Can someone with no tag carry my spare rifle?

[ramont]

I always enjoy hearing some LEO say that they would or wouldn't do such and such, unfortunately all LEOs have the right to make a judgment call in the field and not all of them will interpret what they see the same way. The worst case I've personally experienced was over expired tags on my vehicle. My tags expired while I was rebuilding a vehicle and the law said that I had 30 days to renew the tags after the vehicle was road worthy. I had a log book on the front seat with a record of everything I'd done to the vehicle along with dates and receipts, they all proved that the vehicle wasn't on the road when the tags expired and that I had just bought the new carburetor that day. I explained all of those facts to the LEO but I ended up being held at gunpoint, searched, and treated like public enemy No. 1 and I got a ticket. I won in court, the LEO got his rear end chewed by the judge. Even though I didn't do anything illegal I still had to put up with being treated like a criminal, including being held at gunpoint while I was patted down in front of my neighbors and I ended up having to go to court, loosing work time and having spent a couple of days creating a brief to present to the judge.

I doubt if you will find any regulations that say you can't carry a gun in the woods during hunting season but most fish and wildlife regulations say that you can't hunt without without a valid hunting license and if the warden finds you carrying a gun along with your buddy who is legally hunting I think that it's a fair chance that you'll have a hard time explaining that you really weren't hunting.

I like the idea of pulling the bolt, it's pretty easy to prove you aren't hunting if the rifle can't be fired.

 

[gelton]

The only thing that I will point out here is that the original ask is odd. Odd to the point of being suspicious. I would never even fathom bringing a backup rifle along for a hunt. In the truck sure, but along on the hunt? If the rifle I am carrying is that unreliable then I wouldn't be carrying it in the first place.

With that said, I am ALL for displaying and using our rights, because if we dont use them we are sure to lose them.

I am only pointing out that the explanation seems a bit odd, and perhaps that oddity will be enough for a LEO to make that judgement call. That call probably wouldnt stand up in court but given the odd explanation he most probably would make it either way. Grey areas do exist and if its a grey area, generally speaking, the guvmint is going to use it to their advantage not yours.

 

[Phaseolus]

Your Buddy would need to have a Colorado small game license in order to carry a rifle during the season. This ain’t Texas.

 

[trophyhill]

I'll carry it for you. Want me to kill it for ya too?

 

[Fatcamp]

Your Buddy would need to have a Colorado small game license in order to carry a rifle during the season. This ain’t Texas.

Can't use larger than .23 to hunt small game west of I-25. Big game has to be .24 or larger.

So theoretically friend is wearing orange, binoculars, carrying a rifle, with a person actively hunting big game, but going to say he is just tagging along. Good luck with that.

 

[Gunnersdad49]

Your Buddy would need to have a Colorado small game license in order to carry a rifle during the season. This ain’t Texas.

And it is illegal to hunt small game during a deer or elk season with a big game caliber. I think the cutoff is above and below 25 caliber, without a valid big game tag for that season and unit.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

Make sure you lead off with “none of your damn business “ tho. Let him know you wanna get those formalities out of the way. Should probably film it for YouTube also so everybody knows you ain’t takin no shit from the man.

This is hilarious.

 

[KSP277]

I don't think I would lead off with that or "this is my buddy's extra hunting rifle".

I know what you were saying, just having a laugh. I’m a Trooper for a State Police Agency, not CO, so I won’t weigh in on what the law is there. Bc I’m not familiar with it. The bolt out of the gun scenario kinda cracks me up tho. No bolt, no bullets, barrel tied in a knot, probably wouldn’t make a hill of beans difference if you were charged. Prosecutor would Probably would be trying to prove something along the lines of possession of a firearm while hunting. I have no idea if that’s a charge there, this is just an immensely broad statement. So you possessing a firearm while hunting, dressed in camo, blowing a call, walking around the woods with a guy who is hunting..... gonna be hard to say no I’m not hunting. Warden probably going to try and figure out if there’s not 2 guys trying to share a tag. It happens.

As a whole the scenario itself seems pretty silly. I put a backup rifle up there with taking a back up truck. Yeah it’s important to the trip, but that don’t mean you take 2. These days a dependable accurate rifle and scope probably cost less than most peoples backcountry wardrobe. Get a decent one and forget about it. But if your going the gun bearer route, make sure you talk to a warden in the area your going to. Not just some random dude in Colorado that works security at a 7/11. Find out exactly what the law is, and then find the statute and read over it so you know with out a doubt.

Just seems to be more trouble than it’s worth to me. My 2 pennies

 

[KSP277]

Or just make sure your buddy is the designated runner. Probably shouldn’t let him have the car keys or only gps tho.

