dennishoddy
Moderator
I live in the sticks, and have always had a problem with poachers. Vermin as far as I'm concerned, as I come from the day when just seeing a deer track and getting a pic of it made the newspaper.
I live in Osage county. In the 50's, the ODW decided to transplant deer from Co. to Okla. My Uncle owned ranch land in Osage county. He, and other landowners around him agreed with the ODW to put the deer on their property, and protect the herd.
We all know where this has gone. We have great deer hunting in the state.
I have land in Grant/Kay county for farming. With the neighbors we have been working with the ODW to manage the deer herd. It has became skewed, with the buck to doe ratio out of control. BLAH, BLAH, and so on.
My issue with poachers is that they take what they haven't reaped. The neighbors and I spend thousands of dollars a year putting food plots, etc.
They steal, and are nothing but thiefs.
My story that started earlier this year.
I was leaving the house at 10am, when looking down the road, I saw a brown chevy pickup with dark windows, coming out of a gate. Didn't recognize it, and getting behind it, they were driving real slow, and kept crossing the white line on the right side of the road.
I was thinking this guy is drunk, and went around them slowly. The window was open, and it startled them when I was going around, as they were concentrating on something out in the wheat field.
Getting around them, I looked into the wheat field and saw a deer down. That deer was not there yesterday evening, so I knew these guys were up to no good. I kept driving until getting over a hill where I turned around and parked with just enough of the windshield above the hill to watch them with bino's.
Every time a car would go by, they would drive off, and when the car was gone, they would turn around and head back to this one spot where the deer was laying.
The Osage GW lives just a mile away, so I called him. He said 5 minutes.
He called me back and said he would be there in 30 seconds, so I headed back that way, and met him at a crossroad, and pointed out the truck. He made a stop on them, and found two deer heads in the back of the truck.
I drove to the deer and looked it over. It had been shot, and the head cut off. It was fresh.
Later on the GW called me and said it was a good bust. They fessed up to shooting them at 2:30am with a .270 and a spotlight. They only wanted the racks. Not particularly big racks either.
2 hours later I was going home and the GW STILL had them stopped, but had moved them to the deers location. There were drag marks in the wheat, so I'm thinking he made them drag the deer back to the road to use for evidence?? I don't know on that one. I'll give the GW a call in a day or two and see what it cost them.
God, I hate poachers I'm betting it was an expensive day for those boys
GUILTY AS CHARGED!
Court date was yesterday. Talked to the Ok GW that was the arresting officer this evening.
Wednesday, their attorney called the court and put in a guilty plea for all charges.
Now, with that plea, they will go after the gun, which has been confiscated, the hunting licenses, and will seek restitution of the TWO deer that had their heads in the back of their truck. I didn't know about the other.
The GW told me that this same guy(there were two of them in the truck) had been calling him, wanting to get ride-alongs. Trying to figure out his schedule I guess.
Evidently, according to the GW he knew the guy was dirty, and never did that. Just never had proof until now.
With the guilty plea, and if the restitution will stick, its going to cost them in the range of $12,000 dollars after its all said and done!
I live in Osage county. In the 50's, the ODW decided to transplant deer from Co. to Okla. My Uncle owned ranch land in Osage county. He, and other landowners around him agreed with the ODW to put the deer on their property, and protect the herd.
We all know where this has gone. We have great deer hunting in the state.
I have land in Grant/Kay county for farming. With the neighbors we have been working with the ODW to manage the deer herd. It has became skewed, with the buck to doe ratio out of control. BLAH, BLAH, and so on.
My issue with poachers is that they take what they haven't reaped. The neighbors and I spend thousands of dollars a year putting food plots, etc.
They steal, and are nothing but thiefs.
My story that started earlier this year.
I was leaving the house at 10am, when looking down the road, I saw a brown chevy pickup with dark windows, coming out of a gate. Didn't recognize it, and getting behind it, they were driving real slow, and kept crossing the white line on the right side of the road.
I was thinking this guy is drunk, and went around them slowly. The window was open, and it startled them when I was going around, as they were concentrating on something out in the wheat field.
Getting around them, I looked into the wheat field and saw a deer down. That deer was not there yesterday evening, so I knew these guys were up to no good. I kept driving until getting over a hill where I turned around and parked with just enough of the windshield above the hill to watch them with bino's.
Every time a car would go by, they would drive off, and when the car was gone, they would turn around and head back to this one spot where the deer was laying.
The Osage GW lives just a mile away, so I called him. He said 5 minutes.
He called me back and said he would be there in 30 seconds, so I headed back that way, and met him at a crossroad, and pointed out the truck. He made a stop on them, and found two deer heads in the back of the truck.
I drove to the deer and looked it over. It had been shot, and the head cut off. It was fresh.
Later on the GW called me and said it was a good bust. They fessed up to shooting them at 2:30am with a .270 and a spotlight. They only wanted the racks. Not particularly big racks either.
2 hours later I was going home and the GW STILL had them stopped, but had moved them to the deers location. There were drag marks in the wheat, so I'm thinking he made them drag the deer back to the road to use for evidence?? I don't know on that one. I'll give the GW a call in a day or two and see what it cost them.
God, I hate poachers I'm betting it was an expensive day for those boys
GUILTY AS CHARGED!
Court date was yesterday. Talked to the Ok GW that was the arresting officer this evening.
Wednesday, their attorney called the court and put in a guilty plea for all charges.
Now, with that plea, they will go after the gun, which has been confiscated, the hunting licenses, and will seek restitution of the TWO deer that had their heads in the back of their truck. I didn't know about the other.
The GW told me that this same guy(there were two of them in the truck) had been calling him, wanting to get ride-alongs. Trying to figure out his schedule I guess.
Evidently, according to the GW he knew the guy was dirty, and never did that. Just never had proof until now.
With the guilty plea, and if the restitution will stick, its going to cost them in the range of $12,000 dollars after its all said and done!
