Dead Hawk!

Does the game warden handling this have the carcass of the dead hawk??? Because if he don't and he charges the guy he has no proof in court, other than the supposed "confession"....in which case the guys lawyer will get that thrown out in less time than it took to pull the trigger. Which raises another question...did the guy fess up to the club and they reported it or did the guy fess up to the warden after he was questioned? When it becomes a matter of law saying someone killed a hawk, even having someone say he killed a hawk and proving it actually happened beyond a reasonable doubt are entirely different things. We can talk about robbing a bank all we want, but a cop hearing it cant arrest us for robbery.
I wont discuss my thoughts about killing birds of prey, they don't matter, but I have to wonder why the club don't allow hunting of "game animals" on the property, but loses their mind when a hawk {killer of game animals} gets terminated???? No hunting??? I mean, what did the club think the hawk was doing there? Having a picnic with McDonald's food??? I understand that a club, and rightfully so, would not want to be associated with illegal activity. Still, it all boils down to what happened to the dead hawk??? No hawk carcass, more than likely no charges. The guy is stupid enough {probably didn't believe his own club members would turn him in} to tell on himself, I'd bet he's not nearly so stupid when it comes to paying that fine. Make no mistake about one thing, in this country laws are written heavily in favor of criminals.
 
Originally Posted By: erictOriginally Posted By: varminter .223I'm not sure why anybody would care if someone shot a hawk. Yes it's illegal but so is having a couple beers and driving home.

So as long as one disagrees with a law it's OK to break it?

Do you turn your buddy for driving home every time you have a beer or 3 with him. Do you turn yourself in every time you creep above the speed limit. Just because a group of politicians made a law does mean its really a crime in natures eyes. This thread is ridiculous. I think the guy having a coronary over a guy shooting a hawk has bigger issues than the guy that shot the hawk! Who cares! Im worried about myself, my family and my own life etc. I am not a do gooder problem causing tattle tail.
 
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No, beating a dead hawk.

I've never shot one, but my shotgun has been enticed to swing many times. It's an Improved Cylinder or I might have stopped thinking about it
 
I guess I’m not done yet, I hunt coyote here in Minnesota. Why, because they kill fawn,pheasant, grouse,rabbit, and small farm critters. Other than deer, don’t hawks kill about the same things ? Why again are they protected, what’s the reason ? They’re not an in dangerd species.
 
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Disagree if you will, but it would've been best to take the high road and handle it internally. No good will come from the club eating its own young. IMHO turning him in smells of a bit of strong arming and justification in hiding behind the law. Forgiveness is ultimatelty more powerful than punishment, especially since the fellow is repentant. Consider how would you want it handled if'n you were in his shoes.
 
Originally Posted By: danno in vaDisagree if you will, but it would've been best to take the high road and handle it internally. No good will come from the club eating its own young. IMHO turning him in smells of a bit of strong arming and justification in hiding behind the law. Forgiveness is ultimatelty more powerful than punishment, especially since the fellow is repentant. Consider how would you want it handled if'n you were in his shoes.

most of us arent dumb enough to end up in his shoes.


my grandpa always said if you're gonna be stupid you better learn to be tough - because stupid is supposed to be painful so you learn from it.

i'm all for forgiveness if someone makes an honest mistake, but this situation was a big double eff-up - one for doing it in the first place, and two for lying about it to try to cover it up.
 
PO, i didn't see anything about lying. Instead, PD said he came forward and confessed and he is a really nice guy. Can you point out where the posts said he lied? It may often be true that life circumstances we generate can serve to turn us and we can be rescued from our own ways. But i have doubts that our judgements of "That'll learn ya, durn ya." are based on full knowledge to justify our hard hearts toward others. If he lied, then perhaps a more difficult lesson could benefit him, but your post is in error if he didn't. i'm willing to stand corrected and thank you for it...how about you? Dung can be a pretty good fertilizer.
 
i seem to recall there was suspicion that he was taking the fall for someone else.. which would be lying.

i dunno if that was ever proven out or not. its been a minute and i will admit i did not go back and read the whole thread over before my post.
 
The member was suspended for 6 months. As far as I know there were no fines and not sure the wardens did anything. I know it may sound stiff but he turned himself in. We, as officers, didn't know who did it for sure. The club has rules. No hunting or killing wildlife is one of them and strictly enforced. Some of the officers wanted him kicked out of the club. There is a two years waiting list and a $1000 membership fee so expelling him would have been a costly action considering he would have lost it all. He was lucky this time.
 
Originally Posted By: FursniperHere is an option nobody mentioned yet.

Have the state wildlife officer issue a citation to the guy for shooting the hawk. The officer can request leniency on the citation by the court since the defendant self reported the violation. The defendant pleads guilty. The judge has the defendant pay a small fine or none at all.

The end result is the law is enforced, the defendant did the right thing by self reporting, the defendant pays a small fine or none at all. The mental anguish and embarrassment the defendant receives from the club membership for shooting the hawk is likely going to be worse than receiving the citation. Lessons learned and life goes on.



Great solution, but I think that is a pipe dream!


Danno in Va's post has a lot of Wisdom in it.
 
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Basically it was handled internally. I can't say for sure the wardens ever were notified. He did his time and its over. We are elected officers and are expected to do our job same as the moderators here or an officer of the bank. Rules are rules. We had a member shooting incinerator rounds and set fire to the range. That is also a big no no. He denied doing it and I found loaded ammo on his bench. Should we have let that slide? He got a year suspension. Being an officer and having to enforce rules is a crappy job at times but we have over 500 members and some of them aren't the sharpest tool in the shed. We have 180 acres, two skeet fields, a wobble trap field, two fishing ponds, an archery range and rifle/pistol ranges from 5 yards to 300 yards and soon be able to shoot to 500. We also have 3 club houses. One bad accident or a fire would wipe us out. We just can't take any chances. Thats why we have rules and they need to be followed.
 
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It is amazing that the human race has existed for as long as it has. On our rifle range in S. CA that had 88 benches, on the far right, was a section for 50 yard shooting or 100 yard shooting. There was this hard headed fool that did not like to stop for Cease Fires. He would walk down range during live fire, and thought it was safe because he was at the end of the firing line.
 
Originally Posted By: ackleymanThere was this hard headed fool that did not like to stop for Cease Fires.


I saw a guy up close get his brain housing group re-calibrated for that.
 
If the wardens were notified you would know because he’d still be squealing from the lashings, sleeping on his stomach after several spending several thousands of dollars on the fine. He would’ve lost his hunting privileges or had them suspended for quite a few years as well, guaranteed.
 
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If you ever see such a dead creature just keep on going. Dont take even a feather for your cap. One feather is just as bad as shooting the bird yourself.

Around here that also applies to turkeys.
 
Originally Posted By: 22 ChuckIf you ever see such a dead creature just keep on going. Dont take even a feather for your cap. One feather is just as bad as shooting the bird yourself.

Around here that also applies to turkeys.

i know you cant have raptor feathers, but since when was it illegal to pickup turkey feathers? they're not on the Federal migritory list ....

i cant find anything specific about it on google - in fact the only references to turkey feathers i find say they're legal.
 
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