raidernarizona said:

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So what time are they saying he actually arrowed the buck? Google says sunset was 7:03 PM that day in Pilot Point.

AC & powerbelly..you guys are funny! Tell me you've never once broken the law? I thought Mom's explanation actually put things into perspective. But I don't know if we're talking an 8 pm shot or full darkness.

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My point is that he knew it was wrong the entire time he was doing it and mommy just wants to make excuses about how her son NEVER NEVER NEVER did anything bad growing up.

Clearly he was raised with mommy always excusing his behavior.

I feel ya. I've done it twice in the past year. It sucks sitting on the highway shoulder watching an animal suffer, but selfishly my pocket book isn't fat enough to suffer the potential fines that could come with not following "the rules."

My God you're impressive.

raidernarizona said:

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Agnzona said:

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What if you hit a deer with your vehicle and its not dead but just laying their all mangled are you allowed to euthanize it?

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No. Contact local PD or your GW. That deer belongs to the state of Texas. They can release the deer to you once it is dead though if they chose to.

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I know what the law is, but eff that.

We had a poacher in our neighborhood last year or the year before, can't remember which. Gut shot a doe, she crawled under a tree and laid down. Some folks called the local game wardens and notified them. 5 or 6 some odd hours later they finally showed up and dispatched the doe.

I tried to call them a couple of years ago when a little gator showed up in my yard. Called 4 different numbers - no answer on any of them. After an hour or so, me and my neighbor said screw it and relocated the little gator.

I know GW's are busy, but if it's going to take hours and hours and hours to arrive, I have no issue putting the animal out of it's misery. It's the right thing to do, and I really don't care what the black and white letter of the law says, especially if there is absolutely zero nefarious intent associated with doing the right thing.

raidernarizona said:

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So what time are they saying he actually arrowed the buck? Google says sunset was 7:03 PM that day in Pilot Point.

AC & powerbelly..you guys are funny! Tell me you've never once broken the law? I thought Mom's explanation actually put things into perspective. But I don't know if we're talking an 8 pm shot or full darkness.

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I have never broken a game law.

It's really quite simple... read the regs and abide by them.

I have no patience for hillbilly jackasses that flaunt game laws. Would this guy have gone to all this trouble over a doe? I seriously doubt it. He'd have let it run off wounded and never laid eyes on it again. But a record-class whitetail is worth real money. He wanted to be famous, get his pic all over social media, in the magazines, get some sweet sponsorships, sell replicas to Cabelas and Bass Pro...

But it was just an honest mistake, right mom?

Quote:

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Would this guy have gone to all this trouble over a doe?

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This is the bottom line for me.

That's not what she said. She said he didn't drink, smoke, or do drugs in HS.

I despise poachers just as much as you I'm sure, but I feel like we could use better judgement sometimes in our courts. $50,000 seems excessive to me if he had truly wounded this animal and was trying to recover it.

raidernarizona said:

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That's not what she said. She said he didn't drink, smoke, or do drugs in HS.

I despise poachers just as much as you I'm sure, but I feel like we could use better judgement sometimes in our courts. $50,000 seems excessive to me if he had truly wounded this animal and was trying to recover it.

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$50k is probably on the low end of a deer that size if you sold the hunt.

AgEng06 said:

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My God you're impressive.

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I do it for you.

powerbelly said:

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raidernarizona said:

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That's not what she said. She said he didn't drink, smoke, or do drugs in HS.

I despise poachers just as much as you I'm sure, but I feel like we could use better judgement sometimes in our courts. $50,000 seems excessive to me if he had truly wounded this animal and was trying to recover it.

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$50k is probably on the low end of a deer that size if you sold the hunt.

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I may have missed it, but was this a low fence deer? Many states have trophy replacement fees that scale by the inch. So this one would get out of hand pretty quick.

I know in Missouri, the fine for a turkey shot out of season used to be $50/oz. Do the math on a 20 lb bird.

Quote:

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I have never broken a game law.

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Exactly. Thank you for qualifying. Just seems a bit hypocritical is all.

raidernarizona said:

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Quote:

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I have never broken a game law.

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Exactly. Thank you for qualifying. Just seems a bit hypocritical is all.

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If I have never broken a game law, it's not hypocritical.

Similarly, HAD I broken a game law, paid my restitution and changed my ways, it would still not be hypocritical.

How does the law read in regards to dispatching wounded game at night? No doubt this happens everynight during deer season. The deer dog guys blast it all over Facebook everytime they catch a 25K+ gutshot deer.

