2,000 arrests for deer poaching in Mo.

[Leupold]

I really have no use for poachers or their various excuses.

I was in a pop up blind this afternoon and some yahoo on the next ridge opens up with 3 shots fired in rapid succession. That must be some muzzleloader he's got. 

lol same thing happened to me and a buddy the other day. it was muzzy season and i swear they shot 5 times in the distance, prob a half mile away.when we met up he said that dude was the fastest muzzy reloader he ever heard of.as far as the poster who said all poachers who say they poach to feed their familys are dirtbags?ill admit some people may use that excuse, but the ones im talkin bout aint driveing 4 wheel drives and hi dollar 4 wheelers.they are just simple farmers trying to make a living.its getting awful hard for sum to eat a 700$ beef when deer are out ther eatin up yur grass.i know a lot of city people dont understand this, thats just the way things are.

Well, here's the deal, and if you think about I think you'll agree. The regulations as they stand in Missouri right now are very, very lenient. If you choose to take advantage of the various seasons you can legally take several deer each year, more than enough to feed your farmer friends. I have a buddy who took 6 this year and he's no uber-hunter, he just took full advantage of what the regulations said he could do. It wasn't that long ago that both deer and turkey populations in Missouri were so low we couldn't legally hunt them. But by careful management and enough people following the common sense rules, we now have healthy numbers. I don't believe anyone has to poach to have meat in the freezer. It's just a poor excuse.

[hillbill]

true that also is a good point.

[Ranger J]

Even in my part of the Ozarks there are few 'hard scrabble' farms left.  If a farmer chooses to not butcher one of his own cattle and instead illegally  shoot a deer that dares to eat a few blades of his grass (actually deer eat very little grass) then it is a case of greed not need.  By and large the greatest number of poachers are not the local farmers.

RJ

[hillbill]

Even in my part of the Ozarks there are few 'hard scrabble' farms left.  If a farmer chooses to not butcher one of his own cattle and instead illegally  shoot a deer that dares to eat a few blades of his grass (actually deer eat very little grass) then it is a case of greed not need.  By and large the greatest number of poachers are not the local farmers.

RJ

its pretty obvious yu dont get it.if a farmer with a base income of maybe 23,000 a year butchers a 750$ calf and then pays the 250$ to get it processed that is a pretty good chunk out of his yearly income.a lot of guys who process ther own deer dont really feel qualified to butcher a calf worth that much.he may have 100 acres paid for free and clear that his gpa, his dad or him sweated blood for but he is not allowed to shoot a deer to feed his family?it is true it can be legally done if yu happen to have the time at the legal time, thats not always a option.im not a poacher and dont condone it, but we still have people living off the land in my area and i dont see it stopping.i know a lot of people think that anyone owning land and cattle are rich but it just aint so.

[Ranger J]

You will find practically no 100 acre 'working' farms left in the Ozarks.  If the land is clear enough to run cattle it is owned by large ranchers.  Private owners may own small patches of wooded land but these can not be called farms.  The land in general is not conducive to raising anything but cattle.  I also doubt that you will find many of the cleared land owners that have a gross income of only 20-some thousand dollars.  The day of the small working farm is long gone.  If you would check on land ownership you will find that the average cattle rancher will probably control over 1000 acres or more of land.  A local example is a person that has a large herd of cattle and a lot of horses that sponsors a large trail ride but feels compelled to poach deer to feed this large crowd.  I don't think any of us would begrudge anyone that is hungry from potting an occasional deer but this is not what is happening in our area.  The MDC has a program where you can get fresh road killed deer if you apply for them.  Poaching in our area is all about cruising the back roads at night with your spotlight and rifle and shooting any animal that you see.  As often as not the meat is not even used but the carcass is just left lying on the ground or only the tenderloins are removed.  Deer are not the only victims of these people.  If your dog or cat happens to be out on your land they too will be shot.  The majority of these people are thugs plain and simple and are too lazy to get out in the woods to legally shoot deer during the season. 

RJ   

[SHOOTALL]

I really have no use for poachers or their various excuses.

I was in a pop up blind this afternoon and some yahoo on the next ridge opens up with 3 shots fired in rapid succession. That must be some muzzleloader he's got. 

Could they have been bird or rabbit hunting ?

[Leupold]

I really have no use for poachers or their various excuses.

I was in a pop up blind this afternoon and some yahoo on the next ridge opens up with 3 shots fired in rapid succession. That must be some muzzleloader he's got. 

Could they have been bird or rabbit hunting ?

