I went on a drone call last night and found the buck still alive. My question is have you every gotten in trouble for shooting the deer your tracking after dark? I have done it on my property when blood trailing and didn't think anything about it but last night on land I'm not familiar with made me wonder if I could get in trouble.

I'd delete this post. What you did was illegal with a drone

As far as my understanding goes if the deer is alive your not allowed to dispatch it with the aid of a drone. Number one reason a good bay dog is a better option than a drone in my opinion.

Asking because I don’t know but why’s it legal to shoot one by aid of a dog at night?

There’s the “letter of the law” and “the intent of the law”……I believe game wardens have discretion in certain situations on how they choose to interpret it….The laws governing hunting at night were never meant to keep hunters from recovering their game after dark…..regardless of whether the hunter himself found the deer or a dog did.

It’s a sad person that will give a man a ticket for dispatching a badly wounded animal at night.

Yeah, this seems so basic and I agree. I know what the antagonist reply is though: “Because how does anyone know you shot a wounded animal versus hunting a healthy one”.

I honestly don’t think any GW in the state would write a person a ticket for finishing off a wounded deer at night. Cause regardless of the law that’s the right thing to do. By the deer and the law as well in my opinion. Just my thoughts.

Just for the record I don't have a problem with it at all just going by what I have read about drones finding wounded game. I got to watch a drone work last year on a deer my dogs wouldn't track. Ended up finding him asleep with a few other doe on a hillside. Was pretty cool to see

I watched a YouTube video of a guy that does drone recovery. Not sure what state but one he did a search for a guy and by the law the hunter couldn’t recover the deer. They found the deer dead but had to leave it out in the field, big standing corn field .

One of the reasons I take pictures of the original wounds and show them is so it becomes pretty obvious to everyone that we’re dispatching and recovering some seriously wounded deer. This is something where I think just about ALL of us look at it and use common sense about what is occurring. Anyone who would make a stink about it is either just being a Karen or just stirring the pot.

I saw that but I would have gone and gotten it.

And the hunter did I am sure. I took it as a sarcastic remark to make fun of a law that needs changed that he even mentioned it

"There’s the “letter of the law” and “the intent of the law”..." quoting CNC

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Since you're stirring the pot, let me jump in here "Karen".

Judges will tell you the intent of the law is expressed in the plain meaning of the words used to write the law. The law means exactly what it says. Otherwise it is unconstitutionally vague.

The use of dogs to hunt where it's banned is just as illegal as using a drone. If dogs are allowed to be used to track poorly shot game, then that exception should be clearly expressed in the law. If it's allowed to track and shoot wounded game after dark and kill it, then that should be clearly expressed in the plain language of the law.

Nothing, and I repeat, nothing should be left to the discretion of an enforcement officer. Laws should not be written by individuals in the field.

I would have went to get it for sure. Not going to let it go to waste.

Ok Karen........

Bullchit.

I can name you three that would write you a ticket for anything they could. One of them gave me a ticket for "hunting at night" because I shot a nuisance pig 5 min after legal shooting light last season. Had one give my dad a ticket on the river a couple years back because the needle on the fire extinguisher on his boat was in the green but it wasn't centered in the middle of the green. A friend of mine got a ticket (actually 2) last year for blood trailing a deer a couple hours after dark one night. He came out of the woods to charge his flashlight and they were waiting for him by his truck. They charged him for night hunting and not having hunters orange on..... at 8 pm at night. This was the same one that wrote me up for night hunting the nuisance pig. All three of those tickets were tossed by the way.

Common sense isn't so common anymore.

"Anyone who would make a stink about it is either just being a Karen or just stirring the pot." quoting CNC

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You need to read BC's post above and go back and read where Rusty Morrow, retired game warden, brought serious charges against kids for night hunting etc. that was addressed by the Supreme Court of Alabama. You're advocating people like you being held to be above the law while you hunt at night and hunt with your dogs while others face serious consequences (fines and possible jail time) for violating those same laws.

When game wardens and lower courts are allowed to interpret and enforce the same laws differently and in different situations involving different individuals, we have serious problems that need to be addressed by our legislature. Calling those who raise those questions "Karens" does nothing to correct the problems that so obviously exist.

I’d like to use my dogs to track deer and my buddies shoot them, but I have to join special clubs for that… call me Ken by the way

Eddie??...Is that you??