Hunting Camp Dilemma

[wreckerman5288]

I'm new to this site but I feel like I need to vent a little and ask for some advice from you guys. I have read enough on this site to know that you guys will be able to help me deal with my problem in the best way possible.

Here is the scenario. My hunting group has about 1,500 acres of land to hunt out here on the Palouse, it is private land and is split up belonging to 3 property owners. I am the only one who lives in the area. I have spent about 4 days a month scouting these properties since June. There are 5 of us in the hunting party, my dad and three of my close friends.

One of our guys is bringing a guest, who would like to hunt the first few days with us. I have me this guy before, he joined us at turkey camp a few years back and we liked him and being from Bellingham he has never hunted whitetails. We all agreed it would be alright for him to join us for a few days.

Fast forward to tonight, me and my friend (the one who invited this guy) are doing some planning and he was asking me what I have been seeing for bucks when he tells me that his friend filled his "Homeland Tag" last week with a fork horn blacktail on his 20 acre property in the Bellingham area, but he still planned on coming to hunt with us. My blood instantly began to boil and I asked "So he POACHED a buck at his place and now he wants to come over here and hang his tag on a buck from one of the properties I have worked so hard to acquire access to, scout, and provide myself and the rest of us a good chance to legally harvest a buck on?"

We got into an argument and I told him that this Poaching SOB was no longer welcome as far as I was concerned. My father and one other member of our camp (who is related to one of the property owners are in agreement about this. The guy who invited this poacher has Been a friend of mine since we were kids. He grew up in a family that was anti gun and non hunters. My father and I taught him to shoot and hunt while he was in college. In fact all three of my friends from hunting camp come from a similar background and learned to hunt with my old man and I. I am a strictly law abiding hunter and to tell you the truth I am a little ashamed that someone who learned to hunt from me would even associate with a low life scumbag like this guy, let alone want to invite into our camp.

Bassically I am very angry and I will under no circumstances tolerate this guy hunting from my camp, capitalizing on my hard work, and potentially stealing an opportunity from any law abiding hunter, let alone one from my camp.

I'm trying to find the best way to handle this without causing a rift to form in our hunting camp, but ultimately I will not allow it, I don't care if I have to physically remove this guy from my camp. Sorry for the long, bummer of a post.

Thoughts?

[coachcw]

Tell your buddy it simple if he wants to hunt with the other dude then go find a new place. Cut and dry

[Blacktail Sniper]

 

[Evoac05]

 

[deerhuntr4885]

  and turn his ass in!

[Alchase]

I have never heard the term "homeland tag" before.

I would tell my friend, I hunt with "hunters" not "poachers"!

But then anyone I considered a friend, would already know that and would understand.

Actually a real friend would not put that on you to make the decision, he would have taken care of it himself and told the guy to take a hike.

[cooltimber]

tell your {friend} neither one of you are welcome here in this camp. #1 get you in trouble
#2 could lose your hunt area
#3 what does your friend have to gain
#4 not ethical
#5 homeland tag guy is a *censored* bag
#6 Doesnt say much for you or anyone in your party if u allow it. NO
 

[Bullkllr]

My 

Situations like this happen. Friends get new friends...want them to join in...forces others to make decisions.

The main thing is you are right, and all your other partners are seeing it the same way. Stand by your decision.

Bad news is you could lose your long-time friend. I agree with the posts above, but would add that if he is a true friend he will eventually see the error in his ways, apologize and make amends.

[wreckerman5288]

Thanks for all the replies. I pretty much told my buddy that if he wanted to hunt with this guy he needed to do it elsewhere. That's when he hung up. The thing is, I'm pretty sure he is going to show up on Friday the 10th and I'm going to find this jack wagon in tow with him.

When he told me about this poached deer and I got unhappy about it his response was that he knew he shouldn't have told me because I would like it.  Everyone in my camp knows how I feel about breaking hunting laws and that it will not tolerate it in our camp.

Alchase, your last statement about a true friend not doing this is 100% correct and is largely why I am so mad about this whole thing. I've known this guy for 20 years and I got him into hunting and guns, I thought he would have a little more respect for me and my father than this.

I thought everyone I hunted with was a decent hunter who believed in following the game laws and respected the wildlife we pursue. Apparently not.

As for turning this guy in, I would love to do just that. The fact is that it won't do any good. He shoots these deer on His 20 acre property that is heavily wooded and processes this at his house. It would be pretty near impossible for me to get him caught.

