Possession Limit

[Dakotazeb]

Seems another thread got into discussing possession limit so I thought I would start another thread to discuss the subject. Here is was the regulations in South Dakota say:

POSSESSION LIMIT

The maximum number of a particular species of game (excluding migratory game birds) that a person my lawfully have under their control (including those in their immediate possession, a portable cooler in the vehicle, a home freezer, or registered in their name at a wildlife processing facility/locker; or any combination thereof) Game harvested during a previous season or year in South Dakota and still in possession counts toward the possession limit of the current license year. However, game (excluding migratory game birds) lawfully harvested under another state's license does not count toward the South Dakota limit. See Federal Laws for Migratory Game Birds.

In reading the above I would take it that any game birds in your possession must have attached a head, leg or wing for identification purposes. Thus, those breasting out a pheasant and storing it in a home freezer could be in violation if proper means of identification are not attached. I realize that the chances of someone coming to inspect your home freezer are minimal. But???

 

[Golden Hour]

My understanding is that the transport requires ID, but can see the vague wording might leave some question to it.

Shifting gears, I spoke with a CO a couple years ago about possession limits and waterfowl, as there are "competition" boards and YouTubers shooting hundreds upon hundreds of ducks and geese in a year. It simply wouldn't be feasible to eat and gift that many birds within a couple months. But the CO basically said they have bigger fish to fry, pun intended. So I figure I'll follow the possession limits in my house and let others worry about their own.

 

[5 stand]

That's right Golden Hour.
I'm going to worry about my possession limit.
And everyone else can worry about theirs.

 

[remy3424]

It doesn't look like Iowa breaks it down quite like SD....The possession limits can slow ones hunting down and increases your consumption rate of birds to keep you legal. Seems pretty simple.

From the Iowa regs:



Migratory Birds:

Other game:

 

[Goosemaster]

I'm not real worried about somebody looking in my freezer. It isn't what you have in your home.

 

[remy3424]

Yes, I believe it IS what you have in your home...and anywhere else....any that you "possess" go against your possession limit. I never thought it was too hard to understand. The rules are the rules, poachers are poachers, you conduct yourself within them or you don't. It is an integrity issue...doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.

 

[david0311]

My understanding is that the transport requires ID, but can see the vague wording might leave some question to it.

Shifting gears, I spoke with a CO a couple years ago about possession limits and waterfowl, as there are "competition" boards and YouTubers shooting hundreds upon hundreds of ducks and geese in a year. It simply wouldn't be feasible to eat and gift that many birds within a couple months. But the CO basically said they have bigger fish to fry, pun intended. So I figure I'll follow the possession limits in my house and let others worry about their own.

I don’t believe most C. O. are going to be too concerned about someone who has a limit or a few over in their freezer for personal use.
HOWEVER—if you have people bragging/boasting about taking the numbers you describe—I can just about guarantee they are going to draw the attention of any C.O. that is doing their job.
We also have to remember a lot of those numbers could be taken on the internet—not in the actual field!!
Like the loud mouth in the bar who—takes a his deer running at 400 hundred yards running -head shots only “Wid my old turrdy-turrdy-that has shot so many deer the barrel had to be replaced twice”

 

[jackrabbit]

Hmm... I keep a leg/wing/head attached when I'm in SD traveling and keep them thawed in the cooler for the few days of the trip. Then when I get back home I will "finish" cleaning them since often times in SD they weren't cleaned the best (water jug, hotel, hose, dark outside) and cut off whatever leg/wing/head was attached and then vacuum seal them for the freezer.

 

[gimruis]

If you want to stock pile your freezer with pheasants, fish, etc, you do it at your own risk. The day you buy a hunting or angling license is the day you agree to voluntarily follow the laws associated with it, including possession limits. If I knew someone was over the possession limit I would not hesitate to turn them in even if it was a friend or family member, although I might verbally have a word with them before I did it.

We all know that enforcement is lacking because there aren't enough officers to do it. I've never run into one hunting or fishing in Minnesota for 25 years. Just because the chances of getting caught are remote doesn't mean I don't follow the game and fish laws. Its about morals and ethics too. I value the opportunity to hunt and fish every year here for a reasonable cost and that privilege is not worth risking.

Specifically speaking of pheasants, the possession limit here in Minnesota is 3 times the daily bag limit just like it is in Iowa. That means if I have 6 in my freezer already, I cannot hunt again until I consume some or give a few away.

 

[matto]

Possession limits are a little tricky. Some states don't count your home freezer, some do. It gets really tricky in the fishing world when there are different limits for different bodies of water in the same state. It also gets tricky if you hunt multiple states.

These guys rolled the dice and lost.

Two Michigan men fined $8.5K for poaching hundreds of walleye, panfish, perch

They could also lose their fishing privileges.

www.mlive.com

 

[gimruis]

My old man has been lax on removing rounds from his magazine for years while travelling even though I frequently have warned him about it. Two years ago he finally got busted on it. Since its his first violation, he will not have any hunting privileges removed but he had to pay a stiff fine and now he's on their radar. I had absolutely no empathy for him and simply said "I told you."

The excuse "I didn't know" won't fly either. Not knowing is not good enough. Know the rules and follow them or risk the punishment.

 

[david0311]

If you want to stock pile your freezer with pheasants, fish, etc, you do it at your own risk. The day you buy a hunting or angling license is the day you agree to voluntarily follow the laws associated with it, including possession limits. If I knew someone was over the possession limit I would not hesitate to turn them in even if it was a friend or family member, although I might verbally have a word with them before I did it.

