Germ, I believe that I have a legal right tothe downed deer.

I am a properly-licensed hunter, hunting on property that I have a right to be on. I project an arrow and deliver a fatal shot to a deer, all within the bounds of fair play and the law.

Now, the deer crosses a property line and expires. Obviously, I know where the deer is, and I can see it. In my opinion, my visual observationof the carcass is confirmation of the lethality of my shot, and is, in my opinion, tantamount to a legal "recovery," which gives me a valid property right in the deer, under the famous ruling in Pierson v. Post.

Whether I, in fact, AM legally obliged to recover my deer is a question of law, not fact, that I would readily allow the courts to sort out if I was caught.

I believe that it's a genuine legal issue left for the courts, not myself, or a layperson landowner to decide.

I would act in accord with my understanding of the legal issue and recover my game. To avoid the specter of litigation, I would make every effort to recover my deer without the landowner's knowledge. In other words, I wouldn't march right in there openly and notoriously, inviting him to engage me in a legal battle over the custody of the carcass. Even though I think I'd ultimately win, I would also lose thousands in legal fees. I'm dumb, but I'm not that dumb.

Sorry if that bugs you, Germ, but it is what it is. I believe that I am legally entitled to enter a neighbor's land to retrieve downed game, no matter what you say, no matter what the game warden says, and no matter what some schmuck online tells me. I'd leave it in the hands of the local, county and appellate courts.

I have a very strong suspicion that any charge against me would be dropped, and any civil action would also be fruitless, for lack of damages.