We've all heard about them - the infamous duck shooters who posted a YouTube video of themselves blasting away at ducklings and ducks on the water with a .22 - laughing as they did it.

They've been busted. Again, I'm sure you've all heard. (If not, CLICK HERE for the latest on this.)

This is truly a testament to not only the public's outcry and demand that these poachers be brought to justice, but also a real testament to the quality of the investigation. I saw the video... I have no idea how they busted these guys. The identifying points in the video (landscape, roadsigns, car interior, voices) were so vague... all I have to say is, "My hat's off, folks."

Good work. But there is a huge downside to this that cannot be so easily fixed -- beyond the waste of wildlife and the inherent danger of what those idiots were doing.

This is another huge blow to the hunting community, no matter how you look at it. Anti-hunting groups are probably secretly smirking... even though everyone knows these guys were poachers, breaking dozens of laws, the very fact is that many people still connect what these duck-blasting yahoos were doing with legal, ethical waterfowling.

Don't think so? I have been asked by aquaintances about this duck hunting crime... questions like, "So, these guys were hunting out of season?" or "So, they were using the wrong type of gun?"

No! And yes! And 100 other violations! Calling these guys "hunters" is like calling a dude who tosses a six-pack ring into a river an "angler."

So I ask - once they've paid their fines and done their duty to repay general society, how will they repay the hunting community?

How CAN they?