This used to be spelled out in the Deer Hunting Regulations, but has not been for the last few years.
Deer regulations used to explicitly state that you could not carry more than one kind of weapon while hunting deer. Now, the Legal Firearms section has a sentence that reads "Hunters may carry more than one type of legal firearm when hunting during the firearms, youth, reduction zone (in zones where local ordinances allow the use of a firearm), and special antlerless seasons only."
However, in the Archery section, it only states, "Legal equipment includes long bows, compound bows or recurve bows and arrows".
Simply stated, I can shoot a deer with any weapon that is legal for that particular season, whether archery, firearms, muzzleloader, etc.
My question is not about what weapons I can shoot a deer with, but what weapons I can have in my possession in case another in-season critter happens by, like a coyote for example. Most of the DNR people I have discussed this with don't have an answer. Can I carry a firearm for Mr. Coyote during archery season, in case Mr. Coyote happens to wander by during the deer hunt? I know I can't shoot the deer with it. But can I have it "in my possession". I know there are a lot of concerns with poaching these days, but if I don't actually shoot a deer with an illegal weapon, but have another type of weapon in my possession for game for which it IS legal, then AM I LEGAL?
A couple of years ago I broached this topic with two or three DNR property managers at Winamac and at Jasper Pulaski, and they didn't know the answer. They asked me to contact DNR law enforcement. I called DNR law enforcement, and after getting told "I don't know" even by law enforcement, one of the people I spoke to referred me to a number in Michigan City. I finally spoke to one CO who gave me a definitive answer, and the answer I received was that it IS LEGAL to possess a firearm (I was carrying a .243 with a scope) during archery season - just can't shoot the deer with it (obviously).
I should have asked the officer who I spoke to in Michigan City for a written response, but I didn't. Why?
I was hunting at Winamac one day, archery season. I had some unpleasant words (my initiative) with another hunter who had decided to put his deer stand up about 20 yards from mine. If that isn't bad enough, he decided to hunt from it that morning, even though I was already in mine and had signaled him with my flashlight that I was there (prior to sunrise). After several hours, I could no longer keep my frustration in, he had actually drawn on a deer that was approaching. I barked at him, and I went to a different spot (so did the deer). He noticed my rifle, and reported me to DNR. A CO was waiting for me in the parking lot that evening. I explained to him the conversation I had with the CO in Michigan City, but I didn't know the name of the CO who I spoke with. The CO who talked to me dropped the line of questioning, but I could tell that he wasn't convinced. He didn't ask me for any ID or question it any further, but I asked him if I could give him my name and phone number and to please call me back if he heard that I had actually violated any regulation. He took my number, but I never got a call back. So I assume that I was within the law as I was told over the phone.
This year I am going to call Michigan City and request something in writing with the name of the CO on the correspondence, just in case I ever get questioned again.
Anyone have insight on this issue? Experiences?
Deer regulations used to explicitly state that you could not carry more than one kind of weapon while hunting deer. Now, the Legal Firearms section has a sentence that reads "Hunters may carry more than one type of legal firearm when hunting during the firearms, youth, reduction zone (in zones where local ordinances allow the use of a firearm), and special antlerless seasons only."
However, in the Archery section, it only states, "Legal equipment includes long bows, compound bows or recurve bows and arrows".
Simply stated, I can shoot a deer with any weapon that is legal for that particular season, whether archery, firearms, muzzleloader, etc.
My question is not about what weapons I can shoot a deer with, but what weapons I can have in my possession in case another in-season critter happens by, like a coyote for example. Most of the DNR people I have discussed this with don't have an answer. Can I carry a firearm for Mr. Coyote during archery season, in case Mr. Coyote happens to wander by during the deer hunt? I know I can't shoot the deer with it. But can I have it "in my possession". I know there are a lot of concerns with poaching these days, but if I don't actually shoot a deer with an illegal weapon, but have another type of weapon in my possession for game for which it IS legal, then AM I LEGAL?
A couple of years ago I broached this topic with two or three DNR property managers at Winamac and at Jasper Pulaski, and they didn't know the answer. They asked me to contact DNR law enforcement. I called DNR law enforcement, and after getting told "I don't know" even by law enforcement, one of the people I spoke to referred me to a number in Michigan City. I finally spoke to one CO who gave me a definitive answer, and the answer I received was that it IS LEGAL to possess a firearm (I was carrying a .243 with a scope) during archery season - just can't shoot the deer with it (obviously).
I should have asked the officer who I spoke to in Michigan City for a written response, but I didn't. Why?
I was hunting at Winamac one day, archery season. I had some unpleasant words (my initiative) with another hunter who had decided to put his deer stand up about 20 yards from mine. If that isn't bad enough, he decided to hunt from it that morning, even though I was already in mine and had signaled him with my flashlight that I was there (prior to sunrise). After several hours, I could no longer keep my frustration in, he had actually drawn on a deer that was approaching. I barked at him, and I went to a different spot (so did the deer). He noticed my rifle, and reported me to DNR. A CO was waiting for me in the parking lot that evening. I explained to him the conversation I had with the CO in Michigan City, but I didn't know the name of the CO who I spoke with. The CO who talked to me dropped the line of questioning, but I could tell that he wasn't convinced. He didn't ask me for any ID or question it any further, but I asked him if I could give him my name and phone number and to please call me back if he heard that I had actually violated any regulation. He took my number, but I never got a call back. So I assume that I was within the law as I was told over the phone.
This year I am going to call Michigan City and request something in writing with the name of the CO on the correspondence, just in case I ever get questioned again.
Anyone have insight on this issue? Experiences?
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