a link to a quiz, can you spot the real from the fake animal.  They've been around for a long time, and netted a smal fortune for the Wildlife management services.  from a distance, they look real, but.... once you've seen one close up, you got a pretty good idea what to look for... the Robo-deer or the Real deeer?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/02/24/quiz-can-you-tell-a-real-deer-from-a-robo-deer/

I was never aware that deer-'poaching' was a big-enough to deal to cause somebody to invent a deterrent that supercedes normal game-wardening.   In Michigan, and probably the wooded-States, Fish & Game uses infrared and small-plane surveillance for spotting 'night-lighters'. 

Hunters and outfitters are pretty vigilant and self-policing.   

If a deer runs-into your vehicle, it's yours.  Though it's a good idea to display it on your vehicle.   

Quote from: kit saginaw on March 05, 2016, 04:41:51 PM
I was never aware that deer-'poaching' was a big-enough to deal to cause somebody to invent a deterrent that supercedes normal game-wardening.   In Michigan, and probably the wooded-States, Fish & Game uses infrared and small-plane surveillance for spotting 'night-lighters'. 

Hunters and outfitters are pretty vigilant and self-policing.   

If a deer runs-into your vehicle, it's yours.  Though it's a good idea to display it on your vehicle.   

In my area it's a problem. Though most of the blame goes to mismanagement of wildlife by the state where too many doe run stupid..
But what we have here is idiots feeding them year round, so many of the deer wander around aimlessly unafraid of humans.

And in steps the Mong, Asians that'll kill your cat if they can get away with it, and deer are quite the prize.
Last year alone we had 5 deer taken in peoples front yards near the road.
Shoot out the window, throw the carcass in the back of the PU and take off.
The problem stems from lack of man power, so these dekes are setup in areas frequented by Mong in hopes of quelling the problem.

Like I said, majority is poor management, but stupid humans feeding wildlife account for the remainder of the problem.

Quote from: Solar on March 05, 2016, 07:02:20 PM
In my area it's a problem. Though most of the blame goes to mismanagement of wildlife by the state where too many doe run stupid..
But what we have here is idiots feeding them year round, so many of the deer wander around aimlessly unafraid of humans.

And in steps the Mong, Asians that'll kill your cat if they can get away with it, and deer are quite the prize.
Last year alone we had 5 deer taken in peoples front yards near the road.
Shoot out the window, throw the carcass in the back of the PU and take off.
The problem stems from lack of man power, so these dekes are setup in areas frequented by Mong in hopes of quelling the problem.

Like I said, majority is poor management, but stupid humans feeding wildlife account for the remainder of the problem.

That is bad.  So is another group of depraved immies running wild in America, disrespecting game-laws.  They're killing 'yard-pets'...  That would start a running war in some regions. 

Yeah, poachers would be in the 'weekend warrior' category of lazy-ass braggards.   

 

Quote from: kit saginaw on March 06, 2016, 12:24:05 AM
That is bad.  So is another group of depraved immies running wild in America, disrespecting game-laws.  They're killing 'yard-pets'...  That would start a running war in some regions. 

Yeah, poachers would be in the 'weekend warrior' category of lazy-ass braggards.   

Rumor has it a couple of these scum found the bottom of an abandoned air shaft to a mile deep gold mine.
Man and woman, presumably his wife. You just don't shoot dogs in the mountains, because aside from being family members, we depend on them for our daily safety.

In the a few decades back... heh, I taught Hunter Safety in WI.  They'd bring us all in for an annual "dinner" of poached animals, prepared by a chef.  Pretty good eating.

But they had a Robo-deer, "Bruce" I think they called it.  $1200-1800 fine and confiscate your gun, vehicle - everything used in the commission of the crime... and lose hunting rights.

Big deer everywhere...

Quote from: Hoofer on March 06, 2016, 04:06:59 PM
In the a few decades back... heh, I taught Hunter Safety in WI.  They'd bring us all in for an annual "dinner" of poached animals, prepared by a chef.  Pretty good eating.

But they had a Robo-deer, "Bruce" I think they called it.  $1200-1800 fine and confiscate your gun, vehicle - everything used in the commission of the crime... and lose hunting rights.

