Where is your tag when you quarter out an elk?

[mmullins]

Just wondering where the tag needs to be when you are packing out an elk. I was thinking about it, and we have always left the tag on the horns. Just want to make sure i am plaing by the rules.

[oldleclercrd]

Im pretty sure the tag needs to stay with the largest portion of the animal.

[Crunchy]

On the head

[Todd_ID]

If quartered, the tag must remain on the largest portion of the carcass.  P. 71 of the regs.

[BOWHUNTER45]

In my pocket 

[bobcat]

The cow we quartered and packed out a couple weeks ago, we tied the tag on one of the hind quarters. I'd do the same with a bull.

[KillBilly]

I thought you were supposed to cut it up into pieces and attach to each quarter 

[runningboard]

I would put it on the qtr that had the "proof of sex, naturally attached" on it. or you could take KillBilly's advice seriously it is in the regs. it has to be on the biggest prtion of meat.

[elkslayer069]

I always tape the  outta mine onto the horns that way i know im not gonna forget it or its not gonna be ripped off on the pack out. If our friendly game wardens wanna give me grief about they can but ive never had any issues or heard of anyone getting cited for the location on the tag while taking an animal home. However i have heard of people getting the A$$ reamed by a game warden when they left the tag on the horns when they went to the taxidermist

[KillBilly]

I would put it on the qtr that had the "proof of sex, naturally attached" on it. or you could take KillBilly's advice seriously it is in the regs. it has to be on the biggest prtion of meat.

It is one thing to tote a tagged head full of horns  or a cows head for that matter out of the woods.  But I just can't see toting their sex organs to prove anything. I have never done it and would only do it in the case of a bull/cow calf. I might take a cell cam pic for a gamie to look at and give him gps coords.  I have never had an enforcement officer ask me for an animals proof of sex.

[Hunterman]

The tag is in my pochet until I get everything to the truck,,then it will go on the head..If gammie don't like that he cans kiss me were the good lord split me..

Hunterman(Tony)

[steen]

I put it on the antlers, then packed part of the meat out and couldn't get  the antlers out  til the next day so, thankgoodness, remembered to grab the tag and put it with the meat.  Went back the next day and hauled out the head.

[runningboard]

I put it on the antlers, then packed part of the meat out and couldn't get  the antlers out  til the next day so, thankgoodness, remembered to grab the tag and put it with the meat.  Went back the next day and hauled out the head.

this very question came up in the last Hunter Education class we did in Spokane Valley & whether it (tag) should be on 1st thing back to truck or last load, game agent said he didn't see how it would matter either way as long as it was on something at truck or on piece waiting to be brought out. so long as you have it before you drive away.

[HOYT6.0]

Were my animal is hangin...    Seriously though.  Agree with above.

[TikkaT3-270Shortmag]

Its needs to be with the meat not the head!!

[salmonfifty]

Must be securely attached to the carcass. If you kill a elk and you have your tag punched the gamewarden will not give you a hard time. make sure your tag is PUNCHED and you will be fine. If you are packing a elk out, make sure your tag is with the first pack that goes in your truck. I guarantee you if a warden is waiting at your truck and you have your tag punched with the first pack you will be fine.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Must be securely attached to the carcass. If you kill a elk and you have your tag punched the gamewarden will not give you a hard time. make sure your tag is PUNCHED and you will be fine. If you are packing a elk out, make sure your tag is with the first pack that goes in your truck. I guarantee you if a warden is waiting at your truck and you have your tag punched with the first pack you will be fine.

PUNCH TAG !! 
I always punch my tag, then stuff it inside the mouth on a cow, or around the antler of a bull, then wrap the crap out of the snout, or antler with duct tape.
I then pack out only meat, hide, head, so it is with the largest portion that can have evidence of sex attached.
Never had a problem, actually the few times I have been stopped, they just asked me if it was notched, I showed them my license, told them where it was,
they said thank you, and congratulations ! 

[MtnMuley]

Notched and usually around an antler. If not, then notched and on my pack.

[elkslayer069]

If gammie don't like that he cans kiss me were the good lord split me..

Hunterman(Tony)

[MADMAX]

In my pocket 

Same here

[Curly]

Must be securely attached to the carcass. If you kill a elk and you have your tag punched the gamewarden will not give you a hard time. make sure your tag is PUNCHED and you will be fine. If you are packing a elk out, make sure your tag is with the first pack that goes in your truck. I guarantee you if a warden is waiting at your truck and you have your tag punched with the first pack you will be fine.

PUNCH TAG !! 
I always punch my tag, then stuff it inside the mouth on a cow, or around the antler of a bull, then wrap the crap out of the snout, or antler with duct tape.
I then pack out only meat, hide, head, so it is with the largest portion that can have evidence of sex attached.
Never had a problem, actually the few times I have been stopped, they just asked me if it was notched, I showed them my license, told them where it was,
they said thank you, and congratulations ! 

