Settle a quick debate..

[RyoTHC]

This should be an easy one I’d suspect..

you’re hunting last light, shoot an animal and are confident you made a good hit but it runs away, you decide not to pressure it and pull out for the night, returning the next morning and tracking down the animal.


when do YOU personally cut your tag if in this situation.

[hawk-i]

you do it when you have an animal down...and pull out a flashlight to track that last light shot.

[Keta1969]

You walk up to it confirm it's dead and cut your tag. I might be wrong but I think you can be in trouble for having a cut tag and no animal to go with it.

[upperleftcoaster]

Cut it when you are physically at the animal, confirmed dead. If you cannot find the animal, up to your own convictions if you consider that tag “used” or not.

[Treed]

CO stops you. Can I see your licenses please? So you shot a buck today? It’s four point only, can I inspect your buck? Oh you lost it?

i can’t see that going well with the wrong CO. Cut your tag when you have your deer.

[IronNoggin]

You walk up to it confirm it's dead and cut your tag. I might be wrong but I think you can be in trouble for having a cut tag and no animal to go with it.

This. 1,000 %

[adriaticum]

Just before you start skinning it

[RyoTHC]

you do it when you have an animal down...and pull out a flashlight to track that last light shot.

absolutely, but tonnes of hunters make a sub par shot, or are hunting with a bow and pushing the animal and bumping it from its bed right after shooting it all but ensures a lost animal..

[Ponderosa Pine]

Once poking it in the eye with your barrel/bow to confirm death. Personally I would not cut it before or after this. The last light shot has always been a bit of a judgment call.

[Ponderosa Pine]

absolutely, but tonnes of hunters make a sub par shot, or are hunting with a bow and pushing the animal and bumping it from its bed right after shooting it all but ensures a lost animal..

Too many midnight tracks by flashlight have made me more of a first light fan. Back at camp making dinner and camp fire when the sun sets...unless it's with a solid group that's willing to burn the midnight oil tracking.

[high horse Hal]

tonnes ) maybe, but not the majority
absolutely, but tonnes of hunters make a sub par shot, or are hunting with a bow and pushing the animal and bumping it from its bed right after shooting it all but ensures a lost animal..

[RyoTHC]

tonnes ) maybe, but not the majority

maybe when you’re talking about rifle, but almost every bow hunter I know will leave the animal and not push it after an evening shot..

so the question is valid..

I expected people to say, after they found the downed animal.. but this can quickly be complicated..

last day of the season, you don’t find the animal that night but you find it the next morning, you clearly aren’t going to cut your tag for a day outside the legal season…

that’s where the debate started.

legally by the regulations, you are told NOT to cut your tag unless you’ve retrieved your game…
so if you follow the law in this situation, it makes you break another law.

interesting conundrum, I’m sure it’s not common but I’m positive it’s happened.

[exv]

As a CO told me, “when your standing over it”.

[high horse Hal]

last light last day is a conundrum

If I walked in on a dead one, obviously it was killed the day before in the legal season, would cut the tag as such.

wounded, I don't think there is a legal obligation to retrieve a wounded animal
so that short period when looking/hunting before finding could be dicey, just be looking for something in-season at the time, no loose lips

and finding the wounded but alive, would have to let it walk, by the law

[CranePete]

If it’s a last light/last day of the season scenario, then I’m making a call to the CO service. The idea of a wounded animal suffering or losing an animal 50 yards from where last seen would bug the crap out of me. I’d like to think the CO would allow me the opportunity to finish what started out as a fair chase hunt.

[358mag]

You walk up to it confirm it's dead and cut your tag. I might be wrong but I think you can be in trouble for having a cut tag and no animal to go with it.

Bingo read the regulations

[RyoTHC]

Bingo read the regulations

thanks for your contribution.


So what you’re saying is you’d walk up to a 3pt mulie on November 1st the day after any Buck closes, tag it for November 1 and go about your merry way? Couldn’t think of a faster way to get a ticket for poaching out of season.

Edit

im going to go with phoning the CO and hoping they are in a good trusting mood, as both ways make you break the law otherwise.

[upperleftcoaster]

thanks for your contribution.


So what you’re saying is you’d walk up to a 3pt mulie on November 1st the day after any Buck closes, tag it for November 1 and go about your merry way? Couldn’t think of a faster way to get a ticket for poaching out of season.

Edit

im going to go with phoning the CO and hoping they are in a good trusting mood, as both ways make you break the law otherwise.

that is an interesting conundrum

[landphil]

thanks for your contribution.


So what you’re saying is you’d walk up to a 3pt mulie on November 1st the day after any Buck closes, tag it for November 1 and go about your merry way? Couldn’t think of a faster way to get a ticket for poaching out of season.

Edit

im going to go with phoning the CO and hoping they are in a good trusting mood, as both ways make you break the law otherwise.

Why would you tag it Nov 1 if Oct 31 was the “day of kill”? Assuming is wasn’t still alive the next A.M, in which case I wouldn’t be killing it or cutting a tag without a conversation with a CO.

