my 200 class buck

well i found this buck while shead hunting and got it head mounted.Got it back hung it up in my room and every thing was all fine and dandy until someone found out and did not like it so they called the DNR the DNR took my deer and so that was pretty much $500 gone to waste.They said they would put it in a nature center at lake red rock in iowa and so i looked all over marion county and have not seen my buck since the day they took it and out of all that the officer gave me a blaze orange hat that said hush hunters on it well they should of gave that to the person who called the DNR.They said we illeagally transported it i never heard of that in hunter saftey class the class was two days long and they couldnt fit it in o plz. my uncle received a $93 dollar fine.

ill get it back someday

Sounds like a bunch of B.S. to me!

I do not think I would be very happy with that outcome! However I have head stories of guys finding dead deer in the woods and when they called the DNR they have been told to leave them lay.

Whats the point of having a trophy buck going to waste? Then the rack gets eaten by rats???

Sounds like a bunch of B.S. to me!

I do not think I would be very happy with that outcome! However I have head stories of guys finding dead deer in the woods and when they called the DNR they have been told to leave them lay.

Whats the point of having a trophy buck going to waste? Then the rack gets eaten by rats???

Honestly;
I would be calling/writing my congressman and state representative on this.

You just might be surprised at how you might get a positive response on your calls!!!!

I personaly would go balistic, but laws are laws……..

Honestly;
I would be calling/writing my congressman and state representative on this.

You just might be surprised at how you might get a positive response on your calls!!!!

I personaly would go balistic, but laws are laws……..

Wow…great buck!! What happened to it? Was it shot, and the shooter couldn’t find it? Was there bulletholes or any arrows?

How was the cape when you found it? Must have been a fresh kill if the cape was still in good shape…to be able to mount a shoulder mount anyways. Unless you bought/or found another cape.

Sorry so many questions…just curious about your awesome find!!! Congrats by the way!!

Wow…great buck!! What happened to it? Was it shot, and the shooter couldn’t find it? Was there bulletholes or any arrows?

How was the cape when you found it? Must have been a fresh kill if the cape was still in good shape…to be able to mount a shoulder mount anyways. Unless you bought/or found another cape.

Sorry so many questions…just curious about your awesome find!!! Congrats by the way!!

I am guessing they sawed the horns off and had to use re-placement cape . It is not all that uncommon for guys to find sheds or dead bucks and have them mounted. All you really need to do is have the rack. That is the most important thing. It is pretty easy to call a Taxidermist and buy a x-tra cape. They get them from the guys who do not know how to cape a deer when they are getting a antler mount. And most of them have no use for the cape so they are helping the taxidermist out by giving them a cape.

They come in handy when the “OH *@$%” happens in the shop.

I am guessing they sawed the horns off and had to use re-placement cape . It is not all that uncommon for guys to find sheds or dead bucks and have them mounted. All you really need to do is have the rack. That is the most important thing. It is pretty easy to call a Taxidermist and buy a x-tra cape. They get them from the guys who do not know how to cape a deer when they are getting a antler mount. And most of them have no use for the cape so they are helping the taxidermist out by giving them a cape.

They come in handy when the “OH *@$%” happens in the shop.

That is a dandy. Darn shame they took it from you.

If I remember right, you guys found one dead this season too and the DNR made you leave it lay in the woods?

That is a dandy. Darn shame they took it from you.

If I remember right, you guys found one dead this season too and the DNR made you leave it lay in the woods?

Who knew braggin could get u in trouble?? lol

Who knew braggin could get u in trouble?? lol

We found a dead buck in the 150s hit by a car. A quick call to the sheriff for a salvage tag, and my buddy got to keep it. The sheriff actually suggested he just take the rack, after it was hit by a car not much of the meat was salvageable anyway, and had been laying overnight.

We found a dead buck in the 150s hit by a car. A quick call to the sheriff for a salvage tag, and my buddy got to keep it. The sheriff actually suggested he just take the rack, after it was hit by a car not much of the meat was salvageable anyway, and had been laying overnight.

