Is poaching truly this prevalent?

[limpet]

I thinks it’s way more prevalent than most people think. In my teens and early 20’s I worked at a sporting goods store and the shit people will brag about to random strangers behind the counter is mind boggling. I was showing a guy 22mags when I asked if he wanted to see any 17’s his response was “nope. You ever had a deer stand up in the bed of your truck?”. Another time a group of people from a certain group known for poaching came in looking for 20 gauge goose loads so I showed them what I had and then they saw the #4 lead buck and decided that was the better option. I’ve had other guys look at cheap rifle and discuss how it’ll be a great rifle to ditch if they need to. The list goes on and on.

 

[Nine Banger]

What are the biggest actual issues besides what is easy for us to fixate on ie. killing too many does from the ungulate species? Deer...they are ubiquitous and not rare even if some humans are taking too many.

Abalone?

Bear gall bladder?

I used to do a lot of reptile stuff in another life and all illegal collecting combined probably doesn't have any more affect than 1 or 2 days of road mortality except for rare species that live in vulnerable micro habitat.

 

[WannaBeRambo]

In Florida, Georgia, poaching is very common. In Florida where the deer are smaller what I see appears to be subsistence hunting. I saw a few of them and they didn’t look like they really could even afford a hunting license. Scraggly, bad teeth, tattered clothes. They use rimfire and also take unlimited hogs and ignore seasons and property boundaries to recover game. Some have a reputation for intimidating other hunters to avoid completion.

 

[Bubblehide]

I've seen alot of it. What gets me is the amount of people that think they can get away with it infront of other people.

 

[WannaBeRambo]

What are the biggest actual issues besides what is easy for us to fixate on ie. killing too many does from the ungulate species? Deer...they are ubiquitous and not rare even if some humans are taking too many.

Abalone?

Bear gall bladder?

I used to do a lot of reptile stuff in another life and all illegal collecting combined probably doesn't have any more affect than 1 or 2 days of road mortality except for rare species that live in vulnerable micro habitat.

The seasons and quotas are derived from field observations, tags, etc so that means fewer observations will lead to fewer tags for legit hunters. So unfair to start.
Second, its theft of taxpayer resources, same as illegal logging, or building a home in a national park. It takes away from others.
Deer are NOT everywhere, there can be a hard winter die off of animals and development is encroaching on wildlife just about everywhere reducing the lands ability to hold game. The whole point of regulation is to ensure there will be something to hunt in the future. Poaching takes away from that. We have nearly wiped out pronghorn, turkey, ducks, most different deer species, bison and many species of birds with nice plumes for hats at some point in our nation’s history through unregulated hunting.

Personally, I’d like to see mandatory prison time for poaching as well as seizure of all assets related to the crime, take his gun, his truck ATV and seize it and sell at sheriffs auction to offset the damage.

 

[Pilsner]

That's such a BS excuse, but unfortunately very common. People love to act like they're the special exception and none of the rules apply to them.

I think that someone hungry would shoot the first 6 or 8 deer that they saw not only 8 pt or better bucks...

 

[Nine Banger]

Why doesn't a permitting agency manage subsistence hunting and have applicants apply for permits that require validating their special needs and then set guidelines for their opportunities to take game out of season, like a landowner quota for regular hunting or depredation permits.

 

[Nine Banger]

Deer are NOT everywhere

That makes sense. I live in the southeast where deer poaching probably doesn't matter, even though its rude as hell, dangerous, and illegal.

An example of poaching that may matter here is The Spotted Turtle. DNR, due to skill level of their herpetologists were unable to determine if they were actually rare or not, but they were able to determine there is a market to ship them overseas. So they had to think about it real hard. They ended up restricting access to all non game animals. I don't think that matters tho. I think development and new roads affect these populations.

What we see back east on the reality shows is abalone and gall bladder.

 

[Neb]

Seems like poaching has always been prevalent, although it seems, at least for western hunting, that the motivations may have changed. From what I've heard from old timers, it seems it was largely subsistence hunting during their time and my early hunting years. I do think some larger animals were taken out of season, but there were more animals and less of a trophy hunting mentality.

