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BuckTracker: Shed Poacher Candid Camera
Lots of deer guys pull their trail cameras for the season -- a good idea for routine maintenance and battery replacement -- but this camera was out long enough to catch a shed poacher in the act.
The photo is a little blurry, but the young gentleman (and I use the term loosely) has antlers in his hands as well as a backpack stuffed full of them. He was caught and the photo used to prosecute him for trespassing. Unfortunately, for some reason the antlers were not confiscated and his fine was a meager one. However, he did confess to trespassing on other properties and may face additional charges.
I'm interested in hearing whether other readers have caught trespassers with trail cameras? One of my hunting buddies snapped a photo of a neighbor walking past one of our tree stands last summer. How 'bout other oddities? Let me know, and send pics if you've got 'em!
Unless you can prove the sheds came from the land he was on (and how is that possible) what else can you charge him with?
It amazes me how much value people are putting on sheds today. I can see picking them up for use as rattling antlers, or to compare the year to year growth on your hunting land of certain bucks, but now people are paying good money for them and I've yet to figure out why.
I guess you could have a taxidermist put them on a mount and you could claim you killed it to your buddies, but gee where's the satisfaction in that?
To each their own I guess.
Posted by: jstreet | March 28, 2008 at 03:41 PM
Dang man, if I could scratch up that many sheds on my neighbor's property, they'd need a mote, a pack of attack pit bulls, armed guards, razor wire, land mines, booby traps ... no, it'd still be worth it. But don't let me catch that sumbitch on my place! : )
Posted by: John D | March 28, 2008 at 03:46 PM
Kind of like fence sitting isn't it.
People like to sit near fences to hunt deer until they catch their neighbors doing the same thing.
Jim
Posted by: jstreet | March 28, 2008 at 06:26 PM
Seems to me it would have been better for this guy if he just asked permission to shed hunt on the property.
I have been collecting antlers for the past 18 years and as much as I enjoy doing that it is not worth trespassing for.
Posted by: Rick | March 28, 2008 at 07:20 PM
I suppose if a tree on your property shed its leaves you would have a fit if your neighbour collected a few for compost! Grow up! Trespassing ? Poaching shed antlers ? My how miserly and possessive we have become! Come to Canada where we still have lots of land to wander and hunt upon and don`t freak out if your neighbour picks up a few old antlers off the forest floor before the rodents rtender them to dust. or for heavens sake .. has the temerity to actually WALK PAST your deer stand !!!
Posted by: | March 28, 2008 at 07:40 PM
If you own land and post it legally here in Maine,you have got to verbally tell a person that comes onto it they need to have permission or you don't want them there before they can get in trouble.As a shed hunter or any other hunter it is out of respect for the landowner to ask that permission. Maine doesn't fence in its deer like many southern states and finding sheds can be tough but you can on public lands(and there is LOTS) without permission or most landowners don't mind you looking for them.Sounds like this landowner is a greedy one..what does he do with all of them? I do know people use them for arts and crafts but what else?medicinal purposes?I thought that was only moose antlers and bear gall bladders.I happen to cut them up,put them in a nylon and use them as rattle bags,LOL and heck,if I lose one in the woods ,the squirrels,porcupines,etc got something to chew on;-)
Posted by: Wanda | March 28, 2008 at 08:13 PM
no but i caught the land owner next to me seting in my blind isnt that some bull
Posted by: randy wilson | March 28, 2008 at 09:44 PM
hard to believe but asian people will ingest anything they think will inhance there life and if a buck is to be made people will find a way to do it legal or not
Posted by: lloydeddy | March 28, 2008 at 11:18 PM
hard to believe but asian people will ingest anything they think will inhance there life and if a buck is to be made people will find a way to do it legal or not
Posted by: lloydeddy | March 28, 2008 at 11:19 PM
This is a picture from iowawhitetail.com & I believe this was in Iowa. Check it out it's a great website.
Posted by: POLARIS | March 29, 2008 at 12:03 AM
Why don't you want people wandering on your property, without permission and your knowledge? Because the same person who well grant themselves access to wherever they damn well please is the same person who will sue you if they get injured on your property. It doesn't mean they will win, but it does mean that at a minimum you will have to spend time and possibly money defending yourself, as well as the aggravation and stress involved. Not only that, but the person who has no problem wandering your property univited is quite likely to help themselves to anything that is not locked up or bolted down (and some things that are). Property rights are near and dear to the freedoms this country was founded on, and anyone who says property owners are obliged to let someone else come on to their property univited "as long as they aren't hurting anything" is almost never going to be someone who owns any more than the lot their house sits on.
Posted by: ricefarm | March 29, 2008 at 04:08 PM
I showed this Picture to my father who has a considerable amount of land that i'm hoping to inherit one day and he took one look at the picture and said, " this guy's lucky, he stepped foot on my land and he be getting shot by more then a Camera"... It's the Principle of the fact even if he didnt take anything if you dont own the land dont use it.. My father is fair with his land if you ask him He will most likely even let you hunt on it, But people like this are no better then the People who walk up and steal the Skunk Sculptures in your Front yard,( I'll find you, you S.O.B i swear i will), But seriously just ask if you get a no go somewhere else...
P.S.- If you read this Pop i don't want your money just leave me the land, i'm the only one who wont sell it!!!!
Signed,
The Sexiest Man Alive
Posted by: Sexy Man | March 29, 2008 at 04:56 PM
I cant believe that some people on this site believe that it is OK to trespass!!! Some of us may not mind if a neighbor walks onto our land but no one should assume that everyone feels that way. Private property is just that...private. As sportsman we should show our neighbors respect. There are enough people who would let you walk their land if you ask permission that you do not have to trespass on land where you are not given permission.