Wow what a pig …. But I would say that is bull if they took it from you ! Sounds to me like the DNR had nothing to do but bother you that day !
If you can’t take a dead animal (that is going to rot and get eat’en by tree rats ) out of the woods then I guess why the hell can we shed hunt ?
HOPE YOU GET HIM BACK !

Wow what a pig …. But I would say that is bull if they took it from you ! Sounds to me like the DNR had nothing to do but bother you that day !
If you can’t take a dead animal (that is going to rot and get eat’en by tree rats ) out of the woods then I guess why the hell can we shed hunt ?
HOPE YOU GET HIM BACK !

That just doesnt seem right….thats a great deer if it were me id want to know who advised the dnr of your find

That just doesnt seem right….thats a great deer if it were me id want to know who advised the dnr of your find

I agree with Gary, I’d start e-mailing and calling your congressmen, and other politicians. I think the DNR went too far on this one.

I agree with Gary, I’d start e-mailing and calling your congressmen, and other politicians. I think the DNR went too far on this one.

I came across a doe a few years ago that had been hit by a vehicle. She was injured so that she was unable to get herself up from the shoulder of the road. She had her head up. I saw no blood so unless she was bleeding internally she would have suffered for a long time. I contemplated putting her out of her misery because it would have been the right thing to do but decided not to because of Iowa’s game regulations. Later I asked our local DNR officer about it. He told me that had I killed the deer I could/would have been charged with taking a deer out of season and without a valid license. My only recourse for such charges would have been to go to court. I can’t imagine there is a judge out there that would find anyone guilty for putting a suffering animal out of it’s misery but one never knows. To have the animal legally euthanized I would need to call the DNR and they would send an officer out or contact the sheriff to have a deputy kill the deer. This could take hours before someone actually got around to putting the poor animal out of it’s misery.

I really can’t understand how the DNR was able to take your mount. If all you took were the antlers then what makes it any different than possessing sheds? I know many people who have full sets of shed antlers. One friend has the full set from a 180 inch plus buck that he shot the following year. He has talked about having them mounted. Another friend found a nice buck in May a few years back that had aparently been hit by a train the winter before. Nothing left but bones, hair and antlers. Made for a nice European mount but is it legal?

Eyehunter

I came across a doe a few years ago that had been hit by a vehicle. She was injured so that she was unable to get herself up from the shoulder of the road. She had her head up. I saw no blood so unless she was bleeding internally she would have suffered for a long time. I contemplated putting her out of her misery because it would have been the right thing to do but decided not to because of Iowa’s game regulations. Later I asked our local DNR officer about it. He told me that had I killed the deer I could/would have been charged with taking a deer out of season and without a valid license. My only recourse for such charges would have been to go to court. I can’t imagine there is a judge out there that would find anyone guilty for putting a suffering animal out of it’s misery but one never knows. To have the animal legally euthanized I would need to call the DNR and they would send an officer out or contact the sheriff to have a deputy kill the deer. This could take hours before someone actually got around to putting the poor animal out of it’s misery.

I really can’t understand how the DNR was able to take your mount. If all you took were the antlers then what makes it any different than possessing sheds? I know many people who have full sets of shed antlers. One friend has the full set from a 180 inch plus buck that he shot the following year. He has talked about having them mounted. Another friend found a nice buck in May a few years back that had aparently been hit by a train the winter before. Nothing left but bones, hair and antlers. Made for a nice European mount but is it legal?

Eyehunter

Outdoorsman, Let me start by saying that in no way am I accusing you of any wrong doing. Luke is right, there are many questions to be asked. Every state has their way of protecting trophy animals. I talked to a few locals where we deer hunt in Iowa and they said there is a very big poaching problem down there. There are people coming down there all year long trying to get that large rack. Also, remember that guy in Colorado that went out in the fall and shot deer and elk out of his vehicle and then went back in the spring and got the “sheds”. It is a bigger problem than most people think. I am not saying you did this but how does the conservation officer know? If it is a fresh car kill I think the officer would have released it to you. But with conditions unknown to the officer it is not as easy to believe. In a perfect world the officer would believe ever story that came down the pipe. This is not a perfect world though so we have to live with what happens. This really sucks losing your find, and I would be upset also. The good thing is the Iowa DNR is watching everywhere for poachers, and that’s a good thing!