In Texas, you can legally dispatch a mortally wounded deer any time, as long as you are not the one who caused it to be mortally wounded. This includes deer hit by cars. You are responsible for your bullet, so don't let it ricochet and hit cars driving by.
However, this deer wasn't mortally wounded by Johnson's shot a week earlier. That shot was through the upper back above the shoulders, and was almost healed. There are game camera pictures showing this deer at his corn feeder days before the second shot, and the deer was fine. Those pictures were at night, so he knew he needed to hunt him at night. And, he was hunting across the property boundary on property he didn't have permission to be on.
Big deer and women make some men do stupid things.
His mom's statement about the insides rotting and being inedible was ridiculous. That first shot went through a very small portion of backstrap meat. But, his second shot, the one he took at night, appears to be a gut shot, judging by the bloody spot near his hindquarters. That's what made the insides stink so bad, and probably explains why he wasn't edible, since he wasn't recovered quickly. If he hadn't shot him at night, maybe he could have seen his sights a little better and made a better shot.
So much wrong with what he did. And what a shame for this monarch of a deer to die at the hands of a poacher.

Maybe we can now say "now that my friends is the real story."

WildAggie said:

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In Texas, you can legally dispatch a mortally wounded deer any time, as long as you are not the one who caused it to be mortally wounded. This includes deer hit by cars. You are responsible for your bullet, so don't let it ricochet and hit cars driving by.

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Gonna need to see some proof or reference of this.

I've always understood this to be accurate: https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/habitats/faq/law_enforcement/hunt19.phtml

Quote:

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Hunting
If a deer is hit by a vehicle or caught in a fence, what can be done with it?
A deer may only be reduced to possession after it is lawfully hunted and tagged on private property and certain public hunting property. Additionally, it must be taken by lawful means and methods. It is unlawful to retrieve and possess a deer that has been hit by a vehicle or caught in a fence.

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fishag04 said:

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I saw this on another page.......

As the mother of Travis D. Johnson, I tell each and everyone of you, I am proud of my son and will stand behind him 100%. He made one (1) mistake, admitted his wrong, and will carry this with him the rest of his life. He was threatened with multiple felonies, none of which in my opinion were legitimate charges. But we all know just how JUST our criminal justice system really is. I served as a law enforcement officer for over 25years and my boys were raised right.

In high school, when other parents knew their kids were out with either of my boys, they didn't worry. Why? Because they knew neither of my boys drank, smoked, or did drugs, and if they got in trouble, I and their dad would be harder on them than the law could ever be. Ask around Aubrey & Pilot Point. Ask about Travis & Matthew Johnson. Matthew was killed in 2003 from an electrical "accident" while working for CoServ. The man responsible was fired, and CoServ was fined $2,000 by OSHA. Yep! My sons life was worth a whole $2,000. Nobody was prosecuted for that! Yet I forgave him. And this deer, this HUGE deer, which was shot once legally with a bow & arrow, then a week later was shot again with a bow & arrow, whose insides were rotting and unedible, was finally put out of its misery. This deers life is worth $51,000 and a good mans reputation. I do NOT condone the shooting of the deer after dark, illegally. Travis knows this and has ask forgiveness of all including God's. So perhaps before you sit in judgement of my son, examine your own house. Put yourself in his shoes. What length would YOU have gone to put this deer out of his misery? What length would YOU have gone to track and kill an already dying trophy deer? Ask yourself these questions and answer truthfully. It's always easy to point a finger and condemn another, until you find yourself in their shoes.

I can say without doubt, that Travis has never done anything like this before and never will again. Can you say the same about you or your children?

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Yeah... I can see this fella now...
"Uhhh... Yeah Mom! That sounds about like my friends and I remember those nights! Or what we've pieced back together..."

removed.

If that is in fact the true story, I no longer feel bad for the guy. I was under the impression the deer was actually injured and it was "close" to shooting light and I guess I missed that he was trespassing.

I hate a poacher!

AgEng06 said:

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WildAggie said:

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In Texas, you can legally dispatch a mortally wounded deer any time, as long as you are not the one who caused it to be mortally wounded. This includes deer hit by cars. You are responsible for your bullet, so don't let it ricochet and hit cars driving by.

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Gonna need to see some proof or reference of this.

I've always understood this to be accurate: https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/habitats/faq/law_enforcement/hunt19.phtml

Quote:

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Hunting
If a deer is hit by a vehicle or caught in a fence, what can be done with it?
A deer may only be reduced to possession after it is lawfully hunted and tagged on private property and certain public hunting property. Additionally, it must be taken by lawful means and methods. It is unlawful to retrieve and possess a deer that has been hit by a vehicle or caught in a fence.

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Dispatching to put the animal out of pain and suffering is not the same as "retrieve and possess", is it?

i've been waiting for the conclusion of this story since it first popped on texasbowhunter. so many posters were white knighting for the aforementioned poster.

BrazosDog02 said:

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You are absolutely right, but **** that. It's a personal decision, I get that. But I'm euthanizing it. I'm not waiting for local PD or GW to finish his coffee and doughnuts while I wait around with my thumb up my ass. Where I drive in the morning, I can actually euthanize it, and then stop by the gas station where they all hang out and tell them...not that I would...not after seeing this story. LOL. I watched a girl hit a deer on the way to work one morning and nearly put her car in the ditch. It took f-ing 15 minutes for the local PD to finally show up. All the while there was a doe frantically trying to escape with two broken legs...she basically circled in the street sliding on her own blood. I did not have my pistol that day, but I would have shot her. I will never again question a decision like that. Fines and Law be damned. It was terrible.

