oldsmellhound

I have called the game warden on our neighbors for poaching and illegal dumping of carcasses. Years ago our neighbors used to poach large numbers of deer, would process the deer and then dump the carcasses/hides/bones down a highwall into a gulley that is within 50 yards of our land. It stunk up the place, pissed us off, and drew in legions of coyotes. We ended up having to call the game warden multiple times before the problems was taken care of. (these were people I did not know)

Our hunting land borders a large amount of leased hunting land. We have signs posted, and rarely have a problem with trespassers. One year though, I ran into a hunter that was hunting on our land (probably just 50 yards on our side). I talked with him and nicely explained that he was on private property and explained where the boundary lines were. He was very nice and apologetic- claimed that he was new to that lease and didn't see any posted signs (which based on where he was at the time, could easily have been true). He seemed like he was telling the truth, so I didn't make a big deal about it and just pointed him back in the direction of his hunting lease.

I have hunted with guys that may try and bend some hunting rules. The equivalent of going 60 mph in a 55 zone. For example, for years the hunting rules have stated that cell phones are okay for use during hunting, as long as they are not used to aid in taking a deer. Well, that leaves a lot up to interpretation- some of the guys I hunt with bend that rule pretty severely.

I would not turn in a friend who was hunting and broke a law. If he made an honest mistake, then I would let him decide how he feels he should handle the situation. None of the people I hunt with would out-and-out poach. If they would be the kind of person to blatantly poach, then they wouldn't be my friend or my hunting partner.

If I made an honest mistake while hunting that broke a rule/law, I'm not sure what I would do. It probably would depend on the situation. For example, if no harm was done and the mistake was an honest one and very minor, I probably wouldn't turn myself in, but I wouldn't try and hide it if I was caught- I would just explain what happened to the game warden, apologize for my mistake and hope they go easy on me.