Unable to retrieve animal due to private land and punching tag

[Topgun 30-06]

That must be Idaho. If the warden feels necessary then he (she) has the right to come on property in Iowa. Imagine if I had one deer tag and shot 5 deer. I could tell the CO that he (she) could not come onto my property. No fear of breaking any laws.

good luck to all
the dog

That is a completely different scenario you're talking about if they have suspicion that game laws have been broken, as compared to just going on to private property for something like we're talking about on this thread.

 

[JLS]

Simply not true. No game Warden as any authority to trespass onto private property, without the property owner's consent.

And that’s not entirely true either. Depends on the state and the circumstances.

 

[JohnCushman]

If the land owner doesn't allow you to retrieve the animal and lets it lay without doing anything with it and lets it rot...is that considered wanton waste and the landowner can be charged?

 

[JLS]

If the land owner doesn't allow you to retrieve the animal and lets it lay without doing anything with it and lets it rot...is that considered wanton waste and the landowner can be charged?

I can’t speak to every state, but in general no. The landowner didn’t kill it so they are not responsible for the salvage of the carcass. Private property rights trump on this case (in many states). As pointed out above, some states do allow trespass for retrieval only.

 

[JohnCushman]

I can’t speak to every state, but in general no. The landowner didn’t kill it so they are not responsible for the salvage of the carcass. Private property rights trump on this case (in many states). As pointed out above, some states do allow trespass for retrieval only.

That's such bull$hit!!

 

[thomas89]

Was hunting a wheat field here in Wyoming, buddy waited for the buck to feed further out into the field to avoid any potential issue with the deer running over the fence at the shot.

Double lunged a buck and it BARELY cleared the fence, died 10 yards on the other side. Did the right thing by calling the warden, and after trying multiple times to call the landowner, he gave us permission to drag the buck back over to the legal side after taking our contact information. I think the issue boiled down to who would get the landowner coupon, the owner of the WIHA we were on or the landowner where the deer died.

I think had we not been able to recover the buck and were stone walled, we've exhausted every option to recover the deer (as the law states), I'm not punching that tag.

 

[Mountainguide]

If it’s near the fence I’m going to retrieve it, legal or not. Being ethical doesn’t always match what the law says.

 

[whiskeydog]

I’ll wait till dark if I have to...permission or not, that critter’s getting a backpack ride.

 

[bobbydean]

What Mountainguide said. Near the fence is a no brainer.

 

[Bigjay73]

If it’s near the fence I’m going to retrieve it, legal or not. Being ethical doesn’t always match what the law says.

An honest answer

 

[PrairieHunter]

First check gps to see if fence is property boundary, in many cases they are off, you can probably guess which way they are off more often.

Then try to do the right thing with landowner/warden.

If things get really bad go for the King Rope and lasso antlers from across the fence LOL. OR massive treble hook grapple on rope?? Drone to hook rope on horns???

Then if all else fails I would document the whole thing and animal rotting and coyote feeding over the next week to shame the landowner on social media for being such a jerk and allowing the meat to be wasted for no good reason. And to see if the POS keeps the horns.

 

[Hummer]

My understanding is that a landowner can demand a reasonable trespass fee to retrieve game but if payment is offered and timely retrieval is denied then the landowner can be charged with wasting of game meat, a felony. There are lawful ways to negotiate retrieval if the taking is provably lawful. A hunter's obligation is to first contact the landowner to gain access, and secondly to contact a wildlife officer if the matter can't be resolved in time to prevent the waste of game meat.

 

[LCH]

There are a lot of blanket statements in this thread, that even if they are accurate in the state you're familiar with, need an asterisk next to them because these laws tend to vary from state to state.

I have heard stories here in Indiana where there are people who year after year hunt property lines, make bad shots on animals, then want to stomp all over their neighbors ground for the rest of opening weekend looking for their deer, effectively ruining the other person's chances. I can understand this happening once or twice, but if it becomes a pattern year after year then I can understand a landowner eventually denying access. This is, of course, a different scenario than having an animal down within sight of the property line.

I am fortunate that in each of my private property spots we have good relationships with the neighboring landowners. If I need to grab a deer on their side no problem, they need one on ours no problem. But when I hunt public, and don't usually know the adjacent private property owner, I try to give a fairly wide berth to the boundary to allow for a 100-yard death sprint.

And I've never had to do it either, but like some others have said, if the deer is within sight of the line I'm going to grab it, even if it does mean risking a ticket.

 

[Huntkook]

Something I've been wondering for a while - if you shoot an animal and it crosses a property boundary and dies (say you can see the animal on the ground), but the landowner will not allow you to retrieve it, do you legally have to punch your tag? I realize there are ethical implications here as well - lets set those aside. I'm not speaking from personal experience, just wondering what Montana law says about it.

Here's the answer to your question. Just got off the phone with the Game Warden Sergeant in Montana he said that under the circumstances that you have described you are not obligated to punch the tag. Also if a landowner denies access to a Warden he has no power to retrieve that animal.

 

[Northwoods Labs]

I’ll wait till dark if I have to...permission or not, that critter’s getting a backpack ride.

Same here. It is nice to know neighboring landowners but when hunting a variety of public areas that can be tough to do

 

[Gellar]

In North Dakota you can retrieve the animal as long as you don’t take your weapon with you. One of the few cool laws ND has, along with an easement along every section line allowing public travel.

Iowa is the same. You have to be unarmed and take the most direct route in and out.

 

[duckhunt]

In North Dakota you can retrieve the animal as long as you don’t take your weapon with you. One of the few cool laws ND has, along with an easement along every section line allowing public travel.

Iowa has the same law

 

[8andcounting]

In North Dakota you can retrieve the animal as long as you don’t take your weapon with you. One of the few cool laws ND has, along with an easement along every section line allowing public travel.

Not entirely true .. gf says do but state law , does not . If I have no trespassing signs up and you come on my land for any reason I'm calling the sheriff . Gf laws go out the window

 

[Yellowstoner]

To speak generally of a scenario where this might play out - a parcel of public land that I occasionally hunt abuts a ranch that charges an absurd amount of money to hunt. I could imagine them denying the right to retrieve game, especially since some of their property lines are in the middle of alfalfa fields. I've always been tempted to take an animal as it comes across to state land, but have hesitated to pull the trigger since many of the animals are within 100 yards of the property line. A 100 yard shot from a 30-06 would probably stop them cold, but I do worry about an animal crossing back over.

Thanks for clarifying Huntkook - I suppose I could have called up a game warden as well, not sure why I didn't think of that.

I would not trespass ever without permission, regardless of the circumstances, but in this particular circumstance, the ranch has hired security patrolling throughout hunting season. It's not worth losing your privilege to hunt to trespass on someone else's property. Ever.

 

[Bowhunter65]

#1 call the landowner and do not set foot on the private property #2 call the game warden #3 give the game warden the GPS coordinates. If it was legally shoot on public land chances are the game warden will go with the land owner and retrieve the animals and let you tag here in Montana. Animals know no boundaries.