Outdoorsman, Let me start by saying that in no way am I accusing you of any wrong doing. Luke is right, there are many questions to be asked. Every state has their way of protecting trophy animals. I talked to a few locals where we deer hunt in Iowa and they said there is a very big poaching problem down there. There are people coming down there all year long trying to get that large rack. Also, remember that guy in Colorado that went out in the fall and shot deer and elk out of his vehicle and then went back in the spring and got the “sheds”. It is a bigger problem than most people think. I am not saying you did this but how does the conservation officer know? If it is a fresh car kill I think the officer would have released it to you. But with conditions unknown to the officer it is not as easy to believe. In a perfect world the officer would believe ever story that came down the pipe. This is not a perfect world though so we have to live with what happens. This really sucks losing your find, and I would be upset also. The good thing is the Iowa DNR is watching everywhere for poachers, and that’s a good thing!

I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news at all but i have to ask did you have your shed hunting liscense. Here in Iowa a person hunting sheds has to have a liscense so they can legally possess the antlers. This brings up another question, did you take the skull too. If it isn’t legal to take the skull this may be why. If you did have a liscense and the skull was illegal to possess then thats all they should have been able to take and return the rest back to you. If there isn’t any clear regulations explaining that you have to leave all parts of the deer in the woods except the rack then they shouldn’t have taken the rack from you. Im sure by law they have to give you the legal reason why they confiscated the rack and gave your uncle the fine, i’d be mad as heck too and i’d contact a lawyer if the dnr laws aren’t clear. Sometimes they leave the laws in the gray area so they can stretch the laws to thier benifit if they think they need too, i’d hire a lawyer and try to get the rack back if you had a shed liscense and they didn’t give any explaination that was sufficient why they confiscated it. A rack like that is worth a few thousand dollars for sure and close to the state records here. Contacting a good lawyer, hopefully finding one that also hunts, is a good idea. I’d ask a few lawyers if they also hunt as they will be a little more sensative to your situation.

I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news at all but i have to ask did you have your shed hunting liscense. Here in Iowa a person hunting sheds has to have a liscense so they can legally possess the antlers. This brings up another question, did you take the skull too. If it isn’t legal to take the skull this may be why. If you did have a liscense and the skull was illegal to possess then thats all they should have been able to take and return the rest back to you. If there isn’t any clear regulations explaining that you have to leave all parts of the deer in the woods except the rack then they shouldn’t have taken the rack from you. Im sure by law they have to give you the legal reason why they confiscated the rack and gave your uncle the fine, i’d be mad as heck too and i’d contact a lawyer if the dnr laws aren’t clear. Sometimes they leave the laws in the gray area so they can stretch the laws to thier benifit if they think they need too, i’d hire a lawyer and try to get the rack back if you had a shed liscense and they didn’t give any explaination that was sufficient why they confiscated it. A rack like that is worth a few thousand dollars for sure and close to the state records here. Contacting a good lawyer, hopefully finding one that also hunts, is a good idea. I’d ask a few lawyers if they also hunt as they will be a little more sensative to your situation.

I agree with hunting4walleyes. The DNR has to look out for the resource in general. It may be that you will get it back when they are satisfied in their investigation of your story. Contact your politicians as Gary mentioned. If nothing good comes of it, atleast you will have learned not much good comes of bragging.

I agree with hunting4walleyes. The DNR has to look out for the resource in general. It may be that you will get it back when they are satisfied in their investigation of your story. Contact your politicians as Gary mentioned. If nothing good comes of it, atleast you will have learned not much good comes of bragging.

Outdoorsman93 I know here in Mn. it is illegal to remove sheds or other materials from plants or animal parts from any State owned park or “nature area”. With that being said,was this deer found in a State park ???? Regardless it still sucks they would take it from a young kid. I am assuming the cape from this deer came from a deer other than the 200 pt class deer that you found ?????