LEGAL or ILLEGAL: A thread to sharpen each other through debate.

[HarryToolips]

Question for others on this board. A few years ago a friend of mine shot a bull moose during the immature season. The bull had one antler with 3 points on one side and the second antler was non existent. Was it a legal immature bull as per the definition?

Wow that's a hard one...I would think since the regs say a spike fork can't have more than two tines on one antler but it doesn't say it can have zero tines on a non existent antler it would be illegal unless it had even a little bit of a bony protrusion then it would be ok but I could be wrong..

[Mudsey]

You nailed it. Being a conscientious hunter he took it to the CO's and that's what they determined. He lost the moose and received a warning.

[Rotorwash]

I took a mule deer one year that was a 4x5 but on one side he had forking brow tines that were longer than an inch each.. would one of those count as an extra tine?

Also there is a buck that hangs around my place that has one antler that runs down along his jaw that has many 1" ish Tines coming off the whole length but no forking of the beams... would he be legal if there is 5 of them? One of his offspring has tines splitting on that side and was going into its face this year.. poor thing

[adamgarbett]

Shooting deer with a .223?

[Redthies]

Shooting deer with a .223?

Are you asking if it’s legal? If so, yes, it is. .223 is a centerfire cartridge and that’s all the regs specify. Lots of guys hunt deer with .223, but that doesn’t make it a good idea. I personally feel .243 is the minimum I’d ever carry for deer, with something like 7mm-08 being ideal. But just saying that is going to open a giant can of worms.

[adamgarbett]

I completely agree. It was just a question to throw in the mix

[wideopenthrottle]

here is one that someone (lets call him tideopenwottle) actually did...heheheheh ...it was years ago and I had no idea if I was doing anything wrong or not...what do you guys think?...I put it in the hunting pranks thread

WT hunting with my main hunting buddy about 8 years ago IIRC...we split up to circle around an area and were going to meet up in a few hours near a road that wound through the area....
as I was slowly approaching our meeting point, I heard a bang...I ducked and waited a moment cuz it was only a few hundred yards away...I then heard another bang and thumpity thumpity thumpity crash less than 50 yards away...

I walked over to it carefully and waited a minute or two but no sign of my buddy....so I started to gut it....I actually finished gutting it and dragged it to within a few yards of the road....I decided I would put it out of sight a bit in case a truck came by on the road and then go find buddy....

When I found him a few hundred yards from where I had found the deer I asked if he got one, where did he shoot from, did he see blood, did it feel like a hit all the usual stuff?...he said he thinks he was dialed in but might have missed....like a good hunting buddy I offered to help him look for it.....

we walked around for 15 minutes while he kept saying he thinks he must have missed but I say lets keep looking.....finally he says lets just head back to the road...I say ok but lets do one last sweep for blood as we move towards the road...

I could barely contain myself as we were getting close to the road and he noticed the drag marks and the blood trail...we both laughed hysterically for a good long time when I pointed to his deer behind the log near the road....

[Rock Doctor]

[Dash]

Dash
Based on your pictures and what I read in the Regs, I would say that bull looks like a two point. I would look in the regs under "Tine or Point" definition. Read it very carefully and decide. I will interested in what your interpretation or feedback is. My opinion is based on that very definition. This is great practice at home, and will make you a more skilled hunter in the long run.

Thanks so much for the feedback. I have indeed read that section a few different times and I've really gone back and forth. Based on that, I think his left side is in a grey area simply because I really can't gauge the size of that tine in between. I feel like what may look small in a camera could be just big enough in real life considering they're such large animals. His right side though, based on the current appearance I really think qualifies as a two point. That middle nub is just not high or wide enough. With that being said, I'm really inexperienced with the growth rates and how much that could change come November.

I really appreciate hearing everyone's feedback!

[Muliechaser]

100% legal as a "spikefork"