Indiana DNR is a joke

[trdtnlbwhntr]

Im going to rant a little bit here, because I feel like I was let down for doing the right thing.

This morning I had a buck come hobbling through the woods trying to get to a pine thicket. It was obvious something wasn't right. As he got closer you could see his back left leg had been shot just above the knee. He had it held up tight against his body and the bottom portion was frozen stiff in a straight down angle (tip toe walking if he were trying to use it). His hips were sticking out and he looked to be in a world of trouble with winter coming. As he worked around my position I decided I couldn't let him suffer and put a bullet through his heart. It appears as though he has an infection in the wound. I loaded him up in hopes of salvaging some of the meat, but have my qualms about butchering an animal with an infection in the meat. I put a temporary tag on him and brought him home. I then called the DNR to explain the situation and to see if they would issue me a tag for the antlers and allow me to keep hunting (Indiana is a one buck all year long state and I just shot a 1.5 y/o buck because the circumstances dictated such)

Dustin this is officer X. I got a call saying you shot a buck that was wounded?
yeah he was in bad shape had been shot in the back leg and was not going to survive. It looks like he has an infection in it and his whole entire back half looks like its in a sad shape.
Unless he has cwd/ehd there is nothing I can do for you.
So I do the moral thing and dont get meat for my freezer because Im not eating something with an infection it it? What do i do with this carcass?
It is yours to do with it as you want.
What can I legally do with it or what is illegal to do with it?
YOU CAN ROLL IT IN A DITCH AFTER YOU CHECK IT IN FOR ALL WE CARE.
Fantastic thanks ~click~

Lesson learned. Shoot it and leave it for the coyotes and go back in the winter for the rack. What a joke. I could have done just that but its illegal to do. I do the legal thing and they dont even bother to come out and look at the carcass. They dont bother to see if I am a dirtbag trying to finagle them or not. They just say tough your season is over.
I will do the same thing again by putting a suffering animal down, I will not however, put a tag on it. I know its illegal, but the way I see it they are asking me to be a heartless jerk and I care about the animals I spend so much life going after. Bottom line, the IDNR is a joke and I am thoroughly upset about this.

[Monster Raxx]

It sounds like you did the right thing. The problem I see is how many people would make up stuff to get another tag. It would be a grey area if they gave another tag to everyone who said they saw a deer that they did not think would make it through the winter. Deer are a tough animal and can survive a lot. Sorry your season is over hopefully you wont have to deal with that situation again.

[exojam]

Is there by chance a local check in station that has (or would have) a DNR rep so they could see the deer instead of trying to do this over the phone? I wonder if the outcome may have been different if they saw what you had.

James

[trdtnlbwhntr]

I asked if he could swing by the house and take a look at it. Nope, wouldn't do it.

[MattyG]

someone in my family shot a little buck (during gun hunting)that got hit by a car in wisconsin. this was 5 or 6 years ago and the whole deer was bad. The WDNR came out and looked at the deer and gave him a new tag. to bad you could not show them the deer.

[kenn1320]

Deer are tough, no way of knowing if he would have made it or not. In your mind you did the right thing, be happy you were able to end the deers suffering if it was suffering, that was the noble thing to do. As mentioned its a bummer the dnr didnt give you the time of day, but your call was likely one of many and if your state is like MI, they have very few officers to send out and the ones they have are busy chasing poaching calls. Do not stoop to the level of saying you will knowingly break the law next time, doesnt sound like thats really the type of person you are.

[dirt nap giver]

I would bring it in anyway. If it means you'll have a chance at a replacement tag. They probably get this stuff all the time. Who knows what that CO had to deal with so far this season. Bring it in. It's a lot easier to say no over the phone than it is in person. That's why salesmen prefer to meet in person. I would complete the effort by showing them in person. Don't take no for an answer. They ask for morals and ethics, and they don't always realize that the person they are dealing with is what they ask of us as hunters.

CO' s deal with dirt bags all the time. Everyone is a suspect, this mindset is how they survive doing the job they do. I deal with CO's all the time, they always start off skeptical, but after SEEING, they back down on the attitude. If you have to, go above him! There is no way I would let this go! Be proactive........ With a smile and humble spirit of course goes a long way with them.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[goldtip5575]

WI DNR isnt much better.When EAB was around if a wounded buck came by you had to let it go because you didnt have a buck tag.What example of hunting ethics is taught
if you have a youth hunting?

[adrenalin]

It sucks but its just part of hunting. If you see a wounded deer you kill it. Use your tag and thats it. Somebody will probably do the same for one you wound someday. I know 3 people that burned there gun tags this year on bucks they wouldnt have killed otherwise. I see the reasoning behind the dnr not issueing another tag but the officer didnt have to be a knob about it.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Hill Hunter]

My brother and I both used our gun buck tags on wounded bucks this year. Both bucks were passed by members of our group several times during the archery season. It sucked not being able to have a buck tag for the rest of the season (shot mine opening evening) or muzzeloader, but I would do it again as I'm not going to watch them suffer or be in misery until they die from infection or get taken by coyotes or a hard winter. I didn't even call the dnr, maybe they would have given another tag for my brothers deer, as it had bad infection and we discarded the meat. This is the first time I've taken a buck (its happened with does) that was wounded badly, that I wouldnt have otherwise taken....just part of hunting I guess. The one I shot looked to have been hit opening morning, and was shot through the upper back angling down and the top of the shoulder was broken. I'd imagine that whoever shot it initially, thought they got it and it probably fell down, then got up to hobble away a short time later. The one my brother shot (closing weekend of gun season) looked to have been shot with a slug and was hit through both front legs, just above the knee. Probably also hit the first weekend of gun season as the wounds were infected and festered. To top it off, I had a fully mature eight pointer come by two days after I put my tag on the wounded one. Had to let it walk. A deer we've seen for three years now and was pretty much a ghost during the season. This was the first sighting of that buck....I hope to be rewarded with an opportunity this late season....

[GRUD]

Most of the Indiana officers that I know are top notch guys. They constantly deal with a ton of idiots.

[ Post made via iPhone ]