Do you pack out the head of a cow?

[ICEMAN]

I would put it on the qtr that had the "proof of sex, naturally attached" on it. or you could take KillBilly's advice seriously it is in the regs. it has to be on the biggest prtion of meat.

It is one thing to tote a tagged head full of horns  or a cows head for that matter out of the woods.  But I just can't see toting their sex organs to prove anything. I have never done it and would only do it in the case of a bull/cow calf. I might take a cell cam pic for a gamie to look at and give him gps coords.  I have never had an enforcement officer ask me for an animals proof of sex.

Agree.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Do you pack out the head of a cow?

I do.
I try to get the animal gutted, and skinned, quarters hung in game bags,  ASAP,  then first trip out is head and hide.
get my pack frame (I hunt with day pack) and bone out meat, get it to cooler, takes me 6 trips by myself to get an Elk out.
so getting the meat cooling and hanging is my #1 priority.
I also like to practice caping, in case I ever get a bull I want mounted.
I dont get to kill very many Elk, so I try to make the most out of each one...

[et1702]

Be careful!!!  If you shoot a cow or a doe, proof of SEX is very important!  Had a warden threaten to fine and confiscate all our meat.  Meat was deboned and in game bags and in the coolers.  Tags were inside game bags.  We didn't leave proof of sex on meat.  Luckily, we still had the heads in camp.  But, a cow or doe head doesn't really prove that you don't have a bull or buck mixed in there somewhere.  After separating the four of us so that we couldn't talk to one another and then interviewing each of us one at a time, he believed we were legally hunting.  He even had us show him our bone pile to make sure there was no "wastage."  In the end, he did write us each a $100+ dollar ticket  .  However, he did not confiscate the meat  .  For the female critters, need to leave some proof of sex naturally attached to a big chunk of meat! 

[338_Thumper]

It has happened to a few guys over the years that have had their elk taken away from them. I tell everyone to take a notch out of the ear and put in your pocket. You can then call the game warden and tell him what happened. It't hard to explain to the gamie why you have a piece of the animal and they don't.

[Bustyn]

It is one thing to tote a tagged head full of horns  or a cows head for that matter out of the woods.  But I just can't see toting their sex organs to prove anything. I have never done it and would only do it in the case of a bull/cow calf. I might take a cell cam pic for a gamie to look at and give him gps coords.  I have never had an enforcement officer ask me for an animals proof of sex.

Without proof of sex the game officers cannot tell if your game is legal or not.  Someone could shoot a large bull in a spike/cow only area, leave the horns, and claim that it was a cow.

Had a conversation with a game enforcement officer about this a couple weeks ago.  He said they are starting to be sticklers about this, especially since they busted those guys near Yakima trying to pull a fast one.  I guess there was a group of guys hauling coolers full of elk meat out of the mountains, but no evidence of sex and no heads.  Anyway, the tags were all there and notched, but without proof of sex the enforcement officer couldn't tell if the elk were legal or not.  Long story short, after interviewing everyone the lies didn't match, someone confessed, the guys were busted, and the meat was confiscated. 

Personally, I would much rather pack out a mammary gland than a cow or doe head.  It's really no trouble to make another cut and throw it in with the rest of the meat.     

[Curly]

Personally, I would much rather pack out a mammary gland than a cow or doe head.  It's really no trouble to make another cut and throw it in with the rest of the meat.   

Evidence of sex is supposed to be "naturally attached".......

[coachcw]

in your pocket till out of the woods then on the quarter with the evidence of sex . if you bone him out then i'd attach to the head , I don't think you'd get hastled .

[pianoman9701]

On the antler or stuffed in a small cut in the ear.

[et1702]

If you butcher or debone your animal in the field to facilitate packing out or back at camp to place in cooler, proof of sex needs to be naturally attached to the biggest piece of meat remaining.  Heads don't count as proof of sex unless they are still attached to the carcass.  I know!  In 2005, Game officer wrote four of us tickets, as we already had our animals deboned and bagged in all our coolers.  We still had the heads, and tags were with the meat.  But, that did not matter!  Luckily, he didn't confiscate all our meat, as our stories all matched and we were legally hunting.  But, as someone else said, they can be sticklers to the letter of the law if they want too.

[Miles]

  But, a cow or doe head doesn't really prove that you don't have a bull or buck mixed in there somewhere. 

Neither does having the sex organs on one piece of meat...

[et1702]

"Neither does having the sex organs on one piece of meat..."

Sure it does, if you had to you could lay out each piece of meat and show the officer that it was just one animal.

[6x6in6]

If quartered, the tag must remain on the largest portion of the carcass.  P. 71 of the regs.

Close.
It actually says: If quartered, the tag should remain with the carcass or largest portion of the carcass.

[pianoman9701]

If quartered, the tag must remain on the largest portion of the carcass.  P. 71 of the regs.

Close.
It actually says: If quartered, the tag should remain with the carcass or largest portion of the carcass.