Today, it seems to be largely about the trophy. With expanded seasons, weapon specific hunts, etc. it seems like folks are willing to pocket their ethics in order to take that big buck home. The rise of social media seems to encourage mis behavior as well.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Social media just makes it easier to catch people who don’t fly under the radar.

 

[Rich M]

Poaching is not as prevalent as folks think. It has come down to everyone thinking every large buck or bull is poached.

It is a cop-out, excuse for those not willing to put in the work.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Poaching is not as prevalent as folks think. It has come down to everyone thinking every large buck or bull is poached.

It is a cop-out, excuse for those not willing to put in the work.

You are uninformed. It is rampant in the west. And in the midwest. My neighbor and I found 5 poached and butchered deer on our properties in MO in 1 year a couple years ago. A call to the local game warden and some gossip spreading put that to an end. He knew who did it and so did we but could not be proved.

 

[TX_Mike D.]

Why doesn't a permitting agency manage subsistence hunting and have applicants apply for permits that require validating their special needs and then set guidelines for their opportunities to take game out of season, like a landowner quota for regular hunting or depredation permits.

It’s my understanding this exists in some jurisdictions. You can hunt during set times outside of the regular season, but any buck or bull taken has to have the antlers/horns destroyed to prove that the animal was taken as a food resource.

 

[Traveler]

Why doesn't a permitting agency manage subsistence hunting and have applicants apply for permits that require validating their special needs and then set guidelines for their opportunities to take game out of season, like a landowner quota for regular hunting or depredation permits.

I think in part because it’s really hard to make the case that subsistence hunting is the best or even a valid option any longer. There are other food programs, could spend time working for money instead of hunting, if they can’t afford food no way they can afford land so trespass issues, etc, etc

I know there is culture baked into a lot of it, but in 2026 I just don’t see how hunting is the better choice to acquire food.

 

[timekiller13]

Yes it is. But the real question is how many people has anyone actually turned in a poacher to the states fish and game commissions? People admit it freely knowing no one will turn them in.

I’ve turned in several.

Only one was ever charged with anything.

Most of them are decent at covering their tracks. Or they have close ties to the GW.

 

[Gseith]

I have heard many people say they do it, but I have never seen proof.
The worst I have met are farmers who feel entitled on their land.
One farmer I know has a family ranch in Idaho. They have a special “elk season” for him when he visits in the summer.
Another one I met has a bunch of land in NW Ohio. As I am talking with him trying to get permission for my boy. He says sure they let everyone use their land. I say how generous that is, and I ask if it affects his hunting. I’m told “no, I just shoot one anytime during the year, if you know what I mean.” I haven’t talked with that guy since.

 

[Long Cut]

lol my Ex’s family night hunted South GA as a family tradition and “right of passage” for the young kids…

They’d make bets who could kill the most bucks each season, and they didn’t stop at the State’s 2 buck limit…….

 

[TreeDux]

In 2010 we did a 13 day float trip in ANWR. We only saw one other boat along the way but there were several at the takeout spot where everyone caught the bush planes out.
There was an odd couple there, one big old fella with a boisterous but unbalanced vibe. Said He lived in Fairbanks and brought his coworker out to show him the “real Alaska “ - his words.
Their raft had a gnarly looking pile of meat, but nowhere near enough to accompany a handful of small caribou racks and a damn fine moose rack. Also a ratty looking grizzly hide rolled up.
The coworker was very nice guy, clearly out of his element. I casually asked him when his buddy was away what happened to all the meat. He kinda stuttered something along the line of “I don’t really know.” 12 caribou and a moose and probably less than 80 lbs of meat in the boat. Guy also bragged about shooting the moose from the tent their first day so I actually knew about where the carcass was.
I took pictures of his jet boat and numbers and reported it as soon as I got back to service the next day,thinking Alaska took that seriously.
I even called back to see what happened. Turns out they didn’t go look, didn’t contact him, nothing. Very disappointing.

 

[medvedyt]

poaching is not a crime up to the time poachers are caught. i have no sympathy for the ones doing it. few years ago here in the yukon idiots made on a forum pictures and story on a special guiding for grizzly ( no more possible because of those idiots) and where caught because location did not add up. others has been caught in posting photography because those idiots cannot stop to be stupid and criminals ... so i do not know if there are moe poachers or more are bragging about it and get caught who knows but at the end the bad name for hunting is because of them.