What would you do?

BigBow

BigBow

Ten Pointer
Contributor
A new club member, the competitive type we all are way too familiar with, harvest his 1st Turkey. He is a beginning Turkey hunter & ask you to help him clean it. You decide to check out it's crop to see what it has been eating. SURPRISE!!! It has a fist full of shelled corn. He suggest the Turkey must have crossed the highway from the other club's lease. He harvested the bird from a corner of our lease that he routinely signs out that adjoins a piece of property that he has just recently purchased. What would you do?
 

ellwoodjake

Twelve Pointer
So what if he's baiting on some property he just bought. And that bird could have picked up that corn anywhere. I don't turkey hunt, but bait year round, and if a neighbor get's one with my corn in it, oh well.
 
NCST8GUY

NCST8GUY

Frozen H20 Guy
No question.

I'd congratulate him, and then walk somewhere, and call the pre programmed # in my mobile phone. Invite the warden.

You are the member's friend. The Game Warden is the friend of BOTH of you, so long as y'all are legal. If something is amiss (and it's possible it's not), let the expert figure it out and both y'all keep turkey hunting.

But 100% I would so call the game warden. One thing I do no want is be associated by guilt! If I even suspect someone, I let them know. If I think I have proof, they know also.
 
grim reaper

grim reaper

Ten Pointer
I killed a bird I had on camera in a food plot the next morning 1000 yards away, and I've watched turkeys eat in cut corn fields and found corn in them this time of year so anything is possible. Could be baiting tho
 
BigBow

BigBow

Ten Pointer
Contributor
grim reaper said:
I killed a bird I had on camera in a food plot the next morning 1000 yards away, and I've watched turkeys eat in cut corn fields and found corn in them this time of year so anything is possible. Could be baiting tho
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Nope. No farms or gardens in this area within miles.
 
grim reaper

grim reaper

Ten Pointer
BigBow said:
Nope. No farms or gardens in this area within miles.
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I was also suggesting he could have traveled from a neighboring lease. I wouldn't call just off of assumption, without facts. If he's not baiting then you look crazy to the rest of the club and could create some animosity
 
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BigBow

BigBow

Ten Pointer
Contributor
I appreciate everyones advice/opinions. This scenario happened 20+ years ago & this is what I did. I called the S.C.D.W.R. anonymous tip line & relayed the fact that someone, no names or club names were ever mentioned, was baiting w/ corn near the intersection of Hwy __ & ____ Rd. This was definitely baiting, because like I said earlier there were no residences, gardens or farms within miles of these leases. I told the dispatcher if the game warden wanted he could investigate & possibly find a bait pile near that intersection. The dispatcher did not seem particularly concerned. I told the club Pres. a week later that I had reported that someone was baiting in the area. Despite the fact that I had been a member for 22 years, I was asked by the Pres., a real opportunist & politician, to leave the club because I did not handle the issue "in house" which threatened the lease. B.S. I told him & good riddance because the club had been going down hill in recent years anyway. Leases had been going up & they had been accepting malcontent new members, such as a group that had just recently been kicked out of another club for some incidents of not following the rules. Things worked out for the best, but it made me question the advantages of honesty & integrity @ the time.
 

timber

Twelve Pointer
Want there so only getting bits and pieces by what read here. But I kind of agree with the president of the club to a point. . It may could have been handled within the club. Unless I missed it didn’t read if anybody asked the guy if he killed it over bait or even bothered to check and see if was any bait around. It seems there were a lot of assumptions of what might or might not have happened
 
wncdeerhunter

wncdeerhunter

Old Mossy Horns
BigBow said:
I appreciate everyones advice/opinions. This scenario happened 20+ years ago & this is what I did. I called the S.C.D.W.R. anonymous tip line & relayed the fact that someone, no names or club names were ever mentioned, was baiting w/ corn near the intersection of Hwy __ & ____ Rd. This was definitely baiting, because like I said earlier there were no residences, gardens or farms within miles of these leases. I told the dispatcher if the game warden wanted he could investigate & possibly find a bait pile near that intersection. The dispatcher did not seem particularly concerned. I told the club Pres. a week later that I had reported that someone was baiting in the area. Despite the fact that I had been a member for 22 years, I was asked by the Pres., a real opportunist & politician, to leave the club because I did not handle the issue "in house" which threatened the lease. B.S. I told him & good riddance because the club had been going down hill in recent years anyway. Leases had been going up & they had been accepting malcontent new members, such as a group that had just recently been kicked out of another club for some incidents of not following the rules. Things worked out for the best, but it made me question the advantages of honesty & integrity @ the time.
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Good lord that’s a long time to hold a grudge and stew on something.
 
Moose

Moose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
hawglips said:
Baiting for all game should be illegal again. Big mistake that we ever went down that road
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Disagree I see it as a viable option for bears and hogs and coyotes as well. I do bait for deer but wouldn't care if the rules changed on that.

As far as turning in a friend I'd want to be 100% sure and I would also tell them face to face. I certainly don't see any reason to anonymously turn them in and then tell others in the club after the fact?
 
turkeyfoot

turkeyfoot

Old Mossy Horns
I would congratulate the hunter and then do a walkabout on my own never mentioning it to check for bait for simple fact wouldn't want myself or another member getting in trouble for unknowingly hunting close to corn and hopefully nothing found end of story. Lot ways bird can get corn they got 12 plus hours day to walk and eat and can't read signs heck lot people feed them around their house just to watch them
 
BigBow

BigBow

Ten Pointer
Contributor
I agree w/ most of the reactions to my post. In retrospect I probably should have done nothing. In my defense though as mentioned before, I only reported to DNR that someone was baiting in an approx. area w/ no names or club names mentioned. I was not narcing out any specific individual & I was basically leaving it up to the game warden to check it out if he wanted to. I just thought he should know someone was illegally baiting around that area. It was illegal in SC to bait for deer or turkey. I am not really stewing about it anymore & guess I have pretty much left that incident in the wind, but was just wondering what most people would have done in that situation & questioning my own decision @ the time. Everything worked out for the best.
 
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Duckmauler dhc

Duckmauler dhc

Old Mossy Horns
This post is hilarious from all angles. The post itself and most of the replies. As someone said, that’s a long time to hold animosity.


But, under any circumstance I wouldn’t call a gw if my mothers life depended on it. I have never known them to be my friend at any time. At least not in North Carolina. As another poster said....whatever happened to just going to someone and dealing with a possible issue.
 
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