Deer decoy used to nab violators

The decoys don’t always start trouble where none existed. The tiny little piece of land we hunt on is bordered by a black top road. Two of our stands are only about 250 – 300 yards off of this road. We are very careful not to shoot towards the road as a slug can travel that far. However, a couple of years ago, after being shot towards numerous times in one season by “hunters” shooting off the road, I made a call to the DNR. I had legitimate concerns about one of us getting hurt either while in a stand or going and coming. They set up one of their “robo” deer in a corner of a corn field directly in line with one of our stands (which we vacated for the afternoon)In 2 hours, they wrote 6 tickets – three for shooting from inside a vehicle on the road, 2 for shooting from the roadway, and the best one of all – a guy that almost parked on a no trespassing sign and walked in 50 yards and proceeded to empty his gun. He was the last one they ticketed because he was a decent shot and pretty much destroyed the decoy. When used in a problem area such as this, I think the decoys are a very valuable tool. The problems with road hunters we have had since have diminished considerably.

I agree that shooting from the road is not only illegal, but very dangerous and I also don’t have a bit of respect for these class of people. They do hurt our intentions of being sportsman.

However, in the same breath of air, it is a form of entrapment.

I hunt large parcels of farm land / wood lots. We do alot of driving during the mid day, round and round the properties that we have exclusive land to hunt. We catch deer in the open fields and we do harvest them. You may disagree with our method of hunting, however we are intercepting these deer as they travel from wood lot to wood lot. We shoot them legally.

If a CO places a decoy on this property and it works as well as the ones decribed above, it just may get tagged by a slug. However, that is where my initial question came up as to how would a CO handle it, if I (as we ALWAYS do), leave the easment portion of the road and legally shoot the deer from the field, not the road?

Does a CO have the right to place a decoy on private property? And if you destroy a decoy on your private property, what can the CO say?

Again, don’t take this in the wrong way, I’m not supporting these people who do this activity as decribed by Blue Fleck. I’m also not trying to place any disregard to the COs for their job. I’m glad we have them and I do respect them fully. The people that are shooting decoys from the road should be busted.

I agree that shooting from the road is not only illegal, but very dangerous and I also don’t have a bit of respect for these class of people. They do hurt our intentions of being sportsman.

However, in the same breath of air, it is a form of entrapment.

I hunt large parcels of farm land / wood lots. We do alot of driving during the mid day, round and round the properties that we have exclusive land to hunt. We catch deer in the open fields and we do harvest them. You may disagree with our method of hunting, however we are intercepting these deer as they travel from wood lot to wood lot. We shoot them legally.

If a CO places a decoy on this property and it works as well as the ones decribed above, it just may get tagged by a slug. However, that is where my initial question came up as to how would a CO handle it, if I (as we ALWAYS do), leave the easment portion of the road and legally shoot the deer from the field, not the road?

Does a CO have the right to place a decoy on private property? And if you destroy a decoy on your private property, what can the CO say?

Again, don’t take this in the wrong way, I’m not supporting these people who do this activity as decribed by Blue Fleck. I’m also not trying to place any disregard to the COs for their job. I’m glad we have them and I do respect them fully. The people that are shooting decoys from the road should be busted.

I don’t need to loose any friends, especially over something as stupid as this.

Would they have committed their crime had it not been for the actions of the DNR/LEO’s? If the answer is ‘no’ then they were induced into criminal activity.

It seems like you’re drawing a pretty thin line. Am I a scumbag for driving the roads pre-season and scouting? How about the DNR for doing roadside surveys of birds? I’d guess that about a tenth of the birds I’ve shot I spotted in the ditch, pulled over a few hundred yards down the way and headed back on foot with the dog and the shotgun. Is that the behavior of the lowest form of life on Earth?

As far as looking for an easy target, why not? I don’t mince words – during gun season I’m out meat hunting. If I feel like waiting out a good buck, I’ve got three months to do it with the bow. The four days of gun season just isn’t enough time, and there’s too many others making deer patterns unpredictable. If I spot an easy mark and can take it legally, why not? I hope that doesn’t make me the lowest of the low.

Seven out of ten might also be just like me, stopping to watch deer whenever they get the chance. I’m especially aware during harvest, the rut, and any gun season, because there’s people out driving them across the road. If I spot a deer, especially a good buck, I’ll stop and watch him for as long as he’ll let me. Maybe seven of ten people think I’m the victim of some uncontrollable blood-lust to poach it. Of course, not being a mystic, I can’t speak for seven out of ten people.

