Great listen if you want to give it a shot.


I really enjoyed this story even though it has a sad ending.

Donnie Baker? Isn’t that the funny goofball on YouTube? Talkin’ about having Rhonda Rousey’s babies and whatnot.

Yes, that was a good two-parter. I can definitely see why Donnie was tempted to shoot that buck. I’ve seen some legit tanks in the cantonment area on Fort Chaffee that could sway a man to do something like that. The jeep wreck and his wife’s cancer really puts the whole thing in perspective. Clay is from my neck of the woods, and I keep hoping I’ll run across him in the Bass Pro in Rogers.

If that’s him , he is hilarious. I especially liked the one he did about “ Ozzy Osbornes “ and “ state law “

I just looked it up , not the comedian Donnie Baker but this does look like a great story . I downloaded for the flight home Friday , thanks for sharing

LOL, not that is a different guy

I thought the same thing. That Donnie Baker is a comedian and recently passed away. His bits were very funny.

Its obvious the guy had/has remorse for shooting the deer and isn't justifying it in any way, He was obviously well thought of because initially they were gonna let him go with a $140 fine and forfeiture of the deer and keep his hunting privileges, which Imo is extremely light, but that's the deal the authorities threw at him for a confession so it's fair and just the way I see it. He ultimately being barred from the Military facility and in turn losing his job due to lack of entry was fair and just Imo too. Everything else that happened to him, my heart and sympathy goes out to him and his family.


Brings up a good point about intent.....he had seen the deer on several occasions, and this time the scenario was just right to make him think he could kill the deer. After the deer was down he was flying by the seat of his pants. I wonder if he had stuck with his original plan to drag it to one of his tree stands on base would he have gotten away with it, I believe he stood a much better chance than saying he shot it miles away in another county.


In the late 90's we hunted with a group of guys my step dad worked with. Great guys, honest people who would give you the shirt off their back. We were in a group who leased the majority of a 6k acre ranch in the Hill Country. One fellow, his dad and his son left right after sunup one day to make the trek back to Houston, while we stayed to hunt the morning. Around 9:30 we packed up and headed back and when we got into cell service, called them to see how they were making it and were surprised to find they were only about 30 min ahead of us.

Story goes they were leaving the ranch and were driving thru the pasture that was off limits to hunting and they saw a large buck running a doe. Guy stops the truck, gets his rifle out and after a quick stalk shoots the deer. He ended up wounding it, they looked for it for two hours but called it off and left for home. Pretty much along the same lines as the Donnie Baker story.....good family man who encountered a situation where he had a lapse in judgement and did something he knew he was not supposed to do. Funny that in each instance neither ultimately got the deer.

Txtrophy , great point . Everyone who has never been in that situation will say they could never be tempted . I haven’t been myself but I can see where the situation presents itself and one only has a few seconds to react - it could make the situation must different.

Before you cast stones at this man, you have to look at yourself. Let's take away the obvious fact that this was not a premeditated poaching incident, which leaves it circumstantial.

How many of us have:

Knowingly shot a few (or many) doves over the limit because the birds were coming in hot, and you didn't want to turn it off?

Mis-identified a duck, killed it and either stashed it or left it in the marsh?

Failed to clean and process a Javelina?

Did not tag a Turkey because you took it back to camp, cleaned it and ate it immediately?

Kept a fish that was slightly undersize ?


The list can go on, but I would bet the vast majority of us have been guilty of the above listed or similar violations at some points in our hunting career. It's harder to point fingers when you take a honest look in the mirror

Txtrophy - I’m with you , if I came across as critical of him that wasn’t what I intended. I’m saying the same thing you did , I can see when presented with that situation and only a few seconds to make a decision a lot of us might lean the way he did .

I don't think you came across critical, by "you" i should have said "oneself". It wasn't intended towards you directly but rather an introspective question.

That was a grammatical error on my part

Finally part 2 has dropped, he really made us wait on that one!

List of things man do dumb things for.
Big Horns
Big bass
Winning a bet (be it a dollar)
Wimin

Good story.

When Clay stated “I hope I’m not judged on my worst actions” (paraphrasing) that’s something I’ve said many times and I know I have a hard time treating others with the same ideology at times.

I had no idea he had died. Dude was hilarious.

Clay runs a great podcast and I've got this one in my queue. Hoping to interview Clay sometime soon. He's a great guy.

Have y'all checked out the recent audiobook he and Steve Rinella did? Worth checking out.

The last 30 minutes of episode 2 , whoa. Tear jerker . Great story