To tag or not to tag?
 

I have learned from the past that I will never tag my deer until the gutting is done. A friend of mineopened his deer and found it not normal and he never got his replacement tagfrom the PGC up to5 days later.
I done did opened a deer last year to find it to be smelly and discolored with white bumps on the ribs and a huge solid glob of blood up by it's throat.It was the size of a baseball and felt like broken splintered bones.
I didn't bother to tag the deer and just let it lay there. If it took my friend 5 days to get a replacement tag I was not goanna waiste my time sitting around doing nothing till I got mine. Does anyone else waite to tag their deer after the smell and visual test works out? Or what does one suggest to do in a case like that? We only got two weeks to hunt and time is valuble to us who can't hunt every day as some can. There was 2 other hunters who came by and said they would do the same. They said after seeing this deer, They will waite to tag theirs until they inspect it. They said they would just walk away from it also. The one said that he might call the PGC and just tell them the location of this deer and hang up. That's all that is needed for them to know. Just curious if anyone would waiste their precious hunting time waiting for a new tag?

RE: To tag or not to tag?
 

legally, you have to tag every deer you shoot (atleast over here).

i would of tagged it and checked it in, thats the only way to get any sort of estimate. if i had to throw it away after that, so be it. but i woulda tagged it and brought it out.

just my $.2

RE: To tag or not to tag?
 

I tag every deer before I gut them.I never shot a deer that was unfit for consumption and if I did,it wouldn't bother me to wait for another tag because I always have more than one tag.

RE: To tag or not to tag?
 

What if your from out of state? You don't got time to waite 3 to 5 days. Are they goanna bring an extra tag for you when they inspect the carcus? I don't think so. Everyone who hunts Pa. is not actually a resident.

RE: To tag or not to tag?
 

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The law requires that hunters tag a deer after killing it. If it is unfit for human consumption, at the time it is killed, then you can report that to the Game Commission and every effort will be made to examine it and issue a permit for a second deer. Pretty much every WCO deals with several like situations every year and yes we do have the new tags with us and can issue it at the time we examine the deer. We try to handle unfit deer cases as quickly as possible and most are handled the same day they call us.

The problem some people have is that after they call they aren’t available to meet us with the deer because they are headed to work, back out hunting or who knows what. Many times they didn’t provide sufficient information for us to find the camp they are staying at and assumed that as long as they gave the dispatcher, that answered the phone, the name on one of the thousands of camps in our district we would just automatically know where to find them, but we don’t know where to find their camp just from a name. They generally provided a phone number for us to call them but then when we try we can’t get anyone to answer their phone. Then a few days later they call back angry and wanting to know why no one called them back, even though we tried repeatedly. Sometimes, especially for people in camps, they give us a cell phone number but they don’t have any coverage at camp so we just leave a message and try again the next day and the next day and so on, but with the same results. Usually when we don’t get an unfit deer taken care of the same day, or at least the next day, it was because we couldn’t locate the person or get in touch with them, after they called, even though we tried repeatedly.

If you shot a deer, don’t tag it and just leave it in the woods you are in violation of the law. In which case you had better hope a WCO doesn’t catch up with you or you are going to lose more then a day or two of hunting time. If we catch up with a person killing deer, not tagging them and leaving them in the woods we are most likely going to be revoking their hunting and trapping privileges, so they can sit out entire hunting season or two instead of just the few days are you worrying about. We are also going to issue some citations and most likely separate them from some of their money to cover their fines too.

R.S.Bodenhorn

RE: To tag or not to tag?
 

this is what i do after i lost a tag 1 year and got stoped on the way home with it
gut it if it is good and we can cart it out then i tag it on the spot
if we got to drag it i fill it out rip it off and put it in my pocket when we get it out then the tag is put on
thats just the way i do it

RE: To tag or not to tag?
 

Well,the law clearly states that the deer must be tagged immediately and before it's moved.I'll continue to tag mine immediately but if you want to take the chance and wait,that's your business.Sometimes when you shoot a deer,you take a chance thatit may mot be fit to eat,even though that's never happened to me.

The PGC is overstaffed and under-funded.I doubt you'll ever see the day where they'll have delivery drivers waiting to hand-out tags for deer that were unfit to eat.What about a drive to a regional office?I imagine there would be someone there to take care of you.

RE: To tag or not to tag?
 

I thought that the law only stipulated that you must tag it before moving it from the kill site, or is that the old law?
When did they add the word "immediately" to the mix?
I always tagged it first anyway because I don't like getting the tag all bloody and my license bloody also. I am messy sometimes.
I also have never shot a deer that was unfit.
Lucky me I guess.

RE: To tag or not to tag?
 

well i think shooting a deer that is unfit falls under "know your target and beyond"

most people think that just means make sure its safe behind the deer to shoot, but it also means knowing that the deer is fit to shoot.

RE: To tag or not to tag?
 

I always tag my deer before gutting it. I have never in 30 years of huntingshot a deer that was unfit to eat. Noone in my group has.