Big deer everywhere...

There's a lot of subtleties...  Do poachers go for doe as well as bucks?  You practically 'bring shame to your family' if you accidentally shoot a female.  I was taught to inform Fish & Game (DNR) if I shot a doe.  Luckily, I never shot one.

I know deer tend to act like giant raccoons if somebody starts leaving 'food' out.   Or salt-lick posts.  Which isn't a bad thing if you like deer hanging around in your yard, I guess.     

Quote from: kit saginaw on March 07, 2016, 03:41:08 AM
There's a lot of subtleties...  Do poachers go for doe as well as bucks?  You practically 'bring shame to your family' if you accidentally shoot a female.  I was taught to inform Fish & Game (DNR) if I shot a doe.  Luckily, I never shot one.

I know deer tend to act like giant raccoons if somebody starts leaving 'food' out.   Or salt-lick posts.  Which isn't a bad thing if you like deer hanging around in your yard, I guess.     

No one ever tells Fish and Game because you'll be fined on the spot no questions asked.
And the proper term is "Rats with Antlers." 

The problem with idiots feeding the forest is myriad in enormity, from year around habitat when they should be migrating, to attracting predators into neighborhoods, like Mt Lions teaching their young to kill.
There's serious consequences to interfering with natures natural balance.

Quote from: kit saginaw on March 07, 2016, 03:41:08 AM
There's a lot of subtleties...  Do poachers go for doe as well as bucks?  You practically 'bring shame to your family' if you accidentally shoot a female.  I was taught to inform Fish & Game (DNR) if I shot a doe.  Luckily, I never shot one.

I know deer tend to act like giant raccoons if somebody starts leaving 'food' out.   Or salt-lick posts.  Which isn't a bad thing if you like deer hanging around in your yard, I guess.     

"Bruce" was an 11 point buck, originally a 12 pointer - maybe the vibrations of the truck running threw off a shot.   His head would bob up and down, and tail twitches.

Funny you mentioned shooting a doe - my co-instructor DID, and turned himself in.  Said he thought it was a "nub buck".  So much for, "Be sure of your target and beyond"...  We were quite a pair, he'd bring out this Daniel Boone era looking, black-powder - give a 1/2 hr speech on the glories of black powder, thrill of the chase, etc., while the audience's eyes would glaze over.  Pass that 30lb monster around the classroom, trying to impress everyone... >yawn<

Then I'd pick up a Scoped Remington 30-06, and explain how modern technology allows for 100yrd head-shots, "if it's brown, it's down!!!", no meat wasted, no chasing a gut shot deer through the woods - go deer hunting at 6am, be back at the lodge by noon for lunch followed by an afternoon nap.  LOL
Closing with, "If you really want to chase deer through a foot of snow, there's your gun, I hope you can reload it quietly for the second & third shot, if the deer is stupid enough to hang around.  Me, personally, my toes start getting cold about 10am, while cleaning the deer, I wanna get home and have it in the freezer by nightfall.  LOL

We taught one of the longest series of classes, with real hands-on, and finishing with a range shoot at the end.  Fun stuff.

Bruce was metal, with a hide draped and stitched over him - the metal was full of bullet holes.  Temptation to shoot a huge buck was too much for some guys - and they paid dearly.  the trap had 2 or 3 DNR rangers, one to witness & record the shooting, and the rest to block the road so they couldn't get away.   They'd set up Bruce a hundred yards from the roadway, some country backroad, a couple of weeks before and after deer season, side of a hill or some pasture where you couldn't miss seeing Bruce.... LOL

Delightful imagery, Hoof.

It's amazing that some guys shoot at a motionless fake. 

I knew a farmer who put-up a fake hunter on the edge of his woods to discourage drive-by transgressors who didn't ask permission to hunt there.  -Basically an orange vest and cap hung on some sticks. 

Yeah, sooner or later you're going to be off-the-mark and spend a chunk of the day tracking blood... never quite sure where you hit him.  I never had one vanish, but my uncles did.  Funny how your gun feels heavier when you're carrying it around unloaded, on the search.  That was a family thing too.  Only the guy who shot the deer stayed loaded... in case a warden suddenly appeared.

