Elk shot during season . . . recover and tag out of season?

[boneaddict]

 

[bwhntr350]

Bowhunting back in 1983 and I shot a 5 point but, unfortunately, hit a limb before the bull. Arrow hit it right in the hind quarter. My Father and I tried to find the bull until dark and then we left. The following day it rained, a lot. We could never find any tracks, again so we looked blindly through the forest and gave up that night. It truly was a needle in a haystack.

 4 days later we ran into a guy that my Dad knew and he had found my bull, dead We took the head and I figured I had killed my bull so I tagged it.

 Two months later the local game warden pulled me aside at a local sportsman's show and told me thanks for tagging that bull as he would have hated to write me a ticket.

[Bob33]

The exact same thing happened to me this year. (When I get home I will post pics and the story)I recovered my bull that I lost earlier in the season and threw my tag on him and packed it out. As long as its tagged and obviously not a fresh kill you're good. Mine was dead 11 days so it was safe to say mine wasn't poached.

The problem with more than a day or two is this: who is to say you didn't kill the elk 11 days before the season, then wait and tag it during the season?

It is not legal to keep antlers with skull attached because poachers would illegally kill an animal, hide it, then retrieve the head and antlers after the season as "sheds".

Call the enforcement officer. If you don't have cell coverage make the call anyway. You can at least prove that you tried by looking at your call history. If you end up getting checked, it's far better to have notified someone first.

[kalamasasquatch]

Probably better advice than mine......... Better jump thru the hoops to be safe.

[Bob33]

If you retrieve an animal after the season is over, what date do you notch? If you notch a date after the season, you've essentially admitted to illegally harvesting an elk. If you notch it for a date earlier than when you retrieve it, you've lied and falsified the tag information, and that may have consequences as well.

You're best of action is to notify an enforcement officer before you find the animal.

[kalamasasquatch]

Mine was killed and recovered during the season, so i didnt notify anyone....... maybe I should have but little late now.

[TikkaT3-270Shortmag]

I've had this very scenerio happen.  Contacted fish and wildlife and it was a go.  They recomended that you just call them but u should expect a gamie to show up.