Elk poaching?

[colockumelk]

Pacific county. ... I don't want to jump to any conclusions but they were literally 200 yards apart .... seems like thrill killing. I completely understand cutbacks being a government employee but two elk?  Hell one elk is too many. I have been stopped multiple times this year to check tags and make sure I am legal which is fine but lets spend some time figuring out what a$$hole is wasting Washington's resources. I hope they can catch the one bad apple.

You get checked because during the hunting season that's where all the game wardens are.  Then when its not hunting season the game wardens have to go off and do other stuff.  IMHO i would rather have the game wardens swarming the hills looking for poachers during December and January as this is when the MAJORITY of big game poaching occurs.  Its when all the animals have come down out of the hills and are down low near the roads that they become more suseptible to easy kills by poachers.  Also there is hardly any eyes in the woods.  Whereas during hunting season there is ALOT of eyes in the woods all looking for poachers, and the animals are typically farther from the roads.  I find it ironic that the WDFW spends most of its time checking hunters who 99% are law abiding and who are all looking for that 1% scumbag anyways so they can collect their points.  Yet when the 99% of poaching occurs are not in the hills looking for the scumbags.     It seems from an enforcement perspective to catch the most amount of poachers you would want to be in the hills when the bad guys are most likely to be there.

During December most of the game wardens I have found are near the rivers checking to make sure I didn't shoot too many ducks or geese and that I don't have lead, and that I have my proper stamps.  Meanwhile some d-bag is up in the Quilomene or up in the Umptanum in the Sagebrush killing a big bull.   

[bobcat]

You get checked because during the hunting season that's where all the game wardens are.  Then when its not hunting season the game wardens have to go off and do other stuff.  IMHO i would rather have the game wardens swarming the hills looking for poachers during December and January as this is when the MAJORITY of big game poaching occurs.  Its when all the animals have come down out of the hills and are down low near the roads that they become more suseptible to easy kills by poachers.  Also there is hardly any eyes in the woods.  Whereas during hunting season there is ALOT of eyes in the woods all looking for poachers, and the animals are typically farther from the roads.  I find it ironic that the WDFW spends most of its time checking hunters who 99% are law abiding and who are all looking for that 1% scumbag anyways so they can collect their points.  Yet when the 99% of poaching occurs are not in the hills looking for the scumbags.     It seems from an enforcement perspective to catch the most amount of poachers you would want to be in the hills when the bad guys are most likely to be there.

During December most of the game wardens I have found are near the rivers checking to make sure I didn't shoot too many ducks or geese and that I don't have lead, and that I have my proper stamps.  Meanwhile some d-bag is up in the Quilomene or up in the Umptanum in the Sagebrush killing a big bull.   

I couldn't agree more! Seems all they want to do is go where they can write the most tickets. But for small violations by mostly honest hunters. Like you said, they should be out in the woods AFTER hunting season (modern firearm) is over. If they're going to be out there during modern fiream season, it should be at night, when the poaching is happening. Who cares if someone forgets to put on their orange, or shoots a deer 1 minute before legal time?

 

[PolarBear]

 

[bigtex]

Pacific county. ... I don't want to jump to any conclusions but they were literally 200 yards apart .... seems like thrill killing. I completely understand cutbacks being a government employee but two elk?  Hell one elk is too many. I have been stopped multiple times this year to check tags and make sure I am legal which is fine but lets spend some time figuring out what a$$hole is wasting Washington's resources. I hope they can catch the one bad apple.

You get checked because during the hunting season that's where all the game wardens are.  Then when its not hunting season the game wardens have to go off and do other stuff.  IMHO i would rather have the game wardens swarming the hills looking for poachers during December and January as this is when the MAJORITY of big game poaching occurs.  Its when all the animals have come down out of the hills and are down low near the roads that they become more suseptible to easy kills by poachers.  Also there is hardly any eyes in the woods.  Whereas during hunting season there is ALOT of eyes in the woods all looking for poachers, and the animals are typically farther from the roads.  I find it ironic that the WDFW spends most of its time checking hunters who 99% are law abiding and who are all looking for that 1% scumbag anyways so they can collect their points.  Yet when the 99% of poaching occurs are not in the hills looking for the scumbags.     It seems from an enforcement perspective to catch the most amount of poachers you would want to be in the hills when the bad guys are most likely to be there.

During December most of the game wardens I have found are near the rivers checking to make sure I didn't shoot too many ducks or geese and that I don't have lead, and that I have my proper stamps.  Meanwhile some d-bag is up in the Quilomene or up in the Umptanum in the Sagebrush killing a big bull.   

