Damn poaching *******s!

IanF

Well-Known Member
Folks,

Dropped in to see my mate and game-dealer this afternoon. As he shoots adjacent ground, we have a lot of contact and keep an eye out for any sign of anything untoward on our grounds.

He shared a sickening story with me.

After placing some hunters in high-seats, he was driving on a local road through his permissions, when a Fallow buck crossed in his car headlights. He could see the beast was showing obvious injury, so screeched to a halt, grabbed a rifle (fortunately NV equipped) and managed to put it out of its misery.

The wound was obviously caused by a miss-placed head shot. The classic blown away jaw resulted in a beast that was starving to death, in obvious agony. No fodder in the digestive system & decomposing tissue all pointed towards a wound that had been dealt at least five days previously.



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Head shooting may well have a place in a restrained 'park' environment - but not IMO in the field. The fact that this was the result of a poachers bullet rather than a legitimate stalker matters not. He did not intend to miss. We never do.

Deer move unexpectedly & no-one shoots perfectly 100% of the time.

Both good reasons to give yourself maximum room for error, and use a chest shot whenever possible.

As for the poacher, well, let's just say that Sharia law has it's good points!

Rgds

Ian
 
That's truly horrific. Thank God he was able to end its suffering. :(
 
it makes me feel sick to think what that poor animal had been through in the last few days

mike
 
Ian

That is horrific as has been said..

Unimaginable to comprehend the suffering..

No to Sharia in this country mate..

But happy to lop his goolies off..

Terry
 
Graphic images our Ian that need to be seen if only to educate folk...
True. Did a session on deer management for the local WI last week. Usual questions around why shoot Bambi etc and I put forward the 'responsible management' arguement. What really did the trick was pictures of poached deer - dog damage, crossbow bolts, bits hanging off etc. When presented with the either/or rhetorical question everybody quite obviously 'voted' for the responsible deer manager option.
 
Ian, after having visited with you & Jo & seen some of your countryside, It was hard for me to imagine this sort of stuff went on down there, your rural idyll could do with some rough justice, before it gets to be too much like the problem areas we have up here....................... Claret, I know where you are coming from with the Lurcher thing, but not everyone with Greyhounds & or Lurchers actually "run" them, Steve:)
 
We found a red stag in a similar state on an estate I stalk on 2 yrs ago, the animal had been shot with .22 CF through lower jaw and subsequently suffered lingering death.

Upon being found (still warm) it had lower jaw "hanging off" with its remains infested with maggots and severly distended. The beast either died of infection or starvation, possibly having been shot a week (or two) earlier.


On the reverse side of this incident, (a picture of the animal now features in Anti Poaching posters nationaly) we have re-started "poacher watch" in our area and the police have upped the anti on poaching and the related criminal activity that goes with it.

You are pretty much guaranteed to be "turned over" (stop checked) if you have a van / dogs etc

The indidents are happening less, but there is still the hard core at it, but they are more likely to be caught sooner rather than later as has happened several times recently.

Info is the key really, if you see something suspicious (no matter how small) ring it in to the authorities, if they are on your ground / land, have they damaged a fence to get in - if so its criminal damage and the suspects are on the scene - this demands immediate response.....
 
I agree with Ian on this head shooting is for armatures who think there good and this i hope will bring reality back to all them that said head shooting was except able. Poaching is a different matter and if caught should suffer the full extent of the law. But Claret i cannot see anything here that would have this as done by Lurchers. While hunting with dogs is against the law there is no lurcher chap i new would have ever left a deer like this. This was an out an out criminal act.
 
