that last pic there of the right side of the rack look like he may have developed a nice little drop tine in another season or two...

Just to protect yourself, I'd check your game laws before showing the rack off to any of the locals. Not sure what the law in your state is, but in many statespossessing a rack from a poached buck carries the same penalty as if you poached the buck yourself.
In any case, it is truly a shame that someone wasted a deer from your land that looks like it would have been a possible shooter in the next year or so.[:@]

that sucks!
he was going to be a good one

BM,
As the others have said, he may have been shot legally, and just not found. I helped a buddy track a deer about 1 1/2 miles one time, only to find a spot where it looked like he'd cross another hunter and gotten shot again. The second hunter probably put the fatal shot on, as my buddy was known to blow things whenever he had a big buck out in front of him, plus you usually don't track for that long if it's a "good" shot. Either way, most poachers are gonna pop them at night, near a road, and often times take head shots. A shot half-way back the body sounds more like a running shot that somebody failed to lead on. Too bad as he looks like he had a LOT of potential to maybe even be a BOONER with another 2-3 yrs. growth, but that's hunting. As another said, keep a positive look at it, it may make you feel better about the whole thing.

How are gas well tenders "trespassing"? Their company would had to have purchased a right of way in order to drill, or excercised their mineral rights at the least, so they weren't trespassing. I agree with those who said that the buck could have been shot somewhere else, especially with your description of the hit site. IAhuntr is probably right about the game law violation you may have committed by taking the rack and not reporting it too.

Now who's the "poacher"?

Kevin, Just because they have a right away diesn't mean they get to hunt that property.

I think it was wounded somewhere else myself.

Jason, not that it matters, but that deer cannot have an H4 score on the right side, because it does not have a G3. That sucks either way. If it was poached it really sucks, and if it was lost it sucks that the hunter that shot him wasn't able to recover him. He would have been a good one. It looks like he has some good genes.

OK here is my take on the whole situation. One even if the gas people had permission to be on the property that is for them pocess the gas well and maintain it. It becomes poaching as soon as one of them pulls out there rifle and shoots anything on a piece of property they have no permission to HUNT. It might have been against the law to take the rack but come on dont acuse him of being a poacher when he isnt. I really dont care what they law says If I was on the jury for this insident Not guilty. Do the animal some kind of justice by at least displaying want the animal hadnot by leaveing the deer to rot in some field.Just tell people the story of the animal who know the only people that really know is the person who shot that deer. I dont see him around so we may never know. But at least use him as a tool to show people the effects of one bad shots and poach. Respect the animal you hunt.