Ah, useful information. Interesting slant!

[6x6in6]

If quartered, the tag must remain on the largest portion of the carcass.  P. 71 of the regs.

Close.
It actually says: If quartered, the tag should remain with the carcass or largest portion of the carcass.

Ah, useful information. Interesting slant!

Yup.
You could hang your tag on one of the lower legs that you just whacked off at the knee caps and still be legal.  As long as that lower leg "remains with the carcass."
I personally, wouldn't push that.  I leave it attached to the head somewhere until I got home then shove it in the freezer when I'm done cutting and wrapping.

[jackmaster]

see thats the part that bugs me i figure that as long as i notch the tag upon the kill i should be able to put it in my pocket so it dont get lost on one of the many trips it takes to pack out an elk and then once the big ole elk is safely in the back of the rig then you put the tag on it, what is wrong with that, see the common sense of things just goes right out the window with certain agencies, but when i do kill a big ole bull thats exactly what i am gonna do, the tag will be notched emediatly upon kill but it will be with me so it dont get lost.... and for those who say its illegal or unethical, well just wait till you lose your tag and your standing there with a dead animal trying to explain it to the WDFW..

[6x6in6]

What's interesting is Wyoming.  And what is one of their most commonly written violations has to do with tagging.  I learned that from a Wyoming Game Officer after he thanked me for reading and understanding the law correctly.
Wyoming requires you to keep your tag on your person until you are done with the pack out.  Then it gets attached to the carcass.  Yes, any part of the carcass.  He happened to be driving by as I just returned to my truck with load 2, a front quarter.  The head was already back.  We bs'd for a few.  Then he sprung the semi trick question.  "I don't see your tag on the head anywhere."
Thats because it's in my pack until I'm done with the pack out.  We both got a chuckle out of his question.
He didn't even ask to see a license or the tag.  Talked for a half hour or so and gave me the congrats and have a nice day.

[jackmaster]

  there ya go 6x6in6, you should point that out to the WDFW i guess some fish and game agencies do have a little common sense, and if you think about it, it makes perfect sense to do it that way, cuts down on lost tags and such

[Miles]

"Neither does having the sex organs on one piece of meat..."

Sure it does, if you had to you could lay out each piece of meat and show the officer that it was just one animal.

Who's to say I didn't shoot an animal and bring all the meat home except for the portion with the sex organs attached, and then came back and harvested another deer?   It's no different than having a head in camp to prove the sex of the deer.  They just try to add in a double check system to further deter that type of action.  It doesn't prove that the rest of the meat came off the same animal just because I left a scrotum hanging off one piece of meat, just the same as having one head in camp doesn't prove anything.  It just makes it a pain in the ass for us as hunters to decipher what it is they want us to do in order to avoid being ticketed.

[Alan K]

"Neither does having the sex organs on one piece of meat..."

Sure it does, if you had to you could lay out each piece of meat and show the officer that it was just one animal.

Who's to say I didn't shoot an animal and bring all the meat home except for the portion with the sex organs attached, and then came back and harvested another deer?   It's no different than having a head in camp to prove the sex of the deer.  They just try to add in a double check system to further deter that type of action.  It doesn't prove that the rest of the meat came off the same animal just because I left a scrotum hanging off one piece of meat, just the same as having one head in camp doesn't prove anything.  It just makes it a pain in the ass for us as hunters to decipher what it is they want us to do in order to avoid being ticketed.

 

It all boils down to honesty.  You could go poach an animal and get away with it 99% of the time as far as I'm concerned, but HONESTY is what keeps us all from doing it.  I think the head is plenty evidence, anything more than that is just another pain in the ass like you say, and doesn't truly accomplish anything.

[Bustyn]

see thats the part that bugs me i figure that as long as i notch the tag upon the kill i should be able to put it in my pocket so it dont get lost on one of the many trips it takes to pack out an elk and then once the big ole elk is safely in the back of the rig then you put the tag on it,

The fish and game officer that spoke at my son's Hunter Education course this year said that this is acceptable.  The teacher of the class said it was the recommended method, and the way that he usually does it.  If the tag is notched and in your possession, I don't think you'll have any issues with an officer that encounters you during your pack out.

[Curly]

see thats the part that bugs me i figure that as long as i notch the tag upon the kill i should be able to put it in my pocket so it dont get lost on one of the many trips it takes to pack out an elk and then once the big ole elk is safely in the back of the rig then you put the tag on it,

The fish and game officer that spoke at my son's Hunter Education course this year said that this is acceptable.  The teacher of the class said it was the recommended method, and the way that he usually does it.  If the tag is notched and in your possession, I don't think you'll have any issues with an officer that encounters you during your pack out.

Maybe acceptable to that particular officer, but another officer maybe has a different idea and may go strictly by what it says in the regs.  I place to the tag with the largest portion of the carcass per what is stated in the regs so as not to get nailed on a technicality.