South33

Here i MT you are supposed to call & get a carcass permit...
nobody I know does actually report finding anything & F&G doesn't press the issue.
Not sure about your local laws though...

-South

nodog

Local dnr pretty much told me if they find a hair and I don't have a tag, I could be in trouble. It is stupid, but is what it is. I don't know how often they enforce things but do know they have no problem writing themselves their own tag for what you found, confiscating it, some of your cash and a good deal of your time if they have a mind too unless you prove your innocent.

There are other animals you better not be found with parts of and they are very strict about it. A dead snow owl comes to mind because I saw one once, never touched it. Damn shame, it was beautiful. We got eagles around here now, better not even piss on the land they live on. Strict laws with hefty consequences that just make picking some dead thing up not worth it. With that though comes consequences, I won't kill a wounded animal if I'm not going to tag it, just walk away. Not my fault and it sure isn't worth the trouble. With the new call in tagging system the State of Oh is giving me a little more respect by relaxing the notion that I'm a poacher and must prove I'm not. I do appreciate that. Call in's great IMO.

This is how bad it is, I must have the tag (a given) a pencil (ok) and a sting to tie it on, that's rediculous and don't be caught without it. I also MUST fill out the tag as soon as I'm close enough to touch it and afix it with the string before doing anything else. That's just plain insulting. Makes you feel like you'd better have that pencil,paper and string out in your trembling hands before getting to close and heaven forbid you stumble over it first.

I heard of this one guy recently that shot a very nice buck, because of the way thing are these days he tagged it and called the local dnr agent to come verify the whole thing. That really takes the life out of hunting for me when it comes to that. I hope the agent at least filled his tag out so he didn't have to take it to the check station and again get the states OK.

Most problems occur because hunters have big mouths so avoiding most problems seem easy. The dnr frowns on lieing, better be able to prove you found all those racks on your own land. Again your guilty till you prove your innocent and your tag is your proof. Makes me wonder how long documentation needs to be kept. Never really looked at the stuff like it was security box fodder but I guess it is.

deerchump

The Illinois DNR is busy, but they will not just laugh about it. You may be right that they will not go out of their way to bring you a tag after calling it in, but they will ticket you if they caught you with a spike buck which you did not call in.

So they may not be actively trying to stop you from taking a found deer, but it will be an issue if they discover that spike buck in your possession in the course of another investigation.

At a minimum, you should document the day/time you called the DNR to report the spike, even if they do not issue you a tag.

The DNR can laugh about you calling it in because they won't be the ones getting in trouble when you are caught with an untagged deer.

Bukmastr

I was told by the Wisconsin DNR that you may take any skull that shows obvious signs of decay ( bone? )
However, if the kill is recent you need to call them to investigate before issuing a tag...
When hunting Illinois a few years back, a farmer I was hunting ons land found a dead 150 class buck that was deteriated to bone. He called the DNR as is the law down there, all racks must have tags and the warden came out said it was probably poached and confinscated it... I think he just wanted the rack.

mbmrang

This topic is debated all the time and at all the deer camps. People will do what they want to do. As hunters we should have the integrity to do what is right when no one is looking.

Honest people will follow the rules anyhow. If you want to take the chance and not report it, be my guest. But down the road when a game warden is trying to bust a poaching ring and they want to search your barn, do not complain about it. Wasn't it last year they busted a huge ring out west who had a barn full of heads? Who's to say you didn't poach it in the fall and just secure it someplace and wait till now to say "Oh, look at what I found!"

oldshedhunter35

I find alot of them & the only people I report it to is the good people on the web sites I visit.

sticknstringer

I recently came across my nov. 3 2010 bow kill on april 10 2011 here in nebraska. I called the game and parks, they had me bring it in and examine it. All that was left was the horns and skull with a backbone and ribs attached. He said if he could see a bullet whole or anything like that he is legally supposed to confiscate it. But he was nice and said he believed me on the bow kill and allowed me to take it home without a tag. They even scored it for me.

ShawnT

In Ohio even a Landowner must place a hand made Temporary carcass tag on a Deer you kill on your own land, and then get the deer checked in just like any other deer killed that required a purchased tag. The State also has a new "Restitution law" where they can charge a poacher large fines. Bucks have a "base value" and then the price charged increases with the size of the rack.

So I would agree with others that you should make a phone call to the DNR to be sure.

Check out this guys fine.
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/News...lass-Buck.aspx

turkeyhunter2314tec

dont tell anyone.

HuntandFishOHIO

This buck was found last year not far from where i hunt. It is called the "Sweetie Buck" Richards brother showed me some of the pics they had taken right after they found it. What a huge buck!!! They were afraid that the state was going to keep it. here is a link to the article in field and stream.

http://www.fieldandstream.com/photos...ode-1001368896