The bottom line is I am not going to allow it for all the reasons cooltimber listed, plus the fact that I would be in a bad mood all week while I was hunting, I'd hate to see my efforts go towards helping a poacher, and I just couldn't live with my self.

[Seahawk12]

Be a man of principle.
If your friend can't see that then maybe he isn't a man of principle.
IMHO you made the right call. If your friend won't agree with that then I would plan on politely letting him know that he's out of the hunt this year.
The season is short. You worked hard to prep everything. There are other principled hunters involved and looking forward to sharing their short and anxiously anticipated hunt with you. Don't let an unprincipled hunter ruin it for you and your other guests.
I'm sorry to hear that this friend of yours has put you in this position. Especially so close to go time.
I hope you have a great time with the people that will be there and that you are able to put your tag on a nice buck.

[Seahawk12]

Thanks for all the replies. I pretty much told my buddy that if he wanted to hunt with this guy he needed to do it elsewhere. That's when he hung up. The thing is, I'm pretty sure he is going to show up on Friday the 10th and I'm going to find this jack wagon in tow with him.

Really? 
If you really believe that then I would certainly make sure I got in contact with him immediately and in no uncertain terms tell him that the person in question is not going to be allowed on the private property. If the guy wants to make it a test of friendship, then its a test he just failed.

[7mag.]

First of all, you are absolutely right. I commend you for standing up for what you believe in. Second, you have every right to set the standards for any one that is welcome in your camp. I would urge you to try and not be so angry about it, because it will only make things worse between you and your friend. I think you should calmly explain to your friend how important good hunting ethics are to you, and you will not tolerate anything less in your camp. You should also explain the legal issue, and the fact that this could cause problems with the land owners, and the possibility that something like this could get your invitation to hunt there revoked.

[BoomWhop]

Stick to your guns.  You are right.   

[wreckerman5288]

Be a man of principle.
If your friend can't see that then maybe he isn't a man of principle.
IMHO you made the right call. If your friend won't agree with that then I would plan on politely letting him know that he's out of the hunt this year.
The season is short. You worked hard to prep everything. There are other principled hunters involved and looking forward to sharing their short and anxiously anticipated hunt with you. Don't let an unprincipled hunter ruin it for you and your other guests.
I'm sorry to hear that this friend of yours has put you in this position. Especially so close to go time.
I hope you have a great time with the people that will be there and that you are able to put your tag on a nice buck.

Thanks. Politely and calmly is exactly how I want to handle this. This is why I am waiting until tomorrow to handle this. Just too mad about the situation right now especially since he hung up on me.

[wreckerman5288]

This is a problem that I did not expect to have. I grew up hunting g around people with ethics and always hunted around those with similar ethics since. Never expected someone would try to bring a poacher to camp. Its ridiculous that this is even an issue.

I'll let you guys know how it all plays out tomorrow after everyone in camp has called this hunting buddy and told him that his friend is not welcome. I hope I shoot a nice buck this year, this deal is putting a dark cloud over the hunt for sure.

[robodad]

What I'm not hearing is this admitted poaching incident being reported and thats a bit concerning. The long arm of the law has plenty of resources to put together a case with little actual physical evidence. I'd report it and let the law decide if its a case they can win, you never know it might turn into points for you !

[wreckerman5288]

What I'm not hearing is this admitted poaching incident being reported and thats a bit concerning. The long arm of the law has plenty of resources to put together a case with little actual physical evidence. I'd report it and let the law decide if its a case they can win, you never know it might turn into points for you !

The problem is I don't even know this guy's last name. Pretty much all I know is his first name, what he looks like and the general area where he lives. If I manage to find out his last name I will report his poaching. Even if they can't make a case it would be nice to get WDFW out there making his life miserable.

[steeleywhopper]

I'd tell your buddy to go pound sand with mister poo poo poacher somewhere else.

[grade-creek-rd]

Sometimes its OK to lie...you could easily blame it on one of the other land owners saying he will only allow you & your dad this year...worry about next fall when it comes. Just pick the land owner that the buddy doesn't know. As far as the "homeland" tag, its not that hard to figure out who people are these days & a search on the accessors website for whatever county he lives in will bring up his property...that's how tips turn into convictions....remember that guy with the cabin in the okanogan whete they baited bears & shot them off the porch? That was private land too.

G-C-R

[Sportfury]

Thanks for all the replies. I pretty much told my buddy that if he wanted to hunt with this guy he needed to do it elsewhere. That's when he hung up. The thing is, I'm pretty sure he is going to show up on Friday the 10th and I'm going to find this jack wagon in tow with him.

