Unrecoverable

[smcchevy]

@Joe_Bow I think you made a hard stand up decision by not jumping that fence. I appreciate you sharing your story, I know I will take the lessons you learned and apply them to my hunting. Trust is a hard thing to earn back.

 

[bj139]

If you trespass and get hurt the liability is on you. If you give someone permission to go on your land and they get hurt the liability may be on you.
Which is better to just recover a deer?

 

[Joe_Bow]

If you trespass and get hurt the liability is on you. If you give someone permission to go on your land and they get hurt the liability may be on you.
Which is better to just recover a deer?

This is not true in the state of NY, which is where I hunt. When no money was exchanged to access the land, the liability rests on me, not the owner.
But I understand your point and in some locals it might ring true.

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[Joe_Bow]

@Joe_Bow I think you made a hard stand up decision by not jumping that fence. I appreciate you sharing your story, I know I will take the lessons you learned and apply them to my hunting. Trust is a hard thing to earn back.

I've heard friend's stories where they lost access based on trust. It's a real valuable thing to engender among landowners, the nonhunting public and other hunters.
Thanks for your words of encouragement. I immediately went out and got a Rinehart buck target and am recalibrating my expectations for this year. I just want to get better and not be greedy with my shots and choices. If I do that, this season will be a success.

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[Joe_Bow]

I would call the local state DNR / Game and fish if I gave a reasonable effort to contact a land owner and wasn't able to. In a lot of states it's legal to retrieve deer on unposted private lands. I think some states also allow for retrieving deer on private lands with an escort from a DNR / Game and fish officer.

Here is a quote from the Minnesota DNR about this exact topic.

"A person on foot may, without permission, enter land that is not posted to retrieve a wounded wild animal that was lawfully shot, but not remain on the land after being told to leave"

The Game Wardens / DNR is an often underutilized public resource, If you are ever in doubt pick up your phone and call them. Be familiar with all hunting / trespassing laws and be respectful to other peoples property.

Im going to call DEC today and ask what to do in that situation.

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[slonstdy]

I see and respect everyone's point of view and I know it's a sensitive subject no doubt. We are all sharing differences of opinion here with valid points explained by each side. Every scenario, and there are hundreds more we can think up, will play out differently and only the hunter directly involved at that moment can make the decision on how he will proceed.

The problem I have with a decision based on "the law" is it doesn't leave room for interpretation when there are rare times when a little bit of common sense would be better off. Foe example, same deer you shot runs onto uninhabited private land without a fence and topples over in sight ten yards from the property line. You are unable to contact the landowner so you would choose to let the deer rot because the law or your moral compass tells you it is wrong to "trespass" as opposed to making a field decision and going "outlaw" thirty seconds to recover the animal?

I've met quite a few folk who like to take the moral high ground when they feel they are "right" or are in agreement with the law and have seen these same individuals justify their "unlawful" actions when it suited them. I am far from perfect but I like to think I am rational and consistent on my thought process and how I handle situations.

It's a shame the OP has to go thru this ordeal when all he wants to do is what's respectable for both the animal and landowners. It's unfortunate that both can't always be accommodated.

May we all take something positive from this discussion.
Best of luck to you all!

 

[SaddleUpPartner!]

It's funny how people choose what laws to follow and what to turn a blind eye to. I bet everyone has gone over the speed limit yet it's a clear violation of the law. Why is searching for a mortally wounded animal on private property such an injustice? By no means am I advocating hunting on someones land without permission but following a blood trail to recover an animal on an absentee landowners property is a judgement call and know the choice I'd make every time.

Most definitely contact a land owner if he inhabits the property. I agree I am not comfortable with strangers walking on my land but if they come to the door and explain their situation I would grant them access and offer my help.

Let's play out a few scenarios...

