Deer harvest report question

MEB

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To the guys who have gone through the process:

Is it possible to report your deer harvest on a mobile device and have a reply sent back to you, enabling you to legally quarter out your deer?

The regulations say that you need a confirmation number to fill out on your tag before you can butcher the deer. How long can it take to receive a confirmation number? I have not gone through the process so your help it much appreciated.
 
I checked my sons deer on youth day in the woods and had a confirmation number instantly. I then finished filling out the tag that was attached to the deer. I dropped the deer at the butchers and they kept the deer and the tag. This was in MA.
 
To the guys who have gone through the process:

Is it possible to report your deer harvest on a mobile device and have a reply sent back to you, enabling you to legally quarter out your deer?

The regulations say that you need a confirmation number to fill out on your tag before you can butcher the deer. How long can it take to receive a confirmation number? I have not gone through the process so your help it much appreciated.
1st week of shotgun you must bring the deer to a check station

Any other time online check with your phone and you get the confirmation number instantly.
 
Is it possible to report your deer harvest on a mobile device and have a reply sent back to you, enabling you to legally quarter out your deer?

Some states require you to remove the entire animal and all you are allowed to leave is the gut pile. In those states if you bone out your deer and leave the carcass you can get a ticket for littering.

I think that the states that require this are states that have a wanton waste law which Massachusetts doesn’t have yet. I don’t know about Massachusetts so you should call DFW and check.

Hopefully Mister Happy will chime in.

Bob
 
To the guys who have gone through the process:

Is it possible to report your deer harvest on a mobile device and have a reply sent back to you, enabling you to legally quarter out your deer?

The regulations say that you need a confirmation number to fill out on your tag before you can butcher the deer. How long can it take to receive a confirmation number? I have not gone through the process so your help it much appreciated.
My advice is just leave the gut pile and drag out the whole deer. I dont know anyone that quarters a deer in the woods. Larger big game moose and the like of course because its physically impossible to drag the whole animal. White tail......100 to 130 pounds is actually easy to drag with a rope. Quartering it in the woods opens the meat up to dirt debris and you'll have hair all over it. Do you plan to leave the head and spine and all that in the woods? Not really a good idea imo
 
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I recall about 20 years ago driving down 44 in Raynham/Taunton and 3 guys were dragging a deer out of the swamp just west of the Raynham Athletic Club (I was going for PT on my broken wrist.). They were seriously struggle-busing it and I wonder if quartering wouldn't have helped.

It wasn't that big of a deer. But getting it up the embankment and over the highway barrier was a challenge to them.
 
I recall about 20 years ago driving down 44 in Raynham/Taunton and 3 guys were dragging a deer out of the swamp just west of the Raynham Athletic Club (I was going for PT on my broken wrist.). They were seriously struggle-busing it and I wonder if quartering wouldn't have helped.
It wasn't that big of a deer. But getting it up the embankment and over the highway barrier was a challenge to them.

My back is fried so I can’t do that kind of stuff anymore. I have to either hunt with someone or use mechanical tools to accomplish the task.

I ended up building a collapsible tree winch to do that job. It has 60’ of line on it.

I use a HME Hitch Hoist to get it in the truck and as a skinning pole.

It is a major pain in the ass to have to do it this way but it beats the hell out of sitting on the couch

Bob



This is where I got the idea:


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Open and ready for work

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On one hand, I was concerned because I drive a Honda Accord. You would need a confirmation number to put a deer in a trunk (in open view). One plan is to use the jet sled across the back seat. Another was to quarter it out and bring the ribs, neck, and head to a processor. If I were going that far I would finish the job at home, but I don’t have a vac seal (yet). No way I could bring a field dressed deer home though.

One the other hand, who doesn’t want the tenderloins right away?
 
I too am a fan of the jet sled. Dragged many deer in one.

Same here. I even use them for the short CT drags, because we have to take gutpile with us because( we are so close to houses) in heavy duty garbage bag. So I can throw both on sled.
And if I need to carry in a stick/stand setup I can just throw the whole thing plus my tools in the sled and pull it in in one deal rather than multi trips
 
On one hand, I was concerned because I drive a Honda Accord. You would need a confirmation number to put a deer in a trunk (in open view). One plan is to use the jet sled across the back seat. Another was to quarter it out and bring the ribs, neck, and head to a processor. If I were going that far I would finish the job at home, but I don’t have a vac seal (yet). No way I could bring a field dressed deer home though.

If the car has a trailer hitch mounted you can use a carrier. Then all you have to do is tarp and strap.

I put one on my wife’s CX5 for the bike rack and extra storage for trips. Not for towing.:D

One the other hand, who doesn’t want the tenderloins right away?

Heart first; then tenders.:emoji_fork_knife_plate:

Bob
 
If the car has a trailer hitch mounted you can use a carrier. Then all you have to do is tarp and strap.

I put one on my wife’s CX5 for the bike rack and extra storage for trips. Not for towing.:D



Heart first; then tenders.:emoji_fork_knife_plate:

Bob
Liver first with caramelized onions and mashed potatoes......then heart.....then loins lol
 
If the car has a trailer hitch mounted you can use a carrier. Then all you have to do is tarp and strap.