[RiverOtter]

Last day, last light animal that I don't retrieve until the next morning is going to have the tag cut for the day it was shot. Without standing over said animal with a watch to record time of last breath I have to assume it was prior to 11:59 pm.
Assuming it didn't expire overnight and needed a coupe de grâce the next morning, my conscience would still be clear knowing that the animal was initially shot legally in an open season. If that's how it went down, there should be some evidence on the ground like old blood trail and/or the wounded bedding area to back up my story.

I don't spend much time thinking about imaginary "What If" scenarios in my head to fret over.

[HarryToolips]

Depending on how it ran off, I may or may not leave it until the morning... as soon as I've confirmed that I did indeed hit the animal with the shot, I then cancel my tag: call it good karma towards retrieving the animal, and thus far, it's worked for me every time....but then again, I guess a CO could have an issue with one explaining a cut tag based solely off morel reasoning..

[igojuone]

There's not debate, you cut tag when you've removed your game.

[180grainer]

CO stops you. Can I see your licenses please? So you shot a buck today? It’s four point only, can I inspect your buck? Oh you lost it?

i can’t see that going well with the wrong CO. Cut your tag when you have your deer.
Keep driving and look for another one?

[Norwestalta]

maybe when you’re talking about rifle, but almost every bow hunter I know will leave the animal and not push it after an evening shot..

so the question is valid..

I expected people to say, after they found the downed animal.. but this can quickly be complicated..

last day of the season, you don’t find the animal that night but you find it the next morning, you clearly aren’t going to cut your tag for a day outside the legal season…

that’s where the debate started.

legally by the regulations, you are told NOT to cut your tag unless you’ve retrieved your game…
so if you follow the law in this situation, it makes you break another law.

interesting conundrum, I’m sure it’s not common but I’m positive it’s happened.

Call your co, explain your situation and go from there. Make sure you get his/her/its name. Usually get a quick response when you call the Rapp line.

[HarryToolips]

last light last day is a conundrum

If I walked in on a dead one, obviously it was killed the day before in the legal season, would cut the tag as such.

wounded, I don't think there is a legal obligation to retrieve a wounded animal
so that short period when looking/hunting before finding could be dicey, just be looking for something in-season at the time, no loose lips

and finding the wounded but alive, would have to let it walk, by the law

It does state in the regs that every effort should be made to retrieve the animal...

[landphil]

Quick debate my arse! :-?

[Norwestalta]

It does state in the regs that every effort should be made to retrieve the animal...

Yes but you also can't shoot after dark. Don't know if a stick and string is different?

[Ponderosa Pine]

Good conversation that has me wondering then:
Is the best way to contact the CO for the area you are hunting in via the RAPP line?...1-877-952-7277
And then consider a lot of areas don't have cell coverage.
I have been told that if you are not within cell service that a detailed note(in pen) on the back of the Tag in question is best practice...of course until you call when in coverage area

[KodiakHntr]

Depending on how it ran off, I may or may not leave it until the morning... as soon as I've confirmed that I did indeed hit the animal with the shot, I then cancel my tag: call it good karma towards retrieving the animal, and thus far, it's worked for me every time....but then again, I guess a CO could have an issue with one explaining a cut tag based solely off morel reasoning..

It’s not an issue for the CO, for him it’s easy. Cut the tag before you retrieve your animal it’s a fine.
The bigger issue is that you’ve now given a CO a reason to investigate you, because the more plausible explanation (since it’s clearly spelled out in the synopsis- retrieve your animal, THEN cut your tag- is that you shot something thinking it was legal, cut your tag, then got cold feet and walked away from it.

[KodiakHntr]

Yes but you also can't shoot after dark. Don't know if a stick and string is different?

You can absolutely shoot after dark in BC. You can shoot 24 hours a day 7 days a week. You can’t hunt more than an hour after sunset to an hour before sunrise though.

I asked many CO’s that exact question over the years. Invariably the answer is “well you aren’t really hunting anymore. It isn’t a question of fair chase, because you’ve already hunted the animal and wounded it, now it is about recovery.”

[digger dogger]

maybe when you’re talking about rifle, but almost every bow hunter I know will leave the animal and not push it after an evening shot..

so the question is valid..

I expected people to say, after they found the downed animal.. but this can quickly be complicated..

last day of the season, you don’t find the animal that night but you find it the next morning, you clearly aren’t going to cut your tag for a day outside the legal season…

that’s where the debate started.

legally by the regulations, you are told NOT to cut your tag unless you’ve retrieved your game…
so if you follow the law in this situation, it makes you break another law.

interesting conundrum, I’m sure it’s not common but I’m positive it’s happened.


Last day of season, I’d leave a msg with a CO, or rapp line my intentions the next day, and my info.
Then go look for the animal, then cut my tag once found.

[browningboy]

Tag isn’t cut until the animal is at your feet

[Norwestalta]

You can absolutely shoot after dark in BC. You can shoot 24 hours a day 7 days a week. You can’t hunt more than an hour after sunset to an hour before sunrise though.

