ORIGINAL: bowkill144
Well Doc
You are right but when you havent seen this poaching as you call it but you just hear people talking about it just try and call the dec and see what they do about it, nothing because I have and without hardproff there is notmuchthey can do.If they do even make it out the deer are long gone and in the freezer buy the time they get there. There is not enough of these guys to even put any fear in the bandits that are out there. You might not belive it but the hunting groups around me are legal hunters and they do shoot more than one buck a year on average probably because we pass up so many 1.5 year olds and if that rule was in place they would shoot less bucks and more would reach maturity. I just wish for 1 or 2 years the hunters of NY would let some young bucks live but we both know that will never happen here!! I think the only changes the DEC or NY politicians will let happen will be ones that raise more money which is what makes the world go around. This state and the countys that i hunt in do need the money so I do understand .I do realize I am the minority and most of my ideas are for things that most people do not want and that will not change here. Doc I think you are a great guy keep up the great work you are doing with the federation and writing for the outdoor news I do love that news paper and have a great holiday season
Thanks, my friend... You are exactly correct. Without hard proof, the DEC really cannot do anything. HEaring about it and seeing it are two different animals. I heard it from a couple guys in a bar one night last year during opening week. All I could really do was tell them that wasn't right, you cannot legally harvest 2 bucks during regular season, your limit is ONE. I stopped short of calling the guy a poacher, as I really didn't want to start a brawl, but that is exactly what it is - poaching. Just like someone who keeps more than their daily limit of walleye, or shoots more than their daily limit of ducks, a guy who shoots two bucks or more during regular season (or during early archery, or ML) is doing the exact same thing - poaching.
There were and still are, no doubt, those guys who get their wives or girlfriends to buy a license so they can use their tags. The DEC did catch a few folks in this a year after DECALS, by simply calling a few of the harvest reporters and asking some simple questions. Perhaps another factor in reporting declines?
This one certainly hunter attitude. Sadly, many are taking the approach that exactly sours hunter attitude to the point of poaching - more government "meddling". License fee increases, reduced tag opportunity, license system changes, reporting system changes, new rules and season opening dates, etc, all serve to generate short-term confusion, resentment and downright hostility in some hunters, typically the hunters that are the issue at hand.
The one buck rule is like gun control, IMHO. SOmething that will make concerned hunters feel good, like we "did something", when all we have truly done is symbolic, not addressing the real issue which you did touch on. Education of hunters, teaching the benefits of selective harvest, not just open harvest. But, in this case, the law already forbids multiple buck harvest during any one season, and saying it again isn't going to change a thing.
Thanks again, and have a safe and happy holiday season!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!