I wasn’t aware of conjunctive drinking violations. Perhaps if there’s more information than what’s available in the article someone could throw it out for further discussion, until then, I’ll stick with the facts as they were presented.

Concerning the destruction of ‘public property’ if it’s out (on publicly accessable land, or land I have permission to be on) and the ‘owners’ have tucked away – it’s no longer a posession. It’s like me gluing a quarter to the sidewalk and perching in a sniper tower waiting for someone to pick it up.

I don’t need to loose any friends, especially over something as stupid as this.

Would they have committed their crime had it not been for the actions of the DNR/LEO’s? If the answer is ‘no’ then they were induced into criminal activity.

It seems like you’re drawing a pretty thin line. Am I a scumbag for driving the roads pre-season and scouting? How about the DNR for doing roadside surveys of birds? I’d guess that about a tenth of the birds I’ve shot I spotted in the ditch, pulled over a few hundred yards down the way and headed back on foot with the dog and the shotgun. Is that the behavior of the lowest form of life on Earth?

As far as looking for an easy target, why not? I don’t mince words – during gun season I’m out meat hunting. If I feel like waiting out a good buck, I’ve got three months to do it with the bow. The four days of gun season just isn’t enough time, and there’s too many others making deer patterns unpredictable. If I spot an easy mark and can take it legally, why not? I hope that doesn’t make me the lowest of the low.

Seven out of ten might also be just like me, stopping to watch deer whenever they get the chance. I’m especially aware during harvest, the rut, and any gun season, because there’s people out driving them across the road. If I spot a deer, especially a good buck, I’ll stop and watch him for as long as he’ll let me. Maybe seven of ten people think I’m the victim of some uncontrollable blood-lust to poach it. Of course, not being a mystic, I can’t speak for seven out of ten people.

I wasn’t aware of conjunctive drinking violations. Perhaps if there’s more information than what’s available in the article someone could throw it out for further discussion, until then, I’ll stick with the facts as they were presented.

Concerning the destruction of ‘public property’ if it’s out (on publicly accessable land, or land I have permission to be on) and the ‘owners’ have tucked away – it’s no longer a posession. It’s like me gluing a quarter to the sidewalk and perching in a sniper tower waiting for someone to pick it up.

I think that defending illegal activity by saying that they were induced into doing something illegal is simply not logical. No offense intended here, but I don’t think anyone has said that simply scouting our an area, or looking at a deer in the field is the lowest of the low. I think the difference here is that in his example, he mentioned the truck load of “hunters” out with the intention of shooting deer either off the road or out of season. I don’t think he meant that if you drive down a road and see a bunch of deer that you’re a bad person for looking at them.
What separates most of us is that we wouldn’t do the illegal thing even if we were given a chance. Having one’s honor intact is what keeps most of us in line. I know of people who have kept more than their limit of fish, or kept a nice fish out of season. I think these people are not normally a criminal, or someone that I would refer to as the lowest of the low. They conciously decided to break the law. Nobody had to induce them into this behavior. Leaving a deer decoy isn’t inducing them, it’s giving them the chance to make the right or wrong choice. Entrapment is a very harsh word. You’re only induced, in my opionion, by your lack of honor, or morals, to make the wrong choice. If they would shoot at a decoy, why are we to assume that they wouldn’t also take a real deer? If they didn’t know the difference before hand, why should we excuse them after the fact. Intent is a big part of the crime. They intended to take a deer illegally. That is the bottom line in my book.
Book ’em Dano.
Steve

I think that defending illegal activity by saying that they were induced into doing something illegal is simply not logical. No offense intended here, but I don’t think anyone has said that simply scouting our an area, or looking at a deer in the field is the lowest of the low. I think the difference here is that in his example, he mentioned the truck load of “hunters” out with the intention of shooting deer either off the road or out of season. I don’t think he meant that if you drive down a road and see a bunch of deer that you’re a bad person for looking at them.
What separates most of us is that we wouldn’t do the illegal thing even if we were given a chance. Having one’s honor intact is what keeps most of us in line. I know of people who have kept more than their limit of fish, or kept a nice fish out of season. I think these people are not normally a criminal, or someone that I would refer to as the lowest of the low. They conciously decided to break the law. Nobody had to induce them into this behavior. Leaving a deer decoy isn’t inducing them, it’s giving them the chance to make the right or wrong choice. Entrapment is a very harsh word. You’re only induced, in my opionion, by your lack of honor, or morals, to make the wrong choice. If they would shoot at a decoy, why are we to assume that they wouldn’t also take a real deer? If they didn’t know the difference before hand, why should we excuse them after the fact. Intent is a big part of the crime. They intended to take a deer illegally. That is the bottom line in my book.
Book ’em Dano.
Steve

I’m somewhere in the middle on this one, partially because I know the lay of the land where this particular sting was setup and I know the actual lay of the land in most of the Black Hills, where we hunt anyway.

