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personally, i have no idea if poachers are meth heads or not. just kind of spitballing that one! reason i threw that out there, is if you have land that abuts up to public or state land, which many drug operators use to grow pot and to make meth on, they have to eat, so i would suspect it's possible they may take to poaching for meat to eat. and if they are illegally making or growing drugs, i doubt they are going to let something like your property lines or fences deter them from crossing them to get a poached deer.

now that is simply an observation, and an opinion, for which i have no facts to prove or disprove if it's true or not.

now what i do know for a fact is even in our county they have busted pot growing operations and meth labs in very rural areas of the county. and i live in very rural area of our county.

I guess it's possible.

My own experience and we have lots of pill heads , methheads, and lead the nation in tons of pot grown, is that those dealing in such endeavors have enough money to eat.
And concentrate almost wholly on their trade. Most are to lazy to go kill an animal. Much less skin or cook it. As far as Meth cookers and users go.

Pot growers, at least here , might actually hunt but usually legally.
Strange I know but when you have 50,000 bucks or more crop growing and hidden, taking a chance on getting unwanted attention to oneself isn't worth poaching which money wise is small potatoes.


Meth users almost stop eating and lose weight rapidly along with their teeth rotting out.

Not saying it never happens but usually one involved in the drug market tends to concentrate on just that.
That's where the big money is.
 
Everything is personal. I doubt meth-heads or pot growers are the culprits (although there is some ancient history). Nope: they are ones who pursue deer to places they obviously shouldn't be; and endanger my horses and violate my clearly-posted property rights. It is not an "accident" they cross a difficult stream to get onto my property, and (armed) are a threat to me and my horses. Not likely it is an "accident", but I won't confront without some defensive firepower more than a .380 pistol.
 
My wife warned me, that when she grows up she will want to be a lap dog. She was right. I enjoyed having her in my lap.
Mongo, thanks for the pic. Your pooch looks identical to the one I grew up with. Betsy.

Thank you for the memories, and give your pooch a loving hug for me.
 
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My poacher got 51 months in Federal prison for felon in possession of a firearm. I had reprisals - explosive device set off in front of my house, death threats relayed to me, cat calls from some driving by, and a stare-down at a service station. I have a reputation.

Our Missouri Conservation Agents are top-notch. They perfected the artificial deer and coyotes which catch poachers shooting from roadways (dangerous to everyone) and will set up when these problems arise. Our judge is a fair, but no nonsense person. Shooting from a roadway is taken seriously and jail time is handed out like Snickers at Halloween. All know now that I will press charges and testify. If citizens do not press charges and testify, law enforcement won't work. Our present Sheriff's Office Deputies are dressed like Dallas Swat yet won't do squat - even respond until the coast is clear or days later. Conservation Agent has never failed to respond quickly or get help from the next county's agent.

The "I poach to eat" BS when driving a $40,000 pickup truck don't fly well here.
 
The "I poach to eat" BS when driving a $40,000 pickup truck don't fly well here.
I'm about to reveal something that'll likely make everyone lose any respect for me that knows me much or is familiar with me. Back when I was off work, between jobs, or off medically after becoming disabled when crushed between a truck & building wall, we lived way out in the country. The town later had it's post office closed due to not being big enough to support itself according to federal postal wisdom, and there were only 3 houses the full length of the road we lived on, 2 being occupied. When I was not working, my family lived on deer & other wild game & fish-regardless of the time of year. I had a wife & 2 kids that I HAD to make SURE they had food. Now NONE were ever left to rot, head cut off for antlers, escaped to die later, sold, or wasted. I'm not proud of it, but not ashamed either. I haven't had to do that since, and doubt very much if I will in the future! The vast majority of poachers are not doing it for that reason however.

In your position, I'm the type that would MOST definitely dress warm in layers, find or rig up a perfectly concealed position fairly close to the area being poached, have a few 30 round mags loaded (just in case LOL!), have a charged up super bright spotlight and give them HELL as soon as they flip the spotlight on! I'm talking about placing a LOT of shots very close, but not so close to them you may accidentally hit them, say within 10 feet. I'm sure that'll run them off, but if it don't, or they fire back, then it can be escalated to shooting tires out, or radiator. I'm not to comment on the worst case scenario in case they do actually shoot at you, we all would defend ourselves.
 