It wasn't a shotgun I was hearing, it was a rifle, no doubt about it. MDC is spread pretty thin, people do stuff like this because there's such a good chance they'll get away with it. 

[billy_56081]

I really have no use for poachers or their various excuses.

I was in a pop up blind this afternoon and some yahoo on the next ridge opens up with 3 shots fired in rapid succession. That must be some muzzleloader he's got. 

Could they have been bird or rabbit hunting ?

It wasn't a shotgun I was hearing, it was a rifle, no doubt about it. MDC is spread pretty thin, people do stuff like this because there's such a good chance they'll get away with it. 

Is it illegal to hunt predators during muzzle loader season there? I had a fellow ranting and raving about me firing on a pair of coyotes during muzzle loader season here, I showed him the regulation that showed that was legal and for him to shut up and leave.

[hillbill]

You will find practically no 100 acre 'working' farms left in the Ozarks.  If the land is clear enough to run cattle it is owned by large ranchers.  Private owners may own small patches of wooded land but these can not be called farms.  The land in general is not conducive to raising anything but cattle.  I also doubt that you will find many of the cleared land owners that have a gross income of only 20-some thousand dollars.  The day of the small working farm is long gone.  If you would check on land ownership you will find that the average cattle rancher will probably control over 1000 acres or more of land.  A local example is a person that has a large herd of cattle and a lot of horses that sponsors a large trail ride but feels compelled to poach deer to feed this large crowd.  I don't think any of us would begrudge anyone that is hungry from potting an occasional deer but this is not what is happening in our area.  The MDC has a program where you can get fresh road killed deer if you apply for them.  Poaching in our area is all about cruising the back roads at night with your spotlight and rifle and shooting any animal that you see.  As often as not the meat is not even used but the carcass is just left lying on the ground or only the tenderloins are removed.  Deer are not the only victims of these people.  If your dog or cat happens to be out on your land they too will be shot.  The majority of these people are thugs plain and simple and are too lazy to get out in the woods to legally shoot deer during the season.
RJ    

jeez yu mus be from a diff part of the ozarks than i am , my family has one of the biggest farms in the area and its only less the 500 acres, i know maybe 50 local farmers and there is nobody in control of 1000 acres.most go from 40 to 200 acres.i dont know any thugs at all, but if i had to ask anybody to stand against thugs, my neighbors would be the first ones id choose. nobody i know has shot a dog that wasnt running their cattle in maybe 10 yrs, now a cat might be a different story lol.also if anybody in the area was shooting deer and just takin the straps and leavein the rest lay, they would be turned in in a heatbeat, nobody wastes anything here.yur info is flawed, as far as where i live.

[Leupold]

I really have no use for poachers or their various excuses.

I was in a pop up blind this afternoon and some yahoo on the next ridge opens up with 3 shots fired in rapid succession. That must be some muzzleloader he's got. 

Could they have been bird or rabbit hunting ?

It wasn't a shotgun I was hearing, it was a rifle, no doubt about it. MDC is spread pretty thin, people do stuff like this because there's such a good chance they'll get away with it. 

Is it illegal to hunt predators during muzzle loader season there? I had a fellow ranting and raving about me firing on a pair of coyotes during muzzle loader season here, I showed him the regulation that showed that was legal and for him to shut up and leave.

No, I don't think it is, but, who hunts yotes in the timber?

[billy_56081]

So you are assuming someone is doing something illegal.

[Leupold]

So you are assuming someone is doing something illegal.

There's little doubt in my mind, in fact, I'd bet on it. This activity is coming off the same ridge that during rifle season you'd hear multiple shots fired in rapid succession. Spray and pray.

[45-70.gov]

So you are assuming someone is doing something illegal.

There's little doubt in my mind, in fact, I'd bet on it. This activity is coming off the same ridge that during rifle season you'd hear multiple shots fired in rapid succession. Spray and pray.

could they be target shooting??

[billy_56081]

Again you are making assumtions.

[Leupold]

So you are assuming someone is doing something illegal.

There's little doubt in my mind, in fact, I'd bet on it. This activity is coming off the same ridge that during rifle season you'd hear multiple shots fired in rapid succession. Spray and pray.

could they be target shooting??

I dunno about you, but when I shoot at the range I don't just fire off 3 quick shots and then stop. It's clear to me what was going on. But you that just want to argue can believe whatever the hell you want. I do find it funny that people who weren't there and have no idea where it happened or under what circumstance insist on coming up with other scenarios. Whatever. 

[billy_56081]

I find it funny that some people always assume others are doing wrong. Well being you are so sure why don't you call the game warden, I bet he will blow you off as you are making an assumption with no fact what so ever. I myself don't always go to the range and I even like to go to the woods and blast, its called plinking. I am glad I am not yourneighbor.