As I mentioned above, this particular sting was setup in a very strategic place. Let’s say you see the deer from the road, you must be 33 feet from the center of road to be able to legally shoot. At this particular location, 33 feet would put you down the side of a very steep hill. Reference the ruined shorts above.

Now, knowing this, in an unpopulated area, at least 3 miles by way of the crow to a house. I would most likely sit down on the side of road to take a shot. Is it illegal, yes. Does it make me a low life poacher, no. Again, I know more about this particular circumstance than most so I’m biased.

As stated by some other guys, there are low lifes out there hunting out of season, with illegal firearms etc…. This is who these decoys should be setup for in my opinion. Good discussion here guys.

I’m somewhere in the middle on this one, partially because I know the lay of the land where this particular sting was setup and I know the actual lay of the land in most of the Black Hills, where we hunt anyway.

As I mentioned above, this particular sting was setup in a very strategic place. Let’s say you see the deer from the road, you must be 33 feet from the center of road to be able to legally shoot. At this particular location, 33 feet would put you down the side of a very steep hill. Reference the ruined shorts above.

Now, knowing this, in an unpopulated area, at least 3 miles by way of the crow to a house. I would most likely sit down on the side of road to take a shot. Is it illegal, yes. Does it make me a low life poacher, no. Again, I know more about this particular circumstance than most so I’m biased.

As stated by some other guys, there are low lifes out there hunting out of season, with illegal firearms etc…. This is who these decoys should be setup for in my opinion. Good discussion here guys.

I disagree with the sentiments of the statments below. Am I responsible for “luring” thieves into stealing the stereo from my car if I was to forget to remove the faceplate from the receiver and left the car parked in a high traffic area?

I think not.

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Would they have committed their crime had it not been for the actions of the DNR/LEO’s? If the answer is ‘no’ then they were induced into criminal activity.

No expense was spared when generating this tool to lure people into violating the law.

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I disagree with the sentiments of the statments below. Am I responsible for “luring” thieves into stealing the stereo from my car if I was to forget to remove the faceplate from the receiver and left the car parked in a high traffic area?

I think not.

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Would they have committed their crime had it not been for the actions of the DNR/LEO’s? If the answer is ‘no’ then they were induced into criminal activity.

No expense was spared when generating this tool to lure people into violating the law.

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As with any discussion having opposing views, there’s usually a presence of a valid point, somewhere within both perspectives.

The bulk of my conclusions agree that making the right choice is really all that is in question here. Temptation is temptation, whether natural or presented.

But on the flip side, there’s been an interesting item exposed in this discussion. Somebody who would choose 100 times out of 100 times to NOT shoot that deer illegally, is suddenly presented with a decoy, sporting a 140pt. rack…………..how often is THIS the deer we see standing along the road inside of shooting hours?

Lay a $5 spot on a table and see how many people non-chalantly walk by it, as if it’s even worthy of taking notice. But lay $500 and likely to get a few more gawkers. $5 grand and people are stopping to talk about it. $500K and one of the first thoughts that enters the average person is, “if I could only get my hands on some money like that!” Just check lottery pruchases………….people want an easy route to riches.

Now, it’s still a bottomline decision between right and wrong. But if you create a presentation worthy of thinking it over, I do think there’s an integrity issue with that too. If you knowingly tempt someone, you have a responsibility in that person’s decision FOR THAT MOMENT. I’m not saying they wouldn’t do it anyway, the fact remains THAT MOMENT is accompanied with deceit.

Do I want to catch lawbreakers and poachers? Sure I do! But I question why they feel the need to put a 140pt. rack on a decoy vs. using a doe? Start throwing lead at a doe and you’ve got, IMHO, the lawbreaker you’re looking for. I see a responsibility factor in the level of alluring circumstance.

