Private Tag Problem

[OldMan]

Ok, lets do the reverse problem of Brad\'s thread.

You have a private land tag. Which means you can hunt any private land in the unit if you have land owner permission.

You shoot a nice cow on the private land that you have permission to hunt. The cow runs off the private land on to public land. It\'s been a dry year, and there\'s no tracks, and no blood trail. You kept your eye on the cow, and saw where it went. You enter the public land, but stay far enough from the cow so it doesn\'t see you. You wait until it dies. You punch your tag, and start to skin it.

While working on the cow a warden walks up to you. He asks for your license, and tag. He says.........your license is for private land?

What happens next?

 

[cnelk]

Youre prob gonna get a ticket for ~$160 for hunting outside your area.
Thats it. No points off your license or anything, and you prob keep the elk.

Messed up aint it?

 

[OldMan]

I\'ll wait for more answers before saying anything.

 

[Deertick]

It\'s questions like this that make me realize I\'d make a lousy cop.

See, I think laws are in place to keep bad guys from having an advantage over good guys, not solely as revenue generators for the State. Tell me an honest story, and I\'ll be moving on. What good does it do to cite this person? None. None at all, and if that isn\'t obvious to you, you probably shouldn\'t be wearing a badge, let alone be carrying a sidearm for the State.

I\'ve known cops in the past that had common sense, and I\'m sure they still exist.

It seems that everyone these days have let the \"rules\" have the last word ... cops, teachers, physicians, attorneys ... and it leads to some very unjust, unwise situations ... where the hell is our judgement anymore? We don\'t have rules as a substitute for judgement, for crying out loud.

I have a cop in the family ... he says there are \"ticket writers\" and non-ticket-writers out there, who realize their job is public safety, not a revenue center for the county. Unfortunately, he said, \"ticket writers\" are preferred, because of the revenue they generate.

Really? For $160 for the state you\'d be a jerk?

I\'d be a lousy cop.

 

[timberland]

I didn\'t realize it was illegal to hunt on public land with a \"private land tag\" What states is this applicable? (Westerners are weird :wtf: )

 

[cnelk]

Barry
The PLO [Private Land Only] tag is just that.
The CPW gives out many PLO cow tags each year, in efforts to put pressure on elk that have made rancher\'s hay field their home and push them back to NF
It may work in some areas, but overall, I dont think its very effective.

PLO tags are very different than LOV [Land Owner Vouchers] and the two should not be confused.

 

[timberland]

You guys have way different management issues than Easterners. Probably would be a good idea in WI if our regs weren\'t so complicated already.

 

[cohunter14]

I think this is just like getting pulled over going 10 mph over the speed limit on a road you have never been on before and didn\'t see that the speed limit just changed 1/4 mile back...it all depends on which kind of officer you come up against. You could walk away with a warning and get to keep your elk, you could get a ticket and keep your elk, or it could get much worse than that. I have heard of fines in excess of $1,000 AND they keep your animal. Another reason to always know where any and all boundaries are for public land, private land, and GMU and to always ask first in a situation like this.

 

[OldMan]

Brad..........Lets keep everything the same, but add a blood trail.

What happens now?

 

[cohunter14]

Now you have proof, shouldn\'t be any issue.

 

[OldMan]

I\'m sure Brad would give the same answer, and it\'s right.

The warden I asked told me if it was obvious the elk was shot on private land it would be ok to take it on public land. So, if you get in this situation, and there isn\'t an obvious trail from the private land I would call a warden before touching the animal.

This may seem like an unfair law, but if they didn\'t enforce it hunters would be shooting game on public land with a private land tag. That wouldn\'t be fair either, because private land tags are usually easier to draw.

 

[WW]

Good point about informing the officer before recovering the animal. Most wardens would tell you to go ahead and get your animal.

I worked for the DOW for a couple of years as a temp on the CWD project. As such, I got to know many of the people in law enforcement and was allowed to ride with them many times. When a situation such as Still Hunter posted happens, usually the warden will ask for your side of the story. If it is believable, you recover your animal and nothing happens. If not, you get a small fine and the animal is convescated and donated to charity.

Most seasoned officers will listen and do it that way. But a word of caution! Beware of newer officers that don\'t know anything but what the book says. :downthumb: