Which states prohibit or limit field-quartering of big game?

[Macintosh]

you should likely contact your DNR office for clarification. in Virginia you're not allowed to do anything with the animal till it is properly tagged. proper tagging is getting on the app and e-notching you tag

Yep, thats the problem—the dnr office isnt clear themselves. We also have large areas of the state with no cell service, which would prevent that approach.

 

[SDHNTR]

Dumbest rule ever. Even boning rules are absurd. Any game cop that can’t tell what chunks of meat are what aren’t worthy of the badge.

 

[Eleven]

In VT you don’t have to present the deer for check in (you can check it in on line) except during the regular rifle season. And to check it in on-line they ask for a picture but don’t require it. So, packing them out quartered can’t be illegal. You CAN break down bear in VT and then check it in (did it this past season) but you do need to present the carcass to a warden or other big game reporting station.

 

[awbowhunter]

So what constitutes processed for human consumption???
I mean if i skin and bone out meat, i might build a fire and meat will be humanly cosumed..

 

[Macintosh]

In VT you don’t have to present the deer for check in (you can check it in on line) except during the regular rifle season. And to check it in on-line they ask for a picture but don’t require it. So, packing them out quartered can’t be illegal. You CAN break down bear in VT and then check it in (did it this past season) but you do need to present the carcass to a warden or other big game reporting station.

Yes, everyone agrees its legal during archery and ML when the online check-in is allowed. However, a year ago I asked two different wardens and the deer/moose lead about the regular season and got three diff answers. The only agreement there was that if you go to a check station you’ll probably get a hassle. And none of this is explicit—to me thats a problem, we ought to be able to do it without a hassle or causing a hassle for a check station, and therefore some clarity is needed.

 

[Bearwhisky]

Indiana regs are unclear. I called them and none of their people knew the answer. Played phone tag and couldn’t get call backs and gave up.


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[Bearwhisky]

What I could gather out of IN regs is that if it was allowed, it would have to be tele-checked in the field before removing head.


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[gabenzeke]

Iowa DNR says it's legal of you report the deer first.View attachment 645441

I have a buddy that is a warden. Told me as long as you report it first, you're good. Know a guy that later got ticketed for exactly that. So apparently, there is some discretion in how the law works. I'll just stick to the counties covered by the guy I know anyway.

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[ElDiablito]

Must be an eastern thang. Never heard of a state prohibiting field quartering…

 

[WiscoHoundsman]

This is Wisconsin's rules. Kinda dumb that you have to leave the head attached to a quarter. I believe bear is the same way and hide must be kept intact to measure length for the minimum size requirement.

Edit: just reading it again I realize the whole rib cage needs to be packed out…

 

[NB7]

In Maryland, you must tag it once it's killed and then remove the whole deer (you can field dress it first obviously). If you wish to quarter it gutless style, you would have to first obtain your confirmation number via phone or internet. After you have the confirmation you can do as you please.
Maryland's DNR website sucks, but here's a copied text from the section on Deer Tagging

• A hunter may not remove the head or hide or any part from any deer (except internal organs), or cut the meat into parts, until the deer has been registered and the confirmation number received.

 

[doc holiday13]

Yep, thats the problem—the dnr office isnt clear themselves. We also have large areas of the state with no cell service, which would prevent that approach.

I'm very aware of the lack of reception. I spent a week in

 

[doc holiday13]

Yep, thats the problem—the dnr office isnt clear themselves. We also have large areas of the state with no cell service, which would prevent that approach.

yeah I just spent a week in Rochester VT and there wasn't much signal anywhere. I assume you are issued paper tags and you'd simply notch your tags and date them according to your harvest. then check your harvest in over the phone when you get to your house or into a cell zone

 

[backcountry_hunter]

In most Midwest states that have the “leave the head attached to one of the quarter” rules. That typically only applies to quartering prior to registering. If you have cell service and the animal is in your possession you can register and then quarter normal, generally speaking

 

[Rich M]

Must be an eastern thang. Never heard of a state prohibiting field quartering…

I think it is the elk & buffalo that make quartering legal. Can't realistically drag them out like you could a deer.

We have to check some deer whole in FL - diff WMAs have diff rules. And yes, we can have to drag a pig or deer a couple miles to get to a spot to pick it up w vehicle. Buddy told me yesterday about some 150# class pigs about 1.65 mile drag from car. Uh, thanks, anyway. Aint doing that.

I grew up back east and we had to check deer in - you could gut em but quartering was not allowed. Had to drag em out and take em in to check station. VT, NH, ME. Laws may be diff now, been a long time since I hunted those pine forests.

 

[Macintosh]

NH and Maine both explictly allow field quartering. I posted Maines verbiage in the OP, NH regs read: Deer may be quartered in the field but the head and hide must be packed out. A conservation officer may request to see the head and hide of any harvested deer within 48 hours of killing. NY with the 6 million acre Adirondack park has PLENTY of areas that would be an absolutely brutal drag--they also explicitly allow quartering. Their regulation reads: Hunters who take a deer in remote areas may wish to bone it out and pack out the meat. This is lawful, but you must retain the carcass tag with the boned out meat.
No idea when these regs went into effect, but there are still so many hunters in the region who have no idea how to field quarter a deer and dont even think about it as an alternative to dragging the entire gutted carcass, that it would not shock me if these regs have been on the books for a long time without most hunters even realizing it.

 

[MidwestElkHunter]

I dont think anything is published on it in Indiana. I think it would be frowned upon, and you would have Conservation officers assuming you were a poacher if anyone calls in about the carcass

 

[KHNC]

So what constitutes processed for human consumption???
I mean if i skin and bone out meat, i might build a fire and meat will be humanly cosumed..

Thats exactly what it means. Notch your tag and get started.

 

[wind gypsy]

Minnesota allows you to quarter the deer but one of the front quarters must remain attached to the head.

I never thought twice about the need to drag a full (dressed) deer and bring it in for registration growing up. That was just normal. After hunting out west a bit i realized how dumb it was but on the flip side it also makes me realize how dumb it is that western game agencies think it's hard to mandate registering an animal. We haven't had a moose season for a while but i'm pretty sure you couldn't even fully quarter a moose when we did! My uncle likes to tell his story about shooting a moose in the boundary waters and the adventure of getting it out. I don't see anything in the regs about being able to quarter an elk even?

 

[Dos Perros]

Must be an eastern thang. Never heard of a state prohibiting field quartering…