S.o.p. For roadkills

[zeus1gdsm]

Leaving work this ending at 11pm I saw a dead doe on the side of the road that wasn't there when I came in at 3pm.... Looks exactly like the doe that jumped out in front of me the other night omw home.

I was tempted to throw this thing on the top of the jeep.

So what is the standard operating procedure on road kills?

Ate the edible? Just the main roast cuts etc.

Who should I contact Dec or local police?

Is it even safe?

I kept driving but a part of me wanted to Google the Dec for the area and try calling them.

I understand that depending on how the deer was hit that all the meat could be spoiled. But I figure chances are only the front or back half is ruined?

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[nyslowhand]

Legally, believe any LE agency can give you a document/ticket to allow you to remove the carcass, once their investigation paperwork is done on-site. Don't quote me, but don't really think the DEC is involved with car/deer accidents or the carcass removal??! In the real world - everyone involved wants to see those deer laying along the side of the road disappear. Up in my redneck area, LE and the town crews that are responsible for reporting &/or removing the carcass will turn a blind eye if a local resident removes it themself. I know a guy that loves to hunt coyotes and has an arrangement with the Town Hwy Dept to p/u them as soon as the town &/or LE relays their dispatch call to him.

Pretty sure others will also verify, what's salvageable from each road-kill will be different. I don't do this, just seems to be a lot of inconvenience, at inappropriate hours & a lot of work involved for the small amount of questionable venison you'd get. Not to say I wouldn't consider doing it if I hit the deer or saw one killed in front of me during my travels on a day I didn't have anything scheduled, was dressed appropriately and it wasn't a high speed "pulverizing" of the deer.

[ny hunter]

Just ask your local PD I am sure they well say take the deer if it is fresh.

[zeus1gdsm]

Was a 30mph zone.. Thanks for the info. I wouldn't mind going through the work of salvaging usable venison.

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[wolc123]

They taste the same as those killed with guns, and bows.    Broken legs are a bad sign, leave them or use as coyote bait.   Many break their neck or just knock themselves out when they run into the side of a vehicle, and those are the best.  Often there is not a bruise on the carcass anywhere.    When a small deer gets broadsided by a vehicle, there will be some minor bruising on the impact side shoulders, but the other side will be good.  Heavier deer get bruised up more when they get broadsided.

When it comes to tagging them, I have always just hauled the ones struck near my house home, gutted them quick, hung them up in my garage, then called the local police for a tag.  It is not high on their priority list but usually they show up with the tag in less than 24 hours.   One time I picked up a big doe in the next town, that woke up when I tried to cut it's tail (I use them for making jigs).   It turned out to be a lot fresher than I thought it was.  Since I had the knife handy, I hopped on it's back, put it in a hammer lock, and slit it's throat.   I threw it in the back of my truck a drove straight to the town police station, still dripping with blood.   When the desk officer asked "did the deer have to be shot", I replied, no, I killed it with my knife.  His reply was "that would be no",  He then gave me a carcass tag, with no further questions.   

I only pick them up to eat when I know they are fresh, close to home, and not heavily damaged.  Those that are close by and heavily damaged, I scoop into the loader bucket of my tractor and dump on my carcass pile for coyote bait (I don't bother getting tags for those).  I just clip the tails on those that are far away.  Before I settled down and got married, I scored several from the same barstool at a local tavern.  One time a young fella came in all upset because he had just hit one with his brand new truck.   When I asked where, he said "up the road by the bridge, which is right between my house and the tavern.   I bought him a beer to help drown his sorrows and said "see ya later".  That fat button buck was one of the finest tasting deer I can remember.  It was late when I called, but the cops showed up the next morning with my carcass tag.  There is nothing wrong with saving a few bullets or arrows.         

[jjb4900]

I've picked up two over the years, both times I was told take it and someone will stop by my house to issue a tag when they had time...which they did, neither was worth the effort.

[Tughill Tamer]

I picked up a big 9pt a few years back had a trooper come and issue me a tag, one of the biggest deer I've ever seen the buck was freshly hit just on the edge of a big cornfield.

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[Chef]

If you need food that bad just find your local food pantry at least you know it's safe


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[Daveboone]

You need it ticketed before you can load it, or risk getting fined.

I have butchered  ALOT of road kill....local cops used to give us a call at the fire station if they had one.

Sometimes you have a fair bit ruined by the trauma, sometimes they are barely touched. If the paunch is ruptured , we will usually bag it there, though.

[turkeyfeathers]

Route 219 and loaded into car.  Subaru like mine but thankfully not mine 

[shawnhu]

Leaving work this ending at 11pm I saw a dead doe on the side of the road that wasn't there when I came in at 3pm.... Looks exactly like the doe that jumped out in front of me the other night omw home.
I was tempted to throw this thing on the top of the jeep.
So what is the standard operating procedure on road kills?
Ate the edible? Just the main roast cuts etc.
Who should I contact Dec or local police?
Is it even safe?
I kept driving but a part of me wanted to Google the Dec for the area and try calling them.
I understand that depending on how the deer was hit that all the meat could be spoiled. But I figure chances are only the front or back half is ruined?
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You need a tag for it, and likely the State Police as well as DEC(also State Police) can issue the tags.


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[Moho81]

I've never done it but know many guys that have and they all say the same thing it just depends on how hard the deer was hit. They say it does not take too much effort to realize the deer has more trauma then they want to deal with. They will pick it up throw it in the bed of truck and call the local police department for a tag. One friend even brought it right to the police station for a tag as it was on his way to where he was going. 

