Found a dead buck...

[WNY Bowhunter]

After talking things over with my buddy who runs the farm, we decided not to call the DEC since we could find no evidence of foul play. If we could have taken the deer down to the barn to hang up/skin out maybe things would have been different? I hated to see all of that good meat go to waste...but, the coyotes got the carcass and I've got the skull/antlers boiling up right now.

[Geno C]

you still have to call the DEC to report your findings no? you cant just find a deer with antlers attached and take it, they need to issue you a finders tag correct?

[WNY Bowhunter]

Sure you can. Think about how many people find dead deer over the course of the season? I pick up several dead heads every year between hunting season and looking for sheds in the spring. You can't utilize the meat, hide or hooves (this is what my Forest Range buddy told me). In some states like OH and IL you need to obtain a tag for the antlers but not here in NY.

[Geno C]

got ya.. i do know in other states you do have to obtain a tag from the local DEC for finding a deer with horns when you plan on taking the head. Im not 100% sure if taking them without reporting them is legal, myself personally would still call and ask. I do know when guys find deer dead they cut the head and take it with them but whos to say that you shot that buck, didint find it in time, the meat went bad but you find the rack and take it with out tagging it. not saying thats what you did but im sure it happens so i would think DEC would want to be notified of an untagged deer head being transported. JMO

[WNY Bowhunter]

It's kind of like this law:

You may use lights to observe deer and bear under the following conditions:

• You are not within 500 feet of a home or farm building, unless you have permission from the owner or lessee.
  
• While in or on a motor vehicle and operating a light and no person has a firearm or bow unless:
  
  • the firearm is taken down or the bow is unstrung, or
    
  • the firearm is securely fastened in a case, or
    
  • the firearm is locked in the trunk of the vehicle, or
    
  • the firearm is a handgun.
    

Never could get over this one!!!

[landtracdeerhunter]

NYS. DEC requires a dead deer found, not hit by a car, reported to them.

Edit: Posted for informational purposes only.

dead deer report.htm

Edited October 11, 2012 by landtracdeerhunter

[gfdeputy2]

So in Ny you can shine deer even during hunting season?

ilegal here from Sept 1 to Dec 31

[Geno C]

NYS. DEC requires a dead deer found, not hit by a car, reported to them.

Edit: Posted for informational purposes only.

I found that right after I posted but had to get back to work so I couldn't finish. I did see that part also but was trying to find what else it said.

[Geno C]

I'm almost positive found deer have to be reported but alot of guys don't and just take the head...

[WNYBuckHunter]

So in Ny you can shine deer even during hunting season?

ilegal here from Sept 1 to Dec 31

Yes, as long as you follow the rules.

[WNY Bowhunter]

NYS. DEC requires a dead deer found, not hit by a car, reported to them.

Edit: Posted for informational purposes only.

I don't see anything that says its a law. I just emailed the Region 8 office about it...

[Geno C]

curious to see what they say, let us know

[WNY Bowhunter]

No reply yet. I'm off to work (rather be in a treestand)...

[Geno C]

No reply yet. I'm off to work (rather be in a treestand)...

me too... i cant wait to climb a tree this weekend. i got out opening day and thats it...

[Z-man]

What a shame, that is a monster of a buck

[landtracdeerhunter]

Winds blowing hard out here, getting nasty. Can't keep my hair parted, LOL.

[apoallo]

^{mother of god.... if i killed that buck he would have been a wall mount for sure.. Maybe a car hit him only 60 yards from the road??}

[WNY Bowhunter]

Getting back to this...

I contacted the Region 8 office on friday and talked to an ECO for 10 minutes on the phone. He told me thad their job is to regulate the "deer on the hoof" (what's in the freezer), not the antlers. He said this subject has a lot of gray areas but it's best to call them in a situation like this. At the end of the conversation he went on to say that this deer sounded like a car kill so it would be OK to go ahead and remove the antlers. I told him that I already had and he responded by saying to contact them first in the future. Honestly, after talking to him I was more confused about this matter than I was before???

Today I got this response from another local ECO: "Hello Jason, there are no regulations that prohibit the removal of antlers from a dead deer provided the deer was not illegally killed."

Edited October 15, 2012 by WNY Bowhunter

[Geno C]

good update, thanks

yeah ive called DEC before and hung up the phone a little more confused then when i first called.

[RTF]

he went on to say that this deer sounded like a car kill so it would be OK to go ahead and remove the antlers.

Jason, there are no regulations that prohibit the removal of antlers from a dead deer provided the deer was not illegally killed."

Does this apply to deer found on state land also?

[crappyice]

This is one of those things that I just never considered. While fly fishing one spring I came upon a dead buck and helped myself to the rack. Never thought much about it being illegal and it seems like depending on the officer I could be in trouble or not...strange how seeking satisfaction often leads to more confusion.

[Guns&ReligionCop]

When I first moved to NY I asked them if I needed to have my shotgun plugged to limit how many shells I could carry and after 45 mins on the phone and 3 different people no one knew how many shells I could carry in a pump shotgun without a detachable mag. The next time I called them was after I got injured and I was trying to hunt with a crossbow. After speaking to several people and finally a supervisor and explaining that the modified archery doesn't help someone like me that had both shoulders repaired and can not hold anything up and his reply was "Theres no legislation for that situation, Archery ain't for everyone maybe better luck next year!" FAIL!

[landtracdeerhunter]

Another 'Gray Area."

[mxsmitz201]

When I first moved to NY I asked them if I needed to have my shotgun plugged to limit how many shells I could carry and after 45 mins on the phone and 3 different people no one knew how many shells I could carry in a pump shotgun without a detachable mag. The next time I called them was after I got injured and I was trying to hunt with a crossbow. After speaking to several people and finally a supervisor and explaining that the modified archery doesn't help someone like me that had both shoulders repaired and can not hold anything up and his reply was "Theres no legislation for that situation, Archery ain't for everyone maybe better luck next year!" FAIL!

definitely sounds like the NY I know!!!

gets my blood boiling.

[erussell]

Not to hijack this thread but just curious as to how you would pull a cross bow back and hold it up to shoot if you cant pull a bow back. Just curious.