poacher v gamekeeper

lister

Well-Known Member
would a poacher be the best gamekeeper or would a gamekeeper be the best poacher
my money would be on gamekeeper turned poacher
Lister
 
I know of 2 former poachers who have become full time keepers,They have been employed in the same estates for approx 8 and 11 years,Which speaks volumes.They are both dedicated keepers.
Atb John.
 
i got a place on the estate in the start of the 60s , ,so they knew where i was ,thats what my mother was told
 
a keeper worth his salt makes a good poacher whereas a lot of poachers would have little or no idea about rearing or organizing stops beaters and guns ;)
i know 1st hand of one very good poacher who made an excellent stalker but that's slightly different
 
And a good poacher runs rings around the keepers on the land they poach else they aren't a poacher long!
I'd hazard a guess as a percentage there are far more dog toffee keepers than rubbish poachers, i've met plenty of the former not many of the latter.
 
I think in the years ago the best gamekeepers were previously poachers and I know some old keeper who used to poach the estates they went on to work for. But the years on poaching a odd bird for the pot have gone. Now with the organised poaching teams it doesn't really apply. Shooting deer and pheasants out of a car window at night isn't really field craft!
 
I think in the years ago the best gamekeepers were previously poachers and I know some old keeper who used to poach the estates they went on to work for. But the years on poaching a odd bird for the pot have gone. Now with the organised poaching teams it doesn't really apply. Shooting deer and pheasants out of a car window at night isn't really field craft!


Here here well said. Most poachers that operate in my area don't know the first thing about deer the are scum who slaughter deer to **** the money away. I heard of one poacher who stated he had a shot a fallow Sika hybrid!
Poaching in my area is going to stop soon as the easy stuff is already mopped up and for them to be successful the will have to actually start stalking but i know in my hearth the deer are pretty safe!
 
Have to agree many years ago many poachers made great keepers ( Kenzie Thorpe for example ) but these days not so much ...
 
Poaching is a fairly loose based term. A 12 year old boy fishing from the local park without a rod licence isn't comparable to a pikey van with 10 lurchers and a lamp crew with a myriad of levels between. I smell a hint of the old Daily mail/Sun sensationalism when talking about poaching with most peoples only exposer bing the gypsy blood esq barbarism. Do you really think if a good poacher was working the area you'd know. Personally I think your deluded if you think poaching is going to stop, I'd say its increasing in just about every form and is only going to become more and more prevalent with the direction field sport costs and bureaucracy are going added to by increasing rural poverty.

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist

I'm just thankful that I'm in a position to be able to afford the time and cost to do the things I did as a boy for free unlike many others who have been priced out of the picture.
 
yes i think any GOOD keeper with a bit of time under his belt knows exactly what's going on on his ground and whose on it , i agree the romantic notion of a 'poacher' has passed into history most these days are out for a quick buck and it's smash and grab , the old style lad out for a pheasant or such with a horsehair snare or similar is a thing of the past
 
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