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Access across a state line.

ThereWillBeSpuds

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2019
Messages
648
So there is a property I have permission to hunt that is right on the SC/NC border, on the SC side, I am an SC resident. The catch is that the only access to the property from SC requires walking right through the primary bedding area. HOWEVER, the property has frontage on a road in NC that would allow me a lot better chances on this property.

Anyone have any experience dragging a deer across state lines? What matters is where the deer is and where I am when I shoot them, right? It doesn't matter if my truck is parked in a state where I am not licensed to hunt? Obviously if the deer crosses the state line after the shot, things get complicated, but Id actually be hunting a fair way from the line.
 
I would have no problem doing what was necessary to hunt it. Take a geotagged photo at the sight of the kill before and after you tag it if that makes you more comfortable.or just call you me local office and get the number for the warden in your area and explain to him/her what your plans are. Yeah, we got a couple of douchelords, but the majority and normal folks.
 
I hunt right on the Michigan/Indiana state line. Depending on the wind direction or stand location I intend to hunt, I sometimes park at the state line and walk in on the Indiana side. If I shoot a deer, it's easier to get a tractor to the area on the Michigan side to haul the deer out so I haven't removed a deer from the Indiana side. Like dalton916 said, as long as you can prove where you shot the deer, it shouldn't be a problem, I wouldn't think...
 
This is a weirdly timely thread. I just got done aerial scouting a new WMA that had a 3.5 hunter days/harvest ratio that borders f...flo..fl...(bleurgh!) Florida.

Hoping to avoid having to access it from that side, but I guess I need to call and see what they think about it. ;)
 
Ditto on the suggestion to call the NC game warden. Also, in many states, you can't legally move a deer until you've tagged it (either with a sticker tag, like in Iowa, or digital check-in, like in TN), but once it's tagged, you can take it wherever. Once caveat to that would be states' CWD laws that prohibit transporting deer into the state across state lines unless they've been completely butchered/de-boned. If NC has such a law, dragging your SC deer to your truck in NC might technically violate the law. But again, I strongly suggest calling the local game warden (and write down his/her name in case another one stops you and gives you a hard time later) to get a semi-official answer--we can all spitball around, but that's easy to do when it isn't our butts on the line!
 
It is usually illegal to move any animal carcass across state lines. Had this very conversation with a WR officer a couple weeks ago. He said it is pretty much illegal in every state but some may have varying degrees of punishment. With CWD getting more rampant they are really cracking down on this.
One example was a hunter from Alabama had killed a deer in Kentucky, sent the head in to the Kentucky Wildlife regional office for testing. Tested negative. He did everything right. Went to cross Tennessee line and was pulled over, they did a test and it came back positive. All he got to keep was his pictures.
 
I guess I could always access from NC, but drag anything I killed downhill through the bedding into SC and get my wife to run a shuttle like it was a canoe trip. Leave my truck in SC.

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I hunt right on the Michigan/Indiana state line. Depending on the wind direction or stand location I intend to hunt, I sometimes park at the state line and walk in on the Indiana side. If I shoot a deer, it's easier to get a tractor to the area on the Michigan side to haul the deer out so I haven't removed a deer from the Indiana side. Like dalton916 said, as long as you can prove where you shot the deer, it shouldn't be a problem, I wouldn't think...

MI has strict regs regarding transporting deer across state lines. Best to check your regs to protect yourself. There are a lot of stupid laws out there so relying on common sense for what you think is reasonable is not recommended.
 
Knowing someone else in this exacr same situation, I would apply the old "if a deer falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" rule. In general, NC gws will not show up unless called specifically to private land by the owner or adjacent landowners, and even then, they usually don't show or provide help. Better yet, get one of the @mtsrunner pocket hoists from @DanO, bone it out, and you don't have to worry about being seen with anything obvious by prying eyes.
 
Call the game warden. I hunt KY and TN and confirmed with game wardens that I couldn’t transport spine or brain matter between states. Even on public land that is in both states(federal). It’s silly when a deer may be in one state in the AM and the other in the PM but it’s not worth risking losing a great trophy over.
 
Definitely contact your local Game warden first. The ones we have around here are super helpful and encourage people to hunt fish etc but this CWD thing seems to have them worried. And I dont blame them. Its not too bad here YET but I dont want it here.
 
MI has strict regs regarding transporting deer across state lines. Best to check your regs to protect yourself. There are a lot of stupid laws out there so relying on common sense for what you think is reasonable is not recommended.
You're probably correct but I've never taken a deer out of the woods yet on the Indiana side. Like I said, I can get my tractor easier from the Michigan side for deer removal.;)
 
Just like with any situation.....its all going to depend on how u and that officer interact and his personality / mood .....u are innocent until they prove u messed up and if you got your ducks in a row it'll be hard for them to prove u done wrong
 
I personally would not contact Anyone if it so happens that I kill a deer and drag it into North Carolina with a South Carolina tag and get caught I may have to show them where I shot the deer but until this day happens I do not tell anyone anything


See you in a tree, Ricky
 
I would tag the deer and walk back to the truck and leave my weapon. Now when I drag, I am not hunting in the wrong state I am simply transporting deer across state lines. Mark a gut pile with your GPS in case you are questioned. Don't have anything loaded when you are in the wrong state.
 
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