[fabsroman]

The proper thing to do when you break the law is to report the violation (i.e., shooting over the limit, shooting an out of season duck, shooting a hen pheasant). If a game warden is watching and you do one of the above and let it lay, there is a law in Maryland called Wanton Waste and they will cite you with both shooting over the limt/shooting birds out of season and and wanton waste. A friend of mine got a warning for wanton waste. In Maryland, you have to make a good faith effort to recover what you knock down and you must reduce it to possession and bring it home. Once at home, you can do whatever you want with the resource.

In the real world, nobody is going to report their own violation. I'll give you an example, we were hunting a field where the geese just wouldn't stop coming in. There were 5 of us with a 5 bird limit and we killed 25. While walking to the truck, we found another goose about 500 yards from where we were hunting. Now, we were 1 bird over the limit amongst 5 guys. Whose bird was it.

That brings me to another question. How do you count birds when you are hunting waterfowl. Do you group count them or does everybody count the ones they shot, and how do you really know who shot what?

"Another blind shoots a duck/goose. They don't see it go down but you do. Do you retrieve and give to them or do you keep it. Same thing with a cripple, they shoot but the bird makes it to your blind and you finish it. Yours or theirs??"

The two questions above are also questions of mine. Regarding the first scenario, I think you should let them know that the bird went down and give them the option to retrieve it if it isn't by your blind. If it is by your blind, and you retrieve it (i.e., reduce it to possession), I have no idea how the law treats that (i.e., whose bird is it). As far as the second scenario goes, I think it depends on how birds are treated once reduced to possession.

As far as wounded or dead animals going onto property you do not have permission to go on, I think you have to let them lay or ask the property owner for permission to enter the property and retrieve the game. I had that happen once where I shot a goose and it made it across the fence line where I knew we didn't have permission to go (i.e., the farm owner had gotten mad at other hunters before). I left it there but counted it toward my limit. At the end of the day, I guess a game warden could have cited me with wanton waste, but I think I would have had a good reason for it. If I were to shoot a big game animal and it went onto property I wasn't allowed to hunt, I would ask for permission to recover the animal without using my gun. If denied permission, I think I would contact the game warden at that point.

These are all good questions, and I am dying to see what the actual answers are. It is tough to look them up when we are out in the field and the situation comes up.