 

[sndmn11]

The bolt out of the gun scenario kinda cracks me up tho. No bolt, no bullets, barrel tied in a knot, probably wouldn’t make a hill of beans difference if you were charged.....
Find out exactly what the law is, and then find the statute and read over it so you know with out a doubt.
s

Exactly. Bolt or no bolt, the rifle would still be a firearm, so for the question at hand about possession of a firearm one either has to be all in or all out on their belief. If one believes that act is illegal, then by logic a bolt less rifle is still illegal to possess, crossing a fence and passing a firearm to your observer would be illegal, holding your kid's rifle while they put on gloves would be illegal......so on and so forth. If the possession of a firearm during a season were illegal, then there would be affirmative defenses outlined in that same law, or ALL those simple scenarios above and many many more would apply.

Someone searching for that statute will be searching indefinitely because such a statute does not exist in Colorado.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Why make things so complicated? Damn.

 

[204guy]

They can write you a ticket for rapidly accelerating and backing off right before you exceed the posted limit. “Excessive display of power” as it was written Kind of like getting dressed in camo, grabbing a gun then walking a round in the woods during hunting season but never actually shooting anything....

That's funny. I can see it now, a Warden staking out a trail in a national forest, checking hunters. First hiker comes walking up carrying a rifle. "What you got there?" "6.5 creedmoor." "Hmm ok have a nice hike, be safe." Second bloke comes up the trail. "What you got there?" "458 lott." Officer does a barrelroll off his stump while drawing his weapon. "Put the weapon down, and step away, that's an excessive display of power."

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[MuleyFever]

I carry my wife's gun when she has a tag and I do not.

 

[Gatorgrizz27]

I don't think I would lead off with that or "this is my buddy's extra hunting rifle". The point is still valid. Do you guys in CO immediately throw your rifle in the bushes after you shoot an animal? Or do you just unload it and remove the bolt? Technically once your tag is filled you are no longer a licensed legal hunter and apparently should not be in the field with a firearm capable of killing a big game animal. Allright I'll jump off my soapbox.



It was in Ontario Canada hardly applicable to CO. Unless Colorado has a law (not rule) that states you must posses a hunting license or similar to assist a hunter.

-One last thought. I think it was on Rinella's podcast that they were in CO and encountered a very sketchy guy out in the National Forest "hunting" that left them feeling very unnerved about the whole situation. Are you guys telling me that the camera man couldn't posses a firearm for any reason unless he was a licensed hunter himself? I realize that's a cherry picked situation but still one that occurred.

I posted a similar question several months ago, I have a muzzleloader tag, hunting with 3 guys with archery tags. I asked if it would be legal to continue carrying my muzzleloader after notching my tag, should it happen. The majority of responses were that it may be legal, but it’s a bad idea and likely to cause you problems. I still need to email CPW and get an answer, but I’m leaning towards leaving it in camp after I’m done hunting.

 

[Mike7]

Not sure about Colorado, but in Washington which has a law for everything it seems, you can support another hunter, including packing weapons, as long as you also have a valid hunting license for that animal. You do not yourself have to have a valid unused tag for that unit to assist the hunter however.

 

[ChrisAU]

The only thing that I will point out here is that the original ask is odd. Odd to the point of being suspicious. I would never even fathom bringing a backup rifle along for a hunt. In the truck sure, but along on the hunt? If the rifle I am carrying is that unreliable then I wouldn't be carrying it in the first place.

With that said, I am ALL for displaying and using our rights, because if we dont use them we are sure to lose them.

I am only pointing out that the explanation seems a bit odd, and perhaps that oddity will be enough for a LEO to make that judgement call. That call probably wouldnt stand up in court but given the odd explanation he most probably would make it either way. Grey areas do exist and if its a grey area, generally speaking, the guvmint is going to use it to their advantage not yours.

You got me. Bunch of first timers want to just go poach every thing we can. You can take the redneck out of Alabama but you can't take the Alabama out of the redneck.

Where do I turn myself in at?

 

[sndmn11]

I posted a similar question several months ago, I have a muzzleloader tag, hunting with 3 guys with archery tags. I asked if it would be legal to continue carrying my muzzleloader after notching my tag, should it happen. The majority of responses were that it may be legal, but it’s a bad idea and likely to cause you problems. I still need to email CPW and get an answer, but I’m leaning towards leaving it in camp after I’m done hunting.

I am curious why if you are done hunting you would want to bring a muzzle loader a long? Especially if you have gotten back to camp.

 

[bigdesert10]

Just tell the warden that you thought that's what was meant by "2nd rifle season".

 

[ChrisAU]

I am curious why if you are done hunting you would want to bring a muzzle loader a long? Especially if you have gotten back to camp.

I wouldn't leave a firearm at an unattended camp. You'd think that be more illegal.

 

[DAOutfitters208]

Yes its fine, carry a rifle, shotgun, pistol, whatever you want. The right to carry on public land does not become illegal just because a hunting season is open and you don't have a tag.