Not tagging your buck in pa
 

opening morning I'm walking into my ladder stand. I walk up on what I think is a pretty nice buck... 8-9 pt about 16" or so inside spread.... I walk up on this deer and blind it with my little mini mag flash light this thing is like 100 lumens its bright!!! Anyhow I walk up to less than 10 yards and pretty much have to scare him off because he is right by my ladder stand... I get in stand and 5-10 min before legal shooting light I hear guns goin off like crazy on naboring farm... I'm sure they were lettin the air out of does like crazy because I must of seen 20+ run in the direction of the gun fire... Anyhow a nice 6 pt pops out of hedge row maybe 50 yards from my stand and I decide to let him have it... I get down and check him out and then tag him with my buck tag... The guy who owns farm calls me to see how I did and I let him know I got one and he ask if it's ok to call this other guy and let him hunt evening... So I'm getting deer in my truck when other guy and son show up... There asking me what stand I shot it out of and how many deer I seen(they hunt this farm WAY more than I do!!!!!! And they know the deer pretty good... So he checks my 6pt and says he's seen him before and I tell him about my encounter with buck at dark and he said "I'd of shot him" I'm like that takes all the fun out of it... they haul *** into the farm... I roll out to take care of my buck.... I get a call from land owner and he tells me guy and son both killed bucks... I know for a fact that last year these guys shot more than one buck each with bow and I know they've done it again this year... It really pisses me off that this knuckle head is doing this... This farm is over run with deer and there is no shortage of deer!!!! But I want to call the game commission on him but I'm afraid they won't catch him...

How much longer do you think there will be deer on the property if they keep poaching deer? Call the game warden and let them do their job, that way you did what an ethical hunter should do to preserve the sport.

Its that way here in Indiana also. Sometimes I think I am the only one that cares. People shoot more than one buck and try to justify by "well so and so wanted some deer meat and they tagged it" Irritates me to no end! If they want some deer meat why does it have to be a buck and why cant the person that shot, it tag it!? And besides, in my mind at least, deer numbers are way down in this area so shooting "extra" deer is not even an option. Sorry for the rant.

and there are those that wonder why the PA herd is down.

Longbeard, either you want the poaching to stop or you don't. There has to be people willing to drop a dime on these game thieves. You can call the PGC and tell them everything you know about what is happening. You can ask that your name not be used and they will comply. If they catch them killing more than they are allowed it will be expensive and they will pose their licenses for a couple of years, depending on how many charges they get filed on them. If honest hunters don't help get these pukes our of the field, they will just continue to steal from those who obey the law. Man or mouse, you decide.

I don't know, does the PGC really care?

A cautionary tale- maybe 10 years ago I let a nice buck I'd seen nearly every day walk on the last evening of bow season; I was hunting behind the house and he moseyed into the wood line and over to the neighbor's field where he stood for a bit, silhouetted in the sunset.
Just as he ambled out of sight, BOOM!, from lower in that same field. One shot. No more.
The more I thought about it, the angrier I became until I did call the DEC and told the local officer where he could find a deer with a mighty strange looking arrow wound.
Small town, everybody is friends or relatives,DEC officer grew up in the community...
Guess what?

Zero follow through. (edit-follow through, not up)

Laws are great, though useless without enforcement.

OP- if you feel appropriate action would be taken, I'll also urge you to make the report.

You know I see these "tales" all the time on the net and hhave heard them in person. As far as I am concerned, tall tales are what they are and they grow everytime they are told they grow some. This is the kind of nonsense that people hear and then don't bother reporting violations. I doubt the NY DEC doesn't care, I know the PGC does care, funny thing, the stories always end with the officer knowing the violator or being related to them. Horse hocky! If what you have to say in this kind of post doesn't help the OP make the right decision, don't say anything.

oldtimr-

I related the events as they occurred in a factually accurate manner.

No horse. No "hocky".

Kinda made me lose faith in the system; also experienced some blowback which I did not mention.

You have absolutely no knowledge of these events, yet you have an opinion?

I'll post as I see fit, particularly when my personal experience is relevant to the discussion; your ignorance shall neither censor nor censure me.

Don't like that? Use the ignore feature.

The only person who never learns is he who thinks he knows it all.

I would call the game commission for sure. These guys are taking hunting opportunities away from other sportsmen. There aren't nearly as many game wardens as there are police officers and so I think it makes sense for us as sportsmen to do some self policing.

How does one know that no follow up occurred? Also, a random call like this, DEC shows up, asks the hunter about it, he says "nope", now what?