I'm about to reveal something that'll likely make everyone lose any respect for me that knows me much or is familiar with me. Back when I was off work, between jobs, or off medically after becoming disabled when crushed between a truck & building wall, we lived way out in the country. The town later had it's post office closed due to not being big enough to support itself according to federal postal wisdom, and there were only 3 houses the full length of the road we lived on, 2 being occupied. When I was not working, my family lived on deer & other wild game & fish-regardless of the time of year. I had a wife & 2 kids that I HAD to make SURE they had food. Now NONE were ever left to rot, head cut off for antlers, escaped to die later, sold, or wasted. I'm not proud of it, but not ashamed either. I haven't had to do that since, and doubt very much if I will in the future! The vast majority of poachers are not doing it for that reason however.

In your position, I'm the type that would MOST definitely dress warm in layers, find or rig up a perfectly concealed position fairly close to the area being poached, have a few 30 round mags loaded (just in case LOL!), have a charged up super bright spotlight and give them HELL as soon as they flip the spotlight on! I'm talking about placing a LOT of shots very close, but not so close to them you may accidentally hit them, say within 10 feet. I'm sure that'll run them off, but if it don't, or they fire back, then it can be escalated to shooting tires out, or radiator. I'm not to comment on the worst case scenario in case they do actually shoot at you, we all would defend ourselves.
i fully understand what you're saying Mr. Stalkingbear. not that i condone it, nor advocate doing so, but i understand, and nor would i jump to condemn you, because if i were in the same situation, who knows if i wouldn't do the same thing.

but i do have to agree with Mr. SheriffJohn. a poacher driving a $40K or $50K truck isn't poaching to eat. if they can afford that expensive a truck, they can afford to buy groceries. if not, then their priorities are screwed up, and they should learn to live within their means and income.

and i suspect some may poach simply to see if they can get away with it. for the thrill of it. i don't know that to be a fact, just a guess.
 
You're absolutely right! Most poachers ain't doing it because they REALLY need food, and personally, it's a bit bittersweet when I take a life of anything other than ticks, mosquitos, coyotes, or the like. I'm an old country boy, and while I was raised butchering our own beef, hogs, chickens, rabbits, and hunting, I know I can do it, and will do it, but take NO pleasure in doing so. That's why I simply cannot comprehend thrill killers. Sure in battle/firefights bloodlust kicks in, but that's a combo of self preservation, orders, the heat of battle with adrenaline flowing off the charts, and knowing if you don't they'll be all too happy to take you or your buddies out in a heartbeat!
 
You can talk about "poaching to eat" all you want, but IME, there isn't generally
enough game to be had easier than working for food. Poachers around here are
scofflaws and trophy takers. Which makes you wonder, where's the status in
removing the sporting aspect, by taking a trophy animal out of season? It's
sort of like beating a retarded 5 year old at Checkers, ennit? But those jackholes
seem to be in plentiful supply, regardless.
 
Poachers around this part of the world have things happen to their cars if the cars/4wds are left in a paddock they're not supposed to be in. Most are from some of the bigger country cities but there's also a fair bunch that come out of Sydney of Middle Eastern appearance who have no qualms about cutting fences and shooting holes in anything that moves and or water tanks and troughs. These arseholes have also been known to knock a cow or sheep off and take just the back legs or other parts and leave the rest to rot.
My son and a couple of his mates were camping out on a river on a farmer's place with permission just fishing and a bit of hunting when they came across a Suzuki Sierra(a small 4wd) that had a front wheel and hub assembly broken off and the car was just sitting in this paddock. Obviously poachers because they asked the farmer about the car later and he didn't know the car(which was later checked out and found to be unregistered in any case) so my son and his mates went back and raided the car.
Stealing you might say but this car wasn't supposed to be there and it was obvious that there must have been a few of these mongrels as the spare tyre was under the front bullbar so it would've taken more than 2 people to lift this car or at least use a jack. the car must have been trailered up and used as a hunting vehicle because there was ammo and spotlighting gear in the car as well PLUS corn so they must have been baiting for either deer or pigs or both.
The area they were in gets a lot of road runners and poachers so it's not looked upon kindly and things happen to poachers cars like staked tyres, smashed windows and in some cases the cars catch fire. The Police are up to an hour away if not more so by the time they get to wherever the mongrels have long gone and given that our judges are as weak as piss and hand down slaps on the wrist bush justice gets a fair run.
 
I abhor poachers of any kind regarding my property and the critters that inhabit it, and will defend them and our property.

Period.

I fully understand those that are starving and need to feed their family. Our next door neighbors welcomed a "poor starving friend" to "harvest" deer that were so welcome to our properties and pretty much tame. There was no starvation here and the deer were not only welcome, but anticipated.

Their friend wasn't stariving, but he at least had the sense to not shoot at deer where - would he have missed - might have shot into or near a structure. He had a very nice P/U.