The wrong decision is still the wrong decision………….and I’m not trying to dance around that reality. But I don’t set up my kids to see if they’ll lie, cheat, or steal. They’ll get caught doing it on their own and if I’ve taught them correctly, the guilt will far outweigh the temptation in the first place.

As with any discussion having opposing views, there’s usually a presence of a valid point, somewhere within both perspectives.

The bulk of my conclusions agree that making the right choice is really all that is in question here. Temptation is temptation, whether natural or presented.

But on the flip side, there’s been an interesting item exposed in this discussion. Somebody who would choose 100 times out of 100 times to NOT shoot that deer illegally, is suddenly presented with a decoy, sporting a 140pt. rack…………..how often is THIS the deer we see standing along the road inside of shooting hours?

Lay a $5 spot on a table and see how many people non-chalantly walk by it, as if it’s even worthy of taking notice. But lay $500 and likely to get a few more gawkers. $5 grand and people are stopping to talk about it. $500K and one of the first thoughts that enters the average person is, “if I could only get my hands on some money like that!” Just check lottery pruchases………….people want an easy route to riches.

Now, it’s still a bottomline decision between right and wrong. But if you create a presentation worthy of thinking it over, I do think there’s an integrity issue with that too. If you knowingly tempt someone, you have a responsibility in that person’s decision FOR THAT MOMENT. I’m not saying they wouldn’t do it anyway, the fact remains THAT MOMENT is accompanied with deceit.

Do I want to catch lawbreakers and poachers? Sure I do! But I question why they feel the need to put a 140pt. rack on a decoy vs. using a doe? Start throwing lead at a doe and you’ve got, IMHO, the lawbreaker you’re looking for. I see a responsibility factor in the level of alluring circumstance.

The wrong decision is still the wrong decision………….and I’m not trying to dance around that reality. But I don’t set up my kids to see if they’ll lie, cheat, or steal. They’ll get caught doing it on their own and if I’ve taught them correctly, the guilt will far outweigh the temptation in the first place.

Wow. This is quite a thread. A good one too!

I know entrapment could be considered harsh. But I don’t like the idea, because I do believe that it does promote the event through temptation. Yes, morals come into play, but they don’t have strip joints on every corner either. Why not, people don’t need to worry about it if they have morals, right? Who is going to object to strip joints on every block? Why do you think they make them decoys out of big bucks?

I’m all for apprehending poachers. But where do you draw the line. As stated above, there are many, many people out there keeping the Mille Lacs walleye that is 1/4″ over slot. Or one extra crappie on Upper Red. Are they the low lifes too? I don’t know if I would go that route, but they are law breakers, hands down, no arguement. Is it wrong to take the extra fish. YES, because there is no need for the abuse. Why, it gives “SPORTSMAN” a bad name. It only takes one apple………..

I road hunt, but I do it where I’m legally able to do it and I perform it legally (by being off the road). Want to really pee me off, come road hunt by my land where I have exclusive rights to hunt. No, it ain’t my deer, but get out and find your own property to hunt on. I’ve had more deer chased away, lossed, poached, etc, all because of road hunters. What do you do? Turn them in? They know who you are, and there will be repercusions. It ain’t worth starting a fight over.

If there is a real problem of road hunters, taking deer illegally, then yes, set it up and bust them. Good, glad it was done, I’m happy.

But don’t come onto my property with a decoy, tempting me to shoot it. Because, I will. I’ll get off the road, and I’ll blast that thing into the recylcling bin.

I guess I’m a little split down the middle with this one as well. I’m fully opposed to illegal harvest of game and I will defend that to the end. But, I’m also in disagreement with this tactic. Look, poaching for deer is a very big thing in my area. It happens and happens alot. I know people who poach, I know people who have been caught several times. But they keep on doing it. If a CO wants to catch the poacher, they can. They can do their homework and find out who is doing it and very easily catch them. I don’t think the decoy business is the way to go to actually stopping the problem. If you want to catch the poacher, do your homework, and then go check his freezer and have him explain why he has 400lb of venison with only one tag……..

Wow. This is quite a thread. A good one too!

I know entrapment could be considered harsh. But I don’t like the idea, because I do believe that it does promote the event through temptation. Yes, morals come into play, but they don’t have strip joints on every corner either. Why not, people don’t need to worry about it if they have morals, right? Who is going to object to strip joints on every block? Why do you think they make them decoys out of big bucks?

