Another Poacher

[ronn]

I think you right about the guy that shot that buck, but doing the wrong thing has nothing to do with the target it has everything to do with the guy, I won't say hunter, that shoots at that animal. I should have said all things being equal except the antlers in my question. I left a dodge there. The point being, EVERY hunter wants to shoot a Hanson buck but we all settle and that's a personal mark we all have. I agree they are all trophies to the hunter that shoots the deer spike, doe, 180". Its setting goals, a good thing no mater what you do, and working to that end. If you want a 180" buck for the book then you do what you need to in order to make that happen. Whether its go to IL or manage a piece of property for such and grow your own. Passing an iffy shot shows the kind of hunter you are or more so the type of person you are. I'm pretty sure the states all have records which is good because deer are not the same continent wide. There was a deer shot in MD that had well over 200" of antler but only weighted 155 lbs. I've got not problem with the Pope and Young or the Boone and Crockett way of doing things. There has to to be a standard of some sort in order to keep things in order. Sorry for getting deep into hunting persona but there are a lot of young hunters on this site and these topics are good to discuss.

Hunting man, if a monster buck is poached or hit by a car, then it is not a record. Thats the big deal here. There is a record buck that will never be harvested by a hunter for the books. That poached deer is worthless. There is nothing wrong with a hunter making $$ with pics and advertisements with a buck legally harvested.

[Hunting Man]

Ronn, you simply missed my point, its the money that's driving the poaching for big bucks! I have no problem with P&Y, B&C either nor the ethical hunter that hunts for the records. The problem is the big money for big bucks provides the (motive) for the poaching. I don't think this was a problem 40 years ago or even 20 years ago when there wasn't big money invovled. I think in a lot of ways ethics has given way to greed ( promoted by industry) for money, this isn't just in the hunting arena. If the antlers were worth $300.00 the poaching for (dollars) would deminish which would negate the incentive for the poachers and the antler selling market. Other than money greed, what is the purpose in promoting a harvested big buck, beyond the record book?

[ronn]

I don't think I missed your point I just don't completely agree. So is there something wrong with selling the rights to use that bucks image for advertising for $20,000 if it was legally harvested? I think there is nothing wrong with that. I wouldn't turn it down nor would anyone else. A monster or record buck has NO VALUE if it was poached. You won't see them on the cover of North American Whitetail or in a Remington ad. A deer of that caliber gets looked at very hard and I think more times than not the truth is discovered. Is there a market for racks that can't be shown to anyone? That I don't know. I agree that there are guys that will try to fool others after poaching a buck, like this guy did, but Like I said these monsters get looked at very hard to make sure things are on the up and up. The bulk of that post was typed before I read or even saw your post. Thats why the edit.

[wmi]

Money for a trophy rack is not an issue. It would be like saying the gun shot and killed the man. No a man killed a man therefore a poacher is a poacher. This criminal according to other articles has not hunted with a licence for years it is just this time a deer of this caliber happened by and he tried to get some notoriety for his accomplishment. It is a shame that this magnificent animal had the bad luck of walking by this low life plain and simple.

[Hunting Man]

Well guys I read your posts, but I just disagree. I think money is the problem (incentive) behind the poaching for big bucks. Otherwise the poached bucks would simply become hidden freezer meat and nobody would see them being displayed for record potential (money). So we will agree to disagree and I will leave it at that. Good discussion on this one!

[ronn]

I see your point and agree its a good discussion. I just think the criminal is the problem not the deer or the tool or the potential revenue. Its like saying robbers rob jewelry stores and its the fancy rich ladies fault for making diamonds worth so much. that's the short of it. True robberies at the local dump don't happen often. good discussion

[joel the signman]

while im totally against big government,the wildlife agencies need to come up with a method of tracking antler purchases.I know its illegal to sell them on E bay .I think i read they are trying to make it illegal to sell antlers,just like its illegal to sell the meat.Im not against anyone who trophy hunts or someone who bags a record buck and wants to go in the books and endorsement route.i HAVE A FEELING THAT THERE IS A CORE GROUP OF PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THIS ACTIVITY(sorry caps loc) and that they are responsible for 80% of the illegal activity.

[ronn]

80%???? i'll bet its less than 2% of illegal activity is done by these guys. A POACHED DEER IS OF NO VALUE. How many times must that be said? no real value. How could a guy make 20 30 40,000 dollars if the deer can't be displayed? Its not like these deer, record size that is, are shot every day. I have a whole lot more faith in a hunter that only takes big bucks than in the brown its down guys. Big buck hunters know the value in passing lesser deer and only taking the big boys legally cause that's where the payoff is. These guys that work at taking monster bucks have way more to lose than the average guy that isn't interested in just big bucks. Big buck hunters that do illegal things have their reputations and careers ruined and that's their bread and butter. I've heard of a couple big names that at a moment of weakness ruin their careers. What does Joe Blow lose if he shoots a doe during bucks only? He'll still go to work the next day and in a couple years be back in the woods shooting whatever. I'll admit that BIG BUCKS could be more tempting to take illegally but to only those with the predisposition to do something illegal. I'll go with 98% of all illegal activity is done by "SLOB HUNTERS", not that anyone here is one but you know the type I'm talking about. Of everybody out there, I would guess that 60% are honest good hunters. 38% slob hunters who do most of the illegal stuff, and that 2% that give in to a moment of weakness. The bright side of this discussion is we all agree that poaching is wrong and those that do so deserve harsh penalties.

[BruceBruce1959]

They sell antlers on ebay, heck you can buy a set of trophy whitetail antlers on there.
Here's a set on Ebay right now you can buy for $ 699.00 U.S. Dollars <--Click to view

[ronn]

I think the Lacey act stopped the sale of wild game, meat, except the hide and head. along with a bunch of other stuff.