If I were turned down to look for wounded game I would thank them kindly & leave. Then I would wait until 2AM & do what I had to do.

I think TreeRat is right, you can't tag a deer you didn't legally take, so if they won't let you retrieve it in Michigan, they aren't suppose to take it either. I don't see any "Wanton Waste" in Michigan with all the scavengers and predators we have here!

To all the guys that say they would get their deer without permission should know this. Trespassing is a misdemeanor but if you do it with a firearm you are committing a FELONY!

So far, I have never had such an issue. I would definitely ask permission first though.

Here in NY, if a landowner denies you permission to retrieve your deer...your done. We have had Deer Search attend our NYB classes and they related stories where they tracked deer to private property and were denied access.

The tracking stops there. Even if you contact the DEC for help, the landowner holds all the cards. I had one occasion where I was denied, lost a nice 6 pt buck. The landowner was a gun hunter who disliked bowhunters.

I later found out he went and recovered my deer for himself. I believe in Wyoming the Fish&Game have the right to retrieve your game for you no matter what the landowner says.

It's sad that it's gotten so bad. I know when I lived in the Thumb of Michigan city folk would come to the country to hunt waterfowl. They'd track the locals to the fields they went to then the city slickers would hide out in culverts on the side of the roads and wait for the locals to call their birds in the the city guys would cut loose on the ducks and geese. Lots of honest hunters lost permission to hunt fields because of such tomfoolery.

It's also sad that that many people don't have any desire to respect the sacrifice the animal made to the hunter by letting people honestly retrieve their kill. I would have no issue at all leaving my bow or shotgun in my vehicle while I went to look. I'd have nothing to hide.

Pat

QuoteOriginally posted by emt137:
It's sad that it's gotten so bad. I know when I lived in the Thumb of Michigan city folk would come to the country to hunt waterfowl. They'd track the locals to the fields they went to then the city slickers would hide out in culverts on the side of the roads and wait for the locals to call their birds in the the city guys would cut loose on the ducks and geese. Lots of honest hunters lost permission to hunt fields because of such tomfoolery.

It's also sad that that many people don't have any desire to respect the sacrifice the animal made to the hunter by letting people honestly retrieve their kill. I would have no issue at all leaving my bow or shotgun in my vehicle while I went to look. I'd have nothing to hide.

Pat

Well, I have heard that the number of hunters are decreasing.  People aren't nearly as outdoors oriented as they used to be. Air conditioning,TV,  soda, and video games.

I have run across a large contingent of people that have grown more crazy with their antihunting ideas. People are becoming SO disconnected with tradition and the woods that they fail to recognize that hunting is a very natural part of being human in the most basic sense.

To them, meat comes in styrofoam packages from the store. It's partly due to popular TV culture where the youth have grown up seeing nothing but anthropomorphized animals on TV (those with human traits) and along with it comes lunatics that think that animals should basically be recognized as humans. It's kind of sad to see how people are changing.

They are hypocrites. They love their tasty chicken and beef from the grocery store, just as long as some faceless meat packing worker does the killing.

There are even efforts to end hunting in parts of America. Look at what its done in places like Pennsylvania where areas are off limits to hunting. The deer populations have grown out of control and pose a very serious threat to motor safety.

When I have kids I plan to carry on a tradition of hunting that wasn't passed on to me. I started hunting on my own because when I was young it was an adventure for me. I didn't grow up with a father that new anything about the outdoors.  I have taught myself just about everything I know. I taught myself about fishing, fly fishing, fly tying, firearms, bows, hunting, kayaking, etc. It would have been cool if I had someone in my family to do these things with while growing up, but it's not important to a lot of folks, including my family members.

So, it doesn't really surprise me that some people up North refuse to allow hunters to retrieve game and, as mentioned once before in this thread, "Teach the hunter a lesson."  There are plenty of scummy people out there with no sense for tradition and hunting. My father and other family members are even like that. They don't care abotu hunting or putting out the effort to do it properly, but they will kill an animal. However, they aren't hunters. It frustrates me to even have to deal with them because I do things properly.

