someone asked about this in another thread. many of you will have already read this as i copied and pasted what i already posted somewhere else, buit for those who havent seen it.....enjoy.
for a couple of days i had seen a 1 ton pickup cruising stubble fields close to the river before and after legal shooting times. it was obvious to me that it was not a vehicle coming or going to hunting areas, but that those involved were actively looking for deer. one morning on my way to my area, i again saw this vehicle driving down the road. nothing wrong with that, but then i saw it uturn and take off at high speed down an adjacent road. it was too dark to see what they were chasing, but when they slammed the brakes and bailed out on the road and opened fire......i knew i had them. i witnessed both occupants fire from each side of the vehicle. it was dark enough that i could see flames from the barrels. when i scanned with binocs to the field i didnt see what they were shooting at. they got back in and drove into the field (that they did not have permission in) and i made my way over to them. they were standing over a small whitetail buck. i congratulated them on their success as i noted the plate number. i drove away and dug up the phone number for the RAP line. when the call was made, my gps showed that it was 47 minutes before legal hunting time. that means the kill was made close to an hour before legal time. when i congratulated them, they said they thought he was bigger. the way they said it made me think they were going to abandon the deer. before i got off the phone, they were driving away from the kill site toward a big coulee. i field a report with the fish cop who called me back and suggested he go look in the coulee where they went.
later in the day, the fish cop called back and asked for specific instructions on where to observe the scene. i one upped him and met him there to show him exactly where everything happened. i then got to witness and assist the investigation. it was determined that the deer was hit while running, and where i talked to them was where a finishing shot was delivered. he got out his metal detector, and i helped him dig a bullet out of the snow. he took a pile of pics and then asked me if i knew where they shot from on the road. i took him there and as he got out the metal detector again to look for cases, i spotted one sticking out of the snow. it was neat to see the evidence collection taking place. later that afternoon, he tracked down the owner of the truck who admitted that he had shot a whitetail buck from the road in the dark. he said his son who was with him did not shoot. he also admitted that he dumped the carcass as he thought it was bigger when it was running, but ground shrinkage went to work.
in court a few days ago, he was convicted (im not sure of exactly what) and was fined more than 3000 dollars and lost his hunting priveleges for a year. hopefully he learns from his mistake, but the bigger concern for me is that this guy was teaching his son that this is what hunting is all about. sigh. at least justice was served.
i would like to add that from what i saw from this particular fish cop is that he handled the whole thing in a very professional manner, including keeping me updated on the entire proceedings. well done sir.
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