WapitiBob
Veteran member
We stopped at a checkpoint last year and the guy didn't want to see anything but our tags once I said they were all boned out and in coolers. Tags were in zip locks.
Antelope hunting gear
- Thread starter Work2hunt
- Start date
The operable word in the regulations cited above by libidilatimmy is "accompany". The sex organs do not have to be "naturally attached" as long as they are with the animal or edible portion thereof. If your hunt is goverened by subparagraph (b) above (most hunts in WY) and in the case of a buck or bull, you just need the antlers/horns to accompany the meat and not the male genitalia. The exception to this would be, for example if you were going to drop-off your antlers/horns to a taxidermist, but continuing your travels afterwards with the meat. In this case you would also want to retain the sex organs, so you could retain those to accompany your meat to be legal after you leave the taxidermist.
This was specifically pointed out to me by the very helpful and friendly game warden out of Cokeville, Neil Hymas, on my moose hunt a few years ago...
Horniac
libidilatimmy
Veteran member
Good to know, they've changed the language in this regulation in recent history so I was just speaking from an experience I had with a warden in the field 7 years ago who had a less than friendly disposition. I'd shot a buck muley and quartered it to pack back to the vehicle. The guy ran me through the ringer saying I couldn't prove that the quarters actually belonged to the antlers and, since I didn't keep the nuts, could have been from a doe on an antlered only tag. In the end, I told him he was welcome to take samples and have the lab confirm that it was in fact the same animal. He wrote me a warning and we went our separate ways. This was the same guy that wrote me a warning for not having blaze orange on while driving my pickup on the county road heading home from hunting for the weekend, and he also had a reputation for harassing hunters. I know from experience that most of the wardens in the state are very friendly, helpful, and reasonable people, but I now just error on the side of caution when it comes this issue.
shootbrownelk
Veteran member
The reason I posted that part about leaving sex organs attached was because a friend of mine from Wisconsin was ticketed & fined for quartering a Bull elk and tossing the junk. The warden said they get guys coming through with quartered cows with a nut sewn on each quarter from a bull killed previously. He said he knew that the quarters were from the same animal (we offered to jigsaw it together for him) But he wrote my friend up anyway. He said he was going by the letter of the law. I guess from what guys here have experienced, it may just depend on the mood the warden is in. To me, it's not worth the risk. Like was previously mentioned, how would they know that a clean, skinned animal in a cooler with a pair of nuts in a zip lock bag wasn't a doe with the organs added from another animal? You can roll the dice if you like, I wouldn't.
shootbrownelk
Veteran member
Againstthewind
Very Active Member
Me too. I was under the impression that the proof of sex had to be attached also, but I had better brush up on all the regs. I guess. I am not such a great skinner, so sometimes the balls come off even if I am trying not to, so I like the ziplock bag deal.
shootbrownelk
Veteran member
I'd bet you that if you went to 2 G&F offices and asked there, you'd get 2 different answers. I once asked a warden about using shotgun slugs for deer. It was on a ranch that the owner didn't want rifles used because of his cattle being around, he said he'd be OK with shotgun use. The warden looked in the regs and said "Yeah, they're legal to use. But, don't quote me on that". That was some 30 years ago. I never forgot his wishy-washy answer.
PlainsHunter
Active Member
I think Montana's law states "naturally attached". I always thought the ziplock bag was ok in Wyoming. Never been stopped so I don't have first hand experience with the wardens.....
Not sure what year your friend was cited but the law was changed from "naturally attached" to "accompany" a few years ago. I tried to find what year it was changed but was unable to find it in any of my searches but did find the old "naturally attached" language in some old WYG&F FAQ's. The language seems pretty straight forward to me, and as I said the game warden was the one that told me evidence of sex did not have to be "naturally attached" anymore due to the regulation change to "accompany". He said if there is any issue of what goes with what animal, they will DNA test it if need be. Some wildlife laws are ambiguous and can be subject to interpretation, but this one IMO is not, especially ehen viewed with the language change. But then again, if a warden wants to issue you a citation, they will find something to write you up on. So far the game wardens I have met and talked to in Wyoming have been extremely friendly and helpful but I guess you never no when you are going to run into a bad apple that is gunning for you...
Horniac
shootbrownelk
Veteran member
Horniac....It was many many moons ago. I'm guessing maybe 1992? The incident happened at the old G&F station just outside of Dubois. I'm sure glad about that "accompany" language. I always hated keeping sex organs on otherwise cleaned meat. I need to re-read the regs I'm thinking. Zip-locks it is!
HiMtnHnter
Active Member
"In hunt areas where the taking of any big game animal is restricted to a specific sex of animal by regulation, either the visible external sex organs, head or antlers shall accompany the animal as a whole, or edible portion thereof."
To me the above rule means you can keep either the sex organs or the head or antlers as proof of sex, and these parts need only accompany the meat. My guess is they were writing lots of tickets with the old rules.
To me the above rule means you can keep either the sex organs or the head or antlers as proof of sex, and these parts need only accompany the meat. My guess is they were writing lots of tickets with the old rules.
We will be hunting in SE Wyoming where there is a lot of private property. Would you guys recommend replacing a 2 year old X map chip? I'd love to use that C note for something else.
Thanks.
I wouldn't waste the money, the only thing that would be different is if new public land was added or if someone sold land the new owners name maybe listed now. My dad bought some land in Oregon about 3 years ago and the new chip still shows the previous land owners name on it, so even that's not updated very regularly. Use what you got save the money. What unit you hunting? I live on the boundary of 34 and 38.