In the end, we were all happy he didn't "cull" any of "our" deer as they were welcome critters and nearly pets.

But if a poacher entered our property, I would not hesitate to confront with superior firepower....The safety of our two horses being paramount...
 
If I need to kill a deer etc on MY property to eat it, I'll do so without a 2nd thought.

I've not been quite that bad off but me and my sons could always put a years supply of venison in the freezer during season legally.



I'll not condemn a man killing a game animal for needed food. That's what they are here for. Truly poor people don't just get hungry during hunting season.

That said I will not hunt on anyone else without their permission period.
 
i fully suspect most poachers are not poaching to get meat to live on, because times are hard. they are poaching because they think they can get away with it. i also suspect those poaching to survive are few and far between.

too many churches give away food for those in need. there are social programs such as food stamps for those in need. are there those who poach for meat to survive on and feed their families? it's entirely possible, but if the real numbers were known, i suspect those are very, very small percentage of all poachers if they were known. what we only know for a fact, are those who are caught poaching. many are never caught.
 
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My poacher got 51 months in Federal prison for felon in possession of a firearm. I had reprisals - explosive device set off in front of my house, death threats relayed to me, cat calls from some driving by, and a stare-down at a service station. I have a reputation.

Our Missouri Conservation Agents are top-notch. They perfected the artificial deer and coyotes which catch poachers shooting from roadways (dangerous to everyone) and will set up when these problems arise. Our judge is a fair, but no nonsense person. Shooting from a roadway is taken seriously and jail time is handed out like Snickers at Halloween. All know now that I will press charges and testify. If citizens do not press charges and testify, law enforcement won't work. Our present Sheriff's Office Deputies are dressed like Dallas Swat yet won't do squat - even respond until the coast is clear or days later. Conservation Agent has never failed to respond quickly or get help from the next county's agent.

The "I poach to eat" BS when driving a $40,000 pickup truck don't fly well here.
Roger that, but some people are just plain AFRAID to do anything about anything! :( That is getting to be the prevailing attitude among the 'urban crowd', but both CC, OC, and stand your ground laws are staring to reverse that some what.:) And then some just plain over complicate it. It is your property so I guess the question you have to ask is it worth defending against criminals, or is it not????? :(
 
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i fully suspect most poachers are not poaching to get meat to live on, because times are hard. they are poaching because they think they can get away with it. i also suspect those poaching to survive are few and far between.

too many churches give away food for those in need. there are social programs such as food stamps for those in need. are there those who poach for meat to survive on and feed their families? it's entirely possible, but if the real numbers were known, i suspect those are very, very small percentage of all poachers if they were known. what we only know for a fact, are those who are caught poaching. many are never caught.
No, most poachers are looking for horns not meat. The few who are meat poachers will normally kill on their property, not mine.
 
Recent headlines about "zombie deer". Apparently, some deer herds have developed something similar to Mad Cow Disease, and it can potentially spread to humans if the meat isn't properly cooked....

I'll pass...

Very likely un-Christian of me, but if a poacher kills a deer on my property who then gets the disease, I'm not mourning...
 
Recent headlines about "zombie deer". Apparently, some deer herds have developed something similar to Mad Cow Disease, and it can potentially spread to humans if the meat isn't properly cooked....

I'll pass...

Very likely un-Christian of me, but if a poacher kills a deer on my property who then gets the disease, I'm not mourning...

It's Chronic Wasting Disease. Deer in KY and most other states don't have it in their herds, but several states do.

It effects cervids IE deer, elk, antelope etc.

It's similar to mad cow disease but bovines don't get CWD.


To date no human has contracted CWD from eating deer, elk etc.

Some scientists fear that it may adapt to humans in the future others don't.

It's been around for decades though I saw the same article that sort of makes it sound like its a recent disease emerging.

Trust if a human would contract it they would die a relatively agonizing death.
 
I'm not asking for anything, I just want to clear the air about what I had to do in the past (about 18-20 years ago. Any time you have a major suit against a monster global company, they're going to pull every trick in the book to starve you out to get a quicker, lower settlement, then rewrite the book to pull even more stuff. I was listed as having an income (both short term & long term-depending on the length of time off), and even though I sometimes had NO money coming in at all for up to 2-3 months at a time, that income they was supposed to send put me solidly over any assistance programs. During the 2+ years I was off until being awarded 100% disability, I lost the 146.5 acres (mostly wooded, hunting land, and had high hopes of building my retirement home on it), house on 12.5 acres, the nicest shovelhead Dyna I'd ever built/owned, the new escort I'd been driving for the 1.5 hour commute 1 way, most of my gun collection at the time, my cattle, all the other livestock, my Intl 826 (5 ton tractor with all the attachments/implements), extensive tools, etc. I DID have to come up with meat/food to feed my family at the time. I never went on anybody else's land, and not a single 1 was wasted, sold, gave away, or harvested for the trophy. I'd NOT even think about it now, and haven't the instant I had regular, consistent income. I wholeheartedly agree that most poach for either the thrill, bloodlust, trophy, monetary benefits (selling them), or the danger factor for excitement.
 
