RE: What to do if shot deer goes on posted land?
 

There is a property adjacent to the farm where I hunt that is leased to some guys who are less than understanding about going on their lease. They are adament about us not crossing the property line in search of a hit deer. I' ll quote..." Don' t step one foot on this piece of land, not one foot" . These are also the same guys who have no problem putting on deer drives that push the deer off the farm and onto their posted land but we can' t even retrieve a deer. Private property...Screw them. If my deer crosses the line I' m going to get him private property or not. I' m not going to let it lay. They can call the cops if they want. I don' t really care. Jim

RE: What to do if shot deer goes on posted land?
 

A guy I work with shot a doe on private property and tracked it across a property line. Before entering the private property, he tried to contact the landowner (who happened to be a game officer). He wasn' t home, so, he went over and field dressed the deer and dragged it home. Later, knowing that he should' ve waited for permission, he stopped by the officer' s home and explained the situation, and the landowner pressed charges!!!! He even launched an investigation involving a DNA test of the gut pile to link it to the deer that was now hanging in the guy' s garage just for evidence. This story woke me up on the issue of tracking deer across property lines. PA hunters, keep this in mind when hunting close to property lines -- Never go on that property !!! You never know when the owner him/herself may be sitting in a tree hunting and see you. If they carry a cell phone as I do, the game commission may be there before you even get back to the truck! It' s just not worth it.

RE: What to do if shot deer goes on posted land?
 

NOT TRUE.

I don' t know why you were told this, but, that isn' t true.

If this situation occurs, you have to call the Game Commission, and they will send out a commissioner. You will have to show him where you shot the deer and prove that you didn' t shoot the deer on the private property. Once that is done, then he will escourt you onto the private property so you can tag and retrieve your animal, no matter what the landowner thinks of this.

RE: What to do if shot deer goes on posted land?
 

I' m kind of in line with 6pt125lbs, might have tried to avoid bustin his eye until I had to though!

If he' s not willing to answer any questions, etc... how do you know he even had promission. Additionally, the DNR would have helped you. Heck get on the cell right there with the guy standing beside you when you call. They' ll usually cave in before you' re call is completed because they don' t want to deal with the hastle.

Cold day in hell before I walk off and leave any animal I down, buck or not.

RE: What to do if shot deer goes on posted land?
 

I think it' s against the law in most states to go on private ground without consent. In Maryland it doesn' t even have to be posted. In Maryland the chances of gaining consent are near zero as a lot of the land is tree hugger owned. That said, I usually go ahead and sneak and peak. I usually leave my weapon behind. If I know who owns it I' ll try to gain permission. In many states, the guy doesn' t have to let you go on his land even if the Game Warden is standing there pleading with the guy. So, if you go you have to be willing to pay the consequences if you trespass. I retrieved one deer 30 yards from a tree huggers tennis court and they never knew I was there. I just don' t like the idea of leaving one dead in the woods. I can' t agree with those who want to bust the guy in the eye. There is NO deer worth a physical confrontation with anyone, besides the fact you' ll be arrested and probably loose all your hunting privileges. If you' re caught trespassing and the guy suggest you leave.... say " thank you, I' m sorry" and exit with assurances it won' t happen again.

RE: What to do if shot deer goes on posted land?
 

Years ago, and I haven' t checked lately, it was legal to cross onto private property to retrieve downed game, taking the shortest route to and from and without any weapon. This is in Iowa. May have changed in the last few years...I can' t really say. And it seems to pertain to downed game, not wounded game that your tracking.

Either way, I' d try to get the owner' s information before hand and if I didn' t have it, I' d leave my bow and start tracking. Chances are, if your brother had come upon me, I' d have helped him recover the animal.

PS....In Iowa, the Game Warden will not track, retrieve, gut, cape, nor load your animal for you. Some of you guys kill me....Hey Warden, my buffalo ran across that fence where I don' t have permission. You go get him and drag him back across the fence while I go get my truck! [:o]

RE: What to do if shot deer goes on posted land?
 

PAhunterJen:

Considering that it is always possible that your wounded deer can run onto adjacent property that you do not have permission to be on, it is worth the effort to find out who owns/leases all the property(s) that border your area before you hunt and ask for advanced permission to enter the property only for the purpose of tracking and retrieving the wounded deer.

As for the " hunter" that refused to allow you to track and retrieve your deer, busting him in the eye is stupid and will land your butt in jail. Regardless that he apparently is a selfish sportsman, if he has permission to be on the property, he probably has the right to tell you to get off.

