I came across one good rack in Sept. in Utah and that crossed my mind. It was a banged up Honda, or similar by the side of the road with leo, and the rack way on the other side.
I was tempted to stop and try to obtain the rack, but I was on my motorcycle. I thought it would look good, bungeed off the back of my bike. But it was a busy road, with not much shoulder, and I wondered if the leo didn't already have his eye on the rack. It was good looking.
In Utah, road-killed deer get the antlers cut or broken off by the first available LEO equipped with bolt cutters or a saw (animal control, traffic cop, highway patrol, whatever). Then the body is left to rot, or is picked up by a disposal crew - depending on the area.
He wouldn't have let you take the head/rack.
Actually possessing a rack from a 'naturally' killed animal is a bit of a grey area, in and of itself, due to conflicting laws.
You can legally take 'found' racks that are still attached to the skull, but only after having a game warden clear any suspicion of poaching and verify a 'natural' death, on-site.
At the same time, it is illegal to possess big game parts (other than naturally-dropped antlers), without a tag or permit from the kill - which you don't get with natural deaths.
Combined with about a dozen other conflicting wildlife regulations and state laws, it creates a situation where even the game wardens aren't always sure if it's legal to possess something.
Add the fact that it was September, with Archery and Muzzleloader hunts going on... and you definitely would not have wanted to have that head/rack in your possession - especially in plain sight. Even if everyone
decided you were 100% legal, it would have taken several hours worth of detainment and questioning, by
multiple officers, for them to come to that conclusion.
