New guy gotta vent - Page 2

Hunter Customs · January 18, 2013, 10:25 AM

318 I hope you have better luck with your conservation department then I did.

I called ours twice on a couple of illegal activites I witnessed, but they told me they did not have time to mess with it.
So I decided right then, that if they don't have time or care, I'll never waste my time calling again.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com

Art Eatman · January 18, 2013, 11:26 AM

Hunter Custom, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they lacked staff and budget to deal with the workload.

My home county in Texas is the size of the state of Delaware. We have three game wardens to cover the whole area. One "development" of some 200,000 acres with around 4,000 small tracts has 1,100 miles of graded jeep trails. That leaves three million acres outside of Big Bend National Park. Good luck, guys.

People gripe about the cost of hunting/fishing licenses, but that's the primary source of income for most wildlife agencies. Better enforcement would require higher fees. The federal money from excise taxes on firearms helps, but not enough.

MLeake · January 18, 2013, 11:57 AM

Seems to me, when I was a kid in Maine, our game wardens were often busy trying to find lost hikers and hunters, rather than looking for poachers.

Not that they didn't look for poachers, just that they had a pretty full plate.

shortwave · January 18, 2013, 12:41 PM

Think it's bad now?

Wait till this happens...

...
http://www.examiner.com/article/budg...-act-impacting

318 · January 18, 2013, 04:39 PM

Leprosy? And i moan about stray cats in my garbage. One thing about ohio, i hate it, but dont have to worry about anything dangerous to myself and family. We have timber rattlers but i have never met anyone that has ever seen one. I bowhunt 6 days a week, turkey hunt 6 days a week, never have seen any type of snake. Ever

Hunter Customs · January 18, 2013, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Hunter Custom, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they lacked staff and budget to deal with the workload.

Art, I don' believe that's a problem here in Missouri.
We have a conservation department that's very well off.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com

reynolds357 · January 18, 2013, 10:16 PM

Berdan, Armadillos dig holes and root. They kill my young fruit trees. I also twisted my ankle because of one of their holes.

SPEMack618 · January 19, 2013, 12:10 AM

In regards to armadillo, they are vectors for chargas and leposry.

Also, if the above wasn't enough to warrant a well placed .22 LR the fact that the burroughing buggers can cause massive problems for livestock.

Same with gophers, those I don't know if I've ever actually seen a gopher round these parts.

Also, in the winter, it isn't unkown for a coyote to isolate a young calf or smaller cow and feast away.

My Big Sister 4-H prize winning cow met a tragic end to a coyote(s) when she was in middle school and I was in elementary school.

Pop and I hunted those things for weeks in effort to stop her from crying.

jason_iowa · January 19, 2013, 01:00 AM

I have a hard time blaming the guys that poach a deer to make sure their family has meat to eat. Hell I shoot the rabbits and woodchucks that tear up my back yard. Which is poaching i suppose.

When I find a deer with backstraps and maybe hindquarters gone or even worse when they just cut the head off that ****** me off.

318 · January 19, 2013, 08:51 AM

I do have a problem with people poaching deer to feed their family. If they poach, they have guns. Kill deer during hunting season. Or sell the guns and buy groceries. Poaching is poaching. Imho. I mean no disrespect, but their are laws in place to preserve hunting for future generations. Poaching is wrong, no matter the circumstance

BerdanSS · January 19, 2013, 08:59 AM

Hey Mack...I'll put one of our Indiana groundhogs against your guys armadillos any day

If you've never met with them, I can tell you...."they ain't no gopher"
.

Gopher

Ground Hog

Dad and I have walked up on several of these guys out by his barn that measured about 3 feet long and weighed in the neighborhood of 28+ pounds. You can imagine the tunnel and hole they leave. They are surprisingly fast, and can get pretty mean if you corner one. They reproduce like crazy too, having anywhere from 4-12 pups per litter.

Hawg · January 19, 2013, 10:32 AM

Quote:

We have timber rattlers but i have never met anyone that has ever seen one. I bowhunt 6 days a week, turkey hunt 6 days a week, never have seen any type of snake. Ever

Snakes hibernate during the winter.

MLeake · January 19, 2013, 10:55 AM

Snakes and cold don't go together well; even in weather where they don't hibernate, they are pretty torpid, and usually burrowed someplace warm.

Hit those same woods in the summer, and you might see them - but you might not.

One guy I work with encountered one in his firewood pile, a few years back. No permanent tissue damage in his arm, but for a while there it was iffy.

Odds are, he surprised the snake.

Most snakes do not want to encounter larger animals, such as humans, and when they feel the vibrations from your footsteps most will retreat.

People I've known that have been bitten have usually stepped into a dark or brushy area, or reached into brush or wood piles.

Art Eatman · January 19, 2013, 12:47 PM

Hokay. Enough drift OT for a Saturday.