Posted by: JT | March 30, 2008 at 09:15 AM
We have a big problem with people tresspassing on our hunting property in Georgia. We have a trail camera photo of a young boy on our land. It is very frustrating. It seems like there is always some kind of tresspassing issue on our property. Not to mention the ones you never even know about.
Posted by: Adam | March 30, 2008 at 03:32 PM
I live in Alabama, and my next door neighbor had two guy friends of hers put up a fence where her field borders my woods. I got a trail cam pic that same day of them walking on my property and later found a couple beer cans laying nearby. I confronted her, and told her if she couldn't keep her buddies off my property, I'd turn in the photo and prosecute them. I just can't believe how some people can be so disrespectful towards other people and their property nowadays.
Posted by: Troy | March 31, 2008 at 11:17 AM
I think my Son Said it pretty good.. I'm still New to this Internet thing.. God i'm Getting to old..
If you move out of the City you won't People stealing your Skunks.. And you know your getting the land Becuase we both know your Brother would Sell it Before the Funeral is over.. But i ain't dead yet so if u wnna walk my land ask or like my son said you better be watchin out for more then Cameras..
Signed,
The Real Sexiest Man STILL ALIVE!!!!
Posted by: Sexy Man Sr. | March 31, 2008 at 11:32 AM
For the person who commented "how miserly and possesive"...well it was my farm and my cameras that took the pictures. We have additional photos plus a 15 sec. video clip.How would you feel if you planted a $3,000 corn plot, left 1,000 bushels standing($4,000. value)to feed local deer and four days before you showed up to shed hunt have this trespasser,jump your fence and walk out with a backpack and hand full of sheds!My friends and I enjoy finding sheds to see what bucks are left after the season. We don't sell the sheds, we just like finding them and seeing how much they grow the following year. Although he claims he never found a shed on my farm the pictures tell another story.Last year I picked up 22 sheds in 3 hours with no corn. I invested thousands and he paid a $100. fine....looks like crime does pay.
Posted by: jim | March 31, 2008 at 09:32 PM
Way to Go Jim Woooo Hoooo... It's about time some fires back at these people with the facts i support you 110%... Let's say you had a trap out there and he stepped on it then youd be out more money because he would try and sue you...
Posted by: Sexy Man | April 01, 2008 at 09:33 AM
where i come from which is South Dakota,,the farmers around here got a no hunting sign on every fence post,, and dont want any body to hunt any thing unless you pay for it,theres very few farmers thatlet you hunt ,when ya find one that does let you hunt then they let every body in,,and in the mean time i found from a farmer that the game and fish gives these farmers green steal fence panles to keep deer out of there silage pits ,them farmers are suspsoe to let people hunt that get these fence panels but they dont tell any body this,and the same guys that dont let you hunt cry to the game and fish and get corn gave to them because the deer have ate some of theres,,but still dont let you hunt,,sounds about right dont it
Posted by: thebowhunter | April 01, 2008 at 01:21 PM
I would like to know if this owner even lives in iowa. I farm and hunt in southern iowa and it gets hard to make a living when out of staters come here run up the price of landto make there own hunting preserve. I have had far more damage to my crops than $4000 from deer that dont know which side of the fence to stay on ive never cryed to the DNR but darnd if when I hunt them they find there way back a cross the fence. I can tell you from the passed if you dont atemped to get a long with your neighbors things most likely will only get worse. I would think hes not going to be back let him pay his fine and get over it
Posted by: JD | April 01, 2008 at 03:20 PM
Do you think by trespassing this shed poacher was "trying to get a long with his neighbor"? Didn't sound like Jim was crying to the DNR about the money he spent on the corn...just about that fact that this joker was trespassing and taking the sheds he wanted to find on HIS property.
I wouldn't blame the out of staters for running up the price of land...the locals are the ones setting the prices!
Posted by: John | April 01, 2008 at 04:17 PM
I had a very strange encounter this past season where two people came by riding on horses while i was hunting on MY property. I was more shocked that mad. At first i thought it was a huge deer.
Posted by: Kyle G | April 01, 2008 at 06:37 PM
I cant believe the comments that would be in favor of this guy or tresspassing. In my home state of Maryland written permission is required.
In the Iowa hunting regs. it says that entering property without the express permission of the owner is tresspassing.
The guy in the photo looks like a pro. Its not his land and he had no business being there. That should be the end of the story.
Posted by: JB | April 01, 2008 at 09:37 PM
(from the guy who owns the farm,that's me)I made it a point to do my best to establish good relationships with my neighbors when I bought land and moved to Iowa.I had a rough start in some cases but, I believe my neighbors and I get along great.We may not totally agree on wildlife management specifics/philosophies but we respect each others opinions and openly communicate..AND,WE ALWAYS CALL TO GET PERMISSION TO ENTER ON NEIGHBORING PROPERTIES.This trespasser showed no respect for the multiple landowners on whose land he trespassed. His father owns a whole lot more land than I do. I wonder how he would feel if next March I decided to shed hunt on his farms before his son did?
Posted by: jim | April 01, 2008 at 10:23 PM
so then the guy doing the shed poaching is actually a farmers son that is on another guys property,,,,,,, aint that supizing, i know of a guy in this stated that use to do this same kind of stuff,he only owned 20.000 acres then his kids would walk the neighbors land in the dark the opening morning of gun season and scre these big mulies on to there own property,seems to be alot of these guys around like that
Posted by: thebowhunter | April 02, 2008 at 01:08 AM