[45-70.gov]

some people use the ''double tap'' in self defence  and practice

when  using  a 22lr [a poor choice for defence]....the  '''triple tap''' is recommended

also  he may  have  been a slob  hunter!!!.......making us all look bad

what did you do  other than bring this to our attention

i don't mean to sound like a  smart @$$

but  why don't you talk to him and get back to  us

[Squib]

I had to deal with a stupid kid hunting not too far from me this year that broke a number of game laws (and others too).  Some people shoot stuff that isn't actually legal due to antler restrictions, shoot stuff without tags for them at all, shoot one and just let it run off because they're too lazy to track it, take wild repetitive shots, etcetera... same as driving, lots of retards around causing problems for everyone else that DOES follow the rules.  I wish those people would get burnt everytime BUT I wouldn't want to get called out of my stand or have some guy creeping around spooking off game in my area every year either--- so either I deal with retards or deal with well meaning leo's, either way I got someone tromping around or something and disturbing my game.  

that's life!

[rocko]

Alot of it is passed down generation to generation. i was raised dogging deer. But, i grew up, realized it was wrong and lazy, so i dont do it. The world is different than it was 40 years ago when maybe someone did need to poach to feed there family. Now, the goverment feeds those people. If someone truly needs the meat to feed there family, have at it, fill the freezer. Now the folks who do it for horns, better just keep it to there self, i dont care for it. Its never gonna change in the ozarks though, just a family tradition, that folks are gonna keep passing down. The stigma in todays world around big horns and the status folks things they get from killing big bucks, arent helping matters either. Theres plenty of us that put the time in the tree to try and put big boy down, but theres more lazy folks driving around trying to shoot one from the road, than there is those of us.

[Squib]

I have family members that were complaining about those a-hole conservation agents during christmas celebration stuff this year... and what did the a-hole leo's bust them for- - - one shot two bucks and bragged about it on facebook, over-length spike-bucks, etcetera.  especially stupid was the internet pictures and bragging about a seven and eight point buck- WHO DOES THAT!!!

I'm not an un-ethical hunter, and I've never seen a game warden (to my knowledge) so either I look really scary or I looked legit and got no "flak" while out doing my business.  I assume it's not a co-incidence.

[atitagain]

Reminds me of the time I was deer hunting. It was almost dark, and 14 shots rang out.
Less then a minute later, 9 more shots rang out.
Kinda makes ya wonder.
I have been shooting guns for a long time and can pretty much tell what kind of gun it is (handgun, shotgun, rifle, muzzle loader.) Sure sounded like a 9mm to me.

[Lon371]

Poachers face up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Repeat offenders face suspension of hunting and fishing privileges.

 If you want to slow it down, Make them strengthen the punishment. Up to $1000 dollar fine? Why do they only suspend repeat offenders license? Should be revoke on the first offense. Should also confiscate vehicle and weapons used in the crime.  What you have is petty thief punishments, it's no wonder so much is going on over in Missouri
 
Lonny

[hillbill]

Reminds me of the time I was deer hunting. It was almost dark, and 14 shots rang out.
Less then a minute later, 9 more shots rang out.
Kinda makes ya wonder.
I have been shooting guns for a long time and can pretty much tell what kind of gun it is (handgun, shotgun, rifle, muzzle loader.) Sure sounded like a 9mm to me.

lol that could of been me function testing a pistol i was working on or reloading for.in my backyard range.

[Delbert]

From what I understand about poaching here in Missouri, is that a simple person, out of a job and NEEDING FOOD on the table, there is a regulation in the "blue hunter's guide/regulation book" that says that, that person has the State's permission to kill game "out of season". This comes from my Sister and BIL who've been hunting here longer than I have for over 30yrs. I've yet to find it in my regulation book, but I believe them. Also while out hunting, I've heard series of continous shots where it seems that a single person has a 30 mag clip, BUT in reality, it's generally a bunch of hunters' that has gotten together and making a drive of deer to the shooters, which is legal---as long as no dogs or net traps are set or used. Also, I did brag about my 7-point buck I got, as I usually hunt by myself, and to see--let along get anything, in a buck or doe, I'm gonna brag about, because it's food for my Family, and that's why I hunt, and if by chance it's a trophy rack, then it's by luck. What's shown on TV by those "Deer hunt shows", those record type deer are on managed farms, with bait traps to lure them in, which in my opinion should be outlawed---or also let the common hunter bait on Public Lands to get a better chance of getting their deer.
Del