Down deer question

Joined
Apr 5, 2015
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I was listening to the Kifaru podcast and the gritty bowman and they both referenced chasing and retrieving animals on property where you don’t have permission. It raises some questions for me.

- If I shoot a deer and it goes on someone’s property to die and I can’t retrieve it, do I have to punch my tag?
- If it is on their property but alive it is the property of the state/public but what if it drops dead because I shot it and it ran on his land? Who owns it then? Can the landowner keep it? Does he need a tag?
- if the landowner can’t take it at that time how long before he can collect say the antlers or bones?

Aaron was talking to a game warden and they made some interesting points.

I would be curious to hear both ethical arguments and from anyone who knows the rules and Regs to cover this stuff.
 

Btaylor

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From what I gather it varies in some regard depending on what state you are in but the one seemingly standard rule is you can not cross onto private property without permission. Plain pure and simple that is trespassing period. I have heard of lots of property owners more than willing to grant permission and or assist in recovery. Likewise I have heard of plenty of flat out refusals. To me the ethics of the situation transfer from the hunter that stops at the property line to the land owner and their willingness to allow recovery. If I violate the law in the name of recovery I have still broken the law and my ethics are no longer debatable. If the property owner refuses permission to recover I have exhausted my options for recovery and the ethical burden is now the landowners. I would like to see mandatory access for recovery even if it required the participation of game and fish and or local law enforcement so the land owner has assurance of no abuse of their property. Doubt that happens though.
 

V65Magna

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Jan 13, 2018
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In MD, if the deer crosses the property line, you have to ask permission from the owner to recover the animal. If they refuse, you can contact the DNR and I believe that once they get involved, they (DNR) can require that the landowner let you recover your harvest.

If the animal is not dead, that is a different story. In general, if you shoot a deer and it does not die or you are unable to recover it after making a "reasonable attempt" to do so, then my understanding is that you do not have to punch your tag. This may vary from state to state.

Personally, I do all I can to recover any animal I hit but sometimes it just doesn't work out. It sucks, but most guys that have been hunting as long as I have have had it happen to them, perhaps more times than they'd like to admit. If they are lucky, they can count these unfortunate experiences on one hand.
 
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If a deer dies in the forest on private property and you can retrieve it without the landowner finding out does it make a sound?
 

Scrappy

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Here in iowa you have the right to retrieve , you can't take a weapon with you though. It's a good and bad law. During shotgun season the law is abused by shotgunners doing deer drives.
 

adamm88

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It has a lot to do with state laws, I personally do whatever it takes to find the deer even if it means crossing over into someone elses private land. I do whatever it takes to find the animal even if it meals bending the law..... If i deer/animal crosses to private and you cant retrieve it i wouldnt punch my tag, but thats me.
 
Joined
Dec 11, 2017
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No, i dont punch a tag when i have no deer to put it on.

WI is similar to Iowa in that you can enter private property to retrieve game without permission but you have to leave the weapon. I'd still go knock on the door and ask because that's the right thing to do. In the last 6-7 yrs it's happened once and they said have at it.

If he doesn't allow you to enter than ya he can keep it but has to tag it.

Again varies from state to state though

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Joined
Feb 26, 2012
Messages
1,100
Location
Annapolis, MD
I was listening to the Kifaru podcast and the gritty bowman and they both referenced chasing and retrieving animals on property where you don’t have permission. It raises some questions for me.

- If I shoot a deer and it goes on someone’s property to die and I can’t retrieve it, do I have to punch my tag?
- If it is on their property but alive it is the property of the state/public but what if it drops dead because I shot it and it ran on his land? Who owns it then? Can the landowner keep it? Does he need a tag?
- if the landowner can’t take it at that time how long before he can collect say the antlers or bones?

Aaron was talking to a game warden and they made some interesting points.

I would be curious to hear both ethical arguments and from anyone who knows the rules and Regs to cover this stuff.

I am a hunter safety instructor and bowhunter education instructor in MD and I can tell you this, each state may be different and bringing in DNR is no sure cure for getting around getting landowner permission. If you don't have permission, in some states it needs to be written permission to enter the property, then you are trespassing if you do enter and can be arrested. So, I always recommend asking these questions of DNR/F&W for any state you plan to hunt:

1. If I shoot an animal and it goes on property I do not have permission to enter, may I do so to recover the animal?

2. Does permission to enter need to be in writing? Does it need to be renewed each year?

3. If the landowner denies me access to recover an animal do I have any recourse? Can DNR/F&W recover it for me? Note, in many states the landowner can even deny DNR/F&W access to recover the animal; it is private property and everyone needs permission to enter.

