read the regs!
West Virginia
Local guy - nice guy too - shot his second gun buck this week. He did not know the law though and had buck taken away. Think a neighbor or someone turned him in. I feel bad for him but need to obey the law too!
What law did he not obey? Was he requires to kill a doe before taking a second buck?
Yes same as bow - must harvest a doe b4 second buck.
From my understanding if you kill a doe in the early doe season in October it would count towards your second buck with a gun but not the bow. The doe with a bow you must use a bow tag. At least that is how I read the regs.
I hate the fact that gun hunters fulfill their requirement with a ten dollar doe tag while bowhunters fulfill their requirement with a $21 tag.
In my eyes, last year I thought the rule could only be fulfilled after the buck was taken not before. Seems more effective if you must kill your doe in buck season before your second buck.
I am still trying to make sure of the regs between bow and rifle. If you take a buck with your bow as your only deer so far this year, Can you then go out this week and take a buck with your rifle? Or do you have to take a Doe first?
As I understand it the bow and gun season are treated separately. But that is something I would clarify with DNR law enforcement.
As far as the buck, ignorance of the law is no excuse. If you are going to go hunting take the time to read the regulations and if you don't understand them call law enforcement and ask.
Read the regulations!!! The requirement to kill a doe before a second buck is killed does not apply to every county.
That deer is going to qualify for the enhanced penalties. Looks like he's going to be paying over 2000.00 for not reading the regulations. An expensive lesson for sure .
I think you are right gobbler - I think it will cost him a little fortune! Ya really need to read the regs and ask questions!
And to think he could be eating a nice doe. Instead it will cost him dough.
You're a poet, and I didn't know it.
You could read them over and over and still not understand them.....
Then call and ask if you don't understand them. I've done it before, it's not that hard.
I know what you mean about the regs being difficult to understand. The best advice is to call and ask if you aren't sure. However I have done this in the past and have actually received conflicting answers from different officers. But for the most part you will get straight answers.
I think I mentioned it before it's probably best to call your regional office and ask for law enforcement, get their answer and keep a note of who and when you got your answer.
Looks like he felt he had read them, looks like he was wrong though.....Nasty way to find out though..
"Hunting is a privilege not a right" That line of thinking just doesn't sit exactly straight with me. I believe that as hunters we have certain responsibilities mostly to the animals we hunt. We are responsible for following guidelines that are supposedly set up to preserve healthy wildlife populations however I believe over the past twenty years or so these guidelines have been adjusted to be more of a money generator for the state rather than managing a healthy wildlife population. As far as hunting being a privilege not a right goes I believe as Americans we have the right to hunt but along with that we have the responsibility to obey the regulations that go along with it, even if some of those regulations appear to be supporting something we don't totally agree with. Just my thoughts.....
Not trying to start a fight but show me anywhere in the Constitution or Bill of Rights where we have a right to hunt?
As much as we may want it to be a right, or feel that it is a right that just isn't so. It's the same as driving, it's a privlege and not a right. That is why hunting privleges can be revoked for repeated violations, just the same as driving. That's why we have to pass a hunting test and buy a license to hunt. If it were a right we wouldn't have to.
As much as we feel like its a right it just isn't so now .
Yup, you are right about one thing, just as long as we let them tell us what we can and can't do hunting is a privilege! I was under the misunderstanding that "we the people" were in control. I guess now we just let the leaders tell us what's good for us and the wildlife we love. As I said before, we need to follow the regulations that are issued but I believe some are more for generating money than they are for the preservation of wildlife. We need to be involved more in our legislatures decisions. As a side note I find it a bit confusing that the state legislature (not the DNR) does all hunting and fishing regulations. I would think people of the DNR would have much more knowledge about wildlife and how to manage them.
Laws are set by the Legislature so they can be in "code" which makes them enforceable by law enforcement. Usually, in cooperation with DNR. Seasons and bag limits are set by the DNR Commissioners.
The ideal situation would be a good working relationship between the DNR and the legislature, which unfortunately hasn't seemed to be the case recently.
Funny, when you talk to the people at the DNR about a specific regulation that you would like to see changed they act like they have nothing to do with it and direct you to your legislators. You would think if they pulled any weight they might offer a little help or insight.
How are DNR Commisioners appointed and for how long? What is the interaction of DNR commisioners with the DNR director? Do they oversee the director or vice versa? The DNR organizational chart doesnt mention the commisioners. What are the responsibilities of the commisioners besides seasons and limits and is it a full time position? What are the qualification requirements of a Commisioner?