[Elmo]

46 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Route 219 and loaded into car.  Subaru like mine but thankfully not mine 

Didn't even have to drag the deer.

[Zem18]

Have any of you witnessed one happen in front of you? I saw one last night and the damn doe was still alive and trying to get up but her legs were all messed up. I kept driving as others had stopped but as I was driving away I couldn't help but think of that poor doe suffering in agony. I wanted to turn around and do something but I'm sure the cops were on the way as I passed one about a mile up the road prior to seeing this. I should have stopped to see if he dispatched it with his pistol. Busy road, right in front of a car wash.

[Hock3y24]

i pick them up all the time, it really depends on how fresh and how hard they were hit. you can tell by checking the ribs and stomach area if its mush in there i leave it. call your pd and make sure first, most just say to take it and they will come to your house if they really need to. 

Edited November 15, 2016 by Hock3y24

[Adkhunter1590]

I've taken a few off the road over the years. From watching someone in front of me nail one to hitting them with my own truck. As long as it's fresh, like done right in front of my eyes or a buddy says he hit one 10 mins ago.

My truck has a big full replacement aftermarket bumper/grille guard that is a total deer slayer. I've hit 10 deer with that thing and barely a scratch. I've cut up 4 or 5 of those deer and they taste no different than ones shot with my bowtech

[turkeyfeathers]

Adkhunter1590, 

youve hit 10 deer with your truck ? Holy crud. Stop driving thru petting zoos. Your nickname should be The Road Warrior as I picture your truck to look like something from the movie 

I won't mention how many I've hit in my life in fear of jinxing myself. Many , many close calls 

[WNYBuckHunter]

On 11/15/2016 at 4:07 PM, Elmo said:

Didn't even have to drag the deer.

Or load it up.

[Adkhunter1590]

Adkhunter1590, 
youve hit 10 deer with your truck ? Holy crud. Stop driving thru petting zoos. Your nickname should be The Road Warrior as I picture your truck to look like something from the movie 
I won't mention how many I've hit in my life in fear of jinxing myself. Many , many close calls 

She's a beast!


8 of them were in pike or Calhoun county Illinois and one in otsego county ny and one in Albany county ny. I will admit that all but 4 of them could have been avoided. But when you have a bumper like that, where's the fun in swerving?

I've also taken out a guard rail at the emergecare place the one time my infant son was choking on vitamin b liquid drops. He was hardly breathing and I was hauling ass to get him there before he stopped breathing all together. I jumped a curb and drove across the landscape beds and plowed right into a guard rail next to the building before ripping it into park and sprinting my son into the doctors who were waiting. That bumper does a amazing job when I need it too

[jmg343]

I have one too, hanging off a 1 ton diesel.  Works wonders.  Has saved me countless dollars in body work.  Only bad thing is if you hit something hard enough, the energy is transferred right into the frame.  So, hit something big enough, hard enough, and you're going to be left with a bent frame.

[Adkhunter1590]

I have one too, hanging off a 1 ton diesel.  Works wonders.  Has saved me countless dollars in body work.  Only bad thing is if you hit something hard enough, the energy is transferred right into the frame.  So, hit something big enough, hard enough, and you're going to be left with a bent frame.

That's alright. I'll take a bent frame over possible life endangering stuff. We pay insurance for a reason! It's only a bunch of metal and they make new ones every day!

[aboa13]

Leaving work this ending at 11pm I saw a dead doe on the side of the road that wasn't there when I came in at 3pm.... Looks exactly like the doe that jumped out in front of me the other night omw home.
I was tempted to throw this thing on the top of the jeep.
So what is the standard operating procedure on road kills?
Ate the edible? Just the main roast cuts etc.
Who should I contact Dec or local police?
Is it even safe?
I kept driving but a part of me wanted to Google the Dec for the area and try calling them.
I understand that depending on how the deer was hit that all the meat could be spoiled. But I figure chances are only the front or back half is ruined?
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Last season I came upon a car / deer accident. Waited around for state police. The man that hit it didn't want it so I gladly took it. State police tagged it. Biggest body deer I have seen. 66 lbs of good meat. And lost the hind quarter from the accident . I hate seeing them go to waste.


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[growalot]

Quote

Have any of you witnessed one happen in front of you?

I was a good ways away behind a van and car...I saw this thin looking thing fly over the top of the van then the car...It was tumbling through the air and I thought someone lost a sheet of cardboard...until it landed  The  Van kept going but the guy in the car was stopped on the road side as I pulled up behind him...there was a doe on the other side of the road...head up, feet tucked like she was just bedding there no big deal. We both got out talk then decided to try and approach her...she got up ,jumped the rail and ran down into a gully as we watched...probably died later but I still can see her flipping through the air over that van and car like paper in the wind ...it was wild...

Edited February 9, 2017 by growalot

[the blur]

I got a freshly hit doe.   Cop had to finish her with 2 slugs.   Then gave me a tag, and helped me load it.   The driver of the car also helped load the deer.   Was happy that it wasn't going to waste.    Upstate cops have tags, and know what to do.

Next time, I will tell the cop HEAD SHOTS !!    2 slugs was a bit excessive.

 

[growalot]

Mr B had a rather larger21/2old. Buck with 12 " long spikes shaped just like daggers run head long into the side of his truck one morning. He punctured the cab just behind the drivers seat but lived. Thrashing around in the road. He called the cops then me ,we arrived at the same time just as the buck died. He couldn't safely get to it to do anything. The sheriff gave me a tag and  Mr B and I loaded it in my pick up. He went to work and I went home and processed the buck great taste.