HorizontalHunter
NES Member
I passed on a doe that had her fawn with her yesterday (11/16). I thought that was kind of strange, that they were still together this time of year. I would have thought a buck would have beenn dogging her at this point and separating her from her fawn.
None of this is really noteworthy.. But what is noteworthy is that on the WMA I was on yesterday in Rochester, someone was gun hunting. Right at dusk, I hear a single gunshot, not too far from my stand. I didn't "see" the hunter actually make the shot. I stayed in my stand until dark which was only about 10 minutes later. At that point, I could see his flashlight/headlamp about 100ish yards to the north, and I could hear him crashing through the woods. His light was shining behind him (opposite his direction of travel) and he was obviously dragging something.
Not sure what I should/could have done about it. I couldn't see it if was actually a deer. Coyote is open so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. But a coyote weighs 35 pounds for a good-sized one. Not the kind of animal that requires dragging like that. Try as I may I can't come to any other conclusion other than that this guy shot a deer.
My vehicle was the only one in the WMA parking lot. But there are multiple access points so the guy could have come in from anywhere really. Lots of homes abut it too. He could have just walked in.
It is sad but the current tagging system is a poachers dream. The odds are pretty close to zero when it comes to getting caught.
Even if he bothered to check it in using current system he wouldn’t get caught.
I have noticed a decline in numbers in western Mass since the change in the checking process. Those “any zone” tags that are sold over the counter have really hurt.
The same thing happened in Connecticut when they made the same changes. Gun hunters in the archery only areas using shotguns in the middle of the archery seasons and rifle hunters trespassing on private land as well.
Bob