It's in a previous post on this subject, but here it is again:

EXCEPTION: Instead of proof of sex, the hunter may obtain a receipt from a taxidermist or a signed statement from the landowner or the landowner's agent containing the following information:

Name of person who killed the wildlife resource;
Date the wildlife resource was killed; and
One of the following, as applicable: whether the deer was antlered or antlerless; the sex of the antelope; the sex of the turkey and whether a beard was attached; or the sex of the pheasant.

If taken in an antler restriction county the game warden can and will show up on your doorstep if he has any reason to believe the buck was immature might not have made 13 inches. Happened a few years ago, he said he needed to see a fresh set of horns whether it be at the house or at the taxidermist and it had better have a 13" inside spread, they were in the freezer and they did measure, 14.5" to be exact. He wasn't so grumpy after he saw they were legal.

Also the wildlife resource document that is being discussed is in the back of the outdoor annual. If anyone other than the person who harvested the animal transports a deer or even just the head YOU HAVE TO HAVE THIS DOCUMENT FILLED OUT, or you can get into big trouble, if any law enforcement pulls you over and discovers you don't have the resourse document and your transporting someone elses deer, they have been trained to immediately call the GW.

That's the point I was looking for. If you are hunting in a county that doesn't have antler or doe restrictions it probably doesn't matter as much. If you are, you had better get the rules for your county down.

The rules referenced are the rules - I do not see special rules for different counties. I can see where you might be concerned, but if you follow these rules you won't have a problem. I've discussed these requirements with our game warden just to make sure we are always buttoned up. But if I'm missing a rule somewhere please point me to it.

I can't respond to the comment about a game warden showing up on your doorstep - at what point in the process would this be? If it's after a deer is delivered to a processor then you do not have to maintain the head - I would like to hear more about that.

I am a landowner in Fisher County. Do I have to fill one of these forms out for myself or am I exempt from this? Thanks

I believe once the deer reaches its final destination (which was the deer processor in this case), it is legal to take the head and or antlers but they are discouraging this in antler restriction counties. The GW checks the cold storage facilities weekley around here, he commented any bucks taken in an antler restricted county and have its head or antlers removed looks suspicious, and they do follow up on them, trust me.



If you did not kill the deer you have to have this form filled out if you are transporting it.

I really would like to just let this go, but I'm very confused by your comment. First, if you have the right document a head does not have to accompany the carcass to a processor in any county. Also, processors process deer from many counties -some with AR, some not - they do not segregate their deer in the cooler by county. A hunter may kill a deer in an AR county but take it elsewhere for processing, and vice-versa. A processor is not required to keep a head - its just not in their rules. Many people deliver their carcasses that are already in quarters. I just have trouble imagining a GW walking into a processor, going through the carcasses to find tags that are from AR counties, then tracking down the hunter to see if they have still have the horns just because it appears to be an immature deer. And mature/immature doesn't necessarily mean they meet AR requirements anyway.

I know this seems argumentative and I don't mean to be, I just don't know of a reason why a hunter can't just follow the rules specified in the TPWD rules.

I know their are a couple of GW's on here - any feedback?

This brings up another question. Should there be someone at the processors that is "certified" to make sure that all deer brought in are legal? Just seems like it would be much easier to catch people doing wrong at the processor, than pulling people over on the way back from the lease hopeing they might have a deer.

I was told by a GW one time not to remove the antlers until after the deer got to the processor. I hunt in a one buck county and he said people try to cut the antlers off and hide that they shot a buck.

Our county is in the middle of the AR counties, so you have to take into consideration the processors around here don't have many if any deer brought in from counties without the antler restriction.



I don't think so, as long as the deer is tagged (the processor has to collect the tags and turn them into tpwd) the processor is in the clear from being fined, it is not their responsibility to make sure the buck conforms to the antler restrictions. I suppose this could change in the future. It is my understanding that if you decide to take the antlers off once the deer reaches its final destination you have to have that resource document filled out by the deer processor because the tag stays with the processor. Otherwise you would be transporting an untagged head/antler back home, and this would constitute as an untagged deer.

I know their are a couple of GW's on here - any feedback?

Thats what I was hoping for.

Are there some here?, I know there are quite a few on the green screen, but hadn't notice any post here.

I know it's been a while since I posted this, and it seems there is a very different view by many people. I personally am not going to risk it. I will bring it withnhead still attached. At least that how it reads to me.

Maybe a Warden will see this now.