ORIGINAL: nodog
I agree Ohio does a good job, but disagree with your comments on call in. First off it only hurts the law abiding. The lawless won’t check them in anyways. Secondly they maybe listed but how often do you think to check and even if you do, can you find them after dark in a strange place? I hunted a new place recently and as I sat there the thought came to me, crap I forgot to see where I can check one in if I get one (I didn't bring the regs with me). The thought of coming back the next day just to check the thing in was at that time the only answer. I was 80 miles from home. That's the problem and as it was I got turned around and ended up going the wrong direction for about 20 miles. It was blowing a gale, cold and raining, pitch black out. I was relieved some what that I didn't get one. Phone in I wouldn't have cared.
Punish the lawless. Va. has a phone in and it is beautiful. Poachers do get busted. You punch your license when you get one so that if you get stoppedthere's proof your not some poacher and you have a day to phone it in when you get back to where yourstaying, comfortable and warm. They can even be quartered on the spot and taken out easy as you please.
I definitely see your point about it only hurts the law abiders, but how do you have long term proof that the deer was legal? The metal tags now make it easy to have proof, or more importantly proof for the DNR to know that a deer was poached. I don't know, I just want it to be as easy as possible to catch a poacher.
Side note: they actually check on things. I shot my buck last year on my parent's farm and used a land owner tag. The DNR called and questioned my mom about it because they were trying to catch me having used that landowner tag for a deer I shot on my grandparents' farm which is next door. Seemed a bit nit-picky to me, but I wasn't against it. I was also impressed that the DNR knew I was related to the owners of both places.