birddog
05-28-2000, 10:58 AM
One of the most serious game law violationsthat conservatio officers uncovered in the U.P. last fall involved a pair of set guns placed at a bear bait on land in Mackinac County.Trip wires were run from the bait to the triggers of gunw that were secured in place.Bears that pulled on the string attached to the guns while feedingwould,in effect,shoot themselves.
What makes this form of poaching so dangerouse is any person who happened along and unknowingly pulled on the string would do the same thing.Fortunately, a pairof hunters who did stumble upon one of the set guns recognized the danger of the situation and immediately reported it to Conservation Officer Jan MIller from Naubinway.She found a .410 shotgun loaded with slugs aimed at the bait.
The officer waited at the site that evening,hopeing to catch the poacher as they checked the location for activity. When the violater didn't show,she removed the gun then returned in the morning to continue the stakeout. The poacher showed up about 9:45 a.m. with a double barreled shotgun.
Mark J. Swider from Engadine eventualy confessed to being responsible for the set gun and led officer Miller to a second bait where a 30-30 caliber rifle was triggered to shoot a bear.Swider also told the CO that he did not posses a bear harvest tag.He borrowed the tag of a friend that he planned on using,if the set guns resulted in a kill.
The potental penalty for a set gun is up to a year in jail.According to DNR Newberry District Law Supervisor Lt.Dan Polzien,Swider was sentenced to five days in jail,fined $1,700 and all of the guns he used,including the double barrel he was carrying when checking his set guns,were confiscated.On top of that,Swiders bear hunting privelages were revoked for life.
Polzien said to other interesting cases involved illegal bear hunting,one whichis two years old,have not gone through the courts yet.The two-year-old case revolves around a bear that was shot during the 1998 gun deer season.Conservation Officer Mary Gerlach from DeTour received a report about a illegal kill and found the carcass.
Gerlach watched the carcass for two days,hoping the poacher would try to take it.When the shooter didn't show up.she retrieved a spent bullet from the carcass and had it examined.It determined the bullet was fired from a Marlin rifle.
The officer returned to the same spot during the 1999 deer season and found a person hunting over bait with a Marlin rifle.The guy admitted shooting the bear because it was eating apples he put out for deer.Gerlach confinscated the rifle for testing it was the firearm used to shoot the bear.
The final case enolved a person in Delta County who did not have a bear permit,but was hunting bear over bait last fall anyways.A local CO who got the report of the illegal activity,staked the location out and eventually caught the violater.The guy had a bear license issued to his father that he apparently planned on filling.
Polzien said that hunters who loan bear licenses to others are just as guilty of volating the law as those who borrow them.Tags are not transferable and party hunting is illegal.
He added that one of the most common bear hunting violations conservation officers find are baits that are put out to early or those that are dirty.It is illegal to place bait for bear hunting until 30 days before the season begins,which is August 10 in the U.P.Dirty baits are those that have litter associated with them.It is against the law to leave containers or litter of any type at bear baits.
What makes this form of poaching so dangerouse is any person who happened along and unknowingly pulled on the string would do the same thing.Fortunately, a pairof hunters who did stumble upon one of the set guns recognized the danger of the situation and immediately reported it to Conservation Officer Jan MIller from Naubinway.She found a .410 shotgun loaded with slugs aimed at the bait.
The officer waited at the site that evening,hopeing to catch the poacher as they checked the location for activity. When the violater didn't show,she removed the gun then returned in the morning to continue the stakeout. The poacher showed up about 9:45 a.m. with a double barreled shotgun.
Mark J. Swider from Engadine eventualy confessed to being responsible for the set gun and led officer Miller to a second bait where a 30-30 caliber rifle was triggered to shoot a bear.Swider also told the CO that he did not posses a bear harvest tag.He borrowed the tag of a friend that he planned on using,if the set guns resulted in a kill.
The potental penalty for a set gun is up to a year in jail.According to DNR Newberry District Law Supervisor Lt.Dan Polzien,Swider was sentenced to five days in jail,fined $1,700 and all of the guns he used,including the double barrel he was carrying when checking his set guns,were confiscated.On top of that,Swiders bear hunting privelages were revoked for life.
Polzien said to other interesting cases involved illegal bear hunting,one whichis two years old,have not gone through the courts yet.The two-year-old case revolves around a bear that was shot during the 1998 gun deer season.Conservation Officer Mary Gerlach from DeTour received a report about a illegal kill and found the carcass.
Gerlach watched the carcass for two days,hoping the poacher would try to take it.When the shooter didn't show up.she retrieved a spent bullet from the carcass and had it examined.It determined the bullet was fired from a Marlin rifle.
The officer returned to the same spot during the 1999 deer season and found a person hunting over bait with a Marlin rifle.The guy admitted shooting the bear because it was eating apples he put out for deer.Gerlach confinscated the rifle for testing it was the firearm used to shoot the bear.
The final case enolved a person in Delta County who did not have a bear permit,but was hunting bear over bait last fall anyways.A local CO who got the report of the illegal activity,staked the location out and eventually caught the violater.The guy had a bear license issued to his father that he apparently planned on filling.
Polzien said that hunters who loan bear licenses to others are just as guilty of volating the law as those who borrow them.Tags are not transferable and party hunting is illegal.
He added that one of the most common bear hunting violations conservation officers find are baits that are put out to early or those that are dirty.It is illegal to place bait for bear hunting until 30 days before the season begins,which is August 10 in the U.P.Dirty baits are those that have litter associated with them.It is against the law to leave containers or litter of any type at bear baits.