What would you do?

[DeerCamp]

Let's say you had a friend... not a close friend. Someone you could call in a pinch, but probably wouldn't be one of the first 5-10 folks you'd call.

And let's say that friend has recently tagged out on a 1.5 year old buck. His 3rd such buck of the year, despite always complaining about never seeing mature bucks. The "I've decided to shoot the first buck I see, since I never seen anything big" self-defeating landowner.

Let's say you bit your tongue, and congratulated that person on tagging out, to which they replied, "Well, technically I would be, If I checked them in I guess".

For kickers, let's say that your daughter is best friends with their daughter.

And in this hypothetical scenario, this doesn't impact your hunting directly due to distance.

What would you do?

 

[PossumSlayer]

Distance him

 

[backyardtndeer]

Let's say you had a friend... not a close friend. Someone you could call in a pinch, but probably wouldn't be one of the first 5-10 folks you'd call.

And let's say that friend has recently tagged out on a 1.5 year old buck. His 3rd such buck of the year, despite always complaining about never seeing mature bucks. The "I've decided to shoot the first buck I see, since I never seen anything big" self-defeating landowner.

Let's say you bit your tongue, and congratulated that person on tagging out, to which they replied, "Well, technically I would be, If I checked them in I guess".

For kickers, let's say that your daughter is best friends with their daughter.

And in this hypothetical scenario, this doesn't impact your hunting directly due to distance.

What would you do?

Probably wouldn't associate with him. As far as their failure to check their deer in our eh poaching, I might be inclined to mention it in casual conversation with my game warden, before he retired I used to talk to our warden on occasion though. I probably would not call the Jackson office though.

 

[Ski]

My biggest concern wouldn't be the poaching. First thing that came to my mind reading the OP is that this law breaking, self loathing scumbag is parenting the child my daughter calls her best friend. I'd immediately be on high alert looking for red flags from both my kid and her friend because it's well known how much kids are influenced by their friends. Sounds like a very serious and candid conversation needs to happen between your wife & you....hypothetically speaking. I'm sure the kid is sweet and it's not her fault that her dad is a dud. But through no fault of her own, her moral compass might be quite a bit different than your daughter's.

 

[Buzzard Breath]

The right answer is; turn him in.

The real life answer is; just tell him you're not cool with it and you'd prefer to not talk about hunting unless it's within the law (phrase it however you wish).

 

[AJared]

Tell the truth, and be precise in your speech. If you have something to say, that is truthful, and you don't that is a lie of omission on your part.

 

[Dennis]

Id ask him what's the sense in piling up yearlings when he could shoot does instead. That way he can stay legal.

 

[Snake]

I'd tell him it's his business what he does but don't brag to me for killing illegal deer and you won't ever kill a decent buck if you don't let them grow . And one more point is if you keep telling me your poaching I may be inclined to turn you in . That way you've warned him and if he don't take the warning turn the sucker in .

 

[Bushape]

Need more details before declaring he needs to be turned in. Is the failure to tag the deer the only "unethical " thing he's doing? Don't know that I'd care if it wasn't close to my land, and even if it was I'd probably only get mad enough to call a game warden if he was spotlighting or killing way too many deer/bucks. If he's not willing to heed your advice on deer management then I'd probably stop wasting my breath talking to him. The less I know about him the happier I am.

 

[Chiflyguy]

Friend or not, I'd call him out for what he is.
A poacher.

 

[deerhunter10]

Need more details before declaring he needs to be turned in. Is the failure to tag the deer the only "unethical " thing he's doing? Don't know that I'd care if it wasn't close to my land, and even if it was I'd probably only get mad enough to call a game warden if he was spotlighting or killing way too many deer/bucks. If he's not willing to heed your advice on deer management then I'd probably stop wasting my breath talking to him. The less I know about him the happier I am.

Not tagging in deer is close to as unethical as it gets. He has tags in his pocket right now that shouldn't be there so he is probably still hunting which would be very easy to go over the limit.

If you don't turn him in I would as said above distance big time and be more cautious of my kids being around him. I would turn him in it's people that like that only hurt law abiding hunters. The only way I wouldn't turn him in is if he legitimately needed the meat for his family. And I mean needed to survive. the majority of people reap the benefits of hunting with the meat being a big benefit, but most people would and can survive without it and not go hungry.

