Pheasant over private land

[jeffstally]

On Saturday I was walking the edge of a WMA. A rooster got up in front of me, originating his flight on public land. I shot him about 20 feet onto the neighbor's plowed field and my dog went for the retrieve. This was 1/2 mile from any building or livestock. The farmer was outside and saw me and came to yell at me. He said once the bird flew over his land I could no longer shoot it.

I apologized and said that is not the way I understood the law and that I would call a CO and clarify for my own knowledge.

I called a CO and he told me there is no clear answer. He said that a CO would probably not give a ticket, but the farmer could potentially press charges and the courts could decide. If this is the case, our legislature needs to clarify the law.

 

[Uncle Buck]

YA I SAY CLARIFICATION NEEDED. wOULD BE OK IN SD.

 

[small munsterlander owner]

its a good question??? i would think in my little brain that nobody owns the air the bird was flying in kinda like not owning water if the lake is not fully surounded by private land??? & i know you can retrieve the bird on private land with no weapon??? but i see how the guy could get mad i held off on a bunch of prairie chicken shots i had my 1st ever hunt because the birds kept flushing on the private land side of things like feet across the fence man i wanted to blast away but held off till a few were on my side of fence had the same thing happen last season chicken hunting & my uncle did not shoot each to there own but had the birds been flushing on public lands i think i would of been blazing away till the birds were out of range???

that land owner im sure was just waiting for you to shoot HIS BIRD you know all them birds are HIS BIRDS lol he new it was pheasant opener & wanted to yell at somebody i think you were just the guy who happened to run into him 1st???

 

[BRITTMAN]

You actually shot at and killed the bird over the public area and the bird's momentum carried onto private land. :thumbsup:

 

[FCSpringer]

LOL, Bull crud. The law is clear. Stand up for your self and read it to him. You have the right to retrieve legaly shot game from private land with out your gun in MN, untill told to leave. You have the right to retrieve a hunting dog as well. He does not own the air.... If he does he needs to start paying taxes on the air you breathe. What a crock. Any judge would laugh it out of court and the CO needs to stick to doing his job. One he clearly knows not much about.

 

[Labman]

LOL, Bull crud. The law is clear. Stand up for your self and read it to him. You have the right to retrieve legaly shot game from private land with out your gun in MN, untill told to leave. You have the right to retrieve a hunting dog as well. He does not own the air.... If he does he needs to start paying taxes on the air you breathe. What a crock. Any judge would laugh it out of court and the CO needs to stick to doing his job. One he clearly knows not much about.

Exactly!!!! Sounds like you took the high road, when presented with a crappy situation. That farmer must have been a real jerk. Game Warden should know the rules, especially one like that, that happens all the time.

 

[onpoint]

LOL, Bull crud. The law is clear. Stand up for your self and read it to him. You have the right to retrieve legaly shot game from private land with out your gun in MN, untill told to leave. You have the right to retrieve a hunting dog as well. He does not own the air.... If he does he needs to start paying taxes on the air you breathe. What a crock. Any judge would laugh it out of court and the CO needs to stick to doing his job. One he clearly knows not much about.

Agree 100%, if the bird originated from legal public hunting land or land you had written permission to hunt on. You can shoot it. If it had gotten up from his side the fence/property line. Then you could not have shot at it. WAY! too many laws are left up to the discretion of the C.O. It leaves everybody vulnerable when it could be fixed with clarification of these laws in writing. It's just like the case law. Many ask if it's legal to have the gun uncased well driving around hunting during the day and all they will say is. It's legal to have the gun uncased to and from your hunting location. I listen to warden on a radio talk show and even then. He would not clarify the law and would only read from the statute. They asked him several times, yet he continued to be evasive.

 

[FCSpringer]

That is my biggest complaint about hunting MN. THE RULE BOOK!. It is way to cumbersome and needs to be simplified. You need a college education and a fleet of 3 year old tech-no geeks to figure it out. I had wardens tell me some violations that went to court were let go because the judge could not figure it out. So that sums it up. The dumb az pencil pushers who dreamed this junk up should be duck taped to a tree in a mosquito swamp nude and told that if they don't get it right, you go back to the swamp for another round. It is waaaaayyyy, ridiculous.

 

[Labman]

That is my biggest complaint about hunting MN. THE RULE BOOK!. It is way to cumbersome and needs to be simplified. You need a college education and a fleet of 3 year old tech-no geeks to figure it out. I had wardens tell me some violations that went to court were let go because the judge could not figure it out. So that sums it up. The dumb az pencil pushers who dreamed this junk up should be duck taped to a tree in a mosquito swamp nude and told that if they don't get it right, you go back to the swamp for another round. It is waaaaayyyy, ridiculous.

Well, there's alot of things messed up in Minnesota......... Your right!

 

[quail hound]

Farmers and ranchers in rural areas around here are actually refreshed by hunters. One time I was retrieving a quail on private land when I was approached by a rancher. He asked what I was doing and I told him I had a quail down and was just going to take my dog to find it. He asked where my gun was and I told him it was leaning against the fence. He said "well go grab it, I just saw a covey in the berries down by the pond." I think I took 3 birds from that covey and thanked the rancher for his generousity. Sometimes it pays to live in a "non hunter friendly state".:cheers:

 

[peterpointinglab]

I love my state. But... there are a lot of highly paid state employees running around enforcing laws and making there own rules up as they go. In many cases if you dig deep enough (taken to the courts), nobody has a solid answer. I dont care if its the DNR, MDH or your local PD. These employees need to do their jobs in more ways then enforcing. How about educating the public or even themselves. Be a professional and know your field!

 

[Dakotazeb]

It doesn't appear to me that this issue is a clear cut as some of you indicate. I was reading the Minnesota Regulation Handbook and and there is a section regarding "Trespass Law". Here's what it states are the Exceptions:

Exceptions
• A person on foot may, without permission, enter land that is not posted to retrieve a wounded animal that was lawfully shot, but may not remain on the land after being told to leave.
• A person on foot may, without permission, enter private land without a firearm to retrieve a hunting dog. After retrieving the dog, the person must immediately leave the premises. This exception does not authorize the taking of the wild animal.
• A person on foot may, without permission, enter land that is posted with "Walk in Access" signs.

I don't see any place that says you can enter land that is posted to retrieve a lawfully shot animial. Am I missing something?

 

[FCSpringer]

No they added posted. But if your dog goes to the retrieve, what are you going to do leave a bird 10 feet out in a field for the fox? No. I will send my dog after a bird unless it is way out. Then I normaly just go ask. Happened to me last year. One did the fly about 100 yards give or take on the ajoining property and fell out of the sky. Heart or lung shot. We have all seen this. I walked to the edge, no fence, plowing, gave River a line and she buttoned the retrieve. She was back in about 20 seconds. No harm. If someone chews you out for that, well chaulk it up as running in to an a hole and move on. Now I would not walk someones edge and have my dog running all over hunting the other side because he has all the cover. Posted should be removed. They can surely give you a want and waste ticket too,LOL. Its just stupid, no if ands or buts. 99% of the time people will have no problem if you explain and ask to go get a bird, deer what ever, posted or not. PS the tresspass law not shown also goes over legaly posted. signs so many feet etc. Like I said it is all confusing. In some areas what is written in game laws here you find else where in a book that says the oppisite. Drives you nuts after a while. How many geese will be wasted if you cant go get a sailer. Even shot dead they still go dang near a hundred yards many times.