Big Mulie Poached

[KEN W]

I was hunting on National Grasslands in unit 4C,along with my brother.He didn't have a tag,but was along to help.We were sitting overlooking a drainage eating lunch,when we hear a shot not that far away.After a minute or so,over the hill comes 2 guys on horseback holding rifles on their hips.Neither one has orange clothing on.

They ride to the top of a hill looking down across a fence.1 rides down the other side.Next my brother says..."that guy is going to shoot from horseback."Next thing there is a bunch of shooting from both guys.Then the one who rode down jumps off and ties his horse to the fence and disappears into the brush..Next the other one does the same.

We don't see either for a few minutes.....then see them dragging something under the fence over to a bunch of trees.Up to that time we thought maybe they were ranchers shooting coyotes.But it doesn't take 2 to drag a coyote.Then they both get on their horses and ride over to a third guy on horseback.He has a rifle and no orange clothes on either...next they ride off.

After they were gone,we walk over to see what they were dragging....a big mulie buck,laying in the trees.My brother takes a picture and we leave.We get about 100yds away and turn to see 1 of them riding up to us.He asks,"did you see that buck?"Yes we answer,"we saw you the whole time you were shooting at it.""How come you aren't wearing orange clothes?"He says,"Oh we are rounding up cattle and not supposed to be hunting.But we have tags."

I thought....yeah,right.If you had a tag,you would have orange clothes on and tagged the deer.He says they are working for a rancher south of us and gives us the name.We then leave.

When we got back to the camp,I called the GNF RAP line.It's late so the warden out of Watford comes to talk to us the next day.We describe the deer.They shot off the fork on 1 side and didn't gut it.We give him directions and off he goes looking for the buck.He calls back awhile later and says he found the gutpile.They came later on a 4-wheeler and gutted it out and hauled it away.He took DNA samples.

He says when he finds it.....he can get them for numerous violations.When we got home,we emailed the picture and wrote everything we told him.Haven't heard back from him yet.Makes a guy wonder how often this kind of thing happens.We were 2-3 miles from the nearest road.Out in the middle of nowhere.Hope he nails them.

If nothing else at least the GNF now knows this kind og [PoorWordUsage] is going on from that rancher.

[harvey lee]

I have seen this over the years many times when guys are in the grasslands.

Caught 5 last season tresspassing and they had their hands full of blood from gutting a buck. I pretended I was just asking about there hunt and they gave me their names and where they were from. I then asked them if they had permission to hunt nwhere they were and they said yes, this is public property. I then walked them about 100 yards to the fence line and aksed them to look on the other side of the fence where the no trespassing sign was I put up. Then the one said oh sh$t, we are on private property. I asked them to leave now. Later we found the buck they shot and left for the yotes I guess.

I called the Co and he got picture of the buck and charged them all with numerous charges. CO called me later that winter and said they nailed them for numerous items.

High fines and no hunting for 2 years.

Every season we have hunters cross the public property to private and if I wanted to just watch the property line, one could nail a bunch of hunters if you want to call them that.

The one section behind our property is closed to vechile traffic but if you can go a day without seeing a truck in the grasslands where one should not be driving, that would be rare.

I do not believe the CO's have an easy time during the rifle season at all. Many more than likely believe they are off the road far enough so they can do as they please.

Hopefully they get what is coming to them. I would guess it will be tough to prove they did what they did and that they shot the deer.

[cbrooks]

Thanks for reporting the violation Ken. I think a lifetime hunting ban should be manitory for poaching.

Harvey it sounds like you have a heck of a time with trespasser. Have you ever prosecuted anyone?

[harvey lee]

WE use to simply tell they they were on PP.

As I stated in my post above, last year we truned in a group of 5 and yes they were prosecuted.

Our Co explained to me it is very diffucult to get a proc in ND with trespassing.

One can post the land legally plus many more signs and all one has to do is walk up to a sign, rip it down and walk in.

The CO tells me you cannot prove that the sign was there when they crossed the fence to private property. It is a tough deal to get them through court with a ticket so the CO tells me.

I have a new plan that will work for all who trespass in the future and it will hold water in court. Next time I catch someone, I will tell them to go, check the fence and if they tore the sign down, then I will replace the sign and call the CO as he will want to see the sign intact. One time a small corner of the sign was missing and the CO that could be a issue. Only a small 1" corner was missing. One could still see all the writing on the sign.

maybe the laws have to be made a little more valid and stiffen the penality up to maybe $2,000 for a first time offense. May seem like alot but if you are not breaking the law, nothing to worry about.

[brittman]

Whole lot of antelope and deer are poached in SW ND in August. It is a real issue. Well maybe not this fall low numbers certainly resolve much of the problem.

[cbrooks]

Whole lot of antelope and deer are poached in SW ND in August. It is a real issue.

First I heard of this. Did they catch the person or people who did this?

[brittman]

No large single incident. Just something that occurs every year, bit by bit. Go live out there for a year or two and you will see

[cbrooks]

I didn't even have a clue that its that common of a occurrence . It makes me wander if poaching is more of a problem all over the state. You hear of some insulated incidents that happen and its always a big buck but never about your average deer. Not good. The biggest problem I have with the poaching that you hear about in the paper. They never get the proper punishment in my opinion. A lifetime ban from hunting should be manatory for those cases. Poaching is never a accident. There stealing from every other hunter in the state that buys a tag or license.

[harvey lee]

Years ago my father had to call the area CO as we had so many road hunters. They would come down the road, see a deer in the ditch or on the road and start to shoot. Dad figured it would not be long and a bullet would hit the kitchen.

They set up a deer decoy and I believe in 2 evenings, they caught 4 trucks trying to whack the fake deer.

We have a park road that use to go by the house and it was like 94 when the deer season opened. yes, I would say 30-40% were road hunting as Dad caught many shooting deer in the hayfield 200 yards from the house.

I have had locals ask me why I sit in a tree and hunt when I could drive the roads in the warmth of the truck and pick my deer and never have to scout at all.

My response, thats how I hunt.

This is all true stuff, not made up. I believe alot of deer are shot from the road in my area for sure. Must be the thrill of the hunt.

Not always big bucks being shot either.

One fellow shot a small doe and dad got to the field before he had the deer drug to the road. The guy said he saw it lyting there dead so he picked it up to take it.

Dad said I saw u shoot it so put your tag on the deer or I am going to call the CO. They guy tagged it and left and as he was leaving, dad wrote down the license # of the truck and called the Co to turn him in.

I would guess the fellow was suprised when the Co came to his house.