I’m all for apprehending poachers. But where do you draw the line. As stated above, there are many, many people out there keeping the Mille Lacs walleye that is 1/4″ over slot. Or one extra crappie on Upper Red. Are they the low lifes too? I don’t know if I would go that route, but they are law breakers, hands down, no arguement. Is it wrong to take the extra fish. YES, because there is no need for the abuse. Why, it gives “SPORTSMAN” a bad name. It only takes one apple………..

I road hunt, but I do it where I’m legally able to do it and I perform it legally (by being off the road). Want to really pee me off, come road hunt by my land where I have exclusive rights to hunt. No, it ain’t my deer, but get out and find your own property to hunt on. I’ve had more deer chased away, lossed, poached, etc, all because of road hunters. What do you do? Turn them in? They know who you are, and there will be repercusions. It ain’t worth starting a fight over.

If there is a real problem of road hunters, taking deer illegally, then yes, set it up and bust them. Good, glad it was done, I’m happy.

But don’t come onto my property with a decoy, tempting me to shoot it. Because, I will. I’ll get off the road, and I’ll blast that thing into the recylcling bin.

I guess I’m a little split down the middle with this one as well. I’m fully opposed to illegal harvest of game and I will defend that to the end. But, I’m also in disagreement with this tactic. Look, poaching for deer is a very big thing in my area. It happens and happens alot. I know people who poach, I know people who have been caught several times. But they keep on doing it. If a CO wants to catch the poacher, they can. They can do their homework and find out who is doing it and very easily catch them. I don’t think the decoy business is the way to go to actually stopping the problem. If you want to catch the poacher, do your homework, and then go check his freezer and have him explain why he has 400lb of venison with only one tag……..

Gianni,

I agree with you on this. “I don’t need to loose any friends, especially over something as stupid as this.”

I think I need to clarify something I said. When I said 7 out of 10, I didn’t mean 7 out of 10 ordinary people. I meant 7 out of 10 people ticketed by the DNR.

I don’t have a problem with people pulling over to look at deer. Heck I do whenever I can. As far as hunting a road ditch, I have no problem with that either. Why, because you made the effort. Something those people that got ticketed didn’t do.

My biggest beef is with those people that hunt out of their cars and trespass with no regard to peoples welfare or property.

Gianni,

I agree with you on this. “I don’t need to loose any friends, especially over something as stupid as this.”

I think I need to clarify something I said. When I said 7 out of 10, I didn’t mean 7 out of 10 ordinary people. I meant 7 out of 10 people ticketed by the DNR.

I don’t have a problem with people pulling over to look at deer. Heck I do whenever I can. As far as hunting a road ditch, I have no problem with that either. Why, because you made the effort. Something those people that got ticketed didn’t do.

My biggest beef is with those people that hunt out of their cars and trespass with no regard to peoples welfare or property.

By all means, no harm was intended by me, nor any insulting of anyone.

None taken either!

By all means, no harm was intended by me, nor any insulting of anyone.

None taken either!

False analogy James. Your stereo is your property and you have a reasonable expectation of its safety inside of your car. There is a distinction, both morally and legally.

I’m going from the assumption that this was on public land, and that anyone who was 33′ from the roadway would be legal in shooting the deer. The Black Hills has a fair amount of public land, and no trespassing citations were issued. People (who’re not waterfowler, as is the case) who assume otherwise are divining that information from thin air or have additional information which I have requested be posted if available. The article is silent on the matter. The deer is public property, and does not enjoy the protection of your stereo.

Now, if you said that you took your car stereo out, put a sign on it that said, “Free to a good home” and placed it underneath a bag of weed on a public sidewalk; it’s a good analogy. Sit back (concealed in some bushes, naturally, and preferably in a ninja suit), watch, and jail whoever touches it for posession of MJ.

People shouldn’t think I’m defending poachers. What I’m saying is that I’m sick of these sorts of antics. Waterfowler even described the strategic location of this sting, and it sounds like no effort was spared in putting this together. How can this be justified when some 90% of all reports get dropped? Why even bother to check out reports, when the cost/benefit (i.e. cash reward return for effort invested) is so high with an operation like this?

Like it or not, a great many people feel it’s “us vs. them” with the DNR, present company largely excluded. That mentality didn’t come from never-neverland, but from backhanded tactics by an extremely small minority on both sides. We would do well to improve our mannerisms on all sides of this, lest we forget the consequences of continued escalation.

