DID I JUST POACH A BUCK THANKS TO GOHUNT?

[gunthenbow]

 

Well I never thought I’d have to do this but I just got back from manually reporting myself at the AZGFD office. To rewind a little, you all know AZ has started a new system this year with manually reporting when you kill for OTC deer. Well, Friday night, I hopped on Google to check that my unit was open. When I typed it, an article from GOHUNT was one of the top results. It was titled, ‘Changes to Arizona’s OTC deer hunts’. I naturally clicked it since I am a GOHUNT insider and am on their website like every other day e-scouting/looking through their gear shop, etc. Within the article, it had all of the units with which season dates that were open for each particular unit. (See original article PDF below for article) under (one of the 40's), it showed August 19- Sept. 8th 2022, Dec 9th-31st, 2022 and Jan 1-31st 2023 all open. I promptly got off my phone and started getting my things together because I was going hunting! Fast forward to the next day, my wife spots a cool buck, we bed it and it happens to bed in the perfect location for a stalk. Between perfect wind and lots of luck, I made a solid shot on my first ever mule deer buck and my first ever bow kill AND it was even in velvet! I was on cloud nine, telling all my friends and even got some of them to help me pack it out. Fast forward to the next day, Sunday. It was time to process all the meat so my wife and I spent around 5 hours trimming vac sealing and labeling all the cuts to put into the freezer still high on life wondering how I was so lucky to make a bow kill on a mule deer in the desert in August. Fast forward to the next day. Monday- mandatory reporting day. I hopped on google again to find where I needed to report my harvest and that’s when I found out that the season wasn’t actually open for this time of year in (we will just say, one of the 40’s) and a lot of other units GOHUNT claimed were open. (One of the 40’s) was one of many other units that were incorrect on which seasons are actually open right now and the rest of the year. I guess I’m writing this article to hopefully help anyone else who might make the same mistake I did. Anyways, I loaded up the cooler with the meat neatly wrapped and labeled in vac sealed bags and the head and went on down to the local AZGFD office to report myself because I felt like it was the right thing to do. I also called GOHUNT on the way and they didn’t answer of course. I told the G&F officer what happened and he didn’t seem too upset about it. He said something to the effect of “these kind of things happen and you did the right thing by reporting yourself. However, we will be seizing the head and all the meat but you’ll only receive a written warning.” I know it was lucky to get off with just a written warning but the whole thing turned a magical experience of my first ever bow kill to nothing but feeling sick to my stomach. I NEVER would’ve hunted that unit if I hadn’t thought it was open. GOHUNT let me down and they didn’t do anything to help me out with it.  In the same article, it states, “(details will be published in the 2022-2023 Arizona Hunting Regulations booklet and updated here when available).” I assumed GOHUNT was “up-to-date” like they said they would be. I was wrong and learned my lesson not to trust GOHUNT even though I pay them for that kind of trust.
 

Listen, I know it was wrong of me to rely solely on GOHUNT. However, I was under the impression that I paid these people to give the correct information regarding seasons and stats. I did get a call back from them on my way home AZGFD and I told them the situation and they said those were just “pending dates”. However, nowhere in that article did it say pending and it also said they would be updated when they were available. I don’t know, maybe I’m just being a big baby but I feel like I got screwed over and there’s nothing I can do about it. AGAIN, I DO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY IN USING GOHUNT AND NOT AZGFD DIRECTLY AND WILL NEVER MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN. I am writing this to hear what others think and most importantly, to warn anyone else of this issue before they make the same mistake I did.

And as for the nicely packaged meat we worked so diligently on- it’s going to the AZGFD animals rescue shelter to feed to the coyotes and other predators after it’s tested. The antlers will be auctioned off in AZGFD yearly auction. The gentlemen who took the meat from me even gave me his business card to send him an email to buy the antlers back from them when the auction happens.

 

Changes to Arizona’s OTC deer hunts.pdf

[deercrazy]

My friend, you did the right thing to report your kill.  I know it sucks to get bad info when you are trying to do everything right.  In this day and age, hunters ethics are in question, and there is no doubt in my mind that you had nothing but the best intentions in your mind!  We learn new lessons everyday.  Put this one in your bag of tricks, and preach to anyone that will listen to do the their best to learn all the regulations.  Maybe all you lost was a few dinners, and pride.  Well, if you ask me, you can walk tall, you have admitted mistakes, and learned.  Hopefully, you have enlightened other fellow members to make double check their hunts because there are many that would have put meat in the freezer, and not said a word. 

