What laws do you commonly see broken by duck hunters?

Many hunters do not want to sign their duck stamps simply because they are more collectible that way. This practice can result in receiving a federal violation.

I was guilty of that when I was a young duck hunter. Back in the 70's I was checked out on Virginia's Back Bay and the officer noticed my stamp was unsigned. He was understanding and took mercy on me but handed me a pen and told me me sign it.

He left me with some words of wisdom, "Decide early in life whether you want to be a stamp collector or a duck hunter. It is an expensive hobby trying to do both."

Sage advice from USFWS Agent Darcy Davenport. R.I.P.
 
Bomber said:
While there are a lot of law violations that can occur if you don't follow the regulations my pet peeve is people running a boat with not running lights. A great way to someone including your self.
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Our marine police patrol the larger waters and will cite for lack of navigation lights. On smaller waters like flooded fields, creeks, and tributaries I seldom see anyone use their nav lights. Like never.

Eric
 
JC Cross said:
Many hunters do not want to sign their duck stamps simply because they are more collectible that way. This practice can result in receiving a federal violation.

I was guilty of that when I was a young duck hunter. Back in the 70's I was checked out on Virginia's Back Bay and the officer noticed my stamp was unsigned. He was understanding and took mercy on me but handed me a pen and told me me sign it.

He left me with some words of wisdom, "Decide early in life whether you want to be a stamp collector or a duck hunter. It is an expensive hobby trying to do both."

Sage advice from USFWS Agent Darcy Davenport. R.I.P.
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I certainly have come across this one before, probably my first or second year duck hunting and a warden checked me at the boat wrap. License was not signed and luckily he handed me a pen.

To take that one step further, how many people are physically attaching their stamp to their license?

The toe tags are interesting and honestly never knew about tagging your birds. I have always kept my own birds on my own lanyard and the same for others in my boat. Though I do remember a few seasons back, hunting with a friend with an SUV he did not want to have birds sitting on the carpet of his vehicle so he brought a plastic bag for the birds. Game warden pulled in and though the boat was already on the trailer and we were changed, he asked us if we shot any birds and to check our license, guns, etc.. Limit of birds were in a plastic bag, no tags etc. No mention of tagging the birds, but the warden did remind us of wanton waste and stated he surely hoped we weren't planning on throwing the birds out since they were in a trash bag essentially.

Not a migratory birds violation, but we have very strict gun laws in NJ that indicate when traveling with a weapon you are to make a direct trip to where you are transporting the weapon with no unnecessary stops. How many of us stop for coffee and some snacks on the way to a hunt, or stop for lunch on the way home or stop at the gas station to fill the boat up for the next days hunt.
 
Same happened to me one year, completely forgot to sign my stamp, I was handed a pen as well.
Another time, I signed it but didnt attach it to my paper license, again a nice reminder and asked me to do it on the spot.

In this day of E-license, I assume we have to sign them but not paste it to our phones. :)
 
I'm a relatively new hunter (3 years seriously hunting) but the only law I have personally seen broken is legal shoot time. It's only in certain spots but I've heard shots sometimes as much as 10 min before legal. I also (one time) heard shots well after the end of legal shoot. We're talking like an hour beyond legal.

As for tagging, that's an interesting one. Hope to have that problem one day. For now? Ducks are relatively safe around me. Hoping to get better soon.
 
I'd say in my area that boats running without lights is among the most common, to the point that it's almost notable when you do see a boat with the proper lighting. I admit to being guilty of this at times too, my bow light is hardwired but my stern light is removable and it throws a powerful glare into my eyes when it's on so I often just run with the bow light on. LED lightbars are becoming more and more common though so boats are pretty visible when running those.

Tagging is one of those things that no one that I know does, and I've never seen anyone else do either. Could you be pinged for this if each hunter has their birds on an individual strap? I and most of my friends carry game straps and put all our birds on our own straps, that seems pretty cut and dry as to who's ducks are whose.
 

Eric -

I hope that Thomas is also going to hunt pheasants, quail, and chickens.

If one gets where they are, a lotta "bullets" can be used up.

Kansas is a wonderful place for hunters, and the folks treat ya very well.

May Thomas have a safe and enjoyable time, and hopefully give us a full report on his return.


Best regards
Vince
 
Vince

I think he is just planning on ducks but I will mention the other opportunities to him. This is just the first trip of what I think will be many so he will have more chances for upland game. Thank you.

Eric
 
Good morning, All~


Interesting thread. I won't dive down into the weeds - but I do believe many of our waterfowling regulations need to be reviewed and reformed in light of both "track record" and contemporary practices and resource threats. I would like to know the original intent of many - such as the tagging requirements - and ask whether they still provide any useful conservation benefit. I believe they were developed when market hunting was a significant threat.


As a career public servant, I have always believed in - and tried to deliver - the practice of good government. I fervently support the need for public agencies to impose and enforce clear boundaries - but inconsistently applying "gotcha" regulations does not comport with my notion of good government.


