sproulman

hope you got to read latest poaching cases here in pa..disturbing but not surprising!!1 outlaw they caught had his license revoked on hunting..he was arrested on 1989,1992,1994,1995,2000,2001,2004.HE ALSO HAS NOT PAID A FINE ..

WHEN ARRESTED HE ATTACKED THE WCO/OFFICER..

he also had kids in car,also his driverslicense was suspended.

folks, i said this before, poaching is being done more than ever now..using other peoples tags is just as bad as ones that are not using tag and outlawing..

only difference now,HUNTERS are turning in poachers and others that are doing this DO TO LACK OF DEER HERE IN PA..

so, some good is coming out of the DCNR/PGC DEER ERADICATION PROGRAM..GREED will push outlaWS to do things now,they have to get that MEAT!!

Sylvan

Certainly there are levels of severity regarding game violations. I don't put the guy who jack lights trophy animals, removes only the heads leaving the rest to rot, and selling the trophies in the same category with someone who puts his wife's tag on the 1 extra deer he shoots. In fact with the tons of deer we have here in Steuben co. NY I put that in the same category as somebody driving 70 in a 65. Why even bother? If that sort of thing is a serious offense to someone then imo they need to re-evaluate what's important in their life. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for game commissions going after serious offenses. That's where they should focus their extremely limited resources, but all too often it seems that they get hung up on the trivial stuff. I also find this idea of encouraging hunters to turn other hunters in to be a bit disturbing. That can get out of hand in a hurry. Imho it smells like a tactic right out of the old kgb play book and not something that promotes a healthy atmoshpere for a great sport.

patrkyhntr

Whether someone poaches a deer at night or puts his wife's tag on it matters not to me. Both are doing something illegal. That tired old story about "needing the meat to feed the family" doesn't wash. You may not like it when the blame commission gets help from other hunters in cracking a poaching case, but I do. If we turn a blind eye toward outlaws we are complicit in their lawbreaking. What you are suggesting is the same as saying we shouldn't turn in gangbangers because it would be like the KGB, turn in your neighbor. I will continue to give tips to my local WCO, and feel good when he gets a conviction on one of our local scumbuckets.

sproulman

for years, most hunters turned their heads to using tags of family and friends..now POACHERS have new game in town..they know they are BEING WATCHED,so, game is now to get as many tags from friends and relatives and outlaw and tag it ..

thats NEW game now..

i am seeing MORE poachers now walking in woods hunting, i have never seen that in years..why,first they know wco is on to them so they get out in woods where wco can see that they are truly not a POACHER and are legally getting ALL their deer this way ,not poaching..

if those great hunters that are always getting the BIG BUCK but never are seen in woodswere to be shaked down the tags would fall all over..

that is NEW GAME in town now..POACHERSfor years never cared if deer was tagged or if they had tag,NOW, they are and using others tags is way i have feeling they are playing the NEW GAME..

wco said to me that he is getting more tips than ever before,2 reasons he is..first, POACHERS are turning in the POACHERS..THats good one ,isnt it..why??

because heat is on them and they are trying to get heat on someone else THEN they can continue to poach..

i think WCO are much smarter than this to fall for that tactic..

next, as i predicted, deer are getting scare and GREED will change things..i had a outlaw stop me on my ride home from hunting, he yelled out the window,HEY, WCO HAS THE ROBO DEER SET-UP ON ROAD, YOU BETTER WATCH IT..

i said why should i watch it , i am not road hunter..he closed his window and continued on down road and stopped other car behind me..

first, robo deer WAS NOT being used as i know wco and it was not being used like this outlaw said..

so, why was he doing this??HE DID NOT WANT ANYONE RIDING ROADS IN THAT AREA AS THAT IS HIS ILLEGAL ROAD HUNTING AREA THAT HE RIDES BACK/FORTH FOR 12 HRS A DAY,yes 12 hrs they ride that road ,back/forth..

so, do to lack of deer, this is some of what is happening,poachers turning in poachers,so they can poach..

