Witnessed a poach.

[Short Track]

I'm driving the back roads of Gillette. Plenty of Antelope on the open fields. and there was a car parked on the side of the rode. Public Road. Guy had his rifle out, leaning on the fence. The fence that runs parallel to the road. There were 4 Antelope in the field, and he was readying to shoot. about 100 yards the Antelope were in.

Clearly if he paid a trespass fee, he would have been inside the fence, and not shooting from the road.

It's my 1st time in Wyoming, so I'm not familiar with the laws. But I'm pretty sure you can't shoot from a public roadway. With the amount of Antelope out here, I'm sure it's common.

 

[Bubblehide]

Nothing about that tells me the guy was poaching.

I packed in to a camp about 5 miles in, and hunting about a mile from camp. I saw two men and a young boy enter the area I was in about 3/4 of a mile away. One of the men was scoping a deer. I knew there was a doe and spike buck in the spot they were scoping. The other man and boy held back, the guy scoping repositioned and shot. The spike buck came around the mountain and now into full view for me, and the guy shot again killing the spike buck (here a legal buck must have a fork on one that is in the upper 2/3rds of the antler. They fanned out and found the buck, and began dragging it. They did not stop in the shade as I thought they would. But rather drug it down hill parallel to a tree and bush row, out of my sight. About 5 minutes later, they pop back out and head down the hill without the buck. That was clear poaching. About 1/2 hour later Fish and Wildlife had their pictures. They hid the buck pretty well, but about a half hour after their pictures, Fish and Wildlife had pictures of the buck. About 2-1/2 hours later I met Fish and Wildlife.

 

[wildwilderness]

You never know. I have had permission to hunt private for antelope ( very easy to get in WY) and have shot them from the other side of a fence just because it’s a lot easier access from the road.

I would say taking an illegal animal, out of season, or on known non-hunting land is a bit easier to know is poaching for sure

 

[2ski]

I shot my first antelope using a fence for a rest when I was young. We had permission. Yeah probably should've been on the other side of the fence but people do it sometimes.

He has to get on that property to get the antelope no matter where he shoots from. So I don't understand how shooting where he shot from meant he didn't have permission.

 

[silverbullet555]

Lots of assumptions.

Fence line isn't road definition. You'll have to look up the road definition.

Antelope will bolt if you cross that fence. So, if i had permission to hunt them and I had that fence to provide a steady rest, and they were within a couple hundred yards,, no way would I cross.



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[PablitoPescador]

Sounds like a pretty standard antelope kill to me...

 

[brsnow]

That is how many Hunt there, then skin/quarter leaving carcass where it fell. Totally normal.

 

[wytx]

(tt) “Public Road or Highway” (except as otherwise provided) means any roadway that is open to vehicular travel by the public. The road surface, the area between the fences on a fenced public road or highway, and an area thirty (30) feet perpendicular to the edge of the road surface on an unfenced public road or highway shall be considered the public road or highway. Two-track trails on public lands are not public roads.

Depending on the road , you should be within the fence to be legal. I've crawled under many a fence to be legal, never used a fence post unless it was away from the right of way. Bipods do come in handy for a solid rest.

 

[ClearCreek]

What Short Track witnessed is illegal in Wyoming.

wytx posted the definition of a “Public Road or Highway”, and it clearly states the area between the fences on a public road is considered the road. Shooting from a public road is illegal in Wyoming.

Whether or not you consider it "poaching" does not matter, the activity witnessed is/was illegal.

It is number 5 on the list of the 10 most common hunting violations is Wyoming:

5. Don’t shoot from a public road. It is illegal to shoot a firearm from, across or along a public road. A public road is any road that is open to vehicular traffic to the public. The road surface, the area between fences on a fenced public road or highway and the area 30 feet perpendicular to the road surface on unfenced roads is considered the public road. Two-track trails on public land are not considered public roads for this purpose.