However, because he refused to tell you who the owner of the property is, could be because he does not have permission to hunt the property either. If you were to determine that he is trespassing and he is kicked off the property, that is sweet revenge with no legal consequences.

Last weekend the river in my area was higher than norm (just above my short boots) so I was unable to cross where I usually do on the properties I hunt. I had to move to a large sandbar further upriver. Crossing at the sandbar required me to cut a corner on some property that borders two large areas I hunt. I have had to do it a few times during the several seasons I have hunted the area.

When I have, and as I did this last weekend, I always unload my bow and carry the bow by the string. Sort of a visual " peace sign" to any hunters that may have permission to hunt the area and were to observe me, that I am not hunting their tract.

About 10 feet from my property I was accosted by 4 young (15-17) and very novice bowhunters that got all caught up in the newness of the sport and became over-territorial. After I patiently listen to their lectures for awhile and tired of have a little fun by dancing on their brains, I abruptly stopped them in mid-sentence.

I told them that I had been hunting the area for several seasons, knew this was their first season in the area, and could tell that they were very new to the sport. After I instructed them in some bowhunting protocol, I asked them if they had yet seen the very large 11-pnt P&Y buck that often watered at the pond on their side (a tip of a cornfield separates my property from where they hunt). They had. I asked them if they had also seen the 8-pntr that is dubbed " The Giraffe" because of how his rack is almost vertical and makes him appear to be very tall, that also waters at the pond. They had. I asked them if they knew the distance from the pond to the tree-line of my property. They did not. I told them that the distance was 75-yards. I then asked them if they knew where the two bucks generally bedded. They did not.

I told them that both bucks bedded down on my side, deep into my property. I told them that I knew that one of them (bowhunter) had a tree-stand by the water hole and that if the person using the stand played his cards right, the odds were that he would get a shot at either buck. However, unless the hit was instantly mortal, either buck will clear the 75-yards in seconds and be on my property, an head for their primary bed that is in deep cover, and that I knew the routes they would run and where the deep cover was. They became silent and I could tell they were analyzing what I had just said.

I instantly followed up with an advisory. I told them that they were not to enter my area to track any deer they shot, that the deer now belongs to me. That should they enter my property I would have them cited for trespassing. They became completely silent. I could tell that I did not have to say " See how it works?"

After I let them mull the information for a bit, and could tell they were struggling to find a way to undo the rules they had set, I then told them that if they hit a deer and it made it to my area, they were to alert me or one of the other hunters I hunt with. That we had a policy that whenever one of us or another hunter hunting close by hits a deer, we all dismount and assist in finding the deer. They were pacified, shook my hand, and left for their stands.

If you bump into the hunter that refused to let you track and recover your deer, you should advise him of how his rule works two ways.

RE: What to do if shot deer goes on posted land?
 

c903,
Great story!! The way you turned the tables on the novice bowhunters was perfect. Hope all goes well.

RE: What to do if shot deer goes on posted land?
 

Two years ago I shot a 6 Pointer & it went onto private property. I called the owner of the land (who I was told was a real a$$) and he got very cocky with me & told me if he seen me on the land he would get me on trespassing. So I then called the PA Game Commission and explained to them I shot the buck and it crossed over onto his property & told them what he said. And this is the exact answer I got from the game commission. They said that without the owners permission there was nothing they could do because of legal matters.
I to thought that if you got a game warden you could then retrieve your deer if the land owner told you no. Unless they changed something, that is what I was told from the Dallas, Pa. headquarters.
If I would have known this I would have waited till night to retreive the buck. The land it went on is a golf course & the owner is a real a$#@#$$. He hates archery hunters. I thought I' d go about it the right way, I guess I should have done it the other way.
By the way a couple days later the guy comes to the landowner I hunted & said he was p&%$#@ he had to bury a 6 Pointer with an arrow stuck in it! My friend told him " Well instead of being an A$$ you should have let him get it" The guy told him the deer could rot before he' ll do that.
I knew the deer did' nt go far, but knowing the owner of the golf course was the way he is I did' nt want to be seen on the golf course in daylight with a dead deer. So I thought if I called an explain he might be nice about it!!!
But anyways that is what the Game Commission told me!!!!

RE: What to do if shot deer goes on posted land?
 

I don' t know about Iowa but here in Texas it happens all the time. Nobody said anything about having the warden drag him out, gut him or anything other than helping you to locate him and allowing you to retrieve it.