[jimbridger]

I thought we were told on here to not worry about the loopholes in any of the modern methods being implemented because most people are good and will simply follow the rules.

96% of nothing shouldn't have much impact.

96% of the minority is still 96%

Do not mistake the percentage of one sub set as the percentage of the whole. Waugh!

 

[jimbridger]

I agree with that statement. I started with the Game Commission back in the mid 70's and poaching was a real issue back then. Back then it was one deer per year, and you were done. At least done legally. For many, maybe even most, one deer a year simply wasn't enough. For some it was the meat they were after and others it was that they didn't want to end their hunting.

Back then if I found a local archer with a dead deer there was almost a certainty it was not going to be tagged. I higher percentage of the camp people tagged their archery kills but it was not at all uncommon to catch them reusing the tag on another deer or using someone else's license.

During the firearms deer season untagged deer and multiple kills in a season were very common, even among people who were normally not of a criminal nature.

On fall and even some summer weekends the camps would be filled with hunters and a lot of them were going to take a deer back home with them. There were nights when you would hear as much shooting as you would hear the second day of buck season.

I remember one weekend night a deputy and I were totally frustrated because we didn't catch our first poacher of the night until the 17th shot. Then while we were writing them up we watched a vehicle a few hundred yards away spotlighting and shooting. We were too tied up to even go after them.

By the time I retired, in 2012, you were lucky to even see a spot lighter out at night and I wouldn't hear as much night shooting during the entire fall as what I would hear in one night back in the 70's and 80's. When hunters could get more deer tags they simply didn't need to risk getting caught poaching. Now it seems the people killing extras or illegal deer are mostly after the big bucks or extra bucks simply because don't want a big buck or they aren't willing to be finished buck hunting for the year.

Dick Bodenhorn

Well there was always the "cabin meat" deer. RSB tell us about the old timer you had at your tours that showed us the antler collection he shot back in the day. Also tell us what he said when he showed multiple antlers for the same year. IIRC the statement was none were ever wasted and all were used for a good cause. Waugh!