[gunthenbow]

20 minutes ago, deercrazy said:

My friend, you did the right thing to report your kill.  I know it sucks to get bad info when you are trying to do everything right.  In this day and age, hunters ethics are in question, and there is no doubt in my mind that you had nothing but the best intentions in your mind!  We learn new lessons everyday.  Put this one in your bag of tricks, and preach to anyone that will listen to do the their best to learn all the regulations.  Maybe all you lost was a few dinners, and pride.  Well, if you ask me, you can walk tall, you have admitted mistakes, and learned.  Hopefully, you have enlightened other fellow members to make double check their hunts because there are many that would have put meat in the freezer, and not said a word. 

Thank you for the kind words. Life could be worse!

[HuntHarder]

I mean, as long as you didn't go gunthenbow, seems like they are giving you a huge break by only confiscating it.  Any pics of it? 

[trphyhntr]

Not reading that wall of text but I find it hard to believe someone could be dumb enough to use Gohunt? As their source for state by state hunting regulations. I mean nobody is that stupid 

[cohntr6]

You did the right thing at seems like you have learned your lesson the hard way. It says a lot to come clean like that!

It is a shame you paid for bad info and thanks for the link.

Unfortunately, now that you have posted this for the whole world you get to deal with the CWT judges and whoever else. 😒

Then again, hopefully it will prompt someone else to verify open/closed units.

Jeff

[trphyhntr]

This is 0% gohunts fault. And I hate those websites because they bring out of state hunters here who are flat too lazy read the regulations. 

[NOTAGS]

You did the right thing, but,

Google search vs GF website ?  Like taking gossip as gospel, …Like taking legal  advice on pandering from a hooker.

  You’re lucky,  if you had been cited, GF commission would have not been lenient based upon what I have seen. 

[gunthenbow]

4 minutes ago, trphyhntr said:

This is 0% gohunts fault. And I hate those websites because they bring out of state hunters here who are flat too lazy read the regulations. 

I understand that now and I realize how stupid of me it was to assume it was correct Info. If posting my mistake helps at least one other person not make the same one, then the hate I receive from people like you on here is worth it. The AZGFD officer said he was even going to call GOHUNT himself. Yes it was 100% my fault. Period.

[gunthenbow]

3 minutes ago, NOTAGS said:

You did the right thing, but,

Google search vs GF website ?  Like taking gossip as gospel, …Like taking legal  advice on pandering from a hooker.

  You’re lucky,  if you had been cited, GF commission would have not been lenient based upon what I have seen. 

Hindsight is 20/20. Hopefully someone else isn’t as stupid as I was. And hopefully this thread can help somebody else out.

[gunthenbow]

21 minutes ago, cohntr6 said:

You did the right thing at seems like you have learned your lesson the hard way. It says a lot to come clean like that!

It is a shame you paid for bad info and thanks for the link.

Unfortunately, now that you have posted this for the whole world you get to deal with the CWT judges and whoever else. 😒

Then again, hopefully it will prompt someone else to verify open/closed units.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff. That was/is my intent.

[trphyhntr]

12 minutes ago, gunthenbow said:

I understand that now and I realize how stupid of me it was to assume it was correct Info. If posting my mistake helps at least one other person not make the same one, then the hate I receive from people like you on here is worth it. The AZGFD officer said he was even going to call GOHUNT himself. Yes it was 100% my fault. Period.

I’m still trying to figure out why you even mention gohunt, and why they’re in the title of this thread. They didn’t have anything to do with this. 
 

Are you gen z? 

[Calamado_Guey]

12 minutes ago, NOTAGS said:

 

  You’re lucky,  if you had been cited, GF commission would have not been lenient based upon what I have seen. 

I honestly didn’t know that G/F officers had any discretion in these type incidents.   Had no idea they could issue a written warning for taking an animal out of season, in a closed area. I am not familiar with a lot of cases, but even the ones you read about go before the judge before they are settled, no? 

[bigorange]

Not going to pile on criticism since you already owned your mistake. I do want to echo others that you did the right thing and you should be proud of that. Also consider yourself lucky…a friend had a similar issue a couple seasons ago and did the right thing but was not so lucky. He got his charges dismissed but spent a lot in legal fees to accomplish it. 

[gunthenbow]

1 minute ago, Calamado_Guey said:

I honestly didn’t know that G/F officers had any discretion in these type incidents.   Had no idea they could issue a written warning for taking an animal out of season, in a closed area. I am not familiar with a lot of cases, but even the ones you read about go before the judge before they are settled, no? 

The G&F officer handed me the written warning and said because it was a written warning, it would not be going before a judge.