Empire State Gunners ~ End the backtag

Steve Sanford

Steve Sanford

Well-known member
Good morning, All~

I was very happy to see this move to eliminate the backtag requirement in NYS. My understanding is that DEC and the Conservation Council have been trying this for decades - but were always stopped by the Farm Bureau.

Senate bill S92, sponsored by Senator Patrick Gallivan and Assembly companion bill A3937-A sponsored by Assemblyman David DiPietro are currently in the hands of the their respective Environmental Conservation Committees.


The NYSCC strongly supports elimination of the regulation that requires the display of back tags while hunting. This is a change whose time has come. Back tags no longer serve a practical purpose, are an annoyance to hunters and are no longer required in any other state.

BTW: I have not worn mine in memorable history - but usually have it along - on a lanyard to throw over my neck - in the event I were accosted by the gendarmerie......

I wrote a letter to my Assemblyman - but I'm sure an e-mail will suffice.


Dear Assemblyman McLaughlin~
I was very happy to learn that pending legislation would finally eliminate the requirement for hunters to wear back tags while hunting. This measure is long overdue. The fact that New York is now the only state that still requires their use is compelling in and of itself. I understand that the New York State Conservation Council supports this bill - and I hope that you will, too.



The requirement has always struck me as the worst kind of regulation: no substantive benefit but a burden both practically and financially - to the hunting public and to DEC. Back tags provide no meaningful information to landowners or to law enforcement but are a real challenge to manage by hunters when changing outer garments throughout the course of a day's hunt. Such petty regulation invites disrespect for the rule - and for the rule of law.
Thanks you for your continuing efforts on behalf of New York's hunting public.
Respectfully,


I look forward to a tag burning celebration when our Legislature and Governor deliver us from the Wilderness.

All the best,

SJS
 
interesting - they have been a pain in woodcock covers - i have come out the other side with out them lol

and the years they did orange always annoyed me on my camo

and yes - switching from a coat to a vest always required remembering the tag

in all my years in the field - i have only been checked once- i was sitting on the edge of a dike watching where the ducks were going in when a conservation officer came by. He stopped and chatted about how the day and season were going and as he started to leave, he stopped and said "I'm sure you're alright, but i should check" showed him my license and stamp and off he went.
 
If I remember correctly the last two states to require back tags were NY and Wisconsin. Wisconsin has been trying to get them eliminated for years too. This year it finally happened and we no longer are required to display our license on our backs.

Good luck Steve.
 
Are you talking for all game hunting? Michigan had them for deer up until about a decade ago, but I got to agree it's likely long past its usefulness.

Chuck
 
Keep mine in the shell bag with lanyard. Still have a OLD parka with no tab. Most CO's here don't bother unless they get attitude... Keep after them Steve.
 
Over the years I have been checked by Wildlife Officers one time or another, in every state and Canadian Province I have hunted waterfowl and upland game in. To my recollection SD and ND were some of the first not to require a backtag, or even a paper license. All you needed was your ID # and the officer would put it in the computer. Very efficient and unlike anything I experienced in the Eastern U.S.

For many years I helped attempt to do away with the hunting backtag in PA. I do believe that they have now done so. It was always troubling to find hunting coats, vests, etc. that had tabs to hold the license holder so you did not have to puncture the material.

That said all of my hunting apparel has the tab, or the nasty puncture holes. The string/lanyard thing to hold the license was always a PITA.

Now that I live in NY changes are happening quickly. First, I can use a rifle to hunt deer (Thank Goodness) and now no backtag (maybe)?! Amazing.

Lotta changes in my 53 hunting season, some good, some not so good.

I have a DU Chesapeake Bay wooden shotshell case, filled with all my old licenses, stamps and regulations from everywhere that I have hunted. It's gettin' so I can hardly close the sliding lid it's so full. Might be time to dump them all out and take a trip down memory lane while I still can...
 
I've been checked probably a dozen times in New York. DEC has never asked to see my back tag. They aren't even enforcing the law as far as I can tell, so what is the point?

Mike
 
I remember running my muskrat trap line during deer season in PA. I would have a hunting license, doe tag and a trapping license all hanging off my back. And probably a fishing license hanging off my hat. Real pain in the ass.
Got to Alabama the next year and it was all on a card I put in my wallet.
 
It certainly is time. It has always been confusing, In the North country you only have to have it with you not displayed. The same for duck hunting but in the southern zone yes. Not to mention the damage to garments that no longer have back tag tabs to thread the giant pin through.
Typical Ny, You have to wear a back tag but if you want to be full camo doing deer drives you don't need any safety orange. Heck, the back tags are even camo now so you can''t see them.
 
Kevin - The NO hunter orange required for deer hunting, in a state known for over regulation boarders on just plain stupid. So how is No Back Tag a major accomplishment? I agree with you.
 
When did they do away with them in NJ?
It has been awhile since I lived there, but I hadn't heard of a change....
When I first moved here it was a joy to just have a lic. that you could carry in your wallet.
 
Mike it is still a requirement to display your hunting and fishing license on your back in new jersey
 
Agreed, our hunting club has a mandatory orange requirement. At least a hat ,but most of us wear vests that have some sort of break up feature. From 300 yds all you see is the orange. It always has baffled me as to why Ny doesn't implement or require some orange. 2015 was the first year Ny didn't have a hunting fatality so we are heading in the right direction.
 
Great. One less thing to forget while switching from the deer stand to the duck blind and back. I know NY recently started putting lifetime license endorsements on drivers licenses. I havent renewed mine yet but am excited to not have to worry about where I put the paper accordion they send me every year. Now tags can go in my gear bag and license in my wallet. No back tag would be a bonus for sure.
 
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