Poacher Story's

[HoustonHunter94]

Several years ago I bought my then girlfriend (now wife) a used Rem 1100 .20 gauge and took her to the skeet range and shot several rounds and she eventually got pretty good. Fast forward to Sept 1st and we were out in the dove field and out comes the warden and I thought nothing of it. We had our licenses and everything was legal. So I thought. I never thought to check her new shotgun for a plug. We never out more than 2 shells in it at the range and never more than 3 in the field but sure enough she got checked for a plug and didn't have one. She had to give up her first 5 dove ever and got a ticket and restitution charges. I paid them as I felt it was on me for not checking. She was crying and upset and embarrassed and honestly I was too. We made a makeshift plug and continued hunting and had a great trip but she never lets me forget that one.

[Drycreek3189]

This was when dinosaurs still roamed the earth, but when I was a kid, we hunted almost anywhere we wanted to. Hunting was a tradition in rural East Texas that almost all participated in. If someone didn't want you there, they would just tell you, and you didn't go back there. Also used to ride my bike down the highway with a .22 or shotgun across the handlebars. Imagine trying that today !

The limit on doves or ducks was reached when they quit flying over. But, I eventually grew up and realized that there were game laws and they were there for a reason.

[SouthTX1911]

Poacher Story's

I'll tell on myself. I was home from my freshman year of college at my parents. We have a few water holes (mostly sloughs) that we knew wood ducks loved. I had never duck hunted in my life and didn't know a thing about it. I went out one evening and got in a little pelican boat and just sat in the middle of the slough. We here it comes onto dark and oh man the woodies were raining into there like nothing I've ever seen. I proceed to fire away. I got 10 down. I figured shooting time went to 30min after sundown and I didn't even know there was a limit for ducks. I left and put them in the walk in for my dad who wanted some for a cookout and left the next morning to head back to school. Got a call two days later from my dad. He told me the very next evening some guys from church were out and were hunting that same hole since I had such an awesome hunt. Game Warden had heard my shooting the night before and made sure to be listening the next night. When they let loose he just followed to noise. They were shooting after time and one guy didn't have a license. They all got fines and he took all their ducks and my ducks out of the cooler. I felt terrible because I just didn't know any better. We still laugh about my greatest duck hunt to date.


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[dustoffer]

On a lease east of Cotulla and we had a 200-ac CRP field along the highway. There was an abandoned RR right of way along the Hwy which was largely grown up in brush and cactus but it had two openings thru which you could see a feeder about 200 yds from the highway. Lots of nights I'd see vehicles stop and shine a light at the feeder, and we would respond with our spotlight on the vehicle. One night we hadn't seen the light in time and heard the shot. Put the light on them and they hauled off. Next day we find a dead buck--maybe 150 yds from the highway. Game warden called them "the Fowlerton Outlaws" aka the "Long Lease" hunters. Never knew of any of them being caught.

[DTala]

my wife used to hunt a lot by herself on our lease just east of Birmingham Al. All 4'11" of her. She's a RN at a local hospital and isn't scared of Satan himself.

I was working one day and she called to say she had some poachers on her place. I ask where they were, which way they went. She replies they are sitting here on the powerline waiting for you at gunpoint. My gun point. Holy smoke, I'm 45 minutes away. I smoke the tires heading her way.....

I get there and drive thru the gate and to the powerline. There sits my wife and three poachers WHO WERE **** GLAD TO SEE ME. I arrest all three and tell em not to come back, to a man they said no problem, we will never set foot on this place again. LOL

Did ya'll know grown men are actually terrified of short wimmen with rifles???? and they don't know her like I do, they'd really be scared.

