Hauling big game out....

[Limited GM]

OK keep in mind I'm new to the west. Lets say you kill a elk on nat forest land and because of the location you opt to risk a fine and use an ATV to haul the meat out. Just how bad are they going to gig you if caught?

[Byte Stryke]

OK keep in mind I'm new to the west. Lets say you kill a elk on nat forest land and because of the location you opt to risk a fine and use an ATV to haul the meat out. Just how bad are they going to gig you if caught?

Yeah, Don't

[Mtn.man]

Stupid move.

[ridgewalker]

My understanding is worst case scenario...they confiscate gun, license, ATV and you get a fine. Example is just for not having an up-to-date sticker on your ATV can cost you $200 (info from a friend who had to pay this season).

Don't set a bad example. Quarter or better yet, debone and carry it out. It hurts, but I carried an entire 5x5 out in four trips nearly 5 miles back in the Rawahs. Not easy, but great stories for the rest of your life and something you will feel a great accomplishment from.

[pierce33]

Ya the pack out is just part of the hunt, I know it sucks but I actually enjoy it most of the time. It gives you time for the memories of the hunt to set in, hauling out the animal you just harvested.
Now I do have 5 hunting mules that I now use for long pack in trips but most of the year I still end up with the meat on my back. Get yourself a good pack frame and start training for next years season!

[Dryfli]

If you don't want to pack it out maybe cabelas big game hunter on wii is a better option....

[Irving]

I would offer to tag along, hang out in camp all day while you shoot it, then you could just come get me to help carry it out, but I'm busy.

[Byte Stryke]

If you don't want to pack it out maybe cabelas big game hunter on wii is a better option....

Harsh

seriously, use a sled, litter, quarter it...
As I understand it you could do time for it depending on condition.
God help you if the warden says you fired from the ATV.

[ThunderSquirrel]

My understanding is worst case scenario...they confiscate gun, license, ATV and you get a fine. Example is just for not having an up-to-date sticker on your ATV can cost you $200.

This.

2 Rifles seasons ago, up in Area 36, there were a couple guys from Indiana that cut the lock on a Forest Access Gate and drove their pick-up and trailer full of ATV's back up the Access Road. Few hours later the DOW showed up, saw the gate and put a chain on it while he waited for the Forest Service.

Eventually we saw the pick-up, trailer, all the ATV's and every piece of equipment the guys had being loaded into a Froest Service Trailer. We stopped to ask what was up and the Warden told us they were confiscating "Everything that went beyond the gate in the truck" and that the guys had already been arrested. He wouldn't give us any more specifics other than that.

I'd rather burn a day packing out a bull than ruin my hunting privilages for life to get it out in an hour, that's for sure.

[soco11]

Here's an idea: if you can't hunt legally and ethically, how about not going at all? As pierce33 said, the pack-out is part of the hunt...and it too is to be done legally and ethically, just like the rest of the hunt. Don't expect any favors from other hunters either--if I see you I will report you so fast it will make your head spin. I am not going to let you ruin it for everyone else.