ORIGINAL: DougE
Windwalker,Do you have any idea how big of an area each WCO has to patrol?Iwish more could be done to combat poaching but it's often hard for them to be at the scene.I've calledour local WCO a few times and he's always responded.I know for a fact that he just busted a guy that was seen hauling a deer on his atvout of season.He was on the scene but by the time he got there,it was too late.He didn't know the guy's identity but a year later,his girlfriend ratted him out and he was busted.
The bad part is, all they had to do was show up the next nite and stake out this farmer's property. These poachers were coming every nite and driving in the fields, spotting and shooting. I'm sure the PGC was busy but they would have had a good chance of catching these guys.
I realize there is little the PGC can do, after the fact, and they almost have to catch a poacher redhanded, but they had a chance to catch these guys and didn't even bother to come investigate.
This farmer was a good friend of my father's and passed away some time ago. He was enrolled in something with the PGC,where he opened his land to hunting, had the Game Commission signs, allowed pheasant stockings, got a subscription to Game News, etc... After this poaching thing and the PGC not responding, he was PO'd. He posted his land after that. I was actually glad, because he still let us hunt.
I actually got my license checked and questioned for being in the woods with a video camera. This was back when VHS cameras were first put on the market. I bought one and took it out to get some pictures of deer. I had already gotton one with a bow earlier in the season but wanted to still enjoy the outdoors by using a camera. The two deputies acted like I was breaking the law when they saw the camera.I had to hand it to them while they started pushing buttons trrying to eject the tape. Why? I have no idea, why they needed to inspect the camera. Why did I have to show ID and let them inspect my license. I wasn't hunting with a weapon. By the way, this was on private land also.
Its a good thing I was wearing my own jacket with my license on it and not my buddy's or father's. It shouldn't have mattered whose license I had on my back, just to take pictures.
I buddy of mine had an episode with a deputy PGC one time that was funny.
Him and a few friends were hunting doves on his farm. They had two trucks parked in a field under a big oak tree. They were standing around the trucks shooting at doves as they'd fly by. ( lots of doves on his farm)
As they were standing there, a PGC vehicle came ripping down their 1/4 mile long driveway and whipped it up to their trucks. He jumped out and started giving an attitude right away. First he checked everyone's license. All were legit. He then started yelling about them being parked in the field and started writing them up. The hunters just looked at each other with a sorta smile. When he got to my buddy, he ask where he lived. My buddy pointed across the field to his house. The deputy ask if he owned the field they were parked in. My buddy let him know that he certainly did.
It was my buddy's turn now. He flew into that deputy, asking who he thought he was ripping down his driveway and driving in his field acting like a smarta$$. He told him, if he would of just ask he would have been informed that he was the owner of the property and all was well, but in stead he wanted to jump out of his PGC and make a fool out of himself. The deputy appologized and left.