I asked many CO’s that exact question over the years. Invariably the answer is “well you aren’t really hunting anymore. It isn’t a question of fair chase, because you’ve already hunted the animal and wounded it, now it is about recovery.”

Well that's interesting. I guess at the end of the day if you're pinched it'll all depend on the Co's discretion and possibly a lawyer be needed. I would call the Rapp line anyways

[Redthies]

last light last day is a conundrum, finding it wounded but alive, would have to let it walk, by the law

It’s unlikely a CO would charge you for dispatching a wounded animal that you legally shot at last light the next morning. It would be a dick move. You would definitely get a stern talking to, and be left to sweat it out for a while, but in the end, animal welfare should trump all.

[HarryToolips]

It’s not an issue for the CO, for him it’s easy. Cut the tag before you retrieve your animal it’s a fine.
The bigger issue is that you’ve now given a CO a reason to investigate you, because the more plausible explanation (since it’s clearly spelled out in the synopsis- retrieve your animal, THEN cut your tag- is that you shot something thinking it was legal, cut your tag, then got cold feet and walked away from it.
It states in the regs that you must not be in possession of a big game animal without a properly cancelled species license and it states immediately after the kill, and before handling the big game animal, cancel the appropriate species license, but it doesn't specifically state that you can't cancel it prior to retrieval (but please correct me if I'm wrong, but I review the regs more frequently than most I know)..

However, it does state on the back of the species license itself, that 'pre-cancellation partial cancellation, or over cancellation are considered improper cancellation...so IMO, that's the answer..

[wideopenthrottle]

when standing beside it before getting bloody...when I take out my knife to gut it the leatherman scissors also get used cut my tag...I might reposition it first maybe to look and snapped a pic but only if way back from a road

[Norwestalta]

It’s unlikely a CO would charge you for dispatching a wounded animal that you legally shot at last light the next morning. It would be a dick move. You would definitely get a stern talking to, and be left to sweat it out for a while, but in the end, animal welfare should trump all.

Yes it would be but again how do you prove you shot it during legal light a finished it off in the dark? These guys deal with liars all the time. Personally I wouldn't take a chance on the guy being understanding or not.

[KodiakHntr]

it states immediately after the kill, and before handling the big game animal, cancel the appropriate species license, but it doesn't specifically state that you can't cancel it prior to retrieval (but please correct me if I'm wrong, but I review the regs more frequently than most I know)..

However, it does state on the back of the species license itself, that 'pre-cancellation partial cancellation, or over cancellation are considered improper cancellation...so IMO, that's the answer..

Not sure what you are asking here? You specifically answered what I think is the question you are asking. Cutting your tag before retrieving your animal is, by definition, “pre-cancellation”.

Until you have proven it is dead by retrieving it, you don’t know that you have killed it. “No person shall kill, cripple, or wound game without making all reasonable effort to locate, dispatch, retrieve, and include it in their bag limit.”
Until you have located, then killed, then retrieved the animal you don’t know that killed it. Canceling your tag prior to fulfilling all three of those steps is “pre-cancellation”.

That said, I’m not going to lose any sleep over what you do with your animals and your tags, I’m just pointing out that you are doing it incorrectly in the eyes of the law, and it could bite you in the ass one day.

And to be honest, I’m not even sure what it is that you think you are gaining by cutting the tag prior to retrieving your animal, other than gambling that the shot went where you thought it did, that your bullet did what it was supposed to do, and that the animal didn’t fall into a spot where you can’t find it…

[jikkyo]

IMO, it doesn't have to be complicated. Our whole hunting system is basically an honour system. Same as driving or criminal justice. If I shoot an animal on last day and last light and have to leave it overnight, so be it. I'll head out first light next day and recover the animal. Cut my tag when I confirm the animal is dead. It would not even cross my mind to call the CO for permission.

[HarryToolips]

Not sure what you are asking here? You specifically answered what I think is the question you are asking. Cutting your tag before retrieving your animal is, by definition, “pre-cancellation”.

Until you have proven it is dead by retrieving it, you don’t know that you have killed it. “No person shall kill, cripple, or wound game without making all reasonable effort to locate, dispatch, retrieve, and include it in their bag limit.”
Until you have located, then killed, then retrieved the animal you don’t know that killed it. Canceling your tag prior to fulfilling all three of those steps is “pre-cancellation”.

That said, I’m not going to lose any sleep over what you do with your animals and your tags, I’m just pointing out that you are doing it incorrectly in the eyes of the law, and it could bite you in the ass one day.

And to be honest, I’m not even sure what it is that you think you are gaining by cutting the tag prior to retrieving your animal, other than gambling that the shot went where you thought it did, that your bullet did what it was supposed to do, and that the animal didn’t fall into a spot where you can’t find it…

Not asking anything, I was just merely confirming that you are indeed correct..I have only canceled one tag prior to retrieving the animal, in a gesture of good will so to speak..I did end up retrieving it anyway...was also based off the assumption that it would indeed expire, as I knew exactly where I hit it, hence why I was including it in my bag limit at the time (I was a new hunter at the time)... but thanks for the verification, and this thread is good for everyone to learn those particular intricacies of the regs..