False analogy James. Your stereo is your property and you have a reasonable expectation of its safety inside of your car. There is a distinction, both morally and legally.

I’m going from the assumption that this was on public land, and that anyone who was 33′ from the roadway would be legal in shooting the deer. The Black Hills has a fair amount of public land, and no trespassing citations were issued. People (who’re not waterfowler, as is the case) who assume otherwise are divining that information from thin air or have additional information which I have requested be posted if available. The article is silent on the matter. The deer is public property, and does not enjoy the protection of your stereo.

Now, if you said that you took your car stereo out, put a sign on it that said, “Free to a good home” and placed it underneath a bag of weed on a public sidewalk; it’s a good analogy. Sit back (concealed in some bushes, naturally, and preferably in a ninja suit), watch, and jail whoever touches it for posession of MJ.

People shouldn’t think I’m defending poachers. What I’m saying is that I’m sick of these sorts of antics. Waterfowler even described the strategic location of this sting, and it sounds like no effort was spared in putting this together. How can this be justified when some 90% of all reports get dropped? Why even bother to check out reports, when the cost/benefit (i.e. cash reward return for effort invested) is so high with an operation like this?

Like it or not, a great many people feel it’s “us vs. them” with the DNR, present company largely excluded. That mentality didn’t come from never-neverland, but from backhanded tactics by an extremely small minority on both sides. We would do well to improve our mannerisms on all sides of this, lest we forget the consequences of continued escalation.

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My biggest beef is with those people that hunt out of their cars and trespass with no regard to peoples welfare or property.

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I see this sting operation as detracting from that – my “90% don’t even get a visit” is more than just guesswork, I was told that by a CO.

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My biggest beef is with those people that hunt out of their cars and trespass with no regard to peoples welfare or property.

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I see this sting operation as detracting from that – my “90% don’t even get a visit” is more than just guesswork, I was told that by a CO.

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By all means, no harm was intended by me, nor any insulting of anyone.

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Definitely. I know for a fact that BF’s a great guy, as is everyone I’ve met from this website.

Subjects like this are a great way to get to know people better with a bit of civilized discussion on a controversial topic. Then any harm done is immediately forgotten as we crush empty beer cans on our foreheads and complain about our wives!

Oops, did I say that out loud???

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By all means, no harm was intended by me, nor any insulting of anyone.

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Definitely. I know for a fact that BF’s a great guy, as is everyone I’ve met from this website.

Subjects like this are a great way to get to know people better with a bit of civilized discussion on a controversial topic. Then any harm done is immediately forgotten as we crush empty beer cans on our foreheads and complain about our wives!

Oops, did I say that out loud???

Gianni

You’re looking at my analogy from the perspective of it being my right to retain my personal property. I presented it as the responsibility of the would be thief to NOT steal… even if the goodies are left in a vulnerable situation.

You may not be defending these poachers but you are mitigating their responsibilites for their actions. Full responsibility lies with the person that took the shot. Nobody was forced into a situation where they did not have full control over their actions… and the outcome of the encounter. Had they moved the required distance from the road, onto public land, and then taken the shot? No ticket. Even if they emptied on the decoy and destroyed it. This is not an example of “antics” in my opinion but a very effective technique used by the DNR to allow poachers to literally hang themselves when a rope is tossed at their feet! And don’t come back with the “they wouldn’t have hung themselves if the DNR hadn’t provided the rope” arguement. It doesn’t hold water. These guys are out there actively LOOKING for a deer to blast through the window of their truck or from the road.

One of the most important quotes from the original post… “They picked areas where hunters have in the past shot at deer from roads, or where landowners have complained about such practices.”

These “stings” weren’t set in places the DNR could be assured that anyone that shot would be unable to get into position for a legal shot… these were sites of past abuses. This in my opinion is EXCELLENT enforcement work.

Another quote… “Twenty vehicles passed a decoy at one spot. Fifteen of them stopped and at least one hunter shot from eight of those vehicles.”

Why did 12 of the 20 vehicles drive on by or stop but NOT shoot? 1) – They know how to spot a phony robo-deer from 100 paces. 2) – They knew shooting from the road or their car was illegal and that they were responsible for their descision to shoot or not.

And I think we need a graemlin of a little dude crushing beer cans on his head for times just like this one.

Later G!

Gianni

You’re looking at my analogy from the perspective of it being my right to retain my personal property. I presented it as the responsibility of the would be thief to NOT steal… even if the goodies are left in a vulnerable situation.