I put one on my wife’s CX5 for the bike rack and extra storage for trips. Not for towing.:D



Heart first; then tenders.:emoji_fork_knife_plate:

Bob
Funny you say that since I took over my wife’s CX-5. First thing I did was install a grade 3 Curtis trailer hitch and one of those 750lb Harbor freight cargo carriers with a camo tarp. Just need to go back and get the camo ratchets lol
 
My advice is just leave the gut pile and drag out the whole deer. I dont know anyone that quarters a deer in the woods. Larger big game moose and the like of course because its physically impossible to drag the whole animal. White tail......100 to 130 pounds is actually easy to drag with a rope. Quartering it in the woods opens the meat up to dirt debris and you'll have hair all over it. Do you plan to leave the head and spine and all that in the woods? Not really a good idea imo

Only time I would quarter a deer is if it is a long hike out but I have done it on back country hunting trips 5+ miles from the truck. Why do you think leaving the spine and other bones in the woods is a bad idea? dragging a large whitetail, say 200 pounds over rough terrain and up hills for long distances solo is challenging. Quartering and packing out is just sometimes easier. That said you have to be prepared for that with things like game bags to keep the meat clean.

This is a fully boned out blacktail buck from a California back country hunt. Much easier than dragging it a few miles mostly up hill!
 

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Only time I would quarter a deer is if it is a long hike out but I have done it on back country hunting trips 5+ miles from the truck. Why do you think leaving the spine and other bones in the woods is a bad idea? dragging a large whitetail, say 200 pounds over rough terrain and up hills for long distances solo is challenging. Quartering and packing out is just sometimes easier. That said you have to be prepared for that with things like game bags to keep the meat clean.

This is a fully boned out blacktail buck from a California back country hunt. Much easier than dragging it a few miles mostly up hill!
Your asking about hunting Massachusetts right? If your dragging a deer 5 miles to a truck in mass I want to know where that piece of woods is!

Leaving a spine and head with a guy pile in a small patch of mass land is going to draw some attention.....which we don't need. The guy pile disappears when the yotes eat it all......the spine and head etc....will be there for along time. Just my opinion.

Also 200 plus pound white tail in mass? You've got high standards!
 
Years ago, there was a big bone pile up in the hills of Borderland State Park in Easton. Upon discussion with the folks maintaining hte place, it was discovered they were cattle bones. Not a full skeleton, but DAMN. Who the hell brought parts of a cow up a glacial rock pile????
 
There are some areas in western Massachusetts that are pretty big when you get it to October mountain state forest, mount Greylock, or mount Washington. I could easily see a 5 mile walk hunting these areas.

There are deer out here that are easily in the 180lbs plus category prior to getting worn down by the rut. Even a few over 200lbs. There was one that was well over 200lbs taken in Quabbin some years back.

Hunting the western part of the state is totally different than the eastern part of the state. Much fewer animals but generally speaking they are bigger.

I always get a kick out of hunters from the eastern part of the state (not you) that can’t understand why we can go a week or more without seeing an animal. They think we are lousy hunters. LOL But the fact is that there are far fewer animals out here. It is a very different world out here. Night and day.

One thing I now we can all agree on is that government isn’t efficient at managing much and that includes the deer herd. They basically eradicated the deer at Quabbin 1 or 2 DPSM and they didn’t change anything until the hunters stopped signing up for the hunt. After a couple of years of that they started cutting back the hunting.

I hunt out Connecticut to fill my freezer. It is easier and less aggravating for me to drive south than east. It’s really that simple. If it was just deer hunting I wouldn’t even get a sporting license here. That’s how little I hunt in Mass these days.

Leaving bones in woods doesn’t bother me. Nothing goes to waste in nature. Too many times I have seen the carcasses dumped at a trail head or just off the parking lot by home butchers. That is what gives sportsmen a bad name.

Bob
 
There are some areas in western Massachusetts that are pretty big when you get it to October mountain state forest, mount Greylock, or mount Washington. I could easily see a 5 mile walk hunting these areas.

There are deer out here that are easily in the 180lbs plus category prior to getting worn down by the rut. Even a few over 200lbs. There was one that was well over 200lbs taken in Quabbin some years back.

Hunting the western part of the state is totally different than the eastern part of the state. Much fewer animals but generally speaking they are bigger.

I always get a kick out of hunters from the eastern part of the state (not you) that can’t understand why we can go a week or more without seeing an animal. They think we are lousy hunters. LOL But the fact is that there are far fewer animals out here. It is a very different world out here. Night and day.

One thing I now we can all agree on is that government isn’t efficient at managing much and that includes the deer herd. They basically eradicated the deer at Quabbin 1 or 2 DPSM and they didn’t change anything until the hunters stopped signing up for the hunt. After a couple of years of that they started cutting back the hunting.

I hunt out Connecticut to fill my freezer. It is easier and less aggravating for me to drive south than east. It’s really that simple. If it was just deer hunting I wouldn’t even get a sporting license here. That’s how little I hunt in Mass these days.

Leaving bones in woods doesn’t bother me. Nothing goes to waste in nature. Too many times I have seen the carcasses dumped at a trail head or just off the parking lot by home butchers. That is what gives sportsmen a bad name.

Bob
My point about leaving a bone pile with the guts is from my experience in eastern mass. It's mostly small patches of woods and someone will eventually happen accross them. Just trying to be a good neighbor to the folks that use the woods outside of hunters.
 
My point about leaving a bone pile with the guts is from my experience in eastern mass. It's mostly small patches of woods and someone will eventually happen accross them. Just trying to be a good neighbor to the folks that use the woods outside of hunters.

I agree that I would never bone out a deer in Eastern MA. Your right, most of the hunting parcels are fairly small here easy enough to get a deer out of. And yes, I understand there isn't a large number of 200 pound deer in MA, it was more of an example as to why I would make a decision to bone a deer out vs drag it out.
 
My point about leaving a bone pile with the guts is from my experience in eastern mass. It's mostly small patches of woods and someone will eventually happen accross them. Just trying to be a good neighbor to the folks that use the woods outside of hunters.

Agreed.

When I do them here what’s left of the carcass gets bagged and goes out with the trash. Sometimes I freeze them if it’s warm and there is a longer wait for trash day as it cuts down on the flies and walking rice.

Bob
 
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