Patrols occur in the woods year round. What people need to understand is there are no longer two distinct enforcement operations for fisheries enforcement and wildlife enforcement. Prior to the creation of WDFW there were Wildlife Agents and Fisheries Officers. Wildlife mainly did wildlife enforcement, fisheries mainly did fisheries, they had the authority to do both types and during busy times they would help each other out. During this time Wildlife Agents also had more on their plates in terms of biological work done. The merger in 1994 created WDFW and thus we have Fish AND Wildlife Officers, many people forget the “and” part. So the officer that checked you deer hunting today could be working crabbers tomorrow, trout fishermen the next day, and commercial salmon fishing next week. WDFW Officers also have to enforce a lot of laws people don’t really think about such as pet stores, taxidermists, habitat violations, and, aquatic invasive species. There are several ways to determine where an officer will work in a given day, if I were to explain it I would be here for days but I will say that it is not to make the most contacts or tickets, because if that was so then we wouldn’t have officers patrolling areas such as watershed areas where nobody should be.

[JLS]

You get checked because during the hunting season that's where all the game wardens are.  Then when its not hunting season the game wardens have to go off and do other stuff.  IMHO i would rather have the game wardens swarming the hills looking for poachers during December and January as this is when the MAJORITY of big game poaching occurs.  Its when all the animals have come down out of the hills and are down low near the roads that they become more suseptible to easy kills by poachers.  Also there is hardly any eyes in the woods.  Whereas during hunting season there is ALOT of eyes in the woods all looking for poachers, and the animals are typically farther from the roads.  I find it ironic that the WDFW spends most of its time checking hunters who 99% are law abiding and who are all looking for that 1% scumbag anyways so they can collect their points.  Yet when the 99% of poaching occurs are not in the hills looking for the scumbags.     It seems from an enforcement perspective to catch the most amount of poachers you would want to be in the hills when the bad guys are most likely to be there.

During December most of the game wardens I have found are near the rivers checking to make sure I didn't shoot too many ducks or geese and that I don't have lead, and that I have my proper stamps.  Meanwhile some d-bag is up in the Quilomene or up in the Umptanum in the Sagebrush killing a big bull.   

I couldn't agree more! Seems all they want to do is go where they can write the most tickets. But for small violations by mostly honest hunters. Like you said, they should be out in the woods AFTER hunting season (modern firearm) is over. If they're going to be out there during modern fiream season, it should be at night, when the poaching is happening. Who cares if someone forgets to put on their orange, or shoots a deer 1 minute before legal time?

Because no one ever kills a deer illegally during the day during hunting season?  Already used their tag?  Killed a 2 point?  Have an archery tag and used a rifle?

C'mon.

[JLS]

Pacific county. ... I don't want to jump to any conclusions but they were literally 200 yards apart .... seems like thrill killing. I completely understand cutbacks being a government employee but two elk?  Hell one elk is too many. I have been stopped multiple times this year to check tags and make sure I am legal which is fine but lets spend some time figuring out what a$$hole is wasting Washington's resources. I hope they can catch the one bad apple.

You get checked because during the hunting season that's where all the game wardens are.  Then when its not hunting season the game wardens have to go off and do other stuff.  IMHO i would rather have the game wardens swarming the hills looking for poachers during December and January as this is when the MAJORITY of big game poaching occurs.  Its when all the animals have come down out of the hills and are down low near the roads that they become more suseptible to easy kills by poachers.  Also there is hardly any eyes in the woods.  Whereas during hunting season there is ALOT of eyes in the woods all looking for poachers, and the animals are typically farther from the roads.  I find it ironic that the WDFW spends most of its time checking hunters who 99% are law abiding and who are all looking for that 1% scumbag anyways so they can collect their points.  Yet when the 99% of poaching occurs are not in the hills looking for the scumbags.     It seems from an enforcement perspective to catch the most amount of poachers you would want to be in the hills when the bad guys are most likely to be there.

During December most of the game wardens I have found are near the rivers checking to make sure I didn't shoot too many ducks or geese and that I don't have lead, and that I have my proper stamps.  Meanwhile some d-bag is up in the Quilomene or up in the Umptanum in the Sagebrush killing a big bull.   

As a duck hunter I'm glad they are out there checking the rivers.  As an elk hunter, I realize they cannot be everywhere at once.

[bobcat]

You get checked because during the hunting season that's where all the game wardens are.  Then when its not hunting season the game wardens have to go off and do other stuff.  IMHO i would rather have the game wardens swarming the hills looking for poachers during December and January as this is when the MAJORITY of big game poaching occurs.  Its when all the animals have come down out of the hills and are down low near the roads that they become more suseptible to easy kills by poachers.  Also there is hardly any eyes in the woods.  Whereas during hunting season there is ALOT of eyes in the woods all looking for poachers, and the animals are typically farther from the roads.  I find it ironic that the WDFW spends most of its time checking hunters who 99% are law abiding and who are all looking for that 1% scumbag anyways so they can collect their points.  Yet when the 99% of poaching occurs are not in the hills looking for the scumbags.     It seems from an enforcement perspective to catch the most amount of poachers you would want to be in the hills when the bad guys are most likely to be there.

During December most of the game wardens I have found are near the rivers checking to make sure I didn't shoot too many ducks or geese and that I don't have lead, and that I have my proper stamps.  Meanwhile some d-bag is up in the Quilomene or up in the Umptanum in the Sagebrush killing a big bull.   

