An elderly gentlemen on my lease killed a buck and recently had it confiscated for violating AR's. On top of that, he'll have a fine up to $500 To the county and have to pay restitution for the deer to TPW. When he was contacted by the game warden, he was told that his deer was 3/4 of an inch under the legal limit! I've seen the benefits of AR's and know ignorance is no exception to the law (nor is being 75 in your 4th week of chemotherapy- ugh), but 3/4 of an inch? Guess you gotta draw a line somewhere. Granted, it was a young deer and most of us have a buffer to ensure AR's, so perhaps it was a combination of the two- not that there needed to be a second reason; at the end of the day it was under, even if only by 3/4"...

1/4 in maybe but noway they'll let 3/4 in slip by...most processors won't accept any that's illegal. He should've got someone to skin it behind the barn...I hope he heals up and chemo helps him,sorry for his misfortune .

I was curious how/where they'd draw the line but never aimed to find out myself. Personally, I wouldn't know the difference between 1/4 and 3/4 inch at 50 yards let alone 100+. That said, I like to think I'd know better than to shoot anything that close. Thanks for the well wishes. It would be a shame if this were his last season...

How did he get caught? Hopefully he didnt take it to a taxi or processor

First year of AR a friend killed an old broken down 8 point...about 12 5/8" inside spread...he did what the TPWD people told everyone to do in their informational meetings...if in doubt call the GW...GW shows up and gives him a warning and some sort of document...over the next couple of years they got a visit in deer camp several times a year to make sure they still understood the law...

rick

You guessed it- straight to a processor. He gets around like someone much younger (at least for now), but it may just be time for him to sit around the fire or at least hunt with someone who can advise him

Interesting experience Rick. I wasn't around when he shot the deer but i'da thought someone would've given him a heads up

Dang if I ever take a short buck he sure as he'll ain't going to a processor

Prayers for the gentleman's health.

If I can't see space between the outside edges of the ears and the inside edges and the main beams, I don't shoot.

I suspect if the guy will get treated very fairly by the judge if he admits to making an honest mistake. I've seen those much less fitting get their fines and charges knocked down for more serious offenses.

You need more than just a space between the ears and the horns, some of those high horn 8pts, 2 1/2 yr old bucks are 12.5"-12.99".

How about a 1-800 number for self reporting of AR violation with a reasonable fine $50-100. Make the fine progressive, two violations in 5 years the fine triples, or two years in a row. Something, this is not catch and release bass fishing. The ears are a lousy way to judge width in east texas

Would not work. Everybody and their dog would shoot a little buck and pay their small fine. I'm betting he will get some consideration just due to his age. But-young deer,almost an inch off,taking it to the processor-this outcome was pretty inevitable.

Has anyone ever gotten a ticket and fought it?

Again make the fine progressive so that does not happen. Rather than making criminals give us an option for mistakes.

And your defense would be?

My trigger finger slipped, and I pulled the trigger accidently!

Discrimination.

El oh El! I've passed up many deer that I questioned if they were AR quality. Just saying IF you shot one that was a tall 8 and ended up being 12.8" if you would fight it. I think there should be some forgiveness maybe up to 1/2". Maybe not as stiff of a fine?

I hope you are joking. Never point your loaded weapon at anything unless you intend to kill it.

I know judge, but I wanted to kill it, but then I decided it wasn't 13" and that nervous twitch I have pulled the trigger anyway!.....Ummmm, sorry!

The law would be useless and pointless if it isn't enforced, I also know the judge will have the opportunity for discretion. Been awhile since I was in law enforcement, but the officer is just the "reporter", the judge/JP, have the discretion once a case/ticket is filed.

I bet the gentleman will likely get some relief, my defense would be. "I screwed up, but rather than hide my mistake, I chose to salvage the deer and face the music. I tried to do the right thing under the circumstances your Honer".

I hope you are joking, we are talking about animals not humans. I would be willing to say if you did a poll of all the hunters with more than 20 years of experience over 99% of them will say they put their scope on a deer to check it out, or put a scope on a animal they didn't shoot for a myriad of reasons.

There is a difference between putting a scope on an animal with your finger on the trigger and off the trigger.

How many times have your heard I looked at him through my scope?

This brings up a good point safety wise and probably deserves its own thread, but you should never scope anything that you are not sure of being a deer.

That is why everyone should use a good pair of binoculars instead of scoping with a rifle. You would never want to observe an unknown object through a rifle scope, finger on the trigger or not!

Gun on safe finger on trigger guard looking at you through my scope, you're as safe as in your mother's arms plus I would never put cross hairs on you and as soon as I identified you I would pull up and open bolt. Then I would scope you out to see why you are on my lease. My scope is way better than my binos.

Hope you would feel just as safe having someone scope you!

Would you trust the other guy?

Sorry for the Man's misfortune. I saw a gentleman bring in a deer a couple years ago that was a little over 12", the processor wouldn't accept it and explained the problem to him. He was flabbergasted, said the ranch had been in his family for generations and that he never considered the buck to be illegal. When asked whether or not he read his TPWD hunting manual he was like, "what is a TPWD hunting manual", WTH?