HuntingNet.com Forums - An interview

I find this story very likely and have seen the aftermath of poaching in my hunting area. A few years ago some bucks were shot from the road only for their racks. We could see the carcasses laying out in the hayfields. The DNR ended up catching the 2 guys that did it however I did not hear about their punishment. This royally ticked my hunting buddy and myself off as we were hunting this area and several bucks, presumably shooters, were illegally taken thereby reducing our chances of legally taking one with our bows. I somewhat understand Poacher A's response of shooting the deer for meat but do not condone it. I know some families that would take10 deer a year because that's about all they eat. However, I think there are enough generous hunters out there that would be willing to donate legally taken deer to needy families. I really think that both guys were out just for the racks. Who eats 4 deer in a few days? It's hard to pinpoint exactly what went wrong with deer hunting but I'd say that monster racks have drove some of us crazy. I'd like to shoot a Booner just as bad as the next guy but I draw the line when it resorts to grabbing the rifle and a spotlight. I'd rather have an unfilled tag than do that! They were either going to sell the racks (look on Ebay, 15+ pages of nothing but deer antlers!) or were stroking their egos for killing monster bucks. Either way all punishment was deserved and I truly hope he did learn a lesson. Jerks like this give the honest, sporting hunter a bad name. Good post!!