And add to that that....What % of standard calls that a state police officer makes has the potential for the persons involved to be carrying a weapon?

What % for a C.O.?

Not to mention, your rarely in a crowded environment (unless you hunt state land in Michigan)....usually in the woods.

They have my respect.

If I was a game warden and confronted with the situation posed in the orignal post, I would do my job and issue the citation. It' s the JUDGE' S job to decide whether the guy' s actions were justified.

Even if I wasn' t a game warden and knew what was going on, I' d be calling Operation Game Thief and turning the guy in. Frankly, I' m downright appalled at how little respect a lot of people on this forum show for game laws.

Hmmmm... I' m guessing you' d be popular

I AGREE........i used to think the same way some do about Game offiers just because i didn' t know any better....thankfully my job let' s me interact with most all of them in my area....they are good guys...they do a job and that' s it...yes it' s true that some have a chip on thier shoulders, maybe they just haven' t been doing it long enough to get the people skills needed and i think after time , a person can get hard from dealing with all the bs that goes with the job....but like with everything , you have to take the good with the bad.....matter of fact i' m spending my Thanksgiving morning with one of our FWC officers, showing him the property where i work.....as long as you know in your heart you' re doing nothing wrong, then i think you should welcome them....let them see more hunters doing the right thing , not just the bad side of poachers....

edited.....lol...i thought you said game wardens , lol....but ya' ll now know my views on Game officers, lol.....i also agree with the quote reading game laws....like i said , if there' s not a season , there' s fishing, and if there' s not , get a job....
short , sweet and to the point ,lol.....

This should be a no brainer. Been a cop all my life. Yep I' d arrest him. If his family was truely starving I' d make sure they received the help they needed. Behind the scene I may contact the DA who' s working the case, order mandatory intervention with a social worker to make sure the family is receiving proper food, clothing, ect. Also strongly suggest probation for the guy. If he and his family was truely in dire need, I motion the police union to buy them a months worth of groceries and put the kids on the " Shop with a Cop" program for the holidays.

But, in the last twenty years I' ve found the folks that break the law do so because its easier than working their way out of a situation. There is help out there if you really want it. Church leagues, the Red Cross, Social services, and on and on.

An finally, poaching is a crime same as stealing.

A person that can' t afford to feed his family but can afford weapons and ammo and the time to poach just flies in the face of reason. He could sell his gun. He could kill red squirrels, porcupines, woodchucks, etc. (non-protected species)

The question isn' t about whether someone who needs to poach to feed his family should do so. If not poaching means starvation, then people will do what it takes to survive.

The question is whether anyone in this country is really in that position. Everything that is necessary for hunting costs money that could be used for food or seeds instead.

I know people all over who bend or break one hunting rule or another. They always have a justification for doing it.

I like what a previous poster said: Let the CO do his job, and let the judge do his.

its still the law isnt it. is it ok for you to break a law because you think its ok. you breaking a speed limit law or not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign could have much more effect on another person. if a guy takes a deer, hes not affecting you other than the fact that you think you may have been " paterning" this deer. and if he takes it, you' ll never know anyways. if you roll through a stop sign and hit me, youve just interferred with my life because you broke the law. now which has more of an impact? and i think everyone of you are full of bullsh@t. if you were driving down a dirt road in the middle of june and you saw a scroungy old man dragging a deer behind him and then saw his three little kids walking along beside him, bare footed, dirty face.... you' d roll your window back up, crank up your air conditioning and drive on back to the office for another cup of free coffee. and say you stop and give this guy a ticket, if the man cant afford food, you think he gives a F%$# about your ticket? at that point you might even get your ass kicked by trying to take food from a hungry mans hands.

richard jewel mentality. couldnt make it as a cop, so anything with some authority will suffice just so he can feel like he is someone. you' d probably take a job as a high school hall monitor if that all that was available.

Just a thought... call me a hypocrite, but...

How many of you are at work reading and posting on this site? I am. Does your work discourage personal internet use? Is it against the law if you use it for personal use? No. Is it right? No. So does it come down to right and wrong and ethics and morals or law? Or personal gain? Doesn' t make it right mind you, but we still do it.

Thanks for the interest in this post - I' ve been riding the fence on this one for years. When I first saw my neighbor' s porch with quartered deer all over it, I was appalled and didn' t even want to see it because it was indeed poaching. Through the years I' ve wrestled with it. The posts here have almost turned me against my original convictions of turning my head because it is breaking the law, no doubt. I still can' t blame a guy for not wanting to get food stamps but rather take the food off his own family' s land and make due with it, legal or not. Again, I guess that' s why I didn' t become a CO.

I' m just assuming that this sarcasm means you don' t think it possible to pattern or actually " HUNT" and figure out a particular deer. That' s too bad cause it' s really cool part of hunting.

I won' t state the obvious here. I think you' re reaching a bit now.

I drive a 1991 chevy s10 with no AC and I hate coffee.

good luck.....I' m a 5th degree black belt. Don' t go nutty with this cause NO I don' t think I' special because of it I just like to study martial arts and have since I was 5.

My honest opinion.....
I don' t really care how this sounds it' s JMO. Wouldn' t society be well served by not being able to roll through stop signs. For actually getting a ticket for going 33 in a 30? For stopping when it' s red, not yellowish/red. I say enforce them all. yeah I' m not perfect and don' t claim to be. I' d be actually full of BS like you claim I am if I said I didn' t do these things sometimes. That doesn' t mean I don' t think it should be like that. I say enforce them all. Wouldn' t you like you and your family to live in a little town where all the little laws were enforced? Where do you draw the line on what laws can be bent? Who makes that determination on which are the really important laws and which ones can be bent? I personally don' t think the citizen should have the right to choose.
As for the poor guy that' s dragging the deer on the side of the road. I' m sorry but I' m just not a believer in the old that' s the hand God dealt me. I don' t entertain pity parties. I' ve worked hard for what little I have. I could' ve crawled into a hole and been in the same situation as them. I' ve come from a tough upbringing. It' s a matter of choice. It' s the easy way out. It' s giving in and co-existing with society and I' m sorry but I just don' t feel the sorrow. We were all born the same way. Yes, people do grow up with better resources and guidance. It is a harder road to hoe for some less fortunate people but not impossible. I do however and would however have the deepest admiration for such a guy that pulled himself out of such a situation and fought and scraped (legally).
So say I' m full of BS. Call me a hyprocrite. I don' t care. I speak from my heart and I can sleep easy at night.
Enforce them all!!!! I have nothing to hide. And if it be me that gets ticketed for rolling through a stop sign, then so be it. You' re right I deserve it.

ny bowhunter,

we obvioulsly arnt going to see eye to eye on this, which is fine because that what the free world is all about. being able to have your own opinions. and i thank you for being a gentleman and keeping the debate civil.

personally, i' m a realist and i view every situation from a realistic view, which is why i take this stand point on this particular subject. i know it drives people crazy, but the majority of people are gulibe and accept was is said to them.

some people do have it rough and for some, making things better might be that point. maybe to him thats living good. maybe he was brought up it absolute poverty and just having a roof over his head with electricity is his idea of making things better for his family.

whatever, it doesnt matter. its all hypothetical anyways. i love coffee! a nice warm cup of coffe on a cold morning is the best. i cant drink too much though cuz it makes me wanna climb the walls.