The other nine can be seen here:

Hunters: Avoid these 10 Common Violations

wgfd.wyo.gov

ClearCreek

 

[Bubblehide]

(tt) “Public Road or Highway” (except as otherwise provided) means any roadway that is open to vehicular travel by the public. The road surface, the area between the fences on a fenced public road or highway, and an area thirty (30) feet perpendicular to the edge of the road surface on an unfenced public road or highway shall be considered the public road or highway. Two-track trails on public lands are not public roads.

Depending on the road , you should be within the fence to be legal. I've crawled under many a fence to be legal, never used a fence post unless it was away from the right of way. Bipods do come in handy for a solid rest.

The area between fences, or the borrow pits and shoulders of unfenced roads, are part of the road and are off limits to shooting.

(tt) “Public Road or Highway” (except as otherwise provided) means any roadway that is open to vehicular travel by the public. The road surface, the area between the fences on a fenced public road or highway, and an area thirty (30) feet perpendicular to the edge of the road surface on an unfenced public road or highway shall be considered the public road or highway. Two-track trails on public lands are not public roads.

Depending on the road , you should be within the fence to be legal. I've crawled under many a fence to be legal, never used a fence post unless it was away from the right of way. Bipods do come in handy for a solid rest.

Thanks for the regulation. I was unaware, as the regulation is different here, and the action would be legal here.

 

[brsnow]

I am not much of a road hunter and the reason I haven’t been back to WY much, but the vast majority of hunters I saw where roadside of the fence.

 

[2ski]

Then we can call it a hunting violation, but let's not call it poaching unless we know for certain that it is.

 

[MuleyFever]

Then we can call it a hunting violation, but let's not call it poaching unless we know for certain that it is.

Poaching is illegal hunting by definition. If you are committing a hunting violation to take game you are poaching.

poach
verb (2)
poached; poaching; poaches
Definition of poach (Entry 2 of 2)
intransitive verb
1: to encroach upon especially for the purpose of taking something
2: to trespass for the purpose of stealing game also : to take game or fish illegally
transitive verb
1: to trespass on a field poached too frequently by the amateur— The Times Literary Supplement (London)
2a: to take (game or fish) by illegal methods
b: to appropriate (something) as one's own
c: to attract (someone, such as an employee or customer) away from a competitor

 

[GKWMontana]

Same here in Montana. Fence to fence is the roadway and a violation to shoot from.

 

[brsnow]

If the fence is more than 30!feet off the road would it still be an issue? You could negate a lot of land if the road extends to the first fence...

 

[Jae7675]

I’m also in Gillette. Gonna be a tough area to hunt as of now.

 

[NUGGET]

A quick call to a game warden should of been made before a rokslide posting.

 

[Short Track]

Why shouldn't I post ?? I saw it, and it was clearly not legit. Call it illegal, call it poaching, whatever... it certainly wasn't legit. Cell service is sketchy in the middle of 10 zillion acres... and not being from WY, & being in Gillette for the 1st time, I couldn't even tell you what road I was on, or if I left the Gillette town limits. Much less call a game warden. I was just exploring the beauty of WY back roads. Certainly not what I'm used to living in a concrete jungle. But seeing the amount of Antelope out there, and being alone on a back road, I'm sure it's common place to illegally shot from the road side of a fence line. I go with a guide, and I pay a pretty penny for guided service, and access to his hunting areas.

 

[Rich M]

Big deal. He was off the road and out of the traffic, muzzle was on private or public and facing away from the road when it went off - not endangering anyone (which is the primary reason for the rule).

Hunters sure have become a bunch of sniveling little snitches.

Don't forget to call highway patrol on everyone that's speeding too.

 

[taggart_lumpy]

i’ve shot an antelope from the other side of a fence line with my back against a post with wyoming game and fish watching the same herd. the officer came to me said good shot, then asked why i got so far into the land for the shot. clearly what i was doing was legal from what i had read, but it has always made me wonder why he said that.