Poaching

We've all seen the videos of poachers scrambling to get their gun out the window to shoot a buck in the headlights next to the road only to find out that it was a poaching sting.

During the last days of rifle seasons east and west of the Cascades. Oregon Troopers ran patrols with deer decoys. Many of the Decoys troopers use include everything from deer, elk, moving turkeys and even salmon, among others (yes, there have even been reports of poachers taking shots at fish).

Northwest: Troopers from the St. Helens office ran their decoy in the Saddle Mountain unit near Astoria. A rig stopped and aimed its lights at the decoy as a man got out, saying "hope this rifle's sighted in bro," and took a shot from the highway. He was ticketed for illegal take and two passengers were cited for minor in possession and open container.

East: Troopers from The Dalles placed a decoy in the Mt. Hood National Forest west of Wamic, between 7 and 8:15 p.m. "One vehicle stopped and shot the decoy 10 times with an AR-15," the report read. Its male driver was jailed for hunting with an artificial light, during prohibited hours and from or across a roadway. The rifle was seized and so was a loaded .38 caliber pistol carried in the purse of a female passenger, ticketed for illegal possession of a firearm.

Southwest: Troopers watched the drivers of two separate vehicles stop, get out of their rigs without weapons and throw rocks at the decoy "before they were shooed off." An hour after legal shooting time, another vehicle drove by, backed up to shine its headlights on the decoy and a man got out of the back seat. He shot twice with two different rifles because the bolt fell out of the first one and he had to grab his backup.

These types of ridiculous sightings can give the hunting community a bad name. It's not fair for the majority who obey the laws and cooperate with regulations to be stereotyped into the same category. If you ever come across any foul play in the field, remember to report to your local game wardens.