have to be 25 yards from the road in PA. In NY you just can't shoot over the road.

[BTBowhunter]

Wow! ROBOPHEASANT! LOL

The 25 yard rule only applies if you just got out of a vehicle. It's perfectly legal to hunt near a road if you didnt just jump out of your car. The law is cleverly worded tomake road hunting illegal.

[Prozacaddict]

My new Toyota Tundra Double Cab with the rear roll down window makes hunting a pleasure....I leave the truck running with the heat and radio on and use the window sill as a rest..... what else can a guy ask for...................

Just Joking

[porknbeans]

I guess I enjoy watching my dog work a field andthe rush of the flush too much to even consider something like this. Is hunting from the roadside that big of a problem in PA? I might understand it in SD or IA where there are plenty of birds, but I could be wrong.

[RustyD02359]

Never would have thought they did this to pheasant. The whole point of Upland is the DOG WORK!!! I love to kneel down and watch my Pointers scour a field, its the best show on earth and fills my heart with Joy and happiness!

[turkey guide]

I have seen pheasants hunted along ablacktop here in Missouri, but they were escaped from a pen. A friend of mine used to raise them to sell to the local hunting lodges and had 400 escape. Abouta days worth of birds for Southern Winds in Iowa I think. Anyway if you've never picked up live birds from a four wheeler with a dip net your missing an interesting sport.

[No Mercy]

haha that guy got owned![8D]

[BowHunterFett]

What are you talking about, we don't have any pheasants in Iowa. But seriously, this year, it seems like there are NO birds at all. Walk all day with 6 guys and only see/shoot 3 roosters for the whole group, that is not normal. I think it must be from all the non-resident hunters

[Pickerel]

Got this problem in Jersey too.