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The law isn't made to keep someone with good intentions from doing the right thing. The law is to prevent some bubba, with a tijuana gate crasher on the front of his truck, from running down deer on purpose and then saying "I had to put it out of it's misery after accidentally hitting it."

If he woulda just waited and shot it with a real weapon, capable of killing a deer, in the first place this wouldn't even be an issue.

WildAggie said:

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In Texas, you can legally dispatch a mortally wounded deer any time, as long as you are not the one who caused it to be mortally wounded. This includes deer hit by cars. You are responsible for your bullet, so don't let it ricochet and hit cars driving by.

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I grew up and I have been hunting BFE South Texas my entire life. I had no idea about this law. Sounds like I need to do some reading and find out what else I am missing.

Now that I have a clearer understanding (on my part) of what happened, I'm going to have to amend all previous comments for me

from:

I see why he did it.

to:

F--- that guy.

Might have missed this. Was this a low fence place with native genetics? Or was he trespassing into a high fence place?

reddog90 said:

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Might have missed this. Was this a low fence place with native genetics? Or was he trespassing into a high fence place?

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Except for petting zoos, there are no high fences in Aubrey/Pilot Point. There are a few in eastern Cooke county about 20 miles north....decent number in western Cooke county.

raidernarizona said:

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So what time are they saying he actually arrowed the buck? Google says sunset was 7:03 PM that day in Pilot Point.

AC & powerbelly..you guys are funny! Tell me you've never once broken the law? I thought Mom's explanation actually put things into perspective. But I don't know if we're talking an 8 pm shot or full darkness.

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He originally alleged he shot it at 7:30 that evening. However after reading the FB comments and a few other sources linked off of that, it appears there was a game camera picture of the deer alive after legal shooting hours that night.

powerbelly said:

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fishag04 said:

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I saw this on another page.......

As the mother of Travis D. Johnson, I tell each and everyone of you, I am proud of my son and will stand behind him 100%. He made one (1) mistake, admitted his wrong, and will carry this with him the rest of his life. He was threatened with multiple felonies, none of which in my opinion were legitimate charges. But we all know just how JUST our criminal justice system really is. I served as a law enforcement officer for over 25years and my boys were raised right.

In high school, when other parents knew their kids were out with either of my boys, they didn't worry. Why? Because they knew neither of my boys drank, smoked, or did drugs, and if they got in trouble, I and their dad would be harder on them than the law could ever be. Ask around Aubrey & Pilot Point. Ask about Travis & Matthew Johnson. Matthew was killed in 2003 from an electrical "accident" while working for CoServ. The man responsible was fired, and CoServ was fined $2,000 by OSHA. Yep! My sons life was worth a whole $2,000. Nobody was prosecuted for that! Yet I forgave him. And this deer, this HUGE deer, which was shot once legally with a bow & arrow, then a week later was shot again with a bow & arrow, whose insides were rotting and unedible, was finally put out of its misery. This deers life is worth $51,000 and a good mans reputation. I do NOT condone the shooting of the deer after dark, illegally. Travis knows this and has ask forgiveness of all including God's. So perhaps before you sit in judgement of my son, examine your own house. Put yourself in his shoes. What length would YOU have gone to put this deer out of his misery? What length would YOU have gone to track and kill an already dying trophy deer? Ask yourself these questions and answer truthfully. It's always easy to point a finger and condemn another, until you find yourself in their shoes.

I can say without doubt, that Travis has never done anything like this before and never will again. Can you say the same about you or your children?

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With a mom making excuses like that I can see how the guy thought laws didn't apply to him.

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Especially since this apparently wasn't his first offense. Apparently in 2004 was caught roadside hunting/poaching and during the 2015 hunting season apparently killed a buck hunting while trespassing. At least according to the FB comments from a guy who seemed like he knew more about it.

Lots of info over on the Texas Bow Hunting forum. He was an avid poster over there. Truth comes out and he's nowhere to be found! LOL

Freaking Poacher!

http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=680019&highlight=poach

http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=679549&highlight=poach

If he pleaded no contest to 53k on fines, then he durn sure didn't want to risk a trial...

Without all the hunt-tech we are attached to [Forums, Social Media, Game Cameras, FB, Instagram] - this guy probably kills illegally and no one ever finds out. If I'm reading all this correctly, the trail cam time stamps + some level of social media sleuthing led to his demise.

I sure a **** hope no one uses my game cam as evidence in a court case involving my freedom. Because I got bucks on there from Jan 1, 1900 at 2pm at night.

Wow! You're old!