Deer decoy by warden, my story & add your own

[boneaddict]

I don't know fellas, the minute I come aroundt he corner in the road and am looking down a gun barrel, I don't want to know what my redneck mind would think.   

Bobcat is the man that knows the regs, maybe he can shed some light.   They are alot stricter on it in Idaho.  I think you ahve to be 20 feet off the shoulder of any road. 

[boneaddict]

I think you guys are correct.....
Discharging a firearm from, across or along a maintained portion of any public highway, regardless of the surface is prohibited........public highway is later defined as any road which is maintained by public funds.


I believe Idaho is any maintaine droads, and I think its 30 feet instead of defined as along.  What is along?

[tlbradford]

I don't know fellas, the minute I come aroundt he corner in the road and am looking down a gun barrel, I don't want to know what my redneck mind would think.   

Just speaking for myself, it is standing on the edge of the road shooting into the woods.  Not shooting down the road.

[Huckleberry]

On public roads in washington there isn't a set distance. The rules state that you "must be off/clear of the maintained portion of the road". Sometimes this is 2 feet sometimes it's 20. The maintained portion includes brushing and ditch lines. Some areas have additional rules (fir island for instance). The only other thing they can get you for are firearm restricted areas and recless discharge ~ so just be smart about how/where you shoot.

As for grouse on timberlands: The companies own the "roads" which makes them private and therefore exempt. On some state/federal lands gravel roads still count as roads so shooting in or across them isn't ok. Just know who owns the roads and whether they're public or Private and you'll be ok. When in doubt a call to the sheriff works and they'll let you know.

[DOUBLELUNG]

Along means parallel to the roadway. 

I've videoed a lot of decoy operations.  It's pretty good duty.  ALL of the officers I've worked with on decoy operations have contacted those who commit the violation, but do NOT attempt to take the animal (ie, the headlight shining instance, with the guns cased and inaccessible in the vehicle), chew them out for the violation, do not cite them for that violation (but may for another, ie, DUI, smoking dope, loaded weapon, etc.), and cut them loose scott-free without a citation - often to be thought of as *censored*s BY THE VIOLATOR THEY JUST CAUGHT - AND CUT LOOSE WITHOUT A TICKET. 

In that case, from their perspective you are already getting a good deal, and aren't entitled to be treated gently and kindly by the officers who are letting you off; and who have no way of determining that unlike all the other criminals, you are the noble one with a heart of gold and butter wouldn't melt in your mouth.  Their job is to catch criminals, you committed a crime that was probably documented on video, they caught you - AND LET YOU GO.  Pretty good exercise of discretion by officers who would be 100% correct in citing you for the violation that you committed.  If you take your moral indignation at being CORRECTLY accused of committing a crime you didn't INTEND to commit out of the equation, it is your bruised ego causing you to decide the officers who treated you VERY WELL are jerks, *censored*s, pick your word.  Remember, they enforce the law as written; they don't make the laws; and ANY time you are caught and let go by a law enforcement officer, even if they use a stern tone of voice or make you think one of them wants to cite you, you have been treated well.  My opinion. 

BTW, good cop/bad cop works really well, which is why they do it.  You'd be amazed how many crimes are confessed to the good, sympathetic nice gamey - who then arrests you.  DUH.  My opinion, valid as anyone else's.  Polarbear got a good deal, too; depending onthe circumstance, either an interference, or obstruction charge would have been a perfectly legitimate response.

As for "I didn't shoot a real deer", shoot at the decoy and you'll quickly learn that you aren't cited for taking a deer illegally.  When you shoot a decoy you are cited for taking simulated wildlife illegally, the penalty for which is exactly the same as for taking the real thing.   Take includes attempting, poor marksmanship doesn't get you off.    

It is NOT entrapment, the courts have consistently decided, unless the decoy is something that would NOT occur normally in that area.  (A 30" mule deer rack on a blacktail decoy, in a clearcut outside Longview WOULD be entrapment!)  Should you go to court and contest it, be advised the video will probably show a much different story to the judge or jury than your recollection; take your bruised ego and moral indignation at being correctly accused of committing a crime you had no intent to commit out of the equation, and an impartial third party who doesn't know you will surprisingly conclude the officers acted appropriately.

I've seen several instances where indignant violators who felt they were treated poorly by officers were shown the video, by the supervisor they come in to file a complaint with; in every case, they end up embarassed for their complaint, most apologize to the supervisor and often ask them to thank the officers.

[Alchase]

MKCJ, putting a four point in the orchard outside of town in Winthrop is wasting a good decoy, there is always nice bucks in the orchard just outside of town on the left LOL. Almost all of my nice buck picks come from that orchard, here is one.

The second pic is from on the right just past the turn to Pearygin Lake.

[Alchase]

LOL, "nice" is relative

[gramps]

Don't think I have seen a decoy, but when I used to go to the Portland, Or. sportsman show, the crowd that was watching the videos of the decoys at the game dept booth was HUGE.  Was some funny footage watching people in the back of a pickup shoot at the decoy from the road etc.

[Rick]

they use to do that up in northbend by the spur 10 gate. my dads friends shot it up from the road and got busted

A guy I used to work with got busted at the spur 10 gate. He begged me to take him hunting and I decided to take him out to Wheyerhauser for the late hunt. We had hunted all of the first day and got back to the trailer and decided to head to North Bend for some dinner. It was about 6:30 in late November so it was pitch Black.

We were in his truck heading down to NB. We came around a corner and his headlights flashed through a clearcut. He looks out and sees a nice 3pt about 30 yds out in the clearcut. He stopped the truck with the headlights clearly on the deer. He gets out with his .22 pistol and decided hes gonna shot the deer. I told him that is was against the law and to get his dumb ass back in the truck. He argued with me for about 30 seconds and after me telling him to get the F*** back in the truck about 5 different times he lets loose with the .22,he emptied all 10 rounds in the magazine at the deer.

After no reaction from the deer I knew we were screwed. A few seconds later all the wardens showed up. They had us both at gunpoint and started asking us what we were doing. I was ready to choke the life out of my "buddy".

They knew I was pizzed so they took me back to one of their trucks and were talking to me. They handcuffed him and he had to stand in the rain for about 20 minutes.

I told the Warden I had nothing to do with any of it,and he said "yeah we know we saw the entire thing,we heard you telling him not to shoot the deer"

He asked me if I would write a statement,and I couldn't get the pen and paper fast enough. I sat in the nice heated truck filling out paperwork while the *censored* buddy of mine sat there shivering. When I was done the warden asked if he could give me a ride back to camp, he took me back to my buddies trailer,where I got all my stuff out of it and loaded it into my truck and headed home,leaving Scot standing in the middle of the road in Wheyerhauser.

He ended up losing his truck,a chainsaw,a Browning .300 Win Mag,his Ruger .22 pistol,and all the tools in his truck. He got 4 tickets. One for shooting from the county road,hunting after dark,hunting with an illegal weapon (.22),and hunting with artificial light. IIRC the fines totaled $1200.

I got an ass chewing from my Dad when he found out what happened. I remember him asking me a couple different times if I knew what kind of guy Scot was. Being 19 and knowing everything I told him Scot was an good guy (little did I Know )

My Dad even called and talked to the warden just to be sure I wasn't feeding him any BS. Thankfully,the warden confirmed my story,or I'd probably still be wearing my ass for a hat to this day.

[boneaddict]

Damn good story!

Nicely put DOUBLELUNG!

Alchase....seen more than one buck there.