Add to the discussion one bunch of young persons busted for shooting deer from the roadway about a mile from my house. When you live around deer, you learn that they are predictable. There are truly "deer crossings" used every day at the same time. Right now, they are herded up and I regularly have 15 - 20 at one time in the fields around us every evening. People around here know where to go to see the deer and most, like me, enjoy watching them. Enjoying wildlife is why we retired to our farm. We also enjoy eating them.

The heartless bastards of which I write found great entertainment in gut-shooting the fawns so they could hear them (as one told me) "Cry for their momma." We've found some of their carcasses left to rot. Our agent busted them and I transported one to court. He did not know where I live nor that I definitely call in when something's amiss. Our judge is firm and fair. When he got caught some months later with meth, the judge ...well...I'll just say the judge remembered the gut-shooting and applied appropriate social surgery to separate him from polite rural society for a while.

Contrast that group to a recently-arrived African family living in public housing to whom I delivered a doe (field-dressed only) to their second-story apartment. The father had had a leg lopped off by terrorists and had not been able to find a job nor an artificial limb. They spread a blue plastic tarp on the living room floor, skinned the deer with a rock and a restaurant steak knife, boned out every scrap of meat, and called another family over to share what he had. The also shared their food with us (of which they had very little and were eating from the same bowl with their fingers). There were four kids, two of whom were eventually "discovered" by the school track coach as "amazing runners" (duh). Possibly because powered vehicles were rare where they came from (so I was told). The father said he used to have a bicycle in his homeland but could no longer ride one with one leg.

Anyway ... I used to feel sorry for myself sometimes until I met them. His entire family was shot and hacked to death at their home. he survived by feigning death.
My friend told me they wanted the WHOLE deer, guts and all next time as they considered the internal organs the best part.
 
Add to the discussion one bunch of young persons busted for shooting deer from the roadway about a mile from my house. When you live around deer, you learn that they are predictable. There are truly "deer crossings" used every day at the same time. Right now, they are herded up and I regularly have 15 - 20 at one time in the fields around us every evening. People around here know where to go to see the deer and most, like me, enjoy watching them. Enjoying wildlife is why we retired to our farm. We also enjoy eating them.

The heartless bastards of which I write found great entertainment in gut-shooting the fawns so they could hear them (as one told me) "Cry for their momma." We've found some of their carcasses left to rot. Our agent busted them and I transported one to court. He did not know where I live nor that I definitely call in when something's amiss. Our judge is firm and fair. When he got caught some months later with meth, the judge ...well...I'll just say the judge remembered the gut-shooting and applied appropriate social surgery to separate him from polite rural society for a while.

Contrast that group to a recently-arrived African family living in public housing to whom I delivered a doe (field-dressed only) to their second-story apartment. The father had had a leg lopped off by terrorists and had not been able to find a job nor an artificial limb. They spread a blue plastic tarp on the living room floor, skinned the deer with a rock and a restaurant steak knife, boned out every scrap of meat, and called another family over to share what he had. The also shared their food with us (of which they had very little and were eating from the same bowl with their fingers). There were four kids, two of whom were eventually "discovered" by the school track coach as "amazing runners" (duh). Possibly because powered vehicles were rare where they came from (so I was told). The father said he used to have a bicycle in his homeland but could no longer ride one with one leg.

Anyway ... I used to feel sorry for myself sometimes until I met them. His entire family was shot and hacked to death at their home. he survived by feigning death.
My friend told me they wanted the WHOLE deer, guts and all next time as they considered the internal organs the best part.
You nailed it John. No matter how bad a person think they have it there are MANY who are much worse off!!!:( That is why I end each day and start each day by saying "Thank you Lord for another good day"!!!:)
 
poaching is illegal. so that means those who poach are pretty much criminals. for the most part, they should be treated as such. that is why there are game wardens.

and there may be some instances where a person poaches to feed themselves and their family. and i sympathize with their plight. but, i will also add, i doubt the vast majority are poaching for meat to survive on.
 
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