4. If I cannot recover an animal because the landowner denies me access, do I still need to punch my tag/stamp? Note: if you can't find it, and it isn't due to a landowner denying you access, then you would most likely still need to punch your tag.
 

jmez

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It has a lot to do with state laws, I personally do whatever it takes to find the deer even if it means crossing over into someone elses private land. I do whatever it takes to find the animal even if it meals bending the law..... If i deer/animal crosses to private and you cant retrieve it i wouldnt punch my tag, but thats me.

Good example of why landowners deny permission even when asked.
 
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
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South Dakota
My personal opinion on big game crossing onto private property and expiring is the hunter must acquire permission from the landowner to retrieve the downed game. As a sportsman I would hope that a landowner would allow you to retrieve your game and not let it go to waste. If a landowner does refuse I feel the law should allow a conservation officer to come assess the situation, see that the game was legally shot on public, and accompany the individual to there downed game. This would hopefully alleviate people from lying about where they shot the animal and at the same time give both the hunter and landowner a third party to assist with the issue. I hate seeing game go to waste because a landowner refuses to allow someone to retrieve there game but I do see it from there point of view. Only takes one bad experience to burn a guy.
 

Shepherd

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Sep 13, 2017
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Wisconsin
No, i dont punch a tag when i have no deer to put it on.

WI is similar to Iowa in that you can enter private property to retrieve game without permission but you have to leave the weapon. I'd still go knock on the door and ask because that's the right thing to do. In the last 6-7 yrs it's happened once and they said have at it.

If he doesn't allow you to enter than ya he can keep it but has to tag it.

Again varies from state to state though

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I don't believe this is true for Wisconsin - from what I've read in the regulations, you always need permission from the landowner to enter their property, regardless if an animal has been killed or wounded on other property. Even without a weapon it is considered trespassing and against the law.
 

jmez

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Dependant on state laws. Some allow unarmed retrieve without permission others do not.

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Joined
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Annapolis, MD
It has a lot to do with state laws, I personally do whatever it takes to find the deer even if it means crossing over into someone elses private land. I do whatever it takes to find the animal even if it meals bending the law..... If i deer/animal crosses to private and you cant retrieve it i wouldnt punch my tag, but thats me.

Going the extra mile to recover an animal is the ethical thing to do and reflects well on you and other hunters. HOWEVER, breaking the law does not reflect well on you and other hunters so you may want to rethink that part of how you operate. We as hunters need to build bridges rather than walls with not just landowners but the general public as well. Hunters and anti-hunters are about 10-15% of the population on either extreme of the pubic opinion scale. We need to be good ambassadors for our sport to the 70-80% in the middle who vote and who have land we want to hunt on.
 
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I don't believe this is true for Wisconsin - from what I've read in the regulations, you always need permission from the landowner to enter their property, regardless if an animal has been killed or wounded on other property. Even without a weapon it is considered trespassing and against the law.
My apologies, you are right sir. I'm glad I asked the home owner anyway, makes me feel a little better about being wrong. The last thing I would want to do is steer someone the wrong way.



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LostArra

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Oklahoma
If someone is hunting adjacent to private land that you don't have permission I think it's a good idea to talk to landowner well ahead of time. I try to do it before the season. Tell them who you are, ID your vehicle and discuss animal retrieval then. I only bow hunt and I make sure to tell him that there aren't any guns. This is important with some cattle ranchers. Doing that has resulted in me having permission to retrieve and also some better access and parking spots to the land I do hunt. I really didn't need or want to get hunting permission on the neighbor's land but just wanted to meet him and get the game retrieval cleared up.
 

Shepherd

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My apologies, you are right sir. I'm glad I asked the home owner anyway, makes me feel a little better about being wrong. The last thing I would want to do is steer someone the wrong way.



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No problem at all. I agree with you, its always best to ask the owner first.

Good hunting, 1arrowshort.
 

Scottyboy

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Minnesota
in Minnesota we can "trespass" without permission to retrieve wounded game (or to retrieve your hunting dog), but must leave if asked to do so.

never had a problem with a landowner asking us to leave if we do not ask beforehand nor have we had someone deny us the chance to retrieve said game if we ask before going onto the private property. the only thing we have encountered is "...can you please wait 30 minutes, Billy is still on his morning/afternoon sit, let's have some coffee and then you can go out..."

i guess as the phrase goes we are "Minnesota nice"
 
Joined
Dec 28, 2015
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No "right to retrieve" laws here in NC. If an animal dies on land you don't and can't get permission to go on, then its lost. Nothing you, the game warden or DNR can do about it. Try your best to get permission to recover game before it actually happens. I live on 4 acres. I have a treestanda set up in my back yard. I see deer quite often and plan on using that spot to help my daughter get her first deer. But, since I only have 4 acres, I know there is a good chance a deer will run off my property and expire else where. I have already asked all adjacent land owners for permission to retrieve downed game. All have agreed. Too easy.
 
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