Oh Hightower im lost with where your coming from how can you sit there and say HEAD SHOOTING IS FOR AMATAURES that should be the last thing you promote i do belive thats why this poor deer suffered in this way poached or not and no i dont want to get the whole head shooting issue raised again. and i dont think a you have taken on the point regarding poachers with running dogs and the damage they do.Its a real pitty that there are some who have no regard for our wildlife and only seek to fill there pockets with money.
its time we had capital punishment back ................
amberdog
 
poaching

Amateurs!!!!!:evil::evil:

Also, there is no reason why such a ballsed up shot would have been illegal, it could have been carried out with a legal calibre in a legal venue (I accept Ians word that in this case it was not)

As regards Dog men, we do tend to use the expression up here to describe poachers and ne'er do wells. I think we all accept that long dogs can be run legally and have no real problem when that is the case.
 
head shooting has its place in propper deer culling if done correctly in fasct the recommend placement for night shooting id head or neck
 
Clearly the point of using our rifles responsibly also lies in the fact that we are able to cull to a level where minimal distress is caused to the beast.

Taking head shots whether park managed or not is a risk. Introducing a risk in the use of a firearm demonstrates irresponsibility.

I understand that some people are gifted, calm, steady and consistent in their shot placement, which is great and fine on a range or at a cull target in the acceptable and measured area to promote a clean and humane cull. But to deploy this method of culling by head shot is a silly risk to take. As IanF stated, deer move and so do you when you take the shot.

Neck shooting has a place but even then you are taking a risk when compared to the boiler room. The smaller the target the harder it is and the greater risk there is for error.

At least if you bad shoot a deer near to or around the boiler room you can track the deer, Head shooting and even neck shooting, tracking the deer will be extremely difficult and the risk of sustained distress to the beast is almost guaranteed.

Poaching or not, there is no place for head shots in the field. There is a place and that is with a Pistol for Humane dispatch as a a result of RTA, Decease or other veterinary request.

Common Sense prevails us in or pursuits.
 
With injury`s like the one`s in our Ian`s picture you can only assume what type of Bullet or calibre was used. Unless you actualy have a projectile which was retrived from the carcass even the self proclaimed experts would be foolish to comment on calibre used. Just stating it must of been a 22 centrefire would not secure a conviction in court.
Big hole or massive tissue damage can all be made with a varity of calibre`s.
I have shot a few beast now that have had 40g rimfire heads lodged in the heads/necks and so forth.
Would this be poacher`s?? NO..
This is the work of divis total divis who belive that if you shoot anything in the eye with a low powered gun it will drop the target beast regardless of size.
Here`s a sliver medal stag off my ground which recovered from a broken leg but was unfortunatly shot in the eye with a Rimfire. I know it was a rimfire because another 40g HP was found in its lower neck..

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Poaching scum they maybe, but this has Probably been carried out with a leagaly held firearm, possibly somebody reading these pages who knows???

This could be the result of a legal COCK UP, unless you recognised the deer as LOCAL,a deer with an injury such as this can cover a LOT of ground, a well trained deer dog could push the injured beast even further from where the incident occured.

It's probably been said enough, but it's the risk you take when you fire at a deer's head, if indead they where aiming at it's head?? I've seen a buck shot in the rump by a stalker that was aiming at the animals ribs...

Someone know's what happend, but it's only for us to guess..


Nell
 
well spotted and taken care of this sort of behaviour needs to be stopped and local police are just not interested round our way,they lack knowledge and understanding and are just bloody ignorant. out of sight and out of mind but the minute you get hold of one of these people you become the criminal irespective of what they have done!
 
Head or neck shooting is a no no, the boiler room is the only shot that should be taken in a stalking situation, if you want to demonstrate your marksmanship do it on paper never on a live animal, the photographs demonstrate what can happen so easily with a head shot a deers brain is a small target and you need to hit the brain for a clean kill not only have I seen animals shot through the jaw as in the photographs I have also seen the top of the skull lifted of and the animal still alive.

There is also a high risk of wounding with a neck shot unless you severe the spinal column you have an animal that can travel a great distance before it dies.

Sako 243 head and neck shooting is the recommended way for night shooting, since when? In the past I have been involved in night shooting exercises with D.C.S and the recommended shot was through the front shoulders, this does not always insure a clean kill but it stops the animal from running off and it can finished with a second shot if need be, oh and the minimum calibre for night shooting .270 this and shooting at distances of less than 50 yards, should take out both shoulders, not the nicest
way to shoot an animal but it does prevent a wounded animal getting lost in the dark.
 
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