LETS HOPE WCO DONT FALL FOR ANY OF THIS CRAP..i hate poachers and i think others using tags of others is just as bad and most likely is NEW GAME in town!!

nyhunter863

I will agree that many hunters will sidestep regulations, but it just seems that hunters in general are WAY more accusatory of people who partake in the same pastime than participants of other pastimes. I hear it every year. Some guys just can't fathom that another hunter might have taken a deer by the rules. Some will always accuse other successful hunters of hunting at night, road hunting, hunting on posted land, etc. etc.!! I think some people find more joy in accusing others, than actually hunting themselves. Can't really figure this out to be honest. Like I said, many hunters DO sidestep the rules, and in a pastime like hunting it surely has been happening for a long time and will continue to happen. It's just a fact of life in hunting. In my opinion people should go out and enjoy hunting for themselves and not be obsessed with what others may or may not be doing!

Sylvan

So if I understand you correctly, in that the offense doesn't matter, you'd be o.k. with the same pushishment for all game violations. Really? Don't you think the jack lighterin my previous post should receive a more severe punishment than the guy who puts his wife's tag on a deer? I think the only intelligent way of doing things is to have the punishmentproportional to the severity of the crime.

I guess you didn't understand my post or you are just trying flame this. If you read it again you will see that I said that "encouraging hunters to turn other hunters in" can get out of hand. I didn't say that we should never do it. Certainly if we see a serious violation taking place any responsbible individualwould inform a WCO but I don't thinkit would be a good thing or even rational tobe running around reporting every minor infraction we see any more than we should be calling the state police every time we see someone going 70 in a65.

Rob/PA Bowyer

Sylvan, it's the same offense, it's illegally taking a whitetail. What if the jacklighter tagged the buck with his tag, does that make him more legal than the guy who put his wifes tag on a deer. Seems similar, illegal is illegal. What makes either one better than those who hunt within the laws. Both are illegally taking whitetails, poaching. Should their punishments differ, No.

I heard this exact scenerio on the radio the other day. I was listening to the normal chatter on Saturday when I hear a guy name Darren radio his buddy Barry that he shot a button buck. Barry asked him if he was going to tag it and Darren said, yeah we should. Barry then said he'd be down to put his tag on it. So Darren illegally shot a deer and Barry covered it up with his tag. Had I known their location I would have turned them in. Why are they better than the rest of us. I could have taken numerous bucks and had them tagged, it's poaching the same as jacklighting a deer.

nyhunter863

How do you know that Darren illegally shot this deer? Do you know for sure that he didn't have a tag in his pocket? Assuming that button bucks can be taken in your state, if Darren had a vailid tag, he had every right to shoot that deer. Now when Barry put his tag on it the illegal act would have occured, but you don't know for sure from this radio conversation that Darren DIDN'T have a tag to begin with. This is my point with people turning in others. There are MANY assumptions usually made. I am sure for every ONE real violation, there are numerous wild goose chases that a conservation officer makes because of assumptions that callers make. At the same time MORE serious offenses will probably occur because there are NOT enough officers out patrolling.

Sylvan

Lumping everything into "it's illegally taking a whitetail" is pretty simplistic when it comes to what should the pushimentbe and of course punishment proportional to the act is the entire point. So please tell us what the punishment should be for "illegally taking a whitetail" as in your mind the specifics of how the whitetail was illegally taken just doesn't matter. "illegal is illegal" right? Now remember, the guy who'sillegal only because he shoots a deer 30 seconds after legal shooting hours is going to get the same punishment as the guy who with no license at 3 a.m. with a spot light shoots a deer with a rifle (where rifles are prohibited)on posted property and takes only the head. When you tell us what the punishment is please include how you have decided that your kind of justice makes sense. Personally I think this sort of reasoning is ridiculous! Do we fine people the same amount for going 10 miles over the speed limit as we do those going 20 miles over? Speeding is speeding right? Come on!

nyhunter863

The 30 seconds before legal shooting time is a great point. I don't care what anyone tells me. I don't think anyone would think twice about shooting a deer before what the "rules" say is legal shooting time if there was enough light to see and a deer presented a nice easy sure shot. Those who say they would pass the shot up are lying and trying to be holier than thou. Hunting can bring out such uglyness in people, NO real wonder why we get portrayed so poorly in the media!