Landowner Exemption Conservation Officer Visit

[Fargo]

I am fascinated how many 2Am enthusiasts think you should have no 4th-6th Am. rights if you hunt...

 

[ghuns]

i haven’t seen one in the wild since the older gentleman who patrolled Morgan mornroe retired. Whoever took his place does a pretty terrible job. I couldn’t even get a call back about reporting someone shooting a rifle driving down the road.

I called them when we had coyote hunters running dogs across our property, including through my yard.

They said, meh. Maybe you should call the county police.

 

[Mattroth54]

I am fascinated how many 2Am enthusiasts think you should have no 4th-6th Am. rights if you hunt...

OP here. Let me know if this comment is at me as I do have thoughts on this tangent.

 

[Fargo]

OP here. Let me know if this comment is at me as I do have thoughts on this tangent.

No, not at you, although you may/likely had rights you could have asserted if you wanted. It is totally up to anyone if they want to assert THEIR rights or not.

My comment was more addressed to those who think the DNR should be able to unilaterally force anyone who hunts to talk/demonstrate proficiency for them.

 

[printcraft]

..... As it happens, this one was a bit more formal and after digging around, I found a copy of the most current, which became effective mid November ‘18. I showed him this paperwork and he questioned the validity of my illegible signature. Wanting to make his job easy as possible, I demonstrate my signature in front of him, to his satisfaction. ......

D I C K move. Not you OP. WHY else would you have had the paperwork in the first place?

 

[Mattroth54]

No, not at you, although you may/likely had rights you could have asserted if you wanted. It is totally up to anyone if they want to assert THEIR rights or not.

My comment was more addressed to those who think the DNR should be able to unilaterally force anyone who hunts to talk/demonstrate proficiency for them.

Gotcha. I’m 100% sure I had rights I could have asserted. I briefly considered going down that road out of principal, but ultimately decided I could easily win that battle and lose the war at the same time. As far as I know, there’s nothing to stop ICO from walking out to my stand at 9am on opening morning to check paperwork. I figured some give and take on both sides make a better long term relationship for both of us.

 

[Mattroth54]

D I C K move. Not you OP. WHY else would you have had the paperwork in the first place?

Yeah, that may have been the most off putting part of the whole thing, validating my signature on paperwork that by it’s own nature is above and beyond any requirements of license exemption. As stated in my post above, I still felt this request, albeit strange and out of line, was simple enough to not make this a long term pissing match between me and the ICO. They’re guys that I’ve generally had excellent experiences in many regards both on this property and other issues.

 

[Mgderf]

I came into some hunting property last year and decided to claim the landowners exemption.
This was my first time claiming ANY exemption, and I was a little nervous about the whole process.

I went to the trouble of making a photocopy of the deed, with my name, and the legal description of the property. I carried a copy of the deed in my pocket with my I.D. just to be able to show a DNR officer in the field that I had the right to be hunting this property, and that I did not require a license to do so.

 

[Mattroth54]

I came into some hunting property last year and decided to claim the landowners exemption.
This was my first time claiming ANY exemption, and I was a little nervous about the whole process.

I went to the trouble of making a photocopy of the deed, with my name, and the legal description of the property. I carried a copy of the deed in my pocket with my I.D. just to be able to show a DNR officer in the field that I had the right to be hunting this property, and that I did not require a license to do so.

Probably good stuff to have in your possession to make life easy.

 

[rooster]

I came into some hunting property last year and decided to claim the landowners exemption.
This was my first time claiming ANY exemption, and I was a little nervous about the whole process.

I went to the trouble of making a photocopy of the deed, with my name, and the legal description of the property. I carried a copy of the deed in my pocket with my I.D. just to be able to show a DNR officer in the field that I had the right to be hunting this property, and that I did not require a license to do so.

are you actually farming that land?

i looked a little deeper at the IC and IAC and it appears that as long as it is “suitable” for agriculture pursuits then it’s a legal exemption.

But as we all know here on this forum being legal doesn’t mean it’s right. By choosing to use this exemption you are depriving the Indiana DNR of the money needed to fund ongoing conservation efforts.

It may be legal but it’s far from right.