All that being said I do see the predicament you are in the your decision.

 

[Bushape]

Not tagging in deer is close to as unethical as it gets. He has tags in his pocket right now that shouldn't be there so he is probably still hunting which would be very easy to go over the limit.

If you don't turn him in I would as said above distance big time and be more cautious of my kids being around him. I would turn him in it's people that like that only hurt law abiding hunters. The only way I wouldn't turn him in is if he legitimately needed the meat for his family. And I mean needed to survive. the majority of people reap the benefits of hunting with the meat being a big benefit, but most people would and can survive without it and not go hungry.

All that being said I do see the predicament you are in the your decision.

Again, a lot to factor into it. We all have our own hierarchy of morals. If I buy the proper license, and I know full well I'm only going to harvest 1-2 deer then is it that imperative that I check them in? Guy may be the absolute scum of the earth but all we know from this thread, unless I missed something, is that he kills 3 immature bucks every year and doesn't check them in. To me that's not enough to question the guy's entire moral code and indict him as sone horrible father. Guy may do charitable work every other weekend and give piles of money to St Jude for all we know.

 

[Carlos]

I agree with Chief. Explain that you're sworn to be a steward for the wildlife, and how he's putting you in a really bad position by telling you of these criminal acts.
He's not a very smart poacher, the smarter ones keep their mouths shut.

I've also seen a few of them who like to brag about their activities. I always say right away, straight up, "I wish you hadn't of told me that." They get the idea pretty fast and figure out that I'm inclined to report them, especially if I have solid proof.

Then again, it seems like well over half the folks believe that's called 'snitching' and that it's a terrible thing to do.
(That's if someone's telling on them, if they're telling on someone else, it's different in their eyes.)

 

[Ski]

Again, a lot to factor into it. We all have our own hierarchy of morals. If I buy the proper license, and I know full well I'm only going to harvest 1-2 deer then is it that imperative that I check them in? Guy may be the absolute scum of the earth but all we know from this thread, unless I missed something, is that he kills 3 immature bucks every year and doesn't check them in. To me that's not enough to question the guy's entire moral code and indict him as sone horrible father. Guy may do charitable work every other weekend and give piles of money to St Jude for all we know.

Character is character same as blue is blue or red is red. If he's a cheater who ignores law in one area of his life, then you'd be a fool to think he's a saint in all other areas of his life. Maybe he's the exception and I'm dead wrong, but I'd not gamble my child's well being on that hope.

I once heard a parable about a babysitter. The parents were interviewing prospective babysitters and asked each the same question. "If you were guiding my child through the forest and came upon a cliff, how close could you get to it and still be able to protect the kid?" The first said, "I could get within feet and your child would be in no danger." The next said, "I'd hold the child tight all the way to the edge, and over if necessary." The last applicant answered, "I'd carry the child as far away as possible and go nowhere near that cliff because it's dangerous." Guess who got the job.

 

[DeerCamp]

Hypothetically... lots to think about

 

[skipperbrown]

I would change the subject whenever he talked about hunting. Better yet, since he isn't the kind of friend you really want, distance yourself. You are not going to educate him and it's unlikely the game warden is going to catch him.

 

[7mm08]

Fire a shot over his bow….. " you do remember that TN went to a 2 buck limit years ago ? " …. Surely he would then not be stupid enough to talk about his habits again in front of you. And find your daughter a new friend.

 

[Popcorn]

Herein lies a slippery slope I have once tread. Weigh your choices against your your values. I find in my own experience that it would have been far better to counsel my family and distance myself as the usurper will reveal themselves to everyone through a false sense of entitlement...

 

[eric_@borntraditions]

We all know what he is doing is illegal. It doesn't matter if he is close to you or your daughters friend. He should be reported as there is plenty of law bidding sportsman that don't fill their tags and really try hard. I can only assume that he will continue to do this and bring up another question. Does he do the same thing when hunting all specie? Hopefully he learns from being caught or at least on someone's radar.

 

[JJ3]

Suggest to him that he should make it right and tag them now or you will report him. If he doesn't then report him,

Years ago my hunting and fishing buddy borrowed my boat. He told me that night that after catching their limits, they wet back out in afternoon and caught their limits again. I unloaded on him and let him know that I thought what he did was wrong, and told him he was never borrowing my boat again..