Had an interesting morning this morning. My daughter and I postponed our annual Thanksgiving morning hunt yesterday due to the forecast of horizontal rain. Well that rain turned to snow yesterday afternoon so we decided to go this morning instead. With the promise of a fresh white coating of snow I headed out in the wee hours to pick up my daughter and make the 2 hour drive to our favorite hunting area.
We made it down in plenty of time and started into the woods after donning our headlamps. The spot we were headed to is a thick, narrow spot in a valley that the deer like to cross at and I was hoping to put my daughter on a buck there. As we made our way down into the valley we came across a set of human footprints in the snow. No problem though, they were obviously from the evening before as they were almost completely obscured by the snow that had fallen overnight. I stopped on the tracks and scanned my dim red light left and right along the path trying to determine where the hunter may have set up the previous night. It was then that I noticed a small white pile amid some disturbed leaves right at the limit of my head lamp’s range. I whispered my first thought “Looks like someone shot a yote last night”. We walked over to investigate. Unfortunately the figure wasn’t a yote but rather a very small fork horn buck. It was completely encircled by the tracks we had seen before they headed away and back down the valley from where they’d originated.
Now this area in Michigan is an antler point restricted area which means that any buck shot must have at least 3 points on a side. It appeared to me that some “hunter” either failed to properly identify his target or thought he was shooting at a doe. Once he discovered his mistake he abandoned the deer and left it to rot and now, mine and my daughter’s tracks lead right to/from it.
To say I was PO’d would be a serious understatement. We continued on and I got her all set up then I moved on a couple hundred yards and climbed a tree. As I sat there I was still stewing and I made the decision to report the deer to the state’s RAP line so, after 48 years of hunting, I made only my second call to the DNR regarding an observed violation. They replied to my text almost immediately and after some preliminary questions they put me in touch with the local CO. I explained the situation and gave the GPS coordinates for the carcass. He told me he’d look into it but he’d probably just end up leaving it where it lay once all was said and done since there wasn’t a lot he could do about it.
Well, we sat until around 10:30 when the 20deg temps and 10-15mph winds finally got to be too much for my daughter. I rappelled down and picked her up on the way out. As we approached where the deer laid I was going to stop and take a picture of it but it was gone, dragged out. At that point I wasn’t sure if the shooter had come back to reclaim it or if the CO had been there. We crested the hill out of the valley and there stood the CO about 50 yds ahead taking a breather from the drag. We walked up and engaged him in conversation. He said he was surprised how fresh the kill was and that he was going to take it down to a camp down the road to interview the guys hunting there.
After I helped him drag it the rest of the way out and load it into his truck we stood and talked hunting for quite a while. He noticed my saddle and asked about saddle hunting with a lot of detailed questions. He mentioned he’s seriously considering it after having several tree stands stolen himself this year. I was surprised to hear that but, I guess . . . you'd never that the CO’s stands are just as susceptible to theft as the regular hunters out there.
All in all it was a very positive experience. The entire interaction was polite and friendly. I was actually impressed to see the expediency with which the situation was handled. I have no idea what might have happened with his investigation but I am happy at least to know it was being followed up on.
We made it down in plenty of time and started into the woods after donning our headlamps. The spot we were headed to is a thick, narrow spot in a valley that the deer like to cross at and I was hoping to put my daughter on a buck there. As we made our way down into the valley we came across a set of human footprints in the snow. No problem though, they were obviously from the evening before as they were almost completely obscured by the snow that had fallen overnight. I stopped on the tracks and scanned my dim red light left and right along the path trying to determine where the hunter may have set up the previous night. It was then that I noticed a small white pile amid some disturbed leaves right at the limit of my head lamp’s range. I whispered my first thought “Looks like someone shot a yote last night”. We walked over to investigate. Unfortunately the figure wasn’t a yote but rather a very small fork horn buck. It was completely encircled by the tracks we had seen before they headed away and back down the valley from where they’d originated.
Now this area in Michigan is an antler point restricted area which means that any buck shot must have at least 3 points on a side. It appeared to me that some “hunter” either failed to properly identify his target or thought he was shooting at a doe. Once he discovered his mistake he abandoned the deer and left it to rot and now, mine and my daughter’s tracks lead right to/from it.
To say I was PO’d would be a serious understatement. We continued on and I got her all set up then I moved on a couple hundred yards and climbed a tree. As I sat there I was still stewing and I made the decision to report the deer to the state’s RAP line so, after 48 years of hunting, I made only my second call to the DNR regarding an observed violation. They replied to my text almost immediately and after some preliminary questions they put me in touch with the local CO. I explained the situation and gave the GPS coordinates for the carcass. He told me he’d look into it but he’d probably just end up leaving it where it lay once all was said and done since there wasn’t a lot he could do about it.
Well, we sat until around 10:30 when the 20deg temps and 10-15mph winds finally got to be too much for my daughter. I rappelled down and picked her up on the way out. As we approached where the deer laid I was going to stop and take a picture of it but it was gone, dragged out. At that point I wasn’t sure if the shooter had come back to reclaim it or if the CO had been there. We crested the hill out of the valley and there stood the CO about 50 yds ahead taking a breather from the drag. We walked up and engaged him in conversation. He said he was surprised how fresh the kill was and that he was going to take it down to a camp down the road to interview the guys hunting there.
After I helped him drag it the rest of the way out and load it into his truck we stood and talked hunting for quite a while. He noticed my saddle and asked about saddle hunting with a lot of detailed questions. He mentioned he’s seriously considering it after having several tree stands stolen himself this year. I was surprised to hear that but, I guess . . . you'd never that the CO’s stands are just as susceptible to theft as the regular hunters out there.
All in all it was a very positive experience. The entire interaction was polite and friendly. I was actually impressed to see the expediency with which the situation was handled. I have no idea what might have happened with his investigation but I am happy at least to know it was being followed up on.
