Problem with poachers

My cousin has a lease not too far out of city limits and is having an issue with some locals. It's only about 80 acres, so he's limited on where to put stands/feeders.

Set up a couple feeders about 2 months ago, and the last couple times he has gone out there, his feeders were knocked down and broke to pieces (he has those plastic ones from academy), and the sensors on his cameras were destroyed (looks like they were shot with a 22?).

First idea I had was to put a cam on cam, but if they are bold enough to do it a 3rd time, I imagine they are also bold and savvy enough to look for that.

Do you guys have any ideas on what can be done to catch these folks?

Also, I'm sure a majority of you guys have seen the YouTube video of the poacher getting a paint-bomb thing to the facehole; any recommendations on where to get a hold of one of those?

Would really appreciate any advice, thanks guys!

Don't set a trap. It could get you in trouble.

Find a clever way to video or get pics. .

https://www.google.com/#q=game+camera+remote+storage

Notify your local game warden and your Sheriff's Office of your problems and have everything documented. Also notify who ever is the land owner about what's going on, they may have some insight as to who is doing it. Inquire if the land owner would help with keeping an eye out. If it's close enough I would be making daily trips out there including late night trips to make my presence known and that you are unpredictable. Last step hope it doesn't come to it but may just have to let it go and find another place to hunt. Your there to enjoy yourself and if lucky enough get a deer, not to deal with all that headaches and not mention loss of money. The cost of feeders, cameras, etc can add up pretty quickly.

It's his father in laws property. They moved in town and let him take things over, so moving on isn't really an option... FIL has some ideas of who it may be, but really need to get some real evidence, as well as deter them from any other instances

Well understand that, looks like fight is on definitely contact your GW and SO first make them aware of what's going on sooner the better. Make sure your property is marked with no tresspassing signs. I would buy so cheap cams that you can afford to lose place them all over property in out of way places trying to get pictures of them. Are they accessing your property by vehicle/atv or are they just jumping fence and walking on in? I would highly advise you not to set booby traps, unless you have a lot of money to lose and a team of lawyers at your beck and call. Do the first step I told you ASAP....Good Luck

First of all, do you have poachers or an issue with armed trespass and hunter harassment? Sounds like the latter.

The guy that set up the paint bomb that you mentioned was successfully prosecuted for the trap. It is ILLEGAL!

Contact the game warden.

unless you have 100% support from leo's, its a losing situation, one of the places I used to hunt is now having night time road hunters, g.w. can't seem to get any thing done.

the first question in my mind is how close is his feeder and stand???

I'm thinking outside the box here....

Do they have hogs? Are the feeders staked down? As far as the game camera, does the hole go all the way through...like from a bullet?

Hogs on my place have destroyed feeders by nocking them down and we have lost several cameras due to wood peckers knocking a hole on the sensor covers

Just a thought

What county are you in or town that you are close to?

Yes, contact LEOs, but that isn't really going to much, at least that is what a game warden told me. Catching a poacher is tough, the odds of them being there at the same time as a poacher are thin. They can ask around in hopes to get info from neighbors and maybe put some fear into a would be poacher, when it really sounds like you have vandals.
I would put game cameras along any paths and roads that lead to the feeder/blind. And a camera on a camera is worth trying.

I am with Tye, it sounds like he has pigs and woodpeckers. Any poachers we have had tend to just take the camera card, or the entire camera. And why would a poacher destroyer a feeder that he wants to hunt at? Pigs can take down a big feeder easy, and then destroy it after it is on the ground, one of them light ones could be taken down by a small pig. And the light feeders are like a sail in a big wind if they are empty.

Pig taking down a feeder
http://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/5731067/1

Edit to add: Don't booby trap anything, bad idea.

If you decide to do the camera on camera option and need "dead" cameras, let me know I have several that I will gladly donate to your cause. Or if anyone else wants/needs them.

Poachers ??? So have they killed any game? May be TRESSPASSERS if so, sounds like teens just causing trouble. Just pull all your gear. You can still hunt without feeders and cams. Put in a food plot if you have to and hunt from a pop up. Nothing left for them to destroy. You will probably take as many deer as you always have.

It sounds to me like they are carrying at least 1 firearm. Correct me if im wrong, if one is carrying a firearm while walking around the woods, and visiting a feeding site they are hunting. Therefore said trespasser is poaching, or attempting to.

Are blinds/feeders on the fenceline? I guess on 80 acres they may be?

"It sounds to me like they are carrying at least 1 firearm. Correct me if im wrong, if one is carrying a firearm while walking around the woods, and visiting a feeding site they are hunting. Therefore said trespasser is poaching, or attempting to."


My bad I keep reading the OP but I'm still missing the firearm siting but yeah, if somebody had a weapon they would be a POACHER.

Out near Blue Ridge, Collin county. Anyone know if Leroy is still the GW out there?



Very much agreed, don't see how it would make sense to destroy a feeder, unless they either have a stand somewhere near the area and don't want him pulling game from theirs OR they voted for Hillary.

I've had pigs take down feeders before, and that was my first thought, but the damage to the cams is what I found really odd. I haven't been out there since it happened to see for myself yet, just seen pictures he has sent me (I'll post them when I get home).

I didn't think of the possibility of a woodpecker, that would be very relieving if that is the case. And honestly, the more I think of it, I very well could have been wrong assuming it was mal intent initially.

Also, apologies for the misleading subject of the post, though poaching has been a problem in that area in the past, I should have referenced it as "trespassers" not poachers.

Really do appreciate all of yalls input and advice!

If you really want to catch them, you could go the route of buying a camera that emails you the pictures and try to hide it well enough that it'll catch them before they find it. If it does, even if they destroy it afterwards, they'll owe you additional damages covering the camera. They're not cheap though - $300 plus a cell service plan.

The obvious poachers, or as you stated neighbor competing for same deer or could be a PETA nut

If I put a camera on a tree or wooden post it's a matter of days before a woodpecker pecks a hole in the frenzel lense cover. Mount all cameras on metal posts and no woodpeckers. A .22 bullet would have exited the camera and it just doesn't make sense to shoot a hole in the lense. The camera would have a nice pic of the perp if that was the case.

Low levels of corn in light feeders will get them blown over in strong winds. Anchor the feeders.

Not necessarily. You don't have to be directly in front of the camera to shoot it or even shoot it in the front. You can be directly in front of the camera but outside of its sensor range and shoot it without a picture being taken.

Yeah, but it still makes no sense, and even a pellet gun would exit the back. I'll bet a hundred bucks it was a woodpecker.

tresspassing with a firearm is called criminal tresspassing. One year in jail

Spypoint Tiny WBF Wireless Trail Camera

They may destroy the camera but you hide the box good enough and youll have pictures of them.

SSS