Thanks to a heads up from Ohiosam last week, I was able to catch wind of a serious poaching ring here in Washington County via a thread created on OS. The OP of the thread stated they had found 15 dead bucks with the racks removed this fall and even went as far as to say who he believed the poacher to be. I was neither shocked nor surprised when he stated Logan Smith (a former best friend of my cousin) was the suspect. I've known Logan for a few years now and you'll never find a kid with more "oblivious" parents than he has. No possible way their "little angel" could be involved in such a racket. However, I know better and it seems most of the neighborhood, including his own family (cousins and uncles) know better as well...
The buck Got One posted with the .177 pellet base in its backstraps came from right down the road from Logan's grandmother. During the bonus weekend, my cousin drove a decent 10 out of a thick holler on my uncle's farm and the buck had been shot in the spine with a .223ish caliber rifle a few days prior. Last week, Logan's own grandmother reported hearing a "rifle and shotgun" go off late one night and upon further investigation, tire tracks were found all over her hay field. This activity alone is within a 1/2 mile radius of my uncles farm and Got Ones place.
I spoke with one local farmer who was well aware of Logan's mischief and suggested a "blanket party" to solve the issue now that he was 18. After that conversation, I spoke with Logan's cousin (who I grew up with) and his uncle. It was relayed to me that Logan admitted to holding the spotlight, but not to shooting the deer. His cousin told me they found 13 bucks with racks cut off and his uncle found one right behind his house with the rack cut off. Logan was bragging at school and around home that they killed 20+ deer in one night recently and somewhere along the line, it has been rumored he is selling the racks to someone. There is a local guy here buying antlers buy the pound and I have a sneaking suspicion he is involved.
Here comes the issue: From the sounds of things, our GW is not going to do much about it. I have not spoken to him directly, but plan to do so in the near future. I am going to begin collaborating with the locals to build our own case on the matter. I had a shitty enough year without having to deal with this bullshit. My dad's farm and the farm Greg and I share are both easy targets for this kind of activity, and it is obvious that so is my uncle's place. As the old saying goes...
[video=youtube;ynKoZD-sFi4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynKoZD-sFi4[/video]
The buck Got One posted with the .177 pellet base in its backstraps came from right down the road from Logan's grandmother. During the bonus weekend, my cousin drove a decent 10 out of a thick holler on my uncle's farm and the buck had been shot in the spine with a .223ish caliber rifle a few days prior. Last week, Logan's own grandmother reported hearing a "rifle and shotgun" go off late one night and upon further investigation, tire tracks were found all over her hay field. This activity alone is within a 1/2 mile radius of my uncles farm and Got Ones place.
I spoke with one local farmer who was well aware of Logan's mischief and suggested a "blanket party" to solve the issue now that he was 18. After that conversation, I spoke with Logan's cousin (who I grew up with) and his uncle. It was relayed to me that Logan admitted to holding the spotlight, but not to shooting the deer. His cousin told me they found 13 bucks with racks cut off and his uncle found one right behind his house with the rack cut off. Logan was bragging at school and around home that they killed 20+ deer in one night recently and somewhere along the line, it has been rumored he is selling the racks to someone. There is a local guy here buying antlers buy the pound and I have a sneaking suspicion he is involved.
Here comes the issue: From the sounds of things, our GW is not going to do much about it. I have not spoken to him directly, but plan to do so in the near future. I am going to begin collaborating with the locals to build our own case on the matter. I had a shitty enough year without having to deal with this bullshit. My dad's farm and the farm Greg and I share are both easy targets for this kind of activity, and it is obvious that so is my uncle's place. As the old saying goes...
[video=youtube;ynKoZD-sFi4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynKoZD-sFi4[/video]