All the best,


SJS

 
No duck stamp, unsigned duck stamp, no migratory bird tag (PA),unplugged shotgun, shooting protected birds...IE grebes, cormorants, seagulls, shorebirds, etc.over the limit on certain species, etc...not me, just things I've encountered.
 
Steve, I suspect the tagging law has the same purpose now as when it was written. It prevents a guy found with a mountain of ducks from simply saying "They're not all mine." I know of a young and rather inexperienced taxidermist who was busted and shut down for having a freezer full of untagged or improperly identified game animals. I don't think tagging has anything to do with a pile of ducks in the back of a truck, separated or not, as long as all of the hunters are present in the truck and there is not more than the day's legal limit in the pile.
 
Gordon Bartlett said:
Steve, I suspect the tagging law has the same purpose now as when it was written. It prevents a guy found with a mountain of ducks from simply saying "They're not all mine." .
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Gordon,

Actually the tagging requirements have just the opposite effect. Instead of preventing a guy from claiming "They're not all mine.", the tagging requirements allow him to say "They're not all mine, check the tags."

The tagging requirement is the only defense a hunter has if say for instance, there are several hunters in a party, all with full limits, 3 of them go to town for supplies, leaving 2 at the cabin. Game warden shows up, see 5 limits and 2 hunters. Having the tagging requirements and properly tagged birds, the hunters can legitimately claim "They are not all mine."

The tagging requirements protect the hunter as well as the resource.
 
Well Dave, I guess we can look at it that way, but I really think the law was written to prevent overharvest. A reasonable analogy would be the law here in Michigan requiring that I show ID before I can drink in a bar. Was that law written to allow an adult to drink or to prevent underage kids from drinking?
 
Gordon Bartlett said:
Well Dave, I guess we can look at it that way, but I really think the law was written to prevent overharvest. A reasonable analogy would be the law here in Michigan requiring that I show ID before I can drink in a bar. Was that law written to allow an adult to drink or to prevent underage kids from drinking?
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Same thing, the law protects the bar owner. With out an Id required the bar owner could be charged with serving under age. With the ID required the bar owner is not responsible if the bar owner was presented with a false ID.
We get that a lot around here. Law enforcement will send in an underage person. If the operator/cashier does not check ID before selling or serving alcohol, the operator/cashier gets charged. If he checks ID then he is in compliance. (unless the ID presented is obviously fake, like a drivers lisc. drawn in crayon).
As I already said about the tagging requirements, it protects the resource as well.
 
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The tagging requirements protect the hunter as well as the resource.[/quote]


From personal experience I agree with Dave.

Each time my tagged birds were checked, it worked to protect me from a fine.


Best one was in Sask., when the wardens checked the freezers where we were staying.

I had one prime GW drake tagged, to use as a study bird for carving decoys.

The wardens came and found me, and thanked me for knowing the law.

But they wanted to know where the other birds were? As they knew how long we had been hunting.

I'm camp cook, we eat them everyday, was my reply.

They looked at me, and then each other like YA RIGHT.

Then I invited them to come share a meal with us.

From about that time on they would share info with us, and we would return the gesture.

All because of one beautiful GW drake, that was tagged.



Even though I retired as a employee of the PA Liquor Control Board. I'll stay out of the other subject[;)]
 
Vince,

The freezer experience is interesting. One thing I was told was that wardens have the farthest reaching jurisdiction of any law enforcement officer. That can literally walk into your garage without a warrant and check your freezer. Pretty powerful.

One particular time, on another (fishing) forum, a member made a post about a heron eating all his koi from his backyard pond. He had several photos of the heron on his Ring camera overlooking the pond. He jokingly said he "was going to shoot the damn thing." Well, low and behold, a week later he captured another creature on the game camera. This time it was a game warden.

So I can definitely understand the tagging thing.
 
IN the 20 years I have been duck hunting I have never heard of tagging ducks. Is this a federal requirement? In Oregon we have the daily limit and the Possession Limit which is 3 times the daily limit. I could not find anything in the Oregon regs about tagging any bird other than a turkey. When I hunt with another person we do not separate our birds in the field. We hunt until the aggregate limit is reached so technically I may shoot over my limit when hunting with somebody else. One time I was stopped by 2 federal game wardens in the field. We were hunting a falling tide on a flat, as we moved with the tide we left our birds behind us because we had to move fast to keep up with the water dropping. After the wardens checked our guns and licences they asked us about the ducks we had with us. We told them where the 3 piles of ducks were and how many were in each withing the 100yd stretch that we had moved and the 2 that were in the boat. That's when they told us they had been watching us for hour and had searched my boat. Since we openly told them about all of the birds and knew how many and what species there were no issues. They didn't say there was anything wrong with what we were doing. I will say it will make you jump when somebody says "nice pintail" right after you shoot and its not your hunting partner.


