Finding and removing a dead bucks head and antlers

Obviously her husband was a fisherman…

that’s good.

good one

Got a good laugh out of that one

don’t give my wife the gun!! j/k

Classic!

Great One!

Very go sir.

Can anybody tell me the law on posession of a buck that was found dead while shed hunting? The reason I ask is that I found a dead buck 2 years ago that would score in the low 160’s. I brought the head and antlers home and decided i would like to do a europeon mount of him so I contacted our local C.O. he met me at my house and proceded to confiscate the head and antlers. he stated that It was illegal to remove the head and antlers from the woods because they were not naturally cast from the animal. I see alot of people bringing heads home and don’t have a problem with it. i was just wondering if anybody knows for sure what the mn. law is? The co was Kevin Prodzinski. I did end up getting the head back but it was a real pain!

I don’t know the laws behind that but I really doubt that the DNR holds rights over that. If they do I don’t think they should. But I suppose, like every other law on the planet, some idiot tried to get away with something like shooting a deer and claiming he found it and it’s his and took the state to court.

Personally, I do everything by the book and I would not call the DNR if I found a decomposed deer on my property,, state land? maybe a different story.

I would assume, it is like finding a car hit deer. Proper procedure is to call the DNR for a possession tag. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the law. Where the really gray area is, how long ago was the animal expired ?? It would be hard to write a law that said, if it has no useable meat, then you can just take it… plus, if people have deer heads, in their freezer (waiting to take to taxidermist or do a Euro mount) how can you tell if they harvested the animal or found it ??? I would think the DNR officer that came to your house, could have cut you some slack… you called him…??? It’s not like someone that poached it would have called him ???

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Where the really gray area is, how long ago was the animal expired ??

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BINGO!
It has to have a timeline on it. ANd how do ya do that?

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Where the really gray area is, how long ago was the animal expired ??

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BINGO!
It has to have a timeline on it. ANd how do ya do that?

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you are right Determining when and how the buck died is how i got the head back. I just wanted to give a heads up to people that post pictures of bucks found dead while shed hunting. I thought i was doing the right thing by calling him butt i will never call again. I may have found other dead bucks this year butt i won’t post pics. I was told by Kevin P co officer that no one can legally remove a dead animal without the proper tags. again i just want to give a heads up about my situation with the buck i removed from it’s resting place.

Thanks Bob

Now we know what to do

That must be a MN thing WI has no rule like that, buddy of mine called the warden when he found a dead buck under his bow stand and he said what would you do if you found it shed hunting.

Some one I know called into the MN DNR about this same sorta thing n the main point I remember them telling me is that the animals are the property of the state of Minnesota. Therefore, before taking an animal or any part there of (not sheds because they were cast from the animal), you must obtain a permit by either the DNR or some one like the sheriff. They went on to say, in regards to road kill, any thing over about 120″ will be taken by the DNR. I asked them, if i were to accidently hit a pheasant driving home i would need to call the DNR to get a permit to take the bird. They responded that that would be their interpretation of the explanation they were given….

I guess it prevents a situation like some one gut shooting a monster and picking it up in the spring when the wound was decayed…???

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is that the animals are the property of the state of Minnesota, any thing over about 120″ will be taken by the DNR.

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Those two statements are ridiculous if they are true. And that is why I never call the DNR when I find something on my property.

On my way to work driving up the North Shore a few years ago, I saw a buck that I had been hunting dead on the side of the road. Nothing huge, but it was a nice, tall 8 pt. that I had seen from my stand but could never get a shot. I wanted the rack to make some rattling antlers for my dad cause I know he wanted some, but didn’t want to ruin any of his racks in the process. I called the local CO and told him what I wanted to do and asked how to proceed. He met me at the spot about 30 mins. after I called him, gave me a possession tag, but told me I had to dispose of the carcass properly. There were no issues in my situation so maybe yours was a case of an over zealous CO? I’m not sure, but I know I’ll follow proper procedure to avoid any serious consequences.

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Those two statements are ridiculous if they are true. And that is why I never call the DNR when I find something on my property.

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I Agree. I have a hard time swallowing the 120 part…. Take it for what it is, just what I recall from a second hand conversation.

Then again, if the state doesnt own the animals, how else can they force me to buy a license to shoot one? I dont need a license to shoot a pig in my barn, or my dog on my porch… Then again I dont know any one that would sacrifice a bumper for a 70″ buck, but I have a feeling I could find one that would for a 170″. Interesting conversation going here.