quiksilver

I'm sure just about everyone on this site has been a part of some hunting contest or another, sometime in their lives.I've been around long enough to know thatanytime you have competition with a prize on the line, you will have guys who "cheat" or "bend the rules" to get an edge on the rest of the field.

If it's golf, they're fluffing their lies and shaving strokes. In baseball, they're taking steroids, corking bats and doctoring the ball. In hockey, they're wearing oversized pads and using sticks with too much curve. It's everywhere. Cheating.

So, post 'em here. Your best stories about guys who got busted for cheating in whatever context (gun, bow, trapping, big game, small game contests). We're going for entertainment value here, so don't be afraid to tell us exactly what they were doing to get the advantage. It doesn't even have to be a "contest," it could be guys who were trying to add inches to make PY or even using "questionable" tactics to win an archery or rifle shoot.
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I've got a few:

1.) We usually enter a groundhog shooting competition in August every year. The prize is usually around $1000 to the winning 2-man team with the heaviest 5 hogs. Guys will do anything to win. Anything.
[ul][*]They now have to gut the prize-winninggroundhogs, b/c they caught a guy stuffing lead fishing weights up his groundhogs' asses to make weight. Seriously, I think it's time to re-evaluate your life when you're ramming lead sinkers up a dead woodchuck's ass. [X(][*]"No wet hogs" is now written in the rules, because some genius decided to soak his groundhogs all day, and weigh them dripping wet to add a few ounces to each hog. LMAO[*]"No roadkills" is now an official rule. Oh yeah.Apparently, they've checked in a few hogs over the years that were "highly suspected" of being roadkills. [*]I know one of the local wardens who told me that, on the day of the big groundhog contest, he gets a huge spike in complaints all over the areaabout truckloads of guys roadhunting for hogs. He sincerely wishes that the hog contest would disband forever. LOL[/ul]

2.) Turkey contest: With a free turkey gun and $500 on the line, we had aguy who got caught crazy gluing a few "extra long" strands into his turkey beard, trying to get that extra half-inch of beard length and finish in the money.

shed33

The best one I ever witness here in my home towns contest is a ROAD KILLED BUCK that was hit in Sept and then thrown in a freezer until November. The guy brought it in and said his kid killed it. It had no cape, just a skull and rack...and road rash on the main beams of the antlers. Not only did he bring it in this way....but the night they ran it over they had went to a locals house to call the police because of the damage it haddone to the car they were driving. The local went back to the wreck with them an saw blood everywhere. he asked? Where is the deer you hit, the guys stated, "he ran off" we dont know. So the local went back the next day and found the carcuss without a head...

the buck was excluded from the contest after entry.. no charges were ever filed that I know of..

kickin_buck

There are always cheaters on the 3D courses, it is hard to beat the pencil sometimes. However, I was in an in-door league a few years back. It was teams of 3 guys, mostly for fun. A team member and I always use to beat a soda, just to add a little fun between us. He normally beat me, but one night I was shooting my butt off and shot a 416 out of 420. I knew I had him on this night, but when I told him what my final score was, he informed me he shot a 418. I thought this was funny, because I knew he had shot 8's on his first two targets. After he left, I took a look at his score card and seen that he shot not two, but four 8's, but scratched out three of them and marked 10's. I thought it was funny that this guy had to cheat to win a $1.00 soda. Like you said, there will always be someone out there.

Schultzy

I haven't witnessed any cheating in a contest, really haven't been in hardly any but when I had my buck scored for P@Y the measurer told me people are now gluing 2 different skull plates together to make a rack for P@Y. In some states down south its to the point where they scan or x-ray every rack some how they score to see if there's any lines in the skull plates. People will do anything to get some where these days. Every score sheet has to have something saying the skull plate was good by the P@Y or B@C measurer now a days.

mauser06

my buddy enters those groundhog contests...he told me someone he knew took a grease gun to one and pumped a tube of grease into it and STILL LOST!!!


when prizes or money is involved, it brings out the worst in people...pathetic. my buddy is a competition coon hunter. he doesnt hunt the competitions hard core...just enough to get his dogs titled so it helps out the parents and the breeding...but hes told me a pile of stories. i been to 2 with him as a spectator...almost saw a grown man cry over the dang thing...only 10$ to enter...no prize money..just a trophy and a win for your dog if you won...but it almost brought this one guy to tears over something stupid.

im going to my first competition hunt saturday...i have a feeling its gunna be ugly..its a world championship qualifier hunt..you gotta win there to got the semi finals for the world championship...then a couple weeks later i am probably hunting the South Westen PA championship hunt...that aughta be ugly as well...

people do crazy things the get ahead of others...sad...cant let the best man, or kill, or dog or whatever win...

BowHuntingFool

Never really witnessed any cheating, then again I'm not a contest kinda hunter!


Wasn't there some questioning going on a few years ago in the HNI contest????

quiksilver

I'm no 3-d shooter, but a buddy of mine is always complaining about guys who have ways of "ranging" targets on the 3-d course without a rangefinder: i.e., counting the footsteps of the group in front of you or marking the focus knobon their bino's with the yardages.

To be totally honest: I join every contest I can, just for the fun of it. I don't get mad when people cheat, b/c I expect it. In some ways, I enjoy it - because it makes the whole experience more entertaining. In some ways, it's really pathetic that anyone would cheat, but in a weird way, it's actually kinda funny. It adds a new dimension to the whole experience. It also makes the victory even sweeter - knowing that you beat guys who were really trying to pull out all the stops for the win.

HuntingBry

I've heard of guys that stuff catfish with lead weights in fishing contests.

Honestly, IMO there is no place for competitions with prizesin hunting. Our sport is under enough scrutiny as it is, but if you add competition into the equation that is just going to lead to some of the things we are hearing and give us all a black eye.

MeanV2

It's one reason I never have and never will be a part of contests. I think it tempts too many to do the wrong thing. I hunt with my own goals, and could care less about the next guys goals except I hope he gets them. Whether somebody's goals is any Deer with a Bow or a B&C if he gets it I'll shake his hand and give him congrats! As long as he is Happy with what he has killed, I'm Glad for him.
We really don't need anymore in this sport with a"Holier than Thou Attitude"!

Dan

GregH

I've never heard of this. I've entered 8 into P&Y the most recent being this year and did not see anything that pertained to what you have said. I'll look again. Maybe you could tell me where to look?