January 19, 2013, 12:10 AM	#33
SPEMack618 Senior Member Join Date: June 21, 2010 Location: Central Georgia Posts: 1,863	In regards to armadillo, they are vectors for chargas and leposry. Also, if the above wasn't enough to warrant a well placed .22 LR the fact that the burroughing buggers can cause massive problems for livestock. Same with gophers, those I don't know if I've ever actually seen a gopher round these parts. Also, in the winter, it isn't unkown for a coyote to isolate a young calf or smaller cow and feast away. My Big Sister 4-H prize winning cow met a tragic end to a coyote(s) when she was in middle school and I was in elementary school. Pop and I hunted those things for weeks in effort to stop her from crying. __________________ NRA Life Member Read my blog! "The answer to any caliber debate is going to be .38 Super, 10mm, .357 Sig or .41 Magnum!"

January 18, 2013, 10:25 AM	#26
Hunter Customs Senior Member Join Date: March 26, 2005 Location: Osborn, Missouri Posts: 2,697	318 I hope you have better luck with your conservation department then I did. I called ours twice on a couple of illegal activites I witnessed, but they told me they did not have time to mess with it. So I decided right then, that if they don't have time or care, I'll never waste my time calling again. Best Regards Bob Hunter www.huntercustoms.com

January 18, 2013, 11:26 AM	#27
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	Hunter Custom, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they lacked staff and budget to deal with the workload. My home county in Texas is the size of the state of Delaware. We have three game wardens to cover the whole area. One "development" of some 200,000 acres with around 4,000 small tracts has 1,100 miles of graded jeep trails. That leaves three million acres outside of Big Bend National Park. Good luck, guys. People gripe about the cost of hunting/fishing licenses, but that's the primary source of income for most wildlife agencies. Better enforcement would require higher fees. The federal money from excise taxes on firearms helps, but not enough.

January 18, 2013, 11:57 AM	#28
MLeake Senior Member Join Date: November 15, 2007 Location: Outside KC, MO Posts: 10,128	Seems to me, when I was a kid in Maine, our game wardens were often busy trying to find lost hikers and hunters, rather than looking for poachers. Not that they didn't look for poachers, just that they had a pretty full plate.

January 18, 2013, 12:41 PM	#29
shortwave Senior Member Join Date: December 17, 2007 Location: SOUTHEAST, OHIO Posts: 5,970	Think it's bad now? Wait till this happens... ... http://www.examiner.com/article/budg...-act-impacting

January 18, 2013, 04:39 PM	#30
318 Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2013 Location: Ohio Posts: 102	Leprosy? And i moan about stray cats in my garbage. One thing about ohio, i hate it, but dont have to worry about anything dangerous to myself and family. We have timber rattlers but i have never met anyone that has ever seen one. I bowhunt 6 days a week, turkey hunt 6 days a week, never have seen any type of snake. Ever

January 18, 2013, 10:16 PM	#32
reynolds357 Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 2012 Posts: 6,165	Berdan, Armadillos dig holes and root. They kill my young fruit trees. I also twisted my ankle because of one of their holes.

January 19, 2013, 01:00 AM	#34
jason_iowa Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2011 Posts: 686	I have a hard time blaming the guys that poach a deer to make sure their family has meat to eat. Hell I shoot the rabbits and woodchucks that tear up my back yard. Which is poaching i suppose. When I find a deer with backstraps and maybe hindquarters gone or even worse when they just cut the head off that ****** me off.

January 19, 2013, 08:51 AM	#35
318 Senior Member Join Date: January 10, 2013 Location: Ohio Posts: 102	I do have a problem with people poaching deer to feed their family. If they poach, they have guns. Kill deer during hunting season. Or sell the guns and buy groceries. Poaching is poaching. Imho. I mean no disrespect, but their are laws in place to preserve hunting for future generations. Poaching is wrong, no matter the circumstance

January 19, 2013, 08:59 AM	#36
BerdanSS Senior Member Join Date: April 3, 2011 Location: to close to other houses Posts: 1,176	Hey Mack...I'll put one of our Indiana groundhogs against your guys armadillos any day If you've never met with them, I can tell you...."they ain't no gopher" . Gopher Ground Hog Dad and I have walked up on several of these guys out by his barn that measured about 3 feet long and weighed in the neighborhood of 28+ pounds. You can imagine the tunnel and hole they leave. They are surprisingly fast, and can get pretty mean if you corner one. They reproduce like crazy too, having anywhere from 4-12 pups per litter.

January 19, 2013, 10:55 AM	#38
MLeake Senior Member Join Date: November 15, 2007 Location: Outside KC, MO Posts: 10,128	Snakes and cold don't go together well; even in weather where they don't hibernate, they are pretty torpid, and usually burrowed someplace warm. Hit those same woods in the summer, and you might see them - but you might not. One guy I work with encountered one in his firewood pile, a few years back. No permanent tissue damage in his arm, but for a while there it was iffy. Odds are, he surprised the snake. Most snakes do not want to encounter larger animals, such as humans, and when they feel the vibrations from your footsteps most will retreat. People I've known that have been bitten have usually stepped into a dark or brushy area, or reached into brush or wood piles.

January 19, 2013, 12:47 PM	#39
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	Hokay. Enough drift OT for a Saturday.