Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Horns or leg,just where to put that tag?

I just me have had more of a wreck with the legs and keeping grasp of them .

When I'm horned up, I grab a leg and tag that chit. Yodeling.

Can ya dig?

Fold it up, put it between the molars, and it's not coming out when things stiffen up.

A local guy got his stolen elk back a few years ago when a warden check in a distant camp found his animal with the tag still clenched in the jaws. Perp had a tough time explaining things.

I had that conversation with FWP at a game check station a few years back. I was told they want the tag on the largest portion - if a whole carcass, it doesn't matter. If it's coming out in pieces, they want it on the largest piece which in my case at the time would've been a hindquarter.

It's carcass tag in CO, not an antler tag. Best is to put it on the quarter that has proof of sex if the animal is quartered. If not, still put it on an ear or leg. Carry a cable tie wrap which works great to attach the tag with.

back when we had to keep a tag on animals in va. i used to fold it in half and slide it up under the deers eyelid. the lady at the local game checking station hated it when i did that. then a buddy of mine came up with a plastic holder to fit the tags. he made good money selling them for a few years. now va. has gone to a none removable tag that you write your checking number on. we can also call them in without going to checking station.

yep,i've seen hunters steal deer at deer camps years ago. with the old style tag under the eyelid i figured they never spot it if they stole mine.

Little known fact, in CO at least, it's perfectly legal while you are packing the meat back to camp or your vehicle to detach, punch, and sign your tag and then put it back in your wallet until you get to camp or the vehicle, so you don't lose it.

Once you get to camp or the vehicle, the tag needs to go on the carcass, but until then you are not legally "transporting" the carcass.

Sorry but I think it's chickenshit for a game warden to harass a guy with a punched tag, in an open season, packing out game. Poachers shoot [bleep] from the road. Hunters work hard for game, last thing they should be doing is writing chickenshit tickets to hard working guys that play by the rules.
Maybe I don't get it because nobody in my circle thinks like an outlaw. Same with transporting game across state lines. Like they're busting some giant criminal organization when they nail some Joe driving home from his Wyoming antelope hunting vacation. They know what they're looking at, they're just hitting the guys they have the best chance of extracting money out of. Pure BS in my opinion.

Cops should fight some real crime, like meth addicts that habitually burglarize homes, and leave us the hell alone.

You would be surprised at the number of guys that kill an animal, take it home and put it in the freezer and then go out and get more. OR guys that don't even buy a license and take game in big game season. Every one of those SOB's are stealing yours and my game and that is one more animal that the ones that do follow the law will not be able to take. Illegal taking of trophy size big game animals in the west is big business.

I have taken to carrying half a roll of electricians tape in my day pay,notching the tag immediately and attaching it with a bunch of tape wherever... ( Leg on a doe, antler on a buck) Just to avoid any friction. Aint that hard to do as the law asks...

I did however bone an antelope out in the field a couple years ago and pack the meat out in a backpack. In that instance, again to comply, I notched the tag and put it in the bag where 'evidence of sex' was still attached to that part of the carcass. Also took a bunch of digital cam pics with date and time of the kill.

Needless to say, I didn't run into a game warden....

The Idaho regulations say that the tag must be attached to the largest portion of the corpse. If you leave it on the hill while packing out another piece, that's fine.

The IDFG website has a question and answer section. A few weeks ago, someone asked where to put the tag when the carcase is diced. The answer from the IDFG incorrectly referenced the regs saying it has to be on the largest portion but NOT ON THE ANTLERS. That flat out refutes what the regs say. I posted a question about it but it hasn't been answered yet.

Smokepole has it right. PROPERLY VALIDATED SIGNED TAG in your pocket until you get to the vehicle. As long as tag is validated and you are packing, most CO's don't have a problem. If you tag is not validated, then you will have issues. And the same with which part of the carcass you attach it too. States vary - some want it validated at the scene of the kill, others before you transport carcass. I was once with a person who lost their tag while dragging a deer. Could not move until a CO approved transport. Have been on several other searches for lost tags, all successful since we went to using the red twist ties that they use to tie celery bunches. The red helps you find it. Zip ties are strong, but I have seen tags tear off, leaving the zip tie behind.

I have also cut an ear and stuffed the tag in the ear and wrapped several times with celery tie. If you are concerned about theft, another thing one can do is make a small slit in the skin - anywhere - and insert the brass you used to shoot the deer. That also can lead to some creative explanations should someone attempt to possess your critter.

Of course, all this is moot if the critter doesn't want to be tagged!

Tape or baler twine on the horn.



4 years ago I shot a mule deer and boned it out in the field.

Left the tag on the antler and put the meat on ice in a cooler(opening day..).

Drive home and hit a check station. In the middle of nowhere(kinda), surprised to see it anyhow.


Warden checks things out and explained that the tag actually belongs with the meat. Totally cool.

Yup.

Till the head comes of anyways.

Read the regs carefully. WY is like CO. During transit you need to have the punched, signed, detached, tag in your possession.
I lost a tag driving to the hanger one time. From now on they ride in the cab with me.

I make a slit in the ear and fold the tag and place it in the slit. No worry about wire or tape. Never lost a tag yet.

Pa. requires that the tag be attached to the ear of a deer or bear 'immediately after harvest and before moving the carcass.' I usually use a piece of small gauge wire, cut a slit in the ear, stick the tag inside the ear and run the wire through the slit and tag, then try to wrap the ear up with the wire to protect the tag.

Dale

Laws are different everywhere. Watched guys cut a slit where the tendon is in the leg and place it in there as well.

I went to Canada and had harvested my first bear. The tag had to have "blood" on it to prove it was tagged at the "kill" sight (recommended by the guide). It further had to be attached through the nose. I ended up cutting a piece of para cord, using a stick to push it through to attach it. Not the best thing but it worked. Next time I will use zip ties or similar.

Is the irony of all this lost? They make us jump through all these hoops and boy if you don't get it just right, bang!
Again, I don't suffer real outlaws in my camps, so I may be naive about what goes on out there. I don't call someone that might make a technical/clerical error an outlaw, and I resent any LEO that does. If they're worth their badge, they can tell who's being honest and who isn't.

I usually put it on the antlers out of habit. I know thats not proper in all states and may be tempting fate, but have never had a warden give me grief over it.Of course the tag stays with the meat if I take it to a butcher.

I was given 5 of these "horn wraps" probly 10 years ago and they work pretty good. Keeps stamps/tags and a small pen in them. I use pliers to crush the clamps tighter that attatches the cord,other than that I cant see having a problem with them coming off. They'd work on a quarter just as well..or just use electrical tape lol.