Quote from: kit saginaw on March 10, 2016, 09:44:50 PM
Delightful imagery, Hoof.

It's amazing that some guys shoot at a motionless fake. 

I knew a farmer who put-up a fake hunter on the edge of his woods to discourage drive-by transgressors who didn't ask permission to hunt there.  -Basically an orange vest and cap hung on some sticks. 

Yeah, sooner or later you're going to be off-the-mark and spend a chunk of the day tracking blood... never quite sure where you hit him.  I never had one vanish, but my uncles did.  Funny how your gun feels heavier when you're carrying it around unloaded, on the search.  That was a family thing too.  Only the guy who shot the deer stayed loaded... in case a warden suddenly appeared.

Hunters go DEAF instinctively, when a big Buck is standing in front of them.  Maybe the rotisserie sound coming from it, triggered salivation and dinner bells in the head?  You'd gotta be a real zoned-out knucklehead not to recognize the slow Head bobbing & "nen-nen-nen-NEN-NE-NE-NEn-nen..." rotisserie sound as something mechanical.  Tail flip "click-flip-click-flip-click" was as obvious as a motor cycle cop pointing a radar guy at you.  If they made Bruce call out, "I'm-a-fake, I'm-a-fake, I'm-a-fake", some 10:30am riser for opening day, would've shot Bruce the Buck.

Illi-NOISE (or flat landers), as we called them, would roll into Wisconsin in their spiffy new 4x4s, looking for a deer... probably thought the deer were dumber across the border, being they were Chicago Bear fans, and we were Green Bay Packer fans... 

Holsteins are black and white.  Jerseys are Brown.  Unless dehorned, some grow 2 thick horns.  Wisconsin is called the "Dairy State" - cows are everywhere.  This guy with Illi-noise plates pulls into the local deer check station, grinning and exclaiming, "It's my first!  I missed at first!  Didn't even try to run away, it looked right at me while I was reloading...!" ... and Elsie the 2-point Cow, tagged & hanging off his trunk.  True or not, I don't know, but the story circulated for weeks when I was a kid.

Quote from: Hoofer on March 11, 2016, 02:43:08 AM

Hunters go DEAF instinctively, when a big Buck is standing in front of them.  Maybe the rotisserie sound coming from it, triggered salivation and dinner bells in the head?  You'd gotta be a real zoned-out knucklehead not to recognize the slow Head bobbing & "nen-nen-nen-NEN-NE-NE-NEn-nen..." rotisserie sound as something mechanical.  Tail flip "click-flip-click-flip-click" was as obvious as a motor cycle cop pointing a radar guy at you.  If they made Bruce call out, "I'm-a-fake, I'm-a-fake, I'm-a-fake", some 10:30am riser for opening day, would've shot Bruce the Buck.

Illi-NOISE (or flat landers), as we called them, would roll into Wisconsin in their spiffy new 4x4s, looking for a deer... probably thought the deer were dumber across the border, being they were Chicago Bear fans, and we were Green Bay Packer fans... 

Holsteins are black and white.  Jerseys are Brown.  Unless dehorned, some grow 2 thick horns.  Wisconsin is called the "Dairy State" - cows are everywhere.  This guy with Illi-noise plates pulls into the local deer check station, grinning and exclaiming, "It's my first!  I missed at first!  Didn't even try to run away, it looked right at me while I was reloading...!" ... and Elsie the 2-point Cow, tagged & hanging off his trunk.  True or not, I don't know, but the story circulated for weeks when I was a kid.

Yep, we have em here too.
Warden: "Son, ever seen a deer with bright yellow ear tags before"?
Yer under arrest....