Really? 
If you really believe that then I would certainly make sure I got in contact with him immediately and in no uncertain terms tell him that the person in question is not going to be allowed on the private property. If the guy wants to make it a test of friendship, then its a test he just failed.

 

I would make certain that your buddy understands this now before he and possibly the jack-wagon show up next week. If you think things are bad now and he puts you in that situation on the 10th who knows where it could lead. He may be expecting you to back down when the guy shows up or be cool enough where you won't say anything directly to this person.

Sometimes its OK to lie...you could easily blame it on one of the other land owners saying he will only allow you & your dad this year...worry about next fall when it comes. Just pick the land owner that the buddy doesn't know. As far as the "homeland" tag, its not that hard to figure out who people are these days & a search on the accessors website for whatever county he lives in will bring up his property...that's how tips turn into convictions....remember that guy with the cabin in the okanogan whete they baited bears & shot them off the porch? That was private land too.

G-C-R

Now days they use DNA tests and if they can find that there is multiple animals in your freezer with different DNA and your only filling one tag a year. I would not be afraid to tell your friend that you have already discussed it with your dad and two other friends and ethically there are only a few options for you guys to forward with.

Good luck, stick to your guns, and keep us updated.

[cjensen]

I wouldn't lose a friend of 20 years over a deer that his friend killed illegally!   Seriously?   If a friend gets a DUI or cheats on his girlfriend or anything else you yourself wouldn't do, you would stop being friends with him?   How much less if he wasn't even the one who did it.  I would never draw a line in the sand over that.  Certainly tell the poacher to go pound sand but dont lose a friend over it.  If it were me id tell my buddy he could bring *censored* bag but he better leave his gun at home and serve as camp bi#$/. 

[Birdguy]

What a tough thing to deal with but I am right with you! You cannot afford to associate with people like that. The hunting camp you have/had will never be the same for so many reasons, you may lose a friend but as mentioned if that is how he treats you he was not a true friend. You may lose your hunting ground and these days that is priceless. You also would be compromising your ethics and that you will never get back. For me it would be a "no go" for the additional guy and your "buddy" should expect a pretty uncomfortable conversation around the campfire this year if he has any issue with the decision. Good luck with your camp and your hunt  . 

[DeerThug]

Just to throw it out there are you sure he poached a deer.  With multi season tags could it be possible it was a legal bow or muzzie kill?  Been various seasons open for some time now.

[wreckerman5288]

Update!

After everyone cooled down it was agreed upon that the poacher will not be coming to hunting camp. The guy who wanted to bring him realized that he did not want to be part of this guy trying to get buck #2 and that he did not want to put us in that position. Also, in a rare turn of events (most bullheaded person I know) he made an apology.

As for turning this guy in, I can't do a county records search because he leases the property and does not own it himself. Maybe I can find his full name on Facebook by looking through my buddy's friends. The other option is to weasal it out of him after a couple of Wild Turkeys at the end of a hard day of hunting.

[Seahawk12]

It's great to hear that your hunt is going ahead and that your friend recognized what you were saying was right.
I hope you guys have a great hunt and a great time.

[wreckerman5288]

Just to throw it out there are you sure he poached a deer.  With multi season tags could it be possible it was a legal bow or muzzie kill?  Been various seasons open for some time now.

Unfortunately yes, I am sure. I was told a rifle was used and although this was my first time hearing the term "Homeland Tag" I am 100% positive what that means.

[wreckerman5288]

Thanks a ton for the advice and support on this one guys, God knows my wife couldn't handle listening to me rant about hunting problems. This board seems to have a lot of helpful and kind people.

And thanks to everyone for the good luck wishes, by the way things are going this year I'm going to need it. Good luck to everyone that still has an un-notched tag, I look forward to seeing some big bucks and reading some good stories!

[Bullkllr]

I agree with the posts above, but would add that if he is a true friend he will eventually see the error in his ways, apologize and make amends.

And that sounds like the best outcome for you and your friend. Glad he saw the light and you guys worked things out. 

[7mag.]

Great outcome, I'm glad it turned out well. I hope you have a great trip and fill your tags.

[Three_Oh_Eight]

Good thing it didn't play out at camp. If I'm a landowner and see people getting into a confrontation on my property ( with guns in camp), I'd tell them to leave and never come back.

[deerhunter_98520]

Glad to hear it was solved

[sakoshooter]

Tell your buddy it simple if he wants to hunt with the other dude then go find a new place. Cut and dry

Simple as that 

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

 

Tell your buddy it simple if he wants to hunt with the other dude then go find a new place. Cut and dry

Simple as that