These questions are out of ignorance. I tried to goggle these questions but was unsuccessful. Thanks in advance for anyone who elaborates
Congress passed a law that give states ownership to the animals in it a long time ago. It is a fallacy only if you need the law to tell you to wipe your own rear end. I reckon if that is what one needs to be able to hunt than sobeit. I don't. I get that from the Lord, not the legislature.
In the end the guy was wrong. I hate it for him. But, I've set here all summer and watched blundering thread after thread about the law. I'd say this guy was a victim here. God Bless
Commissioners are appointed by the governor there duties are explained in chapter 20-1-16 and 20-1-17
Of course he was a victim. It was a Government conspiracy to key in on him. The whole system was set up to make him the fall guy.
Everybody is a victim, nowdays no one is responsible for their own actions. Anything that goes wrong for anybody has to be someone else's fault. He'll probably need professional counseling to get over this . It is emotionally and psychologically draining knowing that you are a victim, especially as a result of a giant conspiracy propagated by the WV DNR for the sole purpose of making this guy kill that buck.
If a full investigation is done It will probably come out that a gun was held to his head forcing him to shoot that buck.
You get your license from The Lord? How does that work? Do you have to get them at church or is there a website ? Are the tags any cheaper ? Do you still have to earn a second buck?
LOL. hahahaha. too funny. I have always said that the gubment was the reason we are not seeing many huge bucks in Pendleton county. I heard they trapped them and send them to Iowa so Lee and Tiffany can hunt them. We got their coyotes
One important part to remember is the DNR Commissioners are for the sportsmen of WV. It is important that they consider the views of the sportsman of West Virginia. For this to happen, people have to actively attend the DNR Commission meetings and the commission needs to take in full account what is brought forth at regional DNR meetings that are designed for public input.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse. The regulations come out in summer which gives us ample time to read them. Any DNR employee or commissioner is willing to answer any question of the law.
All of this is just in jest of course. I agree there is no excuse for not reading the regs and if you don't understand them then ask someone that does. I sat down last week and read them cover to cover. One thing I didn't understand was where it said that a person farming on his land did not have to wear blaze orange. Doesn't that go without saying. I don't have to wear blaze orange on my property if I am not hunting but I do. I won't even go for a walk down the road from my property without it on. Wonder why they put that in the regs?
I don't know because legally he isn't supposed to shoot from a tractor since it's a motorized vehicle. You got to remember that a lot of laws and regulations were written decades ago. What was important to them back then we might not even think about now?
I thought the same thing. So is he farming or hunting? LOL.
Thanks Ken...and thanks for contributing on this site as a DNR Commissioner.
Gobbler, that really got your attention didn't it? Amazing how a guy can agree with what you've said but, throw an intended wise crack into the last sentence, and get the emotionally charged riled up enough to miss the obvious. You really get fire'y over hunting law or, anyone who might disagree with your assessment of it. That's twice now.
On a serious note, he obviously didn't have the luxury or knowledge of this place to get the grand tutelage you have offered all summer long, on the threads I analogized. My what a wise old bird you are.
I hope you take that last paragraph for the joke and poke it was intended as. God Bless
Congress passed a law that give states ownership to the animals in it a long time ago.
So the state owns the deer if you try to hunt, but they don't if you hit one with your car. Yep that's sounds about right. Bend over guys!!!
Gobbler he can't be farming and hunting at the same time. If he is hunting he needs blaze orange.
It's probably a part of some big Dept. Of Agriculture conspiracy for farmers to be able to hunt while it looks like they are not hunting. It's probably why we have low deer numbers. The farmers are killing the deer and hiding them in tractors , bailers, and other. Farm equipment. Since they don't have blaze orange on, no one is suspecting them. I bet the Amish are in on it too!
Oh great gobbler with that kind of attitude now you will probably get the Amish rioting too!!! Rofl
Lol. I just thought the wording of that was funny. Didn't even see the need to put that in there.
I havn't been to a sectional meeting for a while because the last several times I went ole Billy Ray in the back of the room started giving the DNR guys a hard time and then the DNR guys got an attitude and I never went back. LOL. Maybe it has changed
They have a completely new format now. It's not just one big meeting with DNR up front. It's spread out into multiple stations where you can talk more one on one with the biologists about the proposals.
Billy bob can't dominate the whole meeting that way, plus it's more personal and you can have one on one conversations about the subjects.
I am going to the next one in martinsburg then gobbler. I didn't know that. That makes more sense.