When I got out of the army in 1969, following my 2d deployment in the RVN (Republic of Vietnam), couldn't get a decent job because all those were taken by hippie draft-dodgers who used all sorts of ploys to avoid being called up by draft boards, 'n was doing blue-collar apprentice work as a carpenter, married, 'n had a kid on the way, poaching deer at night, telephoning catfish in local rivers, trespassing onto farmers ponds to take bullfrogs, 'n milking poisonous snakes for their venom to sell to regional laboratories making anti-venom only supplemented the meager gardens we raised. Yeah, I was a game thief but hey, when people are desperate 'n government entitlements only go mostly lazy do-nothings, a guy will do almost anything to stay out of the gutter. Sure I played cat-n-mouse with game wardens on a regular basis but having learned principles of evasion 'n escape during army training 'n the rice paddies or mountain jungles of Vietnam vs. an enemy eager to kill me 'n my fellow soldiers, dodging state & federal wardens was kids' play. After I became a master journeyman carpenter, building contractor, 'n got on a sound financial footing, I stopped pursuit of those unlawful ways to become a law abiding citizen --------- still 'n although I'm now pushing 70, if the going got really tough, rather than get on the government dole, which is doubtful I'd qualify for, I have those skills as game outlaw to keep me, my family, 'n select few friends alive..!!

Quote from: TXborn on March 18, 2016, 03:38:30 PM
When I got out of the army in 1969, following my 2d deployment in the RVN (Republic of Vietnam), couldn't get a decent job because all those were taken by hippie draft-dodgers who used all sorts of ploys to avoid being called up by draft boards, 'n was doing blue-collar apprentice work as a carpenter, married, 'n had a kid on the way, poaching deer at night, telephoning catfish in local rivers, trespassing onto farmers ponds to take bullfrogs, 'n milking poisonous snakes for their venom to sell to regional laboratories making anti-venom only supplemented the meager gardens we raised. Yeah, I was a game thief but hey, when people are desperate 'n government entitlements only go mostly lazy do-nothings, a guy will do almost anything to stay out of the gutter. Sure I played cat-n-mouse with game wardens on a regular basis but having learned principles of evasion 'n escape during army training 'n the rice paddies or mountain jungles of Vietnam vs. an enemy eager to kill me 'n my fellow soldiers, dodging state & federal wardens was kids' play. After I became a master journeyman carpenter, building contractor, 'n got on a sound financial footing, I stopped pursuit of those unlawful ways to become a law abiding citizen --------- still 'n although I'm now pushing 70, if the going got really tough, rather than get on the government dole, which is doubtful I'd qualify for, I have those skills as game outlaw to keep me, my family, 'n select few friends alive..!!

Thank you for serving our country.

For the guy feeding the family - do what you must, it's far better than roadkill and a smashed up car/truck.

The guys going after the Robo-deer were NOT subsistence hunters, they were rack hunters.... something to put on the wall instead of the freezer.  Those are the guys at the check in station, lecture the kid with a 6 point buck for not "letting 'em grow up".  They're the guys you find in your tree stand opening day, ignoring your No Trespassing signage.  The Bucks are always BIGGER on someone else's land, if it's posted.  ...and when they get busted, it's someone else's fault.

Quote from: Hoofer on March 19, 2016, 07:25:07 AM
The guys going after the Robo-deer were NOT subsistence hunters, they were rack hunters.... something to put on the wall instead of the freezer.  Those are the guys at the check in station, lecture the kid with a 6 point buck for not "letting 'em grow up".  They're the guys you find in your tree stand opening day, ignoring your No Trespassing signage.  The Bucks are always BIGGER on someone else's land, if it's posted.  ...and when they get busted, it's someone else's fault.

Being an active member of PETA -- the other branch -- "People Eating Tasty Animals" & former game thief, I've never taken wildlife, fish, or other quarry as trophies. My thinking is why kill animals if the only reason is hang portion of it's carcass on the wall? Now that's not to say when I was waterfowl hunting guide, I haven't given my outfitter (a taxidermist & day hunt reservations guy) excellent ducks & geese during guided hunt, which turned out to be in really good condition. Those became replacements (called in these parts "mount-in birds") to replace some of the birds hunters brought in to have prepared in taxidermy displays while the remaining fowl either went to plucking house, then home w/paying hunters or donated to area charities or food banks. That way nothing was wasted 'n my outfitter-taxidermist had source of income after waterfowl hunting season was over..!!