You may not be defending these poachers but you are mitigating their responsibilites for their actions. Full responsibility lies with the person that took the shot. Nobody was forced into a situation where they did not have full control over their actions… and the outcome of the encounter. Had they moved the required distance from the road, onto public land, and then taken the shot? No ticket. Even if they emptied on the decoy and destroyed it. This is not an example of “antics” in my opinion but a very effective technique used by the DNR to allow poachers to literally hang themselves when a rope is tossed at their feet! And don’t come back with the “they wouldn’t have hung themselves if the DNR hadn’t provided the rope” arguement. It doesn’t hold water. These guys are out there actively LOOKING for a deer to blast through the window of their truck or from the road.

One of the most important quotes from the original post… “They picked areas where hunters have in the past shot at deer from roads, or where landowners have complained about such practices.”

These “stings” weren’t set in places the DNR could be assured that anyone that shot would be unable to get into position for a legal shot… these were sites of past abuses. This in my opinion is EXCELLENT enforcement work.

Another quote… “Twenty vehicles passed a decoy at one spot. Fifteen of them stopped and at least one hunter shot from eight of those vehicles.”

Why did 12 of the 20 vehicles drive on by or stop but NOT shoot? 1) – They know how to spot a phony robo-deer from 100 paces. 2) – They knew shooting from the road or their car was illegal and that they were responsible for their descision to shoot or not.

And I think we need a graemlin of a little dude crushing beer cans on his head for times just like this one.

Later G!

I look at it this way guys, If i elect to get out of bed in the moring i do. If im hungry, i elect to eat because im hungry. If i elect to get out of my truck after seeing a shootable deer and im far enough away from my truck and completely legal from the ditch of the road, i’ll shoot him. If i walk onto someone else property and shoot a deer with out asking im dumb as he__. If i shoot from the road, unless my whole family is starving to death, i want you to call the dnr and get me too the hospital, i’ve lost it or just didn’t care about the laws. I just have a real hard time with poachers and guys shooting across roads when they could walk over to the fence, taking those big boys that im stalking legally. If a guy does something out of the norm of safe shooting its his fault, to me its not entrapment. Im the first to stand up for what Thomas Jefferson and John Adams spoke for, theres enough nuts in the u.s. here that think the constitution ought to be reversed, yes theres thousands of those pre disposed glory ridden nuts too. Its obvious what these guys are doing shooting these decoys. If they would have made thier minds up befor they left the house to not break our conservation laws they would’nt be in trouble for doing it. I know what your saying but i can’t see entrapment when our woods are full of non trophy bucks who make mistakes and get highpowered too besides the bigger ones who have fought to stay alive by using thier wits. These guys know better! just like you and i do.

I look at it this way guys, If i elect to get out of bed in the moring i do. If im hungry, i elect to eat because im hungry. If i elect to get out of my truck after seeing a shootable deer and im far enough away from my truck and completely legal from the ditch of the road, i’ll shoot him. If i walk onto someone else property and shoot a deer with out asking im dumb as he__. If i shoot from the road, unless my whole family is starving to death, i want you to call the dnr and get me too the hospital, i’ve lost it or just didn’t care about the laws. I just have a real hard time with poachers and guys shooting across roads when they could walk over to the fence, taking those big boys that im stalking legally. If a guy does something out of the norm of safe shooting its his fault, to me its not entrapment. Im the first to stand up for what Thomas Jefferson and John Adams spoke for, theres enough nuts in the u.s. here that think the constitution ought to be reversed, yes theres thousands of those pre disposed glory ridden nuts too. Its obvious what these guys are doing shooting these decoys. If they would have made thier minds up befor they left the house to not break our conservation laws they would’nt be in trouble for doing it. I know what your saying but i can’t see entrapment when our woods are full of non trophy bucks who make mistakes and get highpowered too besides the bigger ones who have fought to stay alive by using thier wits. These guys know better! just like you and i do.

I agree Gary, with 400 lbs of venison in his freezer he’s shot the biggest buck in the woods until the blood is checked. Bust em by the freezer method too. Temptation is one of those things we have to try to keep to a minimum in our lives, rack or no rack. I know theres so many deer in oaklahoma they’ve lifted the poaching laws to thin the herds and make plenty a hunter more happy. Its our natural desire to want a wall hanger but i can only see doing it right like all of us do.