Buzzard primaries...

[Coo-wah-chobee]

Leave em alone off bird or a road kill like Hillbilly said. Federal offense and ifn they find ya with some ya will wish the IRS er organized crime is after ya ! .......bob

The federal government IS organized crime!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Well then ya can always move to another country ifn ya want.

[hawkbow]

I was taught that an illegal was a sick bird     good advise to leave the feathers where they lay.. but there is no law about sticking them in trees and saying a prayer for the winged ones who lost them.. YET,,,  good mojo anyway...Hawk

[whitewoodshunter]

The law is the law and there is nothing we can really do to change it, well at least no easy way.

[mullet]

  The only problem with your thinking, Ryan is the type of person that will shoot an Eagle, Owl, or buzzard and then tell the officer it was road kill.  That's like my buddy a few weeks ago trieing to tell me the turkey hen he shot was gobbling, They don't gobble when they are dead.

[TRACY]

It's definitely frustrating and makes no sense when you have a good set of morals and ethics, as is the norm for folks here that put the effort into making things from scratch. Laws are for those that lack these qualities. I'd love to use these feathers since I have access to a roosting area that is full of primaries during molt, but I have to set a good example for my kids following me in my footsteps. Sorry to ramble.

[Dutchman58]

Leave em alone off bird or a road kill like Hillbilly said. Federal offense and ifn they find ya with some ya will wish the IRS er organized crime is after ya ! .......bob

The federal government IS organized crime!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Well then ya can always move to another country ifn ya want.

Thanks for the heads up.

You work for the federal government or something?

[billy]

I definitely gotta agree with twisted limbs.  I understand that raptors are federally protected....but the number of people who actually shoot hawks is nothing compared to the number of birds killed on our highways by cars and trucks.  Everytime I drive down the road I see them...owls and hawks mostly.  Watch the roadsides next time you're driving down the highway... you'll see carnage EVERYWHERE.  America's highways are a killing field for tens of thousands of wild animals.   If the govt really wanted to protect raptors, they would protect them from the most obvious threat: vehicles that kill thousands each month on America's highways.  Wait a second....the govt CAN'T control that!  So instead, they pass idiotic laws to further control the people of this country instead of focusing on the real problems.  It's nothing new, and doesn't surprise me at all.  Don't get me started on the corrupt criminals that infect our govt agencies, courtrooms, and legislatures....   

[hawkbow]

What kills me are the laws that allow some game and fish officer who is in his twenties to give my wife a hard time concerning her Red tailed hawks while hunting.. she is a federally licensed falconer and raptor rehabilitator.. yet a local game warden who doesn't even know the difference between a red tail and a gos hawk can harass her and another rehab lady who has been rehabbing and releasing raptors for over twenty years... and he even had several birds euthanized who were well on the way to being released because of a state law governing the amount of rehab permits available at the time.. a paperwork delay caused the death of several birds of prey and the warden was not held liable after the fact.... when it was decided that there was no fault in the rehab facility... yet my brother who is Lakota, has to go through  a serious run around with his Eagle feathers every time he flies somewhere and has the added discrace of having to allow some scumbag security official  to handle his sacred medicine   who decides these things? Hawk 

[mullet]

 There is a guy that goes to Pow Wows and Rendevouse's down here that takes white turkey feathers and airbrushes them and you cannot tell the difference unless you look real close.

[sailordad]

  The only problem with your thinking, Ryan is the type of person that will shoot an Eagle, Owl, or buzzard and then tell the officer it was road kill.  That's like my buddy a few weeks ago trieing to tell me the turkey hen he shot was gobbling, They don't gobble when they are dead.

maybe he meant she was strutting,ive seen that

[billy]

Hawk,

the decisions being made are the same type of people who would be in jail if they weren't working for the govt.  The only reason why people go to work for the govt is because they're too stupid or lazy to get a job in the private sector.  Just go to the DMV if you wanna see "cream of the crop" govt. employees.  Requirement: half a brain and absolutely no ambition.  If you have either, or both, you're disqualified for any govt position! 

[Pat B]

It is illegal to use or possess any part of a raptor unless you have special permits. If you want to take the chance of getting caught with contraband feathers and are ready to accept the consequences, that is your choice to make. For me, there are too many other sources of feathers to even think about using raptor feathers for fletchings.

[Bone pile]

I'll be buried with the feathers I've FOUND they can dig me up and take me to jail but till then none will see them.Is there a list of the off limits feathers ? we have flamingos and roset spoonbills, storks,pelicans ,herons etc.....non are raptors.
Bonepile

[Josh]

Yeah, I would like to see a list of federally protected birds.  Not just for me but for everyone else that also is new to fletching their own arrows as well. Heck it might save someone from going to jail because as someone said before in this post (I am too lazy to scroll back and see exactly who it was) the game warden isn't gonna let ignorance be an excuse.  Just a thought to help out other newbies like me.   

[TRACY]

Billy you got a valid point with roadkills. Why can't a person who finds one get a roadkill permit like they handout for deer? The interstates are littered with owls and various hawk species that go to waste.

Hawkbow, sounds like your game warden is like a growing number of officers and just would rather have so many laws that don't allow activities to make enforcement that much easier on them from day to day. Real shame about your friend that gets harassed for his heritage!