Every time I have been stopped I always ask how often they catch people breaking the law and every time the answer has been the majority of stops in the field. No plug in the gun and over the limit being the most common.
 
There have been times I have tagged waterfowl-when I was crossing the border, when I was at a friends island with several others hunting for a couple of days, when taking to a picker. The one I have to be careful is of transporting without a head attached. Me and my friends have cabin we hunt out of, and I like to clean my ducks before I go home. I really like to filet them out with the skin attached, and keeping a wing or the head on is a challenge. I can relate a story about somebody cleaning a duck at their camp here in south jersey to cook it in the kitchen at the camp, having a federal game warden come by, check him out, give him a ticket for transporting a bird without a wing or head(he wasn't in his vehicle). He went to court (Federal) and the warden didn't show up, so it was dismissed.
Here are the federal tagging requirements. Some stuff is pretty clear. Some of the stories related are a stretch of storage(or the other requirements), like walking away from a blind looking for a duck and leaving the ones you bagged in your blind, or boat, or wherever you are set up with your gear. If you were ever to go to court on that, it's going to be up to the person adjudicating the matter as to how they see it and if you were guilty of something, but I personally would never worry about it because it is not a common sense argument that you have left it for storage. Separation of your ducks is something else. If there is a pile of ducks between two people(and I have dealt with this) and a game warden, I just promptly identify the ducks that I have shot. Since there were several fully plumed gwt drakes in this incident, I was questioned on how I knew this, and I said I remembered. End of discussion. Sometimes you just have to be practical if you weren't doing anything wrong.

Tagging requirement No person shall put or leave any migratory game birds at anyplace (other than at his personal abode), or in the custody of another person for picking,cleaning, processing, shipping, transportation, or storage (including temporary storage),or for the purpose of having taxidermy services performed, unless such birds have a tag attached, signed by the hunter, stating his address, the total number and species of birds,and the date such birds were killed. Migratory game birds being transported in any vehicle as the personal baggage of the possessor shall not be considered as being in storage or temporary storage.
Custody of birds of another No person shall receive or have in custody any migratory game birds belonging to another person unless such birds are properly tagged.
Termination of possession Subject to all other requirements of this part, the possession of birds taken by any hunter shall be deemed to have ceased when such birds have been delivered by him to another person as a gift; or have been delivered by him to a post office, a common carrier, or a migratory bird preservation facility and consigned for transport by the Postal Service or a common carrier to some person other than the hunter.
Gift of migratory game birds No person may receive, possess, or give to another, any freshly killed migratory game birds as a gift, except at the personal abodes of the donor or donee, unless such birds have a tag attached, signed by the hunter who took the birds,stating such hunter's address, the total number and species of birds and the date such birds were taken.

Transportation of birds of another No person shall transport migratory game birds belonging to another person unless such birds are properly tagged.

Species identification requirement No person shall transport within the United States any migratory game birds, except doves and band-tailed pigeons, unless the head or one fully feathered wing remains attached to each such bird at all times while being transported from the place where taken until they have arrived at the personal abode of the possessor or a migratory bird preservation facility.
Marking package or container No person shall transport by the Postal Service or a common carrier migratory game birds unless the package or container in which such birds are transported has the name and address of the shipper and the consignee and an accurate statement of the numbers of each species of birds therein contained clearly and conspicuously marked on the outside thereof.
 
"Species identification requirement No person shall transport within the United States any migratory game birds, except doves and band-tailed pigeons, unless the head or one fully feathered wing remains attached to each such bird at all times while being transported from the place where taken until they have arrived at the personal abode of the possessor or a migratory bird preservation facility. "

[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Does personal abode mean I can hunt at my cabin (personal abode that I own), clean the birds and then bring them back to my house 90 miles away a couple of days later? Some will say yes, some will say not in million years. I know I can't transport them from my cabin to my house I stay in more than 1/2 the year - at least this is how I understand the law.[/font]
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[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]For those that have been here awhile, legal issues and laws are something of an interest to me. Not that I try to find the wiggle room in any of them, just trying to understand if what I m doing that I believe to be within the law can be [/font][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]interpreted by someone as breaking the law. And out of the group of people I do hunt with, I am usually the only waterfowler (who hunts more than opener) among them. They look to me to be the voice of what is legal and not and I want to know what is or isn't.[/font]
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[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]What I find others breaking are the following - no running lights, no lifejackets, shooting early or late, not identifying what is being shot until after the bird has been brought back to the blind, tagging (never even knew about this and I can't think of one time when I have seen anyone tag a bird), immediate retrieval of a downed duck (opening day mostly), and transporting ducks improperly.[/font]
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[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Mark[/font]
 
And for personal abode


(d) Personal abode means one's principal or ordinary home or dwelling place, as distinguished from one's temporary or transient place of abode or dwelling such as a hunting club, or any club house, cabin, tent or trailer house used as a hunting club, or any hotel, motel or rooming house used during a hunting, pleasure or business trip.
 
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