We all know that enforcement is lacking because there aren't enough officers to do it. I've never run into one hunting or fishing in Minnesota for 25 years. Just because the chances of getting caught are remote doesn't mean I don't follow the game and fish laws. Its about morals and ethics too. I value the opportunity to hunt and fish every year here for a reasonable cost and that privilege is not worth risking.

Specifically speaking of pheasants, the possession limit here in Minnesota is 3 times the daily bag limit just like it is in Iowa. That means if I have 6 in my freezer already, I cannot hunt again until I consume some or give a few away.

Gimruis—
Very well said—Your the type of person I would like to hunt with and know

 

[goldenboy]

Let me run a scenario by you guys. I hunt multiple states, ND, SD, Iowa, MN. I also do some hunting at game farms. I stock pile my birds and have a big Christmas dinner of Pheasant meat. I have a license for each state and I have possession limits for each state, I could literally have 45-60 birds in my freezer at some point in the year. How would the CO handle that if he came and looked in my freezer? How do I keep my SD birds seperate from my Iowa birds? I think the point of the law is really about not over harvesting any game animal by one person. I would never leave ND with more than my possession limit for that state of birds shot in that state.

 

[Goosemaster]

I don’t believe most C. O. are going to be too concerned about someone who has a limit or a few over in their freezer for personal use.
HOWEVER—if you have people bragging/boasting about taking the numbers you describe—I can just about guarantee they are going to draw the attention of any C.O. that is doing their job.
We also have to remember a lot of those numbers could be taken on the internet—not in the actual field!!
Like the loud mouth in the bar who—takes a his deer running at 400 hundred yards running -head shots only “Wid my old turrdy-turrdy-that has shot so many deer the barrel had to be replaced twice”

I believe poachers should be turned in, and jailed. That being said, it isn't poaching, if you shoot 50 pheasant in a season, as long as you don't pass 3 per day. You probably have most in the freezer.

 

[Dakotazeb]

Let me run a scenario by you guys. I hunt multiple states, ND, SD, Iowa, MN. I also do some hunting at game farms. I stock pile my birds and have a big Christmas dinner of Pheasant meat. I have a license for each state and I have possession limits for each state, I could literally have 45-60 birds in my freezer at some point in the year. How would the CO handle that if he came and looked in my freezer? How do I keep my SD birds seperate from my Iowa birds? I think the point of the law is really about not over harvesting any game animal by one person. I would never leave ND with more than my possession limit for that state of birds shot in that state.

Joel, I think the telling factor is what your home state law says. Obviously, South Dakota states in the regs that game birds legally harvested in another state do not count toward your possession limit. Not sure what other states regs say. And then your question about which birds are from MN, SD, ND or IA? Unless the birds were tagged or labeled as such no one would know. And even if you did tag/label them how does a CO know you are being truthful? We are probably making more out of this than need be a the chances of a CO coming to your house a minuscule. Looks like I might have opened a "can of worms"!!

 

[Munster927]

I agree with Gim that it's a character thing for me. On the subject of different states and regs, yeah it can get messy. However, I keep all of my licenses from the past year from all the states I hunt. My freezer is empty currently, but years where I've hunted MN, SD and Nebraska in the same year I've had probably 30 birds in my freezer. If (a big if, but if) a CO came into my home to check I could supply him with my MN, SD and NE license. Show him the regs of those states and their possession laws and my vacuum sealed bags where I'll write "SD Pheasant 2020" etc on it and he can see I'm within my possession limits with the birds in my freezer from all those states.

If he wanted to give me a hard time or a ticket for it, I guess I would let him and allow myself to be educated on where I went wrong.

 

[Munster927]

I believe poachers should be turned in, and jailed. That being said, it isn't poaching, if you shoot 50 pheasant in a season, as long as you don't pass 3 per day. You probably have most in the freezer.

That may be accurate in your home state but isn't accurate for all states. As you may notice by the differing regs stated here. Here in MN, you technically would be a poacher.

 

[dakotasj]

Joel, I think the telling factor is what your home state law says. Obviously, South Dakota states in the regs that game birds legally harvested in another state do not count toward your possession limit. Not sure what other states regs say. Any then your question about which birds are from MN, SD, ND or IA? Unless the birds were tagged or labeled as such no one would know. And even if you did tag/label them how does a CO know you are being truthful? We are probably making more out of this than need be a the chances of a CO coming to your house a minuscule. Looks like I might have opened a "can of worms"!!

I agree. It would be important to have valid hunting license for the multiple states should - in what I think would be highly unlikely - that you were checked. I can't imagine a CO just randomly knocking on a door to check a freezer unless someone tipped them off.
I think the possession limit probably comes into play most often when they do road blocks on vehicles leaving the state especially after the first week of the season.

 

[Goosemaster]

Joel, I think the telling factor is what your home state law says. Obviously, South Dakota states in the regs that game birds legally harvested in another state do not count toward your possession limit. Not sure what other states regs say. Any then your question about which birds are from MN, SD, ND or IA? Unless the birds were tagged or labeled as such no one would know. And even if you did tag/label them how does a CO know you are being truthful? We are probably making more out of this than need be a the chances of a CO coming to your house a minuscule. Looks like I might have opened a "can of worms"!!

I don't know anybody who considers what you have at home, as possession. I agree with this comment.

 

[Goosemaster]

I agree. It would be important to have valid hunting license for the multiple states should - in what I think would be highly unlikely - that you were checked. I can't imagine a CO just randomly knocking on a door to check a freezer unless someone tipped them off.
I think the possession limit probably comes into play most often when they do road blocks on vehicles leaving the state especially after the first week of the season.

I know hunters in Eastern Montana, who shoot 100 roosters a year. They can drive 2 miles to hunt.Im sure they have more than 9 birds at home. The people they really need to arrest, are the ones who exceed the daily bag limit.That is poaching.