In Illinois, you need to have a CPO come and give you a tag for the deer before you can take it. At the very least call the CPO before you do anything with it. Otherwise your possession of it is technically illegal. Sorry that you couldn't keep it.
iDNR has been known for "confiscating" big racks that "may have been poached" over the years. IMO its a crock. The carcass is deteriorated to the point they're unlikely to find any real evidence, and that's even if they went out and looked at it, which I doubt they did. Did you take them out to where you found the buck so they could look at it? About 10 years ago my dad picked up a buck roughly 70 yds off a county road that had clearly been hit by a car sometime over the winter. This was spring and there was left remaining of the hide than the buck you found - it was mostly bones. When he tried to get a tag from the DNR they told him the same thing, they wanted the rack b/c it may have been poached. He tried fighting it and they basically told him to give up the rack or he was going to ticketed for posessing an untagged skull (aka poaching). Without spending a bunch of money to lawyer up and fight it, what else are you supposed to do? Just another example of Illinois' finest at work!
I got a salvage tag on December 6th to pick up a rack I found on the 4th. They just asked me what county it was in, they didn't ask what area or even how big it was. I wasn't contacted by a CPO, thye just mailed me the plastic band. Sounds like you did get the shaft.
HUGE BUCK...sucks you couldn't keep it...would make one think if they find one in IL during season to consider using a tag on it and avoid the BS.
Yep, I hate to say it but it was my first thought too. On top of that, if there was/is a poaching investigation, be darn certain that you just voluntarily put yourself right on the list of suspects. I work with these guys all the time and believe me, that's how it works behind the scenes. Just an all around bummer.
They contacted the owner of the property and he knew where the carcase is and not sure if they went out to look or not. I told them exactly where it was so not sure what all happened. I thought about tagging it too but then if a that would of been my second buck for the year and I would of never shot my first Pope & Young so you are danged if you do and danged if you dont!
I certainly wouldn't have tagged it with my own tag, but I would've put up a little bit more a fight to keep the rack. Saying it's going to be confiscated because of a "possible" investigation is BS. When you called in for the salvage tag was there any mention of the size/score of the buck?
Not at first to the operator but when the officer called yes it was asked. I am not going to argue with them about the deer. It is not worth all the drama that could come of this after the stink was raised.
Sir... I am not very good at guessing but my buddy figured he would score around 110 or so. That's my story and I am sticking to it !! Tim
If I keep telling myself that he would score 110 that would make me feel a lot better but since I already scored him at just over 165 then that is a different story!
I think he meant he would've told the CPO that line... And that sucks, but what are you to do? You have some pictures, and at least you have that.
Now this sucks for me and good for my buddy! He just found an 8 pointer he shot on first shotgun weekend and reported just like I did. They told him to cut the head off and he would mail a tag! So that shows that the rules are different in each county. I think that stinks but as I said a while back "What do you do?"
I think i would have put up a fight for that one, prove it was poached to me or i want the rack back deal,since you were in possession of the deer. I found a buck like yours on my ground two years ago and called the local agent, He had a dont care day going on and said take it ill write it down for you. thats all, never came out. they are to busy playing (duck cops) to mess with us deer hunters.
What a joke. That's the biggest crock of crap I have ever heard of. They have that law in place for one reason and one reason only and its not for enhancing education centers! So dawg, what does your state mandate if you were to travel out of state, go shed hunting, find a winter kill. Do you have to report out of state finds to ILL DNR as well if you bring them back into ILL? Reminds me of my shed hunting trip to Saskatchewan years ago. I came home with 30 sheds I think it was. The dirty S.O.B.s at American Customs ... say to me. We have to confiscate all but 4 sheds. I question it immediately... they explain to me it's because the Dept of AG says mad cow disease and other diseases can be spread by SHEDS.. at this point I am laughing and asking for any scientific proof..then I ask...so the 4 that I can keep are ok but my other 26 are the mad cow sheds? They say, sorry Mr. Pottenger thats just how it works. So I say, no thanks, grab my sheds, drive back into Canada and ship them back to my buds in Sas.. I wasn't giving them a single bone. UPS visited my place about 6 months later. I feel for you guys in ILL ..That buck find should be yours Dawg.
