They Don't Count

B

Bella

New member
I ran into a game warden yesterday. I asked him a question about bag limits. I asked him if a hunter shoots a bird and can't find it, does it count towards his bag limit. He said it does not count. So, if someone is bird hunting for a species that has a daily limit of ten, he could kill twenty or thirty of them. All he would have to claim is that he couldn't find the birds above his limit.

Does your state make hunters claim unfound birds? Do you count them as a matter of conscience? I always have.
 
Ethics are always a touchy subject, and this is a matter of "ethics" for the most part.

Mostly because if you don't have the birds with you, then they can't prove you shot them.

I've always done my best to find the birds I shoot, and I haven't lost very many over the years. A few, I'm sure, but not all that many.

And I don't remember now if I counted them or not. It's been a lot of years since I limited out on quail, with a bag limit of 15. When I did, I mostly ran all day to keep up with them, and I was mighty tired at the end of the day. Arizona quail generaly run...and run...then fly...then run...and run...

Then you lose track of them, and if they call you can go hunt up the singles. If they don't, you go find another covey and then they run...and you get the idea.

They'll keep a hunter in shape, that's for sure! These days if I kill 10 I'm pretty happy. At that, counting a lost bird doesn't matter much, since I'm not limited out anyway.

Daryl
 
Keep in mind that if the birds are easy to find, or if they see you not even making an effort to retrieve them, then you can be charged with wanton waste in at least some states, such as NY.
 
All in all, I sorta doubt many dove or quail hunters would not pick up their birds, or at least make an honest effort to find them. Too much time, effort and money has gone into the whole deal to just walk off in lazy-slob fashion.
 
I 2nd Art's post....

We (or they) are not putting in the time, effort and money just to shoot/kill. The "icing on the cake" is the take. Quail smothered down in onions, and served over rice with gravy is one of the major bonuses......
 
Yeah but who don't want to find the birds?

Damn those doves are hard to find in the tall grass! I saw where they dropped, they were not there! That was very frustrating to shoot nine and retrieve two.:o Flame away...:(
 
My area has the scaled or "blue" quail. When shot, they undergo a metamorphosis and take on the exact color of rocks. Maybe they become rocks. At any rate, one learns to shoot one, pick it up, and continue on in the hopes of seeing another. If you shoot a double, 99% odds are that you won't find the first one shot: Metamorphosis.
 
We have dove and quail that sometimes fall into the palmettos, rattlesnakes like to hang out in palmettos. No sane person goes in there looking for a dropped bird.

Here, your count is what you walk out with.
 
Every one I hunt with makes a very hard effort to find them. When I had a dog I know he found a few that I would not have. Sure made it easy with him. I do have a much harder time without him, but if I know forsure the bird went down I will most of the time find it. They do not count lost birds for your limit here, just for the fact you dont have them.
 
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