I couldn't agree more! Seems all they want to do is go where they can write the most tickets. But for small violations by mostly honest hunters. Like you said, they should be out in the woods AFTER hunting season (modern firearm) is over. If they're going to be out there during modern fiream season, it should be at night, when the poaching is happening. Who cares if someone forgets to put on their orange, or shoots a deer 1 minute before legal time?

Because no one ever kills a deer illegally during the day during hunting season?  Already used their tag?  Killed a 2 point?  Have an archery tag and used a rifle?

C'mon.

Sure. It's good that they're out there but I just wish they were out there more. My feeling is that if all of enforcement's time is spent during the day writing tickets for no orange and loaded guns in vehicles, how much enforcement is being done at night? Or before hunting season starts? Or after hunting season ends? It seems to me that if modern firearm deer or elk season is not happening, then they are only checking fisherman or waterfowl hunters.

[JLS]

My guess is probably more time is spent at night than you know about.  Call the local DFW office and ask them.  I'm sure they could give you an idea. 

[seth30]

Can you do ride alongs with the WDFW?

[colockumelk]

Bigtex thank you for the information. That is some stuff I didnt think or know about. I guess what i should have said is I believe the main focus of game wardens is to enforce laws up in the hills (which it does) but focus on poaching.  Especially big game poaching as this is the area that our state is hurting the most on. Like I said I can't ever remember running into a warden in the hills in Dec OR Jan. (Not to say they are never there) but during that time I see them all the time while duck hunting. They Our duck and goose populations are at an all time high. I would rather the game wardens focus the biggest chunk of their time in the wintering grounds catching big game poachers than checking fishing licenses and for lead shot shells. After all what has a bigger impact. A guy who shot 12 mallards with lead shells or a guy who just took his 3rd branch bull out of the same general area?

And JLS I know laws are broken during hunting season.  Ut I'm not really overly concerned about tje guy who accidently shot a 2pt in a 3pt min area. I'm a lot more worried about the thrill killers and the guys harvesting multiple trophy animals in the wintering grounds.

[PolarBear]

Can you do ride alongs with the WDFW?

Yes you can.  Iv'e been on a couple and have a standing offer to do another.  They can be really fun or boring as helll. 

[seth30]

Can you do ride alongs with the WDFW?

Yes you can.  Iv'e been on a couple and have a standing offer to do another.  They can be really fun or boring as helll.

SOunds like a normal ride along then I have only met one game warden, and he turned out to be pretty cool, even told me where he had been seeing bears at.   Thanks for the info!

[JLS]

Colockum,

So if half a dozen two points are "accidentally shot" during hunting season, primarily on opening day, doesn't that pretty well equal one hell of a thrill kill spree?  This whole idea of not caring about "accidental kills" just blows me away.  How do you justify that?  If everyone knows the game warden won't be out during the day because he's working nights, how many folks will try to sneak a 2 point home when that's all they can find?  That same guy that shoots the 2 point will be the same guy who shoots a cow or a branch bull during elk season. 

One of my best friends is a game warden in another state.  I think a lot of you guys are pretty naive as to what the world looks like from the eyes of a game warden.  If it's summer, they work fishermen and the deer hunters complain because they aren't working spotlighters.  During deer season, they work hunters and the fishermen complain because they are working the rivers.  During the winter, they work duck and bird hunters while the deer hunters complain because they aren't working spotlighters.

It's all important work, and the issue comes down to staffing.  I dare you to show me one wildlife agency that is adequately staffed with law enforcement.  You won't do it.  They are left to do the best they can, which is to focus their efforts on balancing activities that have high use periods and doing other stuff like night patrols. 

He tells me that he checks people all the time who have been hunting or fishing for 20-30 years, and they'll tell him this is the first time they've been checked.  So just because you don't see them doesn't mean the game warden isn't out there. 

[colockumelk]

First of all stop blowing stuff out of proportion. I never once said they shouldn't be ho there during hunting season. I said a guy who accidentally shot 1 2pt. I don't know people driving around during hunting season thrill killing a bunch of two points. If they did they would get caught pretty fast because someone like me would turn them in. Your example was innapropriate since you purposely changed what I said and my intent. If you spent anytime on here you would know I care about illegal kills accidental or not. So I will break it down Barney Style for you. I am more worried about the Poacher who kills multiple trophy bulls and bucks each year than the guy who shot a 1x2 accidentally in a true spike area. I justify it pretty easy actually. Because you see most people are good and don't want to break the law. So when Bill (a fake name not real) shoots a spike who has a 2" kicker he didnt see, figures out he was wrong he probaly like most people on this site who did this turn themself in. Won't happen again. Worst case they walk away, get scared and don't do it again. Where Bob goes out in Dec. Because he knows enforcement is low and shoots a branch bull twice a week. And yes I know there are staffing shortages. Again if you had read my previous posts you would know I know that.


Go ahead I gave you a bunch more stuff to twist and spin or exagerate. Flame on

[JLS]

I didn't mean they were all killed by one person for you to turn in.  I know for a fact that a couple of years ago about a half dozen two points were killed in the Hooper area on opening weekend.  I don't think that is any less of an impact than one guy who goes out and spotlights six bucks.