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Don't Touch that Deer!

Nacho, I think you're opinion may change the next time you harvest a whitetail and he jumps the fence onto the neighbors property. What if that nice 8 u recently shot died on the neighbors prop who wouldn't let you retrieve it?


No my opinion won't change, because I am a land owner and I believe I should have control of my property.

I would do everything legally I could to get my deer, but if I couldn't get it I would be disappointed that it was going to waste and that someone could be so mean..

You can bet I wouldn't give that landowner any leeway on going on my land. Hell if he leaned his gun on a fencepost and it tipped and fell on my land I wouldn't let him get it and if he did I would bust him for tresspassing. What goes around comes around in life, so if you are a jerk of a landowner, you will get whats coming to you. I beleive that 100%! So be nice!!!!:grin:
 
I understand an owner should be able to control who steps foot on their land and I agree with that. But if I shoot an animal that runs into your yard I'm going to attempt to notify you that I'll be retrieving it, and then I'm going to retrieve it.

I like your extreme example :way:. No, acts that could be considered "willy nilly" are not okay, although they may be awfully tempting if a hott mistress lives there!

Anyways... I guess I'm not seeing where we went from a game law to a criminal law. Maybe I'm stupid, or maybe I just don't understand them as well as I thought. So you can legally go get the deer but an owner can still tell you no? Either I'm interpreting this the wrong way or there are some VERY large gray areas that need laced up...

Here's another extreme example, actually it's a hypothetical situation, only this one is at least plausible lol. An owner constantly has deer from a neighboring property dying on his land and is always willing to let the lucky hunters retrieve their harvests. One day, a hunter shoots the new world record typical and it dies on the neighbors land. The neighbor sees the deer go down on his land and notices that it has a world class rack. As always, the hunter knocks on the owners door to ask if it's okay for him to get the deer. This time, the owner tells him no and asks him to get off his property. He then retreives the buck and sells it to Bass Pro for a million dollars.

So since these laws contradict each other, this is indeed plausible, right?


He wouldn't be able to sell it to bass pro, unless he had a tag to put on it. Even then you would let everyone know that he didn't shoot it and what had happened and bass pro wouldn't want to get mixed up in that whole situation.

If that guy does that, then he is a jerk and a hypocrite!!!

In ND, this is totally plausible yes. It has happened several times already in ND. These landowners are total a-holes to do what they do, but it is still legal so there is nothing the hunter can do or the warden.

Here is my hypothetical situation. you own the land next to a neighbor....you are hunting with a buddy when you notice there is a large buck on his property that you can't hunt..so you leave your weapon behind and sneak around the buck and chase it to your buddy on your land and he shoots it.....the landowner catches you on his land and you tell him you are looking for a "wounded deer" you shot on your land legally. There is nothing he can do unless he videoed you chasing that deer. He can not bust you for hunting because you have no weapon and he cannot prove that you aren't looking for a deer. (some wounded deer don't leave a blood trail) It is his word against yours!! In ND, he could prosecute you for tresspassing no matter the reason you were on his land. From the sounds of it in Iowa, his hands would be tied and that isn't right in my book. My $.02!
 
Yes I agree you should be able to retrieve your deer if it was legally shot, but that is a game law. We are talking about criminal law here.

In ND you have to right to go on land that is posted to retrieve game without a weapon, but that is game law. The landowner can still refuse access to you if they want to. Don't know why they would, but they can.

That is their property that they paid for and they can control it.

You are saying you can't control were an animal runs.....of course you can't, but that doesn't matter to the landowner. How is it their fault it ran on their land???? Its not, nor is it your fault, that is just were it decided to run.

What if you shot the deer and it ran into their house and went up stairs and died on their bed?? Do you think you should be able to just waltz into their house and retrieve that deer willy nilly???

I know that is an extreme example, but property is property!!

Don't get me wrong, I think she is in the wrong here, but there is no way anyone is going to tell me who can go on the property that I paid for with my hard earned money.

Of course I would let someone retrieve downed game from my land, but there is no way I would stand for a law that would prevent me from controlling my property.

Have to agree with you Nacho. It is your land and you should be able to control it.
I had two neighbors come thru with a gun and start pushing one of my parcels. I asked what they were doing and they replied looking for a wounded deer it was their right. I kindly replied not with a gun and please ask next time or if I catch you we will be waiting for the CO officer whom will help with the search. What really sucked is that area is where I was going to hunt next that they pushed right on through.

I would not of had a problem if they would of been courteous and asked first but it is my land and I should have a say in what goes on there.
Would I of let them retrieve it of course but I would of helped find it.
Bummer that the lady would not let them retrieve it but by the law it is her right whether I agree or disagree with it. JMHO
 
I understand an owner should be able to control who steps foot on their land and I agree with that. But if I shoot an animal that runs into your yard I'm going to attempt to notify you that I'll be retrieving it, and then I'm going to retrieve it.

