High buck legality question

[Curly]

I think the only real way to know the answer would be to do it and get cited, then go to court and see what a judge thinks.

A warden would likely cite you, take your gun and let a judge decide.

I would bet that if you ask wdfw they would not say that scenario is legal. You would be hunting in a closed unit, just by way of how hunting is defined as Bob33 pointed out earlier.

Seems to me though, that you could argue (probably in court) that the actual taking of the buck was legal because it was taken in a legal unit even though you were hunting in a closed unit.  But then you might be able to convince a judge that you were not hunting in the closed unit because you were not looking in that unit to kill deer.  The warden probably wouldn't believe you since all appearances would lead him to believe you were hunting.

[Tinmaniac]

I know this will look like a silly unlikely senerio, but I sometimes hunt places this could be a very realistic encounter.........

So if a person is just out of the wilderness area and a buck is in the legal wilderness area would it be legal to take the shot? I have looked through the regs and didn't see anything that addressed this. And no offense to anybody, I'm not looking for guess's or opinions. Just facts on if that would be legal or not.

No brainer,not legal.If you need to ask if you can shoot from a closed area into an open area to harvest animals you should not be in the woods with a gun.That's a fact.

[bobcat]

In my opinion it's definitely NOT black and white. Let's say a trail is a boundary between an open unit and a closed unit. I'm standing 5 feet on one side of the trail, and I shoot a deer that's in the open unit. I see nothing wrong with that, what difference does it make that I was standing 5 feet outside of the open unit?

With a strict interpretation of the law, apparently I was in violation a few years ago on my sheep hunt. We set up our spotting scopes and spotted sheep two miles away, in the open unit from another unit, and this was what I was told to do by a WDFW biologist.

According to what some are saying, I could have been charged with hunting sheep in a closed unit.

[cboom]

I know this will look like a silly unlikely senerio, but I sometimes hunt places this could be a very realistic encounter.........

So if a person is just out of the wilderness area and a buck is in the legal wilderness area would it be legal to take the shot? I have looked through the regs and didn't see anything that addressed this. And no offense to anybody, I'm not looking for guess's or opinions. Just facts on if that would be legal or not.

No brainer,not legal.If you need to ask if you can shoot from a closed area into an open area to harvest animals you should not be in the woods with a gun.That's a fact.

Really? Show me the law that spells it out oh wise one.

[G-S]

I glasses game from a different state then crossed over and killed them. But I think you can spot game from where ever you can just make sure you're in your gmu when you pull the trigget

[Boss .300 winmag]

Little devils advocate here, your in an open unit and spot an animal your hunting in an open unit, but the area between you and animal is closed. 

Now would it be legal to shoot that animal since your shot would travel through  a closed unit?

[Bill W]

I would say that if you have to ask the question, then you already know the answer grasshopper.

[teanawayslayer]

You would be hunting from a closed a unit there for illegal illegal illegal!  But I guess if you have enough money you could get out of it pretty easily! 

You might not really understand what I'm talking about here. Like I said to begin with please post factual laws. Not interested in opinions.

totally understand what your talking about. See deer all the time on the high hunt from camp. Camp is set up on the boundary. Never shot one from camp.  Very grey area. If there is any question and you are having to ask if it's legal. Sounds like a no brained to me. Don't shoot.

[MADMAX]

If where your standing when you fire is open then your good to go
if not-Your in a closed area, no shot allowed

legal definition below

"To Hunt: Any effort to kill, capture, injure, or
harass a wild animal or wild bird"

[cboom]

If where your standing when you fire is open then your good to go
if not-Your in a closed area, no shot allowed

legal definition below

"To Hunt: Any effort to kill, capture, injure, or
harass a wild animal or wild bird"

By that definition hunting would start when or before we leave our homes. That is when the effort to kill begins.

[cboom]

Thanks to those of you that made the effort to post laws. I said in my OP I had no interest in opinions,  but that is 90% of what I got. Even told I don't belong in the woods if I had to ask.

[Bob33]

Like many legal situations there is the letter of the law, and the intent of the law. Because of that, officer discretion and the totality of circumstances will often play a significant role in the outcome.

Example 1: a hunter is 20 feet outside the wilderness area but there is no defined boundary to readily determine that. He shoots an animal that is clearly inside the wilderness from just outside the boundary.

Example 2: a hunter sneaks 100 yards inside a posted national park boundary to stalk an animal in a legal area. He shoots the animal from inside the national park.

Both hunters shot animals that were inside legal areas, but both shot from closed areas. Which one is more likely to be cited for hunting in a closed area?

[3nails]

 Is @bigtex still around? Maybe he could provide some insight. I still feel this IS in the laws. Seems obvious to me. No way can they put into writing every single "what if" scenario.

[Curly]

With a strict interpretation of the law, apparently I was in violation a few years ago on my sheep hunt. We set up our spotting scopes and spotted sheep two miles away, in the open unit from another unit, and this was what I was told to do by a WDFW biologist.

According to what some are saying, I could have been charged with hunting sheep in a closed unit.

You didn't have your rifle loaded or with you while spotting. No way they could say you were hunting at the time you were in the closed unit.

Now, if you had your gun with you and loaded, it could appear that you were hunting in a closed atea.

[trophyhunt]

I think the Bullwinkle example pretty much gives us all a chance in court with this particular scenario.  I really don't think any one of us really knows what would happen, just guess's.  What if your hunting coyotes in the alkali unit (which is permit only for deer) and your on the boarder of an open deer unit.  You see a deer in the open unit and shoot it, is that illegal?  It's a good question the OP asked, I'd love to hear an answer from a wildlife officer.