[Azzy]

It was my first year dove hunting. I was at work, and my dad called me. One of his buddies called him ad told him to come over in the afternoon to hunt doves. I didn't have a shotgun so I head to Gander Mountain to buy one. I spend about an hour talking to the guy and looking at choices. I picked a remington 1187. I told him, I'm heading hunting in a couple of hours this shotgun has a plug right? He re affirmed it and checked me out.
I head to the guys property and the doves were flying like crazy, I assumed the shotgun was plugged so I never even attempted to load a 4th. The GW comes over and checks all the hunters, he gets to me and my dad and asks us for our licenses and guns. Hand it over to him like no problem. He check it and well, no plug. He looks at me and asked me why- told him my story and showed him the receipt. He walked with me to my truck, tried to put in the plug and couldn't. Handed me a nice $200 ticket and gave me my shotgun back. Told me not to load more than 3 and plug it when I get home. We finished the day hunting, limited out and when we get back to my buddies house, the game warden is there eating bbq and enjoying some time with all us hunters. Could've been worse but he was pretty cool. Went back to Gander a couple days later and tell the guy- showed him my ticket and his coworkers laughed. He was the manager at the gun counter. He said I got you 10% on your purchases from now on. Went a couple of months later, pulled out a credit card and bought me a Kimber 30-06 and a nice Leupold. In the end I got a story out of it and a discount.

[TexaRican]

I wonder if we will get any poaching stories told in the first person?

My Dad did not hunt so most of my hunting growing up was done with my uncle (Mom's brother) who is a deadbeat/black sheep etc etc. I didn't know road hunting was illegal until I was old enough to buy a licenses for myself. He'd tell me this was his buddy's place and we had permission. "Chris, jump that fence and pull that deer/turkey back to the road while I turn the truck around."

There's your first person poacher story.


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[AgHntr10]

Saw a guy get out of jeep on the side of 59 just north of the Trinity river with a bow in hand and take off at a fast walk across the ditch. I thought it looked Wierd and called a GW I knew in SJ county and told him about it. He was across the county but called it in and they ended up catching the guy on a property just South of the river that he was using the RR bridge to access. Apparently they had been on to him for a while but couldn't catch him.

[Anythinghunter8]

those are some good stories I don't kiss and tell! LOL but I have grown up know and know right from wrong!

[Silverstang]

I'm from east Texas so unfortunately no stories, that doesn't happen around these parts.

[rut-ro]

no deer but growing up on the trinity river I was around some east Texas outlaws. We would go fishing when I was about 6 years old. Old telephone hooked up to the battery. My dad would scoop the catfishup and my job was to hit cat fish in the head with a hammer if they came to and starts flopping.

[1riot1ranger]

So there I was with my 22lr and spotlight at midnight on my neighbors side of the fence...........

......... in deep East Texas....

[Incline]

I bought my first shotgun used right before dove season. I knew I needed to check to make sure that it had a plug but I could hear it rattling around in there, so I was confident. Sure enough, GW comes out to see how we were doing. He asked if everyone has a license and guns plugged. We all say yes. He tells us to have a good day and doesn't check us. Later I discover that the plug was homemade and would allow for 3 shells to be loaded in the tube, instead of just 2. Being knew to hunting I had to go check to see if I was legal or not. I feel pretty lucky on that one.

[fishingsetx]

someone wanted first person stories:

Did a lot of trespassing/poaching as a kid. Never killed more than our limit of squirrels, ducks, fish, etc but we were normally on someone else's place. shot a ton of rabbit out of the big thicket national park. had a buddy that lived right on the edge of the big thicket. Park Rangers never caught us, but they sure tried quite a few times. We were 10 to 13 years old and hunted them on foot with pellet guns. killed a bunch of squirrels too. Got chased out of numerous private ponds, sometimes the same one several times. Caught a couple smaller gators out of a beaver pond. still don't know who owned the property, but we spent many a summer day fishing it and many a winter trapping it. later that year, the preacher told some of our stories at my grandfather's funeral. He was a deputy sheriff, and the funeral home was packed with LEO'S and at least a dozen GW'S! My buddy turned white as a ghost and looked like he wanted to melt into the pew!!!

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[DapperDan]

Gonna have to follow this thread to make sure none of these stories are about me!!! Lol


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