Yesterday I went out hog hunting and I got a good look at a buck who's antlers are already beyond the legal limit here in my Texas county (inside spread of 13 inches or greater). Now here's the question I have, come this deer season, if I take my shot and hit him and he makes it over to the adjacent property which has no trespassing signs posted, I'm I bond by law to retrieve the deer or should I talk to the land owner prior to the hunt? It may sound like a no brainer, but this is my first deer hunting season with my son (my first one as well) and I don't want anything left to wondering.
first time deer hunter question.
- Thread starter bones281
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Topgun 30-06
Well-Known Member
Common courtesy alone says to contact them BEFORE you even think about going onto private property that is posted and you don't have previous authorization to be on. They may even want to go with you for retrieval of the animal so they know it wasn't shot on their property. I would contact them before the hunt to meet them and let them know you want to follow the law and then if something happens and an animal makes it onto their property call them again to see what they prefer to do.
Not a dumb question at all. I agree with Topgun. Check before season for the just in case and also again if it does happen. It shows respect for the property owner and the law. If it were me and I had no trespassing signs up and you came to me before hand I would be very agreeable to the what if situation. If the what if actually happened and you came to me I would would be right out there helping you. Just because it says no trespassing does not mean they are against hunting. It just may mean that they dont want people on their land that they dont know about. Just be cautious if they are against hunting, make sure of the shot before you take it. ie: direction the deer is headed, how close are you to the property line and things like that. Heck, you might get lucky in talking to the neighbor and he says that he has a big buck that hangs out in his property and for you to take your son and go after it. That actually happened to me and a friend of mine. He had his son out for his first hunt and we checked on a property of which the land owner said that we could hunt there but only the kid could shoot a deer. The land owner wanted to help make the kids first experience a great one and a successful one. You never know what might happen. Good luck and happy hunting. Thanks for passing on the hunting tradition to your son.
sourdough44
Well-Known Member
Yes, as mentioned above. Keep in mind some landowners may not let you retrieve an animal. They may be anti-hunting in some cases or want a big rack for themselves.
This should be factored in before you take the shot. That is, give it some thought & put the shot where it needs to be to ensure the deer doesn't go far.
The best way to orientate yourself is to ask the neighboring landowner ahead of time how they feel about retrieval. They may have hunters out & want contact prior, they may say 50 yrds to retrieve a dead deer is O.K..
If they are hunters, some year it will be their turn to ask you about coming over for retrieval.
This should be factored in before you take the shot. That is, give it some thought & put the shot where it needs to be to ensure the deer doesn't go far.
The best way to orientate yourself is to ask the neighboring landowner ahead of time how they feel about retrieval. They may have hunters out & want contact prior, they may say 50 yrds to retrieve a dead deer is O.K..
If they are hunters, some year it will be their turn to ask you about coming over for retrieval.
