Hunting NEAR a state park

[firebird.77]

I'm interested in hunting a piece of property that is adjacent to a state park which does not allow hunting. There is a very nice herd that moves between the park and this private property.



My question is, what happens if I shoot a deer, and it takes off into the park? Does tracking game onto park property constitute hunting? In this scenario I could easily leave the shotgun behind while tracking and recovering the deer. Obviously I would want to avoid this happening at all but as we all know things cannot always go exactly as planned.




I have not yet asked for permission to hunt the private property as I want to be sure it is even a possibility. Anyone with insight please chime in.

[R.W.J]

Tracking wounded game (with or without a firearm) constitutes hunting. And if you did and the deer was still alive what would you do?

From title 34

"Hunt" or "hunting." Any act or furtherance of the taking or killing of any game or wildlife, or any part or product thereof, and includes, but is not limited to, chasing, tracking, calling, pursuing, lying in wait, trapping, shooting at, including shooting at a game or wildlife facsimile, or wounding with any weapon or implement, or using any personal property, including dogs, or the property of others, of any nature, in furtherance of any of these purposes, or aiding, abetting or conspiring with another person in that purpose.

[firebird.77]

Thanks for the quick response RWJ.



Since it is the case that you cannot pursue wounded game onto prohibited land, would/does that constitute wanton waste of a game animal? I'm not so much talking about my situation since I will not be doing any hunting if there is a stronger-than-average chance that I will not be able to recover the animal. But lets say, for instance, that a hunter wounds an animal that runs into an adjacent field that is state park property where hunting is prohibited. It seems much worse to let the animal go to waste than to recover it, but how would that been seen in the eyes of a warden?



My first inclination is that in this case you may be best to call the warden BEFORE retrieving the animal.



Sorry if some of these questions have been hashed-over, I have searched but have failed to find relevant answers and as always am trying to research how to do everything the right way before doing it!

[R.W.J]

There is no wanton-waste law in Pennsylvania. The law states that the hunter must make a reasonalble attempt to recover game. It is not reasonable to break a law to recover the game. That said a Call to the WCO and he may be able to help you out.

[Captain4]

I used to hunt property adjacent to a county park. Before I started hunting there I made contact with a park ranger to find out the appropriate way to handle that very situation. Your best bet is to try and contact the DCNR ranger's office first and ask them what they would want you to do, and then follow up with a call to the PGC. Also, get what you can in writing from them and include names and phone numbers to keep with you when hunting there because, if in fact this situation does occur, odds are someone will see you and cause all kinds of noise. A little "CYA" never hurts.