I am taking my grandfather hunting in late December, and although I am looking forward to hunting with him, the place we are going is in an AR county. I have explained the 13 inch rule to him, and am crossing my fingers he shoots a legal deer...but the last time he went hunting there were not any ARs. He is 75 and doesn't have the best eye sight anymore. Hypothetically...if he harvests a deer which he thinks is legal, but in fact it measures around 12 inches, what kind of trouble could he be in for, if the game wardon happens to show up?

Can't you sit with him and help him out?

more than likely would get a ticket, but it would probably depend on the individual game warden. I would hope to still be hunting at 75...cherish those times with him and good for you taking him hunting! Best of luck

same as anyone else I would think if they fine kids/parents during youth season they would get him too I would guess but cant say for sure.

I am so glad I dont hunt in an AR county, it would be a tough situation with my grandpa if he was still around too. And just wait to see the hell raising and yellin if a warden tried to give him a ticket for it!

You're hunting in one of the more wise counties, it appears.

I would hope a Game Warden would cut him some slack if it was over 12 inches, but who knows. 8pt maybe, 4 or 6 pts probably not.

If making hunting more difficult for youths and seniors is wise then I guess you're right.

Hopefully he would cut him some slack but who knows. I see both sides of the rule. If you are able to hunt your own private land or have the same lease every year and can wait for younger deer to develop, I agree the AR is beneficial to you. However, for those of us in the lower middle class, and sigle income families who can only afford to hunt once a year on a day lease, it makes it very hard and makes what should be a great experince into a stressful one, and us hunters often leave empty handed...JMO

I know two guys who were 1/4" short and it cost them $500 and lost deer... Depends on the game warden... I'm suprised your grandpa even gives a crap.. old school was to shoot to eat!

I believe that laws are laws. I expect to be treated just as everyone else is if I commit a violation. For those hunters who cannot afford a lease and only do a day lease and go home empty handed, I feel for you but maybe a doe should have been shot or that particular hunter should look into hunting public land. I wouldnt expect that a day lease would produce many quality deer if any deer at all since there is a lot of pressure on them and you never know who was setting in the blind the day before you were. Just my $.02...

That's one of the reasons I am worried. He probably doesn't give a crap. LOL, pretty sure I would be the one paying his fine.

IMO, there is a couple ways to look at it. First, men of your grandfathers age are typical honest hard working people who have a respect for the law. They may not agree with it but they do tend to follow it. That being said, give your grandfather a little credit, I believe at 75 years old he will understand what 13" is. Understand also the AR rules were not put into place so that the "lower middle class" would not be able to harvest a deer. There are many oppurtunities for everyone to harvest a deer in Texas. Now, for paying the fine, that's between you and him. Being the stand up grandson you are I am sure the two of you will have an amazing time, memories to last you a life time. My grandfather just turned 93 and I never got to hunt with him. Cherish to moments, hell maybe the memories are worth the fine. Just imagine 20 years from now talking about back in the day when gramps killed an illegal deer and I had to pay for it.... Good luck, it will all work out.

If I still had a grandfather alive, I would figure out a way to pay the fine if he did shoot an illegal deer.

Here's my advice. Don't hunt opening weekend or Thanksgiving weekend. Process it yourself. If you can, go hunting on Tuesday or Wednesday.
I sure hope ya'll have a good time.
I used to hunt squirrels with my grandpa. Glad they didn't have restrictions on those critters back then. They probably will by the time I'm a grandpa. Something like.....fox squirrels must be 20 mm between the ears.

x2. Never had a grandpa to hunt with. Woulda loved the chance to hunt with em, and it woulda been worth all the fines someone could throw at me (him/us). Best I can do is take some birds every year with his old shotgun.

Sit in the stand with him. I hunted with my grandpa all the time as a kid. The point of taking your grandpa hunting is to actually hunt with him. If my grandpa were still here, I'd be sitting in the stand with him.

Make sure and stress the inside spread outside the ears theory. I took my grandfather 2 years ago at the age of 80 and he was all excited that he shot a doe. When i went to recover it for him it actually was a buck and had 2 points on 1 side and a spike on the other. So i was really lucky. As i walked up to the deer the first thing i saw was the antler with 2 points and my heart skipped a beat. I would say sitting with him and identifying the target for him is the best advice to stay out of trouble.

Yep, hunt with your grandpa - you and he will both love it and have a memory you both cherish and you won't have to wory yourself about what he may or may not shoot.

I hunted alone in a blind from the time I was 14 or 15 until I was 30 or so. But then the last 10 years my Dad hunted we did so together in the same blind. Those years were some of the best hunting years of my life right along with the last 4 where I have been hunting with my oldest son. He turns 17 on Monday and often asks me about taking his hunting education course so he can hunt alone (and we will do so) but truth is I prefer hunting with him and sharing the joy when he takes a deer.

Earl

Sometimes I wonder if it will get to the point you bring an attorney with you out hunting.

I've seen several warnings written on 12 1/2" deer. I think most wardens understand the imperfect science of judging the spread. I've never shot one less than 13" in an AR county and I wouldn't purposefully shoot one less than 13 and expect a warning but wardens are human and have some discretion. Hopefully, Gramps can get a 15" rack and not worry about it!

It's hard these days to enjoy a hunt when you have to stroke the ego of some and line the pockets of others.