the thread about missing a booner made me remember this ......my friend and i were hunting several hundred yards apart on the edge of a lake. i was going to move to a different area and was being picked up by a boat. when i heard the boat coming i got down from my tree and started walking to the bank. the guy picking me up started waving his arms for me to hurry up. i looked out in the water and there was a HUGE buck swimming at us.i ran down the bank and tried to set up on him as he came out of the water, but didn't get a shot. it ended up running to my friend who got a shot at him when it stopped 18 yards from his stand. he missed. this was the only booner (gross) that i've seen while hunting. my question is......would it have been wrong for me to jump on the boat, follow the deer to shore, and take the shot from the boat.

odd, one of a kind situation, but wanted your opinions.

Well, if you would have done that in SC and the GW been around to prove it, you would have lost your boat, gun, truck, and been in jail.

I believe strtntom is correct. I lived in Charleston and saw a boater get ticketed for chasing off gull sin the water with his boat.

Also.....likely a law against shooting at a deer from a boat.

ALSO.....I know in NC you can't shoot at them IN the water (And I know you didn't say anything about that....just saying).

Weird, for sure.....

In PA you would also be fine, lost the boat, weapon and hunting priveledges if you shot from the boat (if motorized). If non motorized I believe it's a different story, say a canoe.....

It's even illegal to kill ducks in a motorized boat when on the move. You can use it to go up river and then shut it off etc...you can only shoot when the motor is off at ducks, never at big game.

Like Jeff in NC, it's illegal to shoot at game taking refuge in water.

I just looked up the regs and it is illegal. i guess it is no different than a car. i wasn't looking at it that way since it obviously wasn't planned. when would you ever have a bow in a boat other than fishing anyway?

Not legal in VA for deer either.

"Unlawful Methods[*]Carry a loaded rifle or pistol on a boat or other floating device on public inland waters for hunting wild birds or animals.[*]Shoot waterfowl or migratory game birds from a boat being propelled by a motor.[*]Kill or attempt to kill any deer while in a boat or other type of watercraft. "

Here in SC it is illegal to shoot a deer while its in water. It is also illegal to shoot a deer from a boat.

This season they have really cracked down on people doing it in the Francis Marion during dog drives.

Like i said. You lose your weapon, truck, boat, trailer, and you spend time in jail.

If you shoot a deer anywhere near a river you sure better hope he doesn't roll down into the water and a GW come up. You will have a really good time explaining to him why you are hunting so close to the river and your deer just happens to be soaked.

I will answer that one too.

We do it all the time. The best way to hunt some of the public land here is by boat. You can get to spots that are miles away from the closest road.

Flash back to the early 70's Dad and Uncle were shooting frogs from aboat in PA.. Had 75 prime river frogs. Daylight comes and they pull up to the car, (had one upstream and one downstream)
ahhh hello game wardens..What? it's illegal?? Confiscated 1 car, the boat, guns, lights everything! Held Uncle, until Dad brought bail..Paid fine Got everything back!
At the annual Game wardens dinner they had frog legs. Dad and the Game warden later became good buds and laughed about it often. The warden said damn right, we were tough on you we spent the whole night running up and down the river..got scratched up and bit up by bugs. You were going down!

And don't forget Germ. Germ uses his boat to plan a sneak attack and get behind deer that are in the fields. He sneaks in behind them and sets up in his stands before the deer get back, great idea.