 

[Fargo]

are you actually farming that land?

i looked a little deeper at the IC and IAC and it appears that as long as it is “suitable” for agriculture pursuits then it’s a legal exemption.

But as we all know here on this forum being legal doesn’t mean it’s right. By choosing to use this exemption you are depriving the Indiana DNR of the money needed to fund ongoing conservation efforts.

It may be legal but it’s far from right.

Not sure if serious. If you think there is a moral obligation to donate to the DNR, I don’t really know what to say.

 

[cg21]

are you actually farming that land?

i looked a little deeper at the IC and IAC and it appears that as long as it is “suitable” for agriculture pursuits then it’s a legal exemption.

But as we all know here on this forum being legal doesn’t mean it’s right. By choosing to use this exemption you are depriving the Indiana DNR of the money needed to fund ongoing conservation efforts.

It may be legal but it’s far from right.

 

[Mgderf]

are you actually farming that land?

i looked a little deeper at the IC and IAC and it appears that as long as it is “suitable” for agriculture pursuits then it’s a legal exemption.

But as we all know here on this forum being legal doesn’t mean it’s right. By choosing to use this exemption you are depriving the Indiana DNR of the money needed to fund ongoing conservation efforts.

It may be legal but it’s far from right.

Excuse me?
Do you know me? I thought not.

I checked, and checked, and re-checked, the regulations. I didn't find a morality clause anywhere in there.
Not that it matters, but I purchased a deer license bundle this year, as I have EVERY year since they became available.

I bought a license because I have access to property that I can hunt, but does not belong to me, so no exemption is available.
AS it turned out, I did not fill any of the license this year because I was busy hunting property I own, license exempt.
I could not begin to count the number of deer licenses I've purchased in Indiana over the years that have gone unfilled.

That's a pretty high horse you seem to be sitting on.

 

[Mattroth54]

By choosing to use this exemption you are depriving the Indiana DNR of the money needed to fund ongoing conservation efforts

Hilarious, as I just filed my taxes.

You couldn’t have found a worse time to guilt trip me into volunteering even more money to the government. If you’re going to lecture me about depriving the state, give me a second to start playing the worlds smallest violin.

In my opinion, ICO’s are worth way more than they are paid. One shouldn’t have to look far to find wasted tax revenue and reallocate some to better pay LEO and/or better care for our natural resources. One could start with a percentage of the property taxes already paid on the land that some bureaucrat was “nice” enough to not double tax landowners in order to hunt their own property. That’s what’s “right”.

 

[patience0830]

your not alone...

You're

 

[yetti462]

Your kidding right?

I know it happens that guys go hunting, drop a second buck and have their wife/female friend get a tag but as the father of a hunting female I do find this broad brush a little insulting.

Trust me I am not one to search for things to get my feathers ruffled over but this one got me a bit fired up. My daughter can out shoot a lot of weekend hunters in the woods these days and to say that they should go around harassing her when she tags a deer is a load of crap.

If I am the only one that found this statement upsetting then I will go quietly back to my corner, but for every father who takes great pride in their daughters sitting in the tree stand next to them I think you can understand my irritation with this statement!

No, I'm not kidding.
Maybe I shouldn't have said "all" female hunters. If your feathers got ruffled then tuck you bottom lip back in, I'm sorry. No where did I say females can't hunt or are not capable ethical take of game. If you dug that deep into my comment then throw away
the shovel.
When you used to check deer at a check station, one of the local CO's, a good friend of mine, would go to the check station and look over the log book. He'd cross reference addresses of females who tagged a buck, usually wives, of males who tagged a buck under the same address. He'd then make house calls and question the wife. He wrote a lot of tickets for double bucking husbands. One lady didn't know the brand of her bow, what broadheads she used, and when asked to pull the bow back she presented she couldn't. A good friend of mine whose wife is an avid hunter got the house visit. She rattled off her bow brand, explained how she switched to mechanical heads and pulled her bow. Proved the CO she was a hunter. My buddy was not offended he was proud. Still brings it up and talks about it. I know of several women that have checked a buck and have never shot a gun or bow. I know for a fact that it happens a bunch.
If you think this crap doesn't happen, then you are oblivious to the greed of hunters. Now with online checking, I'd say it happens even more. With computer checking I think it would be easier to investigate. A lot easier then going and doing hand writing
analysis and signature comparison like what was described in the OP.

