"I think (egos) are the biggest reason people violate the law," Suchy said. "They see a big deer and bend the laws to take it."

Linn County conservation officer Aric Sloterdyk agrees. "A lot of people want to show off a big buck. The temptation is great," he observed. "In my territory, poaching peaks the weekend before the first shotgun season opens. Some people will go out and poach a big buck just before the season opens, keep it hidden for a few days, and then put their tag on it and brag as soon as the season opens," he explained.

Seemingly legitimate hunters also poach in other ways. Some illegally shoot a deer with a shogun or rifle, and then put their archery tag on it, making it "legal." Some buy a deer tag for their wife or a non-hunting friend and fill that tag themselves by shooting another buck. Others shoot deer during the legal season, but before or after shooting hours. Some of these poachers justify bending the law by contending they are reducing so-called "deer problems."

Chief Lowell Joslin of the IDNR's Conservation Law Enforcement division is certain that another ego-related reason drives some people to poach. "They do it to see if they can get by with it -- it becomes a game for them. And every time we catch that certain poacher, they become a little smarter, and try harder to keep from getting caught again. For some people, it is part of their way of life: They get caught at times, but keep on poaching."

Although many believe that ego is the primary motivation for the modern Hawkeye poacher, money is frequently acknowledged to be a key factor -- but it's not likely that many poachers are selling venison. Gather a bunch of deer hunters together to discuss trophy-deer hunting, and someone in the group will soon claim that poachers kill big Iowa deer to sell racks for thousands of dollars to wealthy out-of-state buyers.

These purported rich people, it's claimed by some, have a taxidermist mount the Iowa rack on the cape of a deer killed elsewhere, and then brag to their friends about the record-book bucks they display on the walls of their dens, lodges and living rooms.

Why wouldn't this happen? After all, Iowa consistently ranks first in the annual listings of big bucks in the Boone and Crockett Club record books, and, indeed, anyone who wishes to kill a record-book buck should hunt in Iowa. But according to Suchy, the chances of making much money by selling the rack of a white-tailed deer are actually pretty small. Big whitetail racks can draw big money, but ordinary-sized whitetail antlers aren't worth much. Still, despite the risk of getting caught and paying a hefty fine, the activity continues.

"The biggest racks I've ever seen have sold for no more than $25,000," said Chief Joslin. "Only one out of thousands of bucks (antlers) is big enough to bring a five-figure sale, and that's not a lot of money."

The temptation of making money by selling a big rack can cause some strange behavior. "We actually had a deer stolen from the back of a locker in Tipton last year and the head cut off," said Craig Jackson, supervisor for the IDNR's Southeast District Conservation Law Enforcement division. "No matter how little the poacher gets for antlers, it seems it's enough for them to continue to do it."

Mark Sedlmayr, the IDNR's Southwest District Law Enforcement division supervisor, suggested another reason for poaching. "It's the thrill of the kill," he observed. "Some just kill for the fun of it. There seems to be a lot of that going on in my district. I also think some people are addicted to the antlers. They just have to have a set of antlers, regardless of the size. They want that animal so someone else won't get it."