Proper protocol for picking up antlers/heads with antlers

[denowt]

Here is his answers(in blue) to my questions to his answers to my questions.
Confused yet, lol?

Other than finding a carcass in the middle of summer, he would give me no definite answers.
He basically dodges the questions and refuses to give clear concise answers.
It seems that there is no clear cut rule and the local GW has great latitude with his interpretation and/or enforcement.
I would suggest anyone who finds themselves in any of these situations to contact their local GW before proceeding as he will be the one who apparently gets to interpret the law as he sees fit and will ultimately be the one who does or does not write you a citation.

So far I'm getting a similar response.

Here's what I have so far from TPWD.
His responses in red, then my questions to his responses.

I have a few questions being discussed in a hunting camp.



1. If a whitetail buck is shot, but not recovered until after the meat is spoiled, is it required to use a tag in order to retrieve the antlers/head?

Yes, if you make a recovery, your tag is required to be used.

The Outdoor Annual states that if the carcass and head are separated, then the tag/permit stays with the carcass. In this case, there would be no edible carcass. Most likely, coyotes/buzzards would have eaten most of the meat. Why would a tag still need to be used?
This is because the bag limit must be followed.
What if another hunter shoot a deer, but does not recover it. I find the carcass days/weeks later. Can I retrieve the head without using one of my tags?
Only the hunter that took the animal can tag the animal. There would never be a situation in which it would be lawful for you to use your tags on an animal that you did not take. Again, it is always best to seek the advice and input of your local game warden in cases such as these.
2. A whitetail carcass is found on private property. The cause of death is unknown. What steps need to be taken in order to retrieve the antlers/head?

This is a situation that basically depends on a time of year issue. If deer season is open, and/or the carcass is pretty fresh, it is best to involve the local game warden. Contact information for your local game warden can be obtained at the following link: http://www.tpwd.texas.gov/warden/

What if it is not an open season and/or the carcass is not fresh?
In this scenario, let’s suggest it’s the summer time, so nothing is fresh, it would be lawful to collect the skull and or horns. When in doubt, please contact your local game warden.



3. I have a skull/antler mount hanging on my wall from a whitetail buck taken in a previous season. I now would like to have a shoulder mount done using those antlers. How do I legally take the antlers to a taxidermist?

Once you have reached final destination and the deer has been finally processed, no further documentation is needed. So you would only need to visit with the taxidermist of your choice to get this done.

How would I prove that the antlers in question have reached final destination and would not have come from examples 1 or 2?
A reasonable explanation will suffice.

[denowt]

Not going to happen because what they want you to do and what the law says are drastically different.

I believe you are 110% correct based on the answers(or lack of) that I received.

[JSAPP]

Not going to happen because what they want you to do and what the law says are drastically different.

Kerry is a great guy. I'm sure his time is pretty limited, but I bet he will give some good answers.

[denowt]

Kerry is a great guy. I'm sure his time is pretty limited, but I bet he will give some good answers.

Yes he is.
I have spoken with him several times over the years and have absolutely no problems with him at all.
The problem(s) lie in that I hunt in counties other than just Lavaca.
It seems a little unreasonable to have to address these issues with every warden in every county.
Especially when the answers may be different.
The rules should be the rules.
They should not be up for a different interpretation by each warden.

[Richard]

Just put a tag on it from your previous year license. Then take it to taxidermist.

[GarGuy]

Kerry is a great guy. I'm sure his time is pretty limited, but I bet he will give some good answers.

I have absolutely no doubt he is a good guy. My issue here is that the advice being given isn't backed up by statute whatsoever. That is going to lead to problems.

What they meant here was if I find a deer in my pond, call the gamewarden, If its my 175 ten, they will come confiscate it. If its a 12 inch 6pt, I can just keep it. There is zero difference in statute between picking up a rotted deer head in August/December.

[denowt]

I have absolutely no doubt he is a good guy. My issue here is that the advice being given isn't backed up by statute whatsoever. That is going to lead to problems.

What they meant here was if I find a deer in my pond, call the gamewarden, If its my 175 ten, they will come confiscate it. If its a 12 inch 6pt, I can just keep it. There is zero difference in statute between picking up a rotted deer head in August/December.

I totally agree with you.
And I guarantee your example scenario is exactly what will happen.
If you find a huge antlered deer head, the state will want to confiscate it in order to use it in some display somewhere.
If you find some little dinky set of antlers, the state will graciously let you keep them.

I know from now on, any deer head I find that I want to keep, will simply be left in the woods until well after season is over before I bring it home.
That is the only answer that was given a remotely definite answer.

[one66stang]

Does anyone know how we can have this issue publicly stated and inserted into the outdoor annual with a definite answer?

Some sort of petition?

[denowt]

Does anyone know how we can have this issue publicly stated and inserted into the outdoor annual with a definite answer?

Some sort of petition?

Good luck with that.

Who would make the decision on the ruling in order to print the answer in the annual.

The guy I was emailing back and forth with is:

Kevin Davis
Asst. Commander
Wildlife Law Administrator
Law Enforcement Special Operations
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
4200 Smith School Road
Austin, Texas
512-389-4626 office
512-389-4867 fax
325-248-4425 cell
kevin.davis@tpwd.texas.gov

If he can't/won't make a decision on the rules, then who will?

[GarGuy]

He never posted any actual rules nor statutes. he just emailed vague opinions. I have studied the statutes and know them pretty darn well. It is not at all unusual to run across an enforcement officer who either doesn't know or just goes with the flow.

The facts are that a rotted deer is never "Harvested" thus no need for a harvest log nor a carcass tag. Thats the facts. If you find a dead deer you can perfectly legally take the antlers and do whatever you want with them. There is no summer/winter statute.

[cattlelackranch]

He never posted any actual rules nor statutes. he just emailed vague opinions. I have studied the statutes and know them pretty darn well. It is not at all unusual to run across an enforcement officer who either doesn't know or just goes with the flow.

The facts are that a rotted deer is never "Harvested" thus no need for a harvest log nor a carcass tag. Thats the facts. If you find a dead deer you can perfectly legally take the antlers and do whatever you want with them. There is no summer/winter statute.

My take on this is as follows.

Wildlife is owned by the people of the state of Texas that is managed by the Texas parks and wildlife dept. With that said there are guidelines in writing let's call these rules/laws. There is a lot of grey area with he said/she said. I believe there needs to be some field decisions made by the game wardens. More of trust but verify.

If you push for concrete rules/laws on every scenario I believe you will force their hand to rule into law worst case scenarios. As a hunter I don't think the outcome will be favorable for the law abiding hunter.

Build a relationship with your local game warden I'm sure he will rule justly.

If your Robert in east Texas than that's a different story.

[denowt]

He never posted any actual rules nor statutes. he just emailed vague opinions. I have studied the statutes and know them pretty darn well. It is not at all unusual to run across an enforcement officer who either doesn't know or just goes with the flow.



The facts are that a rotted deer is never "Harvested" thus no need for a harvest log nor a carcass tag. Thats the facts. If you find a dead deer you can perfectly legally take the antlers and do whatever you want with them. There is no summer/winter statute.

That's pretty much how I see it.
I find at least one carcass on my property every year. I'm on 45 acres between a FM road and a paved county road.
I plan on making some sort of plaque/board to mount all of the various antlers.