Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: andersonjk4 on July 16, 2013, 02:26:51 PM
-
I was thinking about taking an old set of white tail antlers from a buck my uncle shot (he passed a while back) and making a set of rattling antlers out of them. To do this would mean cutting the antlers off of the skull plate. I have scoured the WAC's and RCW's and the hunting regulations and can't find anywhere where it is illegal. I know for proof of sex the antlers need to be attached to a skull plate, but this animal has long been consumed so that's not an issue. I know that having a set of sawn antlers might look bad, but from what I can tell its not illegal as long as the deer was legally taken. Anybody ever ran into this?
And I know I could just use a set of sheds for this, but I want to use this set of antlers for two reasons. The first, and most important, is to have them with me as a reminder of past hunting trips with my uncle and to have a little piece of him with me while I'm out there hunting. And the other is this is a good set for the purpose. Its a mature 3x3 with fairly good mass but not a big frame so they will pack easier but still have the sound of big mature bucks.
-
I can't see that as illegal. I have numerous antlers around that are sawed off.the skull plate. You own it so you can do what you want with it! Rattle em in!
-
Nothing illegal .. Chop them into a thousand pieces if you want. Those laws are for transporting of your currently harvested buck or bull from woods to home
-
I doubt anyone would give any guff :twocents:
I think his biggest worry is that it would look like he took it off a dead-head.
-
Cut em
-
Your fine to do that......I had a warden waiting at my rig for me last year for that very reason....I had a set of 3 pt blacktail antlers in my truck and were partially covered and wanted to know what they were from and I pulled them out to show him they were from 2 years prior and were for rattling, they were tied together also and that was that...we ended up bs'n for 20 min and we went on our way