Behavioral changes

[The Night Stalker]

I moved here going on twenty years ago to get away from the concrete, and to have more hunting opportunities. Half my family moved north to find work during hard times when the county literally had no jobs and no resources. I grew up in northern Delaware but my grandparents and other family members continued to live here in the mountains.  I have seen some really large deer shot in our area. Many would rival deer across some hot spots in Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin and Western Kentucky. I mention these places personally because I always associated them with big deer. Well, I continually see big deer shot with rifle or hit by car in our county. The mountains are a very hard place to hunt because of accessability and inconsistent winds. Since we are 3000-5000ft, the winds seem to swirl constantly. I have shot some descent deer and tried to manage them the best I could, but It seems like I just am fighting a looseing battle. I am not trying to say that every deer taken with traditional equipment is not a trophy nor do I blame an inexperianced hunter for taken a smaller buck. What I am saying is we need to do something about these good ole boys riding around shooting from the roads. It happens year after year and I can make you a list of the boys that do it. I hear often, I shot a ten point, well it might only have a 12 inch spread but it had 10 points. I think this is a southern cultural thing. These people are most likely distantly related to me. Look at the show moonshiners, that is as real as it gets in some places. For such a large area, I think we have one game warden in our county. I think I seen him at the Hardee's once.  I have heard of boys getting caught shooting from the road, only to do it again and again. So, I am asking, what would you do? Do you continue to fight the fight and concentrate on the younger hunters in hopes  to sway opinion and management practices. Do you petition the game commision for more resources?
I am wanting to know who shares these same experiences wherever you might live. Is this only a problem in my area? We could bring income into our county by having an opputunity at a large whitetail when our economy is dieing.
We have many outsiders visit here only to stay because of the natural beauty. I talked to a lady visiting from a hospital system in Western Kentucky and much of their economy is based on deer hunting, real estate sales, etc.   Tim in NC

[JohnV]

I lived in the Piedmont region from 1988-2001 and was often frustrated with the mindset of many of the local "hunters". In addition to hunting Stokes Co., I leased property in Alleghany Co. for deer hunting. Tresspassing was always a problem, both hunters and ATV joy riders. People don't seem to respect the rights of private landowners and think they are entitled to go anywhere they want whenever they want. No one was interested in trying to improve the age structure of the deer herd. Guys loved their 5 buck tags and would shoot a little spike over a doe any day. Seems like hunters in NC are now demanding the DNR spend more effort satisfy those hunters who are law abiding and want to see the quality of the deer herd improve. For too many years the DNR seemed to gear management towards bubba redneck riding around in his pick em up shooting deer from the road. NC Bowhunters Association is a good organization to join if you have not done so already. They actively promote shooting more does and fewer bucks and would like to see the age structure of the deer herd improve.

[njloco]

Well, at least now, when I retire, I know where I won't be moving to. That is a huge uphill battle.

Good luck.

[lpcjon2]

Poachers are all over every state, county, and town. It is the job of law enforcement to handle them, when a normal hunter/citizen tries to intervene and set them straight they (without knowing it) may cross the fine line between legal and illegal practices(harassment and such). It is best practice to inform the local authorities and let them do the dirty work. The last thing you want is one of them pressing charges against you or retaliating against you or your property.

[The Night Stalker]

John, my wife is from Alleghany county, still has many deer but not as mountainess as Ashe. I flew out to Iowa a fews years ago. Seems like the perfect whitetail land.

[ALwoodsman]

I know how you feel it is pretty much like that here too.

[Bowwild]

Of course poachers are everywhere.  There are concentrations in every state.  Most of this is a local cultural thing where people don't feel threatened to share their stories of ill-gotten gains.  A rare few flourish because of (I hate to say this) lazy law enforcement.  In some areas Judges don't take wildlife violations seriously and do a lot of hand-slapping.  Great LE officers spend a lot of time educating prosecutors and judges about the seriousness of poaching (wildlife theft) so the book gets thrown at the poachers they catch.

I'm lucky to be in an area where poaching is less than other areas.

I've lost hunting spots in Indiana and Kentucky because I turned in poachers (failure to tag, illegal gender).  I hated to lose those hunting spots but I could tolerate less not seeing these people corrected.

We must not tolerate the actions of these people. We should each develop reputations that will prevent people from sharing stories of their poaching with us.

[longrifle346]

LOL, some of you folks are using a kinda wide brush to paint all Carolinians aren't you? Funny though, I left home here after high school and when I returned to the Tarheel State the first thing I noticed was how everyone from everywhere else who fell in love with it and moved here was now trying to mold it into what they left. The fishing fleets that were once a mainstay for local economy and the source of the quaint atmosphere were now smelly eyesores. Creeks and harbors that I swam and fished in as a boy are now wall to wall sailing and power yachts. Thanks but I'll take those locals you look down on over the snooty "ferenors" (as my grandfather labeled them 30 years ago) any day....

[The Night Stalker]

Michael, big difference in the mountains. When I moved here, until they knew who my family was, they just were not going to accept you. Then, when they found out who my grandfather was, they got really scared. My grandfather was a mess. There is places up here, that the police will not go. Day before, yesterday, one gets a rifle out and shoots up the place, deputies were called, he points the rifle at them, deputies shoot him, end of story. Last year, a deputy was not so lucky. They were called and as they approached the trailer. One was shot in the face and killed, his patner was lucky enough to return fire a kill the man that called them.