QuoteOriginally posted by SteveB:
 

QuoteOriginally posted by LeeBishop:

QuoteExactly. Give me a ticket, cuss at me, I don't care. I'm getting my deer and I ALWAYS carry protection with me.

Use your "protection" to recover a deer when denied permission and it won't be fines you are concerned with. [/b]

I'm not saying I'd present a weapon to retrieve a deer. That's stupid.

In the part of the state where I hunt you have to watch out for the criminals that live in the mountains that do so in order to keep their distance from society.

I have been confronted before, even on my own property. In no way should you infer anything other than it's for my own hunting situation.

Some people in that region can be hostile without provocation. They are the true hillbillies of the state. I have even had one of the tweakers show up to berate me for shooting hundreds of rounds. The person was being paranoid and was asked to leave.  Was it too loud for him? No. He lives two miles down the road.

I will not hunt without knowing I can retrieve an animal I shoot. If I drop the string and can't recover, there is NO ONE to blame but myself. NYS does not trespass to recover without permission. Landowners rights far surpass any hunters wish to pursue their pasttime uninhibited. Especially when most of the time, all it takes is proper preparation for the hunt. If you get denied prior permission, it is then your burdan to deal with an animal dieing where you can't recover - same as if it went over a cliff, into a river etc.

Lee - I edited my post. Didn't mean to sound confrontational.

Well, as I have said before, most of our border is with the national forest, so retrieving isn't a problem.

I don't see why so many states up North don't allow their game wardens to at least get the animal for you.

I don't really agree with all of the authority game wardens have been given in my state, but some of them are common sense. Here, a game warden can search your vehicle or cargo to check for game if he wants. I don't really agree with that since normal police are required to obtain a search warrant. But here it's unlawful to refuse requests from a game warden to check your gear and check game.

Arkansas prides itself in being the "Natural State" and being hunter friendly. So, they aren't really ones to tolerate wanton waste of our wildlife. If you can't claim your kill due to a land owner then it's wanton waste on the land owner.

Sorry guys I answer to a higher authority. If I have a wounded or dead animal it is my duty/obligation to retrieve that animal,reguardles of the human laws. That being said I am also prepaired to pay any fine or penalty that may occurer.

QuoteOriginally posted by Jmatt1957:
Sorry guys I answer to a higher authority. If I have a wounded or dead animal it is my duty/obligation to retrieve that animal,reguardles of the human laws. That being said I am also prepaired to pay any fine or penalty that may occurer.

I'm with you, fella.

Here in Arkansas it's a $100 fine. Whatever, I won't let a deer sit there and spoil over $100.

Jmatt - isn't it better to get permission before?

You can not trespass on unposted land in Arkansas. The book reads that you have to have verbal permission for unposted land and written permission for posted land. You have to know the rules.

Chris

i put a post on here last year about trespassers and ill say it again,if you dont have enough respect for the deer to spend a few minutes on the phone to gain permission to my property,you shouldnt be in the woods..people around here dont mess around,theyll shoot ya...people come up missing all the time...

Or enough respect for the landowners and his/her rights to still trespass. There is no place for that behavior, regardless of your feelings for losing the animal you shot. Like it or not, you are obligated by law and by "higher authority" to respect the wishes of those who OWN and have PAID money for their property. I have been a landowner and let me tell you nothing is more disrespectful than to ignore and discount the wishes of the landowner. It IS our duty and obligation to respect their wishes no matter our own feelings/desires.

Joshua

You can not trespass on unposted land in Arkansas. The book reads that you have to have verbal permission for unposted land and written permission for posted land. You have to know the rules.

Chris

It sounds like there are peeps that just want to hunt,,,and not bother taking the time to introduce yourself to your neighbors before the season begins.

I know it isn't always possible but you certainly can after hunting hours or in the off season.  As I said before it is infinity harder to say no to somebody that you know than someone you don't or a voice on the phone.  Whomever you got permission from can certainly help make the arrangements. If it's your ground...it should be easier.

We might even have some fence sitters...fence sitters have a tough time because they irritate the neighbors in many different ways.  Are they legal...ya...but politically fence sitting is a bad move.  Quite often fence sitters shoot onto the neighbors property, then ask for permission to retrieve "their" deer.

Fences, respect and communication make great neighbors.