Yeah I would edit this post and remove any reference to the stuff you found.

That has to be the best poacher/tresspasser story ever. Im glad you were prepared.

Would be best for him to lick his wounds, forget the gear because it sounds like his gear doesn't quite total up to the $2000 dollar fine, and hope like hell you maintain your sense of humor and don't turn him in. Best advice I can think of is let the local GW know who he is, what has happened, and am sure he or she will be more than glad to explainj to him the error of his ways... that way if you have any more future dealings with the fool you will have some type of documentation in place if it goes further south...btw abandoned gear is free gear... he has no legal standing to claim the abandoned gear.

Let the game warden or sheriff deal with him, and hand over all that gear to them. Ill gotten gains work both ways, and sooner or later he might get a bit of bottled courage and come looking for his stuff.

wow, people have some nerve. if that stuff needs a new home I will gladly take a hand out.

Don't worry about his stuff. He abandoned it. Cool story.

Oh, you know this guy is seriously stressing, right now!

Why? The poacher/trespasser has no legal standing whatsoever to get it back. Why be a nancy boy?

Bet there will be some really green grass down that trail he left on next spring.

thats how accidents happen

Although a bit spooky, it sounds like a heck of a Christmas morning to me!

Nothing to gain from turning in his items. They will just tell you it winds up in a state auction only to be bought by a bargain hunter that resells on a forum like this. I would turn in the incident information and Hunting license a crime was committed and may be used as evidence, although proving how you came about it would be questioned by defense. No winners here

Good to hear all came out OK with you, Take Care brother

This is insane i have never heard of someone doing this, you definitely stayed calm, i would have freaked out that guy was real close to getting shot, but yea i would have a new matthews and still turn the guy in. I cant believe you didnt shoot.Thank god it would have scared the crap out of me.

Glad you were aawake enough not to let a round fly.

Man that's crazy. Glad it turned out with nobody getting hurt or killed. Losing his gear is the price he paid for being a trespasser. He's lucky that's all it cost him.

Keep us posted.

Just playing devils advocate, what happens if the guy decides to make a report that his bow and arrows, along with his backpack containing his hunting license was stolen? Now the tables could be turned against the OP.

I hate trespassers, thieves, and dbags, but the OP needs to think about the the worst that could happen in an incident like this.

Well Im going to need my Bow and other stuff back if you dont mind, LOL In all seriousness glad you got his stuff and hope he gets caught by the law.

Turn the license in and keep the rest.

Your not thinking about this right. Correct me if I'm wrong, when you zipped it up and took a nap, it became an dwelling just like a tent. I'm pretty sure that TX treats a temporary shelter the same as a house if you sleep in it. I believe that he could be facing felony charges if you call the sheriff.

That would have scared me to death!

Think about if he just happened to be in the pop up when you got there. What would you have done then?

It's already a felony if he crossed the property line with a weapon if I'm not mistaken.

It is with a gun.

Yea that guy needs to be kept from getting a license ever again. Good thing you brought your pistol.

X2 what scoop said......you need to let the local GW know. Could be they already have notes on this guy.

These 3 posts have ome good things to think about. I would be calling the local GW asap.