You arrow a deer and see it run onto or the blood trail leads onto private land:
1. if lands are occupied seek landowners permission:
A. permission granted and you continue to track or
B. permission denied - game over, chalk it up as a loss and modify hunting strategy
2. unoccupied/absentee landowner:
A. continue to track deer, recover and vacate asap without incident and put it in the win column
B. continue to track deer and get approached by a neighbor:
1a. respectfully explain your situation to put minds at ease and either continue with mission or leave area if asked to do so
2b. local authorities respond - respectfully explain situation and cooperate fully. Possibly receive citation for trespassing...
3. try to obtain absentee landowners permission:
A. same as #1
4. no attempt made to recover because "it's not the right thing to do" or unable to contact landowner:
A. landowner finds rotting deer carcass on front lawn, walkway, pool etc...
1a. anti-hunter/animal lover landowner:
- you just gave him fuel for his agenda and proof that hunters indiscriminately kill and waste
wildlife/resources
- has to remove/ have carcass removed
2b. fellow outdoorsman/hunter landowner:
- upset that whoever killed the deer didn't have the decency/ethics to properly track and recover the animal
- has to remove carcass
B. deer dies in the out of sight - becomes food for other animals
C. deer travels past private land to permissible access/public land:
1a. - could have recovered animal with different egress route

The odds of a favorable outcome as far as recovery seem stacked against the hunter. It's a 50/50 if you ask permission, a 50/50 if you are approached and a complete loss if you don't even try, for whatever reason you deem logical.

Unless I have been denied access to a property I will do what's ethical for the animal and not concern myself with the views and feelings of others. If that means crossing a boundary so be it. I stand strong by my "rather ask for forgiveness than permission" statement regarding uninhabited lands. Hunters are not viewed in a positive light by the public so I will do all I can to remain invisible to them and will not leave an animal behind to further taint our image.

This reminds me of the troubleshooting chart I use to work on furnaces lol.

 

[dalton916]

I trespass for a living so I feel I have leg up on the average Joe in this case. With that said it’s a situationally dependent decision......

 

[sweats]

One more what if : You shoot a 200in deer it goes over on the posted land 30feet and dies .You can clearly see him. Be honest what would you do?
After trying to find the landowner to no avail would you : 1 Go get the deer 2 Let him rot. In my state we could be fined for killing and leaving game to rot , Yes, trespassing is against the law also . So what would you do ?

Sucks, but the ground is posted and I can't\won't go in. Size of the deer doesn't matter and the law in my state is clear that you have to make every effort to recover game, but it does not negate no trespassing laws.

As others have said, I'd probably try to call the DNR and see if they can locate the landowner for me to ask.

 

[Jefferson10940]

I know what I would do ... but I remember watching THP last year when Ted shot his monster and could see it dead on private land. They went back and contacted the owner through text in the middle of the night and waited until morning to go get him w permission. No way I could do that! I mean no way. Having to track still, I do think getting permission is probably a good idea but if I can see her dead? I am taking my chances and grabbing her.


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[SaddleUpPartner!]

I know what I would do ... but I remember watching THP last year when Ted shot his monster and could see it dead on private land. They went back and contacted the owner through text in the middle of the night and waited until morning to go get him w permission. No way I could do that! I mean no way. Having to track still, I do think getting permission is probably a good idea but if I can see her dead? I am taking my chances and grabbing her.


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I hunt right on a property line. I shot my 8 point 2 years ago and it ran about 15 yards onto the neighbor's land. Mind you I've never seen anyone ever back there, it's full of briers and thorns. I popped across the neighbors land(it was after dark) found it and drug it back over the line and gutted it. Sometimes what they don't know won't hurt them.

 

[Gator]

I live on 15 acres and this is exactly why it’s hard to hunt it. Even if I hunt the dead middle of it, a deer could easily leave my land


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[Foosty]

Hard as it was, I think you did the right thing. Good luck out there.

 

[Arieleagle]

The DEC in NY


The DEC in NY does not advertise any kind of help to access the land. But, I will call them today and see if there is something they can do "off the books."


I would do this if I felt like I wouldn't screw up my friend's land, or if he said he would be okay with his neighbors complaining. The people around this area vary widely between die-hard hunters and vehement anti-hunters. When the land is owned by an LLC on Long Island, it could be anyone's guess as to what it is used for and if there are cameras/other hunters. So, someone walkin around the land could hurt by buddy's reputation and I would lose the privilege. I agree with the better shot and perhaps a better spot on the property. While I definitely hit a lung, I should have made it a sure thing. No ones fault but mine.

Perhaps the anti-hunters should put an 8ft fence around their property so that no injured deer roam on it and in spring time the fence can have a gate they can open to let the deer in and eat their flowers..

 

[Joe_Bow]

Perhaps the anti-hunters should put an 8ft fence around their property so that no injured deer roam on it and in spring time the fence can have a gate they can open to let the deer in and eat their flowers..

There is actually someone near me that did exactly that - for their flowers. and it is a massive property.