https://oodmag.com/ask-a-co-what-are...moose-is-shot/
This reader's Ask A CO question asks: what are the penalties if a misidentified moose is shot? Specifically, calves and yearlings?
https://oodmag.com/ask-a-co-what-are...moose-is-shot/
This reader's Ask A CO question asks: what are the penalties if a misidentified moose is shot? Specifically, calves and yearlings?
It comes down to due-diligence i.e. the steps the hunter followed to determine that he believed that he was shooting at a legal animal. Don’t try justifying the shot after realizing a mistake was made. You must be 100% certain that the animal is legal before firing!
Some of the things that come into play: visibility, distance, length of time the shooter had the animal in plain view, presence/absence of other animals (for comparison), ascertainment of distinguishing features e.g. antlers, muzzle length, muzzle colour, size of animal, presence/absence of vulva patch, etc. Usually, the more steps that a hunter took to properly ID the animal the better odds for a favourable outcome.
It can take time to determine whether a moose is legal to shoot or not. If you can’t convince a CO that you exercised due care and attention then you will face a penalty. Never shop for a tag or an indigenous person to cover up a mistake, and don’t lie. One lie will earn you an obstruction charge and whatever comes out of your mouth afterwards will be treated with skepticism.
Well over the years I have been at two camps where this happened and in both incidence,s the MNR were very fair. The first incident was a Cow Moose shot instead of a calf. I was a very foggy morning where I had come in from hunting because of the fog and visited another camp who had hunted in that fog. The manner in which the hunters set up was very dangerous and could have resulted in one of them getting shot IMHO. Anyway all kinds of stupid suggestions about covering up the mistake and I am pretty sure my presence managed to deter that.
Fortunately by the time the two MNR officers arrived the day was bright and sunny and the previous scene took on a whole different complexion. The shooter got a out of court POT and the fine was $400.00 and loss of the animal.
In the second incident it was a visitor to the Moose camp I was at and he managed to drop a spike horn mistaking it for a cow.
So basically the angle the hunter saw the Moose with ears up the spikes were hidden by the ear and in the spur of the moment the trigger was pulled. In this incident I could really see that it was a accident but again could have been avoided by taking a few more seconds to look.
Again a lot of talk about a cover up and not reporting, but the wiser men in camp did not let that prevail. End result the Moose had to be hauled out, cleaned, transported to road where the MNR were again very reasonable, Moose confiscated and another $400.00 POT.
You pretty well know your hunting with the wrong guy when he tries to ask for a break and ask if he can keep the meat. LOL
That guy and his buddy who was a friend of the camp host never invited back.
Errors do happen.
"Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching." C.S.Lewis
As tempting as it is, and let's face it...moose hunting usually takes place in areas where there is a lot of isolation.....just do the right thing.
One time,one of our guys shot a big spike horn and the debate was on whether to put a Bull tag on it or a calf tag. Electing to err on the side of caution,he put an adult tag on it,dragged it back to our drop off point and walked right into a CO that heard the shots. While checking all the particulars of the tag,the CO said "Why did you put an adult tag on it when a calf tag would do?" I nearly fell over hearing that. We dressed the Bull out at 700lbs,quite clearly the size and weight of a big yearling which requires an adult tag. I'm generally very supportive of our CO's,but,I gotta tell ya,sometimes I really wonder about some of them.
Some years back, someone at our camp shot a small yearling cow, thinking it was a calf. After our group assembled at the kill site, we quickly determined that it was not a calf by counting teeth (MNR used the same method when they saw it). The shooter called the MNR, and reported himself. After field dressing the animal and transporting it by atv to a designated meeting spot and loading it into the MNR truck, he was rewarded with a fine for shooting a cow moose without a valid tag. It's not a big deal if you come clean to the MNR when it happens.
The antlers are a dead giveaway. The smallest antlers that I’ve ever seen on a moose were 4” long… the bull was a runt yearling.Quote:
Originally Posted by trimmer21
That there is true but a Moose with its ear's up and at the wrong angle will cover a 4inch antler no problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam Menard
"[COLOR=#000000]A mature bull's ears are roughly 30 inches from tip to tip, with the ears themselves being 9 to 10 inches long"
We had a member of our gang shoot a yearling bull in error. the horns were very small 2-3", it had a short face and slight hump to its shoulder area and was tiny.
when the CO arrived, he was blown away by how small the bull was maybe 300lbs live weight. the CO called several other officers and even his supervisor trying to determine what the correct ruling should be. after over an hour the animal was confiscated, and the hunter was given a $250 fine which was the absolute minimum according to the CO.
we since decided as a group there would be no more calf hunting from our group
Does anyone know where does "confiscated meat" go after CO's get it ?
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