Ohio law on finding a dead buck on ur property?
 

Ok I found a huge buck that had been shot or hit by a car on my property. It had been dead for awhile and I took the head. Since it is such a unique trophy I would like to get the deer mounted. If I don't use my buck tag this year can I use my tag to tag the antlers and skull to get it mounted? I've looked all over the web and I'm finding different answers. Anyone know? Thanks!

Don't you think it would have been a better idea to call the ODNR than ask out on the lnternet? Here is what I found right in your Ohio Hunting Regulations booklet, so if I were you I'd follow it and quickly get that deer legal by tagging it and getting it registered as your kill or follow 15 below before you get in more hot water than you already are since you have an untagged animal in your possession.


A Hunter Cannot:

15. Receive or possess a deer or parts of
a deer unless such deer or deer part is
tagged as required, or unless the deer or
part of a deer has a statement showing
when and where legally taken, the date
received, and from whom received; or
an Ohio Division of Wildlife tag, seal, or
certificate or other proof of ownership
which shows the deer was killed by a
motor vehicle in Ohio; or an official tag
or seal and valid nonresident license
issued by another state if taken from
outside Ohio; or certificate of ownership
or receipt issued by a law enforcement
officer. Shed antlers, if found, do
not require a certificate of ownership or
receipt by a wildlife officer.

Looks like a accidental post and u should delete it now before wrong ones see it. Or not your call. Lol.:jaw::jaw:

Call the local DNR office and they will give you the correct information. When we have it happen in Illinois they usually just send a tag to us to put not the deer. We usually have it within a couple day and no one has ever done any sort of follow up.

Ditto what fastetti said.

Personally, I wouldn't mount it...I do a euro mount. Not spending alot on one I didn't kill, regardless of how big it was. I can do an awesome euro for about $10.

Sounds like "Poaching" to me.

In md you need a tag from the DNR to keep skulls.

The OP is trying to do the right thing.

Call the ODNR, as others have suggested.

*** I doubt that there are any jurisdictions that you can come up with where you can possess an intact head like that without having your legal hunting tag on it or getting a tag from the jurisdiction that handles road kills, etc., whether it's the County Sheriff or a Game Warden. There aremany jurisdictions where you're not even supposed to take one from the field if you find it BEFORE you get authorization. If it's as good and important as one is to believe, I would have had a call into authorities and got the proper answer well before I started asking out on the internet for cripes sakes!!! I put the actual statute up right out of the regulations in my other post and it is very specific as to how to handle a head with attached antlers.

Well friend, there are a couple of things about your post that made my brain go "Huh?"

First of all, you can't tell if it was hit by a car or shot?

And next, you're asking people on the internet for legal advice, most of whom don't even live in your state?

I could be wrong, but I'm thinking maybe somethin' ain't according to Hoyle here.