It might not be that easy if the landowner tells you no.
Law is the law I know but if he says you can't I would wait for the CO to arrive. Might help alleviate a confrontation that can be avoided. IMO
 
I have been in the situation on having to cross a fence to find a wounded deer.. it was as simply as askin the owner and most of the time they say go ahead.. i have known them to say NO but you can jump in my truck and ill drive you down there...that woman is crazy.. i hope she has every varmit in the area draging parts of that deer around her yard for the next 3 years...
 
In ND, this is totally plausible yes. It has happened several times already in ND. These landowners are total a-holes to do what they do, but it is still legal so there is nothing the hunter can do or the warden.

Thought you'd never heard of anyone not giving permission? Anyways...


I can definately see your point Nacho. Clearly we could keep going in circles on this. It's apparent that there are some idiots who pull the "wounded deer" card, it probably happens all to often. It's the people who abuse the system that ruin a good thing for everyone else.

I think we're both on the same team here in agreeing that a legally harvested animal should legally be retrievable, no matter where it dies. And I also understand that you, as an owner, need to have control over what goes on. I do not see a happy medium here unfortunately.

The same questions I ask about deer could be asked regarding other topics as well. Technically the state owns the wildlife, no matter where it lays. What if my car randomly rolled down some hill and onto your property? It's my car, it's your land... Dumb example, but I think you get my point. Maybe there needs to be a unification of some criminal and game laws to fill in these gray areas, because they just don't make any sense!
 
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It might not be that easy if the landowner tells you no.
Law is the law I know but if he says you can't I would wait for the CO to arrive. Might help alleviate a confrontation that can be avoided. IMO

I agree Risto and I didn't mean for that statement to come out so arrogantly. I was just trying to point out that I would try to contact the owner first to let them know what's going on. If I'm unsuccessful in these attempts then more than likely I'll go ahead and get my animal in as respectful a manner as possible. If I reach the owner(s) and they tell me no then I've got all my county CO's in my contact list...
 
This is what you have to deal with around here. I know all too well as I live very close to where the deer died. I've hunted off of Fire Hill Rd. No one wants you to hunt around here and then the people wonder why there are too many deer.
Many of the parks and watershed properties have recently been opened up to bow hunting to thin the deer out. They need to mow a bunch of does down. That's mostly all you see around here.
If it was me I wouldn't have asked. That deer would be gone at night!
 
If it was me, the deer would be gone the first night. I wouldn't even think twice about it. I would rather take a trespassing ticket then have the guilty conscience of letting a deer I shot go to waste on purpose.


FACT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Longspurs-
 
Natural Predator=Hunter....

That seems to be an ongoing problem, people like her think humans are not part of nature anymore. Last I checked everything we eat comes from there and everything we do impacts it...
 
Did anyone happen to read the article in the last issue of North American Whitetail about the couple (I believe from Virginia) hunting in Illinois who had a similar situation with a CPO. It was an interesting article. The woman shot a buck that crossed onto this CPO's land. When they approached him I guess he was quite arrogant and told them that if they gave him $500 that he and his wife would consider letting them on the land. When asked if the $500 woud allow them access he repeated that the $500 was for them to consider it, no guarantees.
The author of the article went to explain that he contacted the CPO before he wrote the article to get his side of the story and confirmed that he had a rather arrogant attitude and didn't really care if an article was written about it or not.
I guess according to the law the CPO didn't do anything illegal. He was well within his rights to do what he did. As far as ethics...???...???

I live 2 miles from where this happened. More to the story than the author wrote. Outfitter involved here. And in IL you can not trespass legally without permission. Legally that is.
 
People like that should be hung!!! Its not just a sport to us its more than that. I garantee the first time she hits a deer good to her house she will say well maybe I shouldnt have been such an ass! And wasting the meat the warden she write that woman a ticket for that! But if it were me it would have been gone the first night anyways
 
The buck knew right where to go to be safe too, right for her property. I have found Private land adjacent to public hunting land seems to be problematic for hunting as the deer know they are safe in the private land and will high tail it for that spot first sign of trouble. Specially since they have a good food source as well there also.

I bet they won't get anybody asking permission from now on!
 
Although I agree with everyone she is out of touch, it is her property. And as far as trespassing to retrieve the deer, no way. The chances of running into Mr. out of touch with a 12 gauge, not worth a deer.
 
This was a case of backyard hunting. The guy who shot the deer was pretty much in a residential neighborhood that has been overcome with deer due to the fact of no hunting. AVERAGE house in this area goes for $500,000. You can't expect to sit in someones backyard (1 acre) and drop a deer right there. They are going to run off and thats what happened here. He should have just retrieved it and if he got caught take the ticket. We have been dealing with this forever and I would like this law to change with the Wardens having authority to retreive wounded game. As far as the trepass. and being a landowner I agree with Nacho......your on my land you better prove where the deer was shot and I will help you find it. Its a different ball game out here folks.
 
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