New guy tag questions

[more_ammo]

I'm wanting to quarter or "debone" the deer in the field instead of dragging the entire deer back to my truck. A few questions. How do you tag the deer if all you are taking away are game bags? I'm also being told that the only thing that can be left in the field are organs ... Meaning you may not debone in the field? I called ODNR and am confused. It sounds like you have to drag out the entire deer if hunting public. What exactly are the rules here?
Thanks in advance

 

[Hedgelj]

Welcome!

Pull up a chair and join in. Your question while completely the norm in other states is not a common here in Ohio.

(please correct me if I'm wrong)
After you kill the deer you must put on a temporary tag before you move it. Then call/ visit/ online it in and get the permanent tag number. The permanent tag number needs to stay with/near the deer.

I'm not familiar with a law stating you CANNOT debone a deer and the Ohio Revised Code tells you only what isn't legal (therefore anything not described is technically legal; this is why open carry was legal prior to concealed carry laws). BUT do you want to be a test case? And do you want your day to be determined by a (generally) well intentioned but probably not an expert on the nuance of that law?

What's the purpose or rationale for wanting to debone it in the field. Out west it's because moving the whole (larger than a whitetail) quadruped isn't practical.

 

[Johnny44]

My initial thought is the temporary tag is only needed if you don't check it in online. Once it is checked online, you can move/quarter/debone. If I were on public and going to debone, I wouldn't hesitate once it was checked in electronically. I may be completely wrong though.

 

[Hedgelj]

Directly from this years reg booklet BUT note the disclaimer at the front

 

[GoetzTalon]

I was wondering the same thing. Getting older plus my hunting buddy is also it would be nice to clean on the spot instead of dragging the whole carcass back to the truck. Even if we had to make two trips to get it out would be better than moving the whole thing. Hunting public we go deep to get away from the crowd.

 

[Curran]

I scanned through the Rule 1501:31-15-11 | Deer regulations and did not see anything that specifically addresses quartering or deboning the deer in the field. If a call to the Game Warden in the county you're hunting doesn't provide clarity, and if you still planned to quarter a deer to pack it out, it would be wise to electronically check the deer AND have your temporary tag attached to each one of the quarters / games bags as you pack it out.

That said, the best practice to not get into any unnecessary trouble would be to drag the deer out with the temporary tag attached.

 

[more_ammo]

My initial thought is the temporary tag is only needed if you don't check it in online. Once it is checked online, you can move/quarter/debone. If I were on public and going to debone, I wouldn't hesitate once it was checked in electronically. I may be completely wrong though.

That's pretty much what I was thinking made sense

 

[more_ammo]

I was wondering the same thing. Getting older plus my hunting buddy is also it would be nice to clean on the spot instead of dragging the whole carcass back to the truck. Even if we had to make two trips to get it out would be better than moving the whole thing. Hunting public we go deep to get away from the crowd.

Yes indeed. I am getting older and beat up. I just pinched my back pretty good just getting my stand and gear ready .

 

[Johnny44]

Directly from this years reg booklet BUT note the discl

That's pretty much what I was thinking made sense

Game Warden in Delaware County is Maurice Irish. He always returns my calls. Try him. Number is in the regs book. He is top notch.

 

[Hedgelj]

Game Warden in Delaware County is Maurice Irish. He always returns my calls. Try him. Number is in the regs book. He is top notch.

I see two problems with this
1) Game wardens don't always know the rules and are known to make up their interpretation of them. This has happened twice that I'm aware of. First was with 45/70 (iirc) when a ticket was issued that it wasn't a straight walled cartridge, fought and ruled in the hunters favor. Second was a game warden mistakenly classified a mares leg as a rifle and issued a ticket which was fought and ruled in the hunters favor.

2) If they tell you No, then you have to go with it. If there's nothing in the ORC prohibiting it you at least have a legal leg to stand on (unsure of how wobbly) to fight it later.