It happens with turkey too. Not all, but some wives have bagged a tom and never shouldered a gun.

Again, I shouldn't have stated ALL female hunters. To clarify and lay it all out. Check wives/girlfriends living under same address as husbands/boyfriends that tagged a buck.

 

[amboy49]

To the OP - when the CO showed up maybe in response to his questioning your response could have been “I refuse to answer any questions. Am I suspected of a crime and am I being detained ? Am I free to go ?” I’m sure the CO could/would have puffed up like a banty rooster and mentioned prosecution once or twice while also also commenting “Why not just make it easy on yourself ?”

Not sure how the long arm of the CO law has the right to ask questions - even to the point of questioning whether your signature is valid ! Sorry if this comes off harsh but my experiences with COs, as some may know, have been less than favorable. Confrontations I’ve had were all antagonistic resulting in no charges ever being pressed. Lots of innuendo on their side with a presumption of guilt without basis in fact.

I’m one of those individuals who purchased and holds a lifetime hunting and fishing license. By the logic suggested I should still be sending an annual donation to the State out of the goodness of my heart. The State issued the license based on legislation that was passed. I would be willing to bet the DNR had a chance to weigh in when the discussion was held. Sorry to say - but suggesting anyone voluntarily donate to the DNR budget smacks a little of self righteousness.

 

[miguel]

I’m one of those individuals who purchased and holds a lifetime hunting and fishing license. By the logic suggested I should still be sending an annual donation to the State out of the goodness of my heart.

Think of the children...

 

[Fargo]

To the OP - when the CO showed up maybe in response to his questioning your response could have been “I refuse to answer any questions. Am I suspected of a crime and am I being detained ? Am I free to go ?” I’m sure the CO could/would have puffed up like a banty rooster and mentioned prosecution once or twice while also also commenting “Why not just make it easy on yourself ?”

Not sure how the long arm of the CO law has the right to ask questions - even to the point of questioning whether your signature is valid ! Sorry if this comes off harsh but my experiences with COs, as some may know, have been less than favorable. Confrontations I’ve had were all antagonistic resulting in no charges ever being pressed. Lots of innuendo on their side with a presumption of guilt without basis in fact.

I’m one of those individuals who purchased and holds a lifetime hunting and fishing license. By the logic suggested I should still be sending an annual donation to the State out of the goodness of my heart. The State issued the license based on legislation that was passed. I would be willing to bet the DNR had a chance to weigh in when the discussion was held. Sorry to say - but suggesting anyone voluntarily donate to the DNR budget smacks a little of self righteousness.

There are literally 100,000 organizations and causes I would donate to before I gave to that admin-law-loving train wreck. The way the legislature has abdicated its power/responsibilities to the DNR is shameful. They have also gone out of their way to be anti-2a in the past, like the great shooting range roundup.

 

[Mattroth54]

To the OP - when the CO showed up maybe in response to his questioning your response could have been “I refuse to answer any questions. Am I suspected of a crime and am I being detained ? Am I free to go ?” I’m sure the CO could/would have puffed up like a banty rooster and mentioned prosecution once or twice while also also commenting “Why not just make it easy on yourself ?”

Not sure how the long arm of the CO law has the right to ask questions - even to the point of questioning whether your signature is valid ! Sorry if this comes off harsh but my experiences with COs, as some may know, have been less than favorable. Confrontations I’ve had were all antagonistic resulting in no charges ever being pressed. Lots of innuendo on their side with a presumption of guilt without basis in fact.

I’m one of those individuals who purchased and holds a lifetime hunting and fishing license. By the logic suggested I should still be sending an annual donation to the State out of the goodness of my heart. The State issued the license based on legislation that was passed. I would be willing to bet the DNR had a chance to weigh in when the discussion was held. Sorry to say - but suggesting anyone voluntarily donate to the DNR budget smacks a little of self righteousness.

This is exactly what I was thinking while the situation unfolded. I made the judgement that I would have prevailed with that exchange, but would have also set the stage for years of an adversarial relationship at this property with ICO for years to come. I personally felt in this situation the give on my part made sense long term.