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Experiences with game and fish wardens.
penguin1
Member Posts: 97 ✭
Mine have always been good except with one game warden in Pa. who started giving me the business without identifying himself.
Comments
No BS
No BS
Maybe he thought the under was the magazine
We don't have game wardens in Virginia anymore.
They are called Conservation Police.
Their main duty is to stop people, check them for outstanding traffic infractions and grill them about weed.
Virginia Black Bear
Virginia Grizzly Bear
Did you ever hear the story about the 2 guys fishing? One had a fishing license and the other one didn't so when the game warden showed up the one with the license took off running. When the game warden finally caught him he showed him his license. In the mean time the other guy got away.
Not so lucky in Maine. Since I was out of state he wrote me on a questionable violation. After paying the fine. Barly had enough to pay for the gas needed to get home.
don't fish.
Never had any contact with one.
We have enough gun laws, what we need is IDIOT control.
Blood makes you related. Loyalty makes you family.
I thought getting old would take longer. :shock:
Our old game warden would track you through the gates of hell if he thought you were illegal. He was a legend around here. If he caught someone once, he would watch them from then on. He would set up a dummy deer and sit in the cold bush for hours trying to catch a poacher.
He once checked the licenses of some friends of mine on the local lake one morning. They were legally papered.
Later that night they decided to go do some night fishing on the river. He showed up at near midnight and checked them again.
He was well respected, though, and still is.
In Virginia, game wardens actually have more search powers than the police.
60 x 10 = 600 years. I knew you were an old geezer but I had no idea.
I was hunting waterfowl an area in SE Kansas. It is public land. What they do, is plant crops in these areas with berms all around them with gates between the areas. There are a few islands scattered around the middle area. When season comes, they pump some water up. Then, as the low hanging milo (usually) is eaten, they raise it up, and up, and up until an area has been picked fairly clean then they open the gates to the next area. So, you walk in on the berms to your desired destination then wade to the island of your choice (or whatever is free).
On day, I was walking in for the evening hunt on the berm and I saw a wounded duck right up next to the berm but he tried to take off showing his obviously broken wing. I dropped my decoy bag, cycled a round into my chamber and shot it. I walked out to pick it up and as I was stepping back on the berm the game warden walked up. He checked all my paperwork and all was good. He then tells me there is no hunting/shooting from the berm. I tell him I know, but that duck was wounded and didn't want it to suffer. He said "I know, I saw it. Next time, just try to get your boots wet first. Have a good day and good luck." So, he knew I did the wrong thing, but for the right reason and let it go.
Another story, not quite as good, but interesting.
This warden approached me and my brother-in-law as we were walking out on private land. He was asking about the neighbor. Asking if we had seen him doing anything illegal, hunting from a vehicle, baiting deer, etc. After we clarified which one, I told him I hadn't seen him ever do anything I'd consider illegal or unethical. I said that several times, in the same way.
Here's why:
This farmer is probably in his very late 60's or more likely mid-70's. He's farmed that same stretch since he was a kid and it was previously his parents farm. He runs cattle on most of that half-section. On opening morning, he drives the tractor out and feeds the cows the exact same way he does the other 364 days of the year. Only on opening morning, after he does that, he pulls over to the side and opens his door on the tractor cab. When the deer inevitably show up to join the cows, he takes one. He tags it, puts it in the bucket on the tractor and goes home. He has only ever taken one (at least during rifle season). When this happened, baiting game was illegal in Kansas and except for handicapped, hunting from a motor vehicle is illegal as well. I guess because of his age and the fact that he isn't driving around hunting them, I have no problem with that. The bait? Well, he feeds those deer more or less year around. That is why I kept saying I'd never seen him do anything I'd consider illegal or unethical.
If you can't feel the music; it's only pink noise!
A couple years back we (my older Son and I) attended a public meeting with MDC. One of the things we were interested in was some specific determinations of "a handgun" relative to the "alternative methods" deer season. The state head of the "enforcement division" kept using the term "agent's discretion" which we saw as a problem since the firearms we intended to use were on the very edge of legal. We didn't want to be facing some agent who just had an argument with his old lady, was "impaired", or just got out of bed on the wrong side to be hassling us over an issue that balanced on his discretion. We wanted the exact description based on a written statement and that set the state guys off since they considered that as "questioning" their authority. One big gruff dude with a gun even threatened me with some sort of charges simply because I had a "bad attitude".
The first when I was only 20 and hunting deer with my brotherinlaw.
We had just walked out of the woods to go home for lunch and had the truck parked on a gravel road, but still public road.
He said Hi Boys, then reched into the back seat and pulled out our 2 rifles and checked to see they were unloaded. They were.
Said have a nice day and left.
The second was with a very rich doctor friend. He asked if I wanted to go duck hunting with him. Sure!!
We got into a sink boat {or whatever you call them for duck hunting} with another guy who was introduced as only Tommy.
After a while some ducks flew into the lake and tommy stood up and fired at them.
I was amazed, those ducks weren't legal to shoot.
He said it's okay, I'm the game warden here and those are "practice ducks".
:shock:
Darn, my mind moves faster than my fingers can type when considering a decade is 10 years and over 6 of them never had contact...so a little mumble jumble. Perhaps I should be in congress.
We have enough gun laws, what we need is IDIOT control.
Blood makes you related. Loyalty makes you family.
I thought getting old would take longer. :shock:
Sad you are in a commie state.
Perfectly legal to carry a fully loaded rifle/shotgun with one in the chamber here, in a vehicle or walking down a street in town.
Open carry handguns fully loaded always been legal and recently legal constitutional carry of handguns.
Your state needs the firearm laws updated. :!:
We have enough gun laws, what we need is IDIOT control.
Blood makes you related. Loyalty makes you family.
I thought getting old would take longer. :shock:
I heard a Conservation Officer tell a guy that he did not need a warrant to come on his property and search his out-buildings!
Apparently, the Constitution does not apply to them.
Probably why other agencies like to take a "Game Warden" along on their raids.
I'm related to a fellow who was investigated and charged for hunting over bait.
When he asked the CO's who tipped them off, they said, "No one. Your name was flagged in the computer from your harvest reports because you kill a nice buck every year."
In Virginia, we are required to report our deer kills - date, place, method of kill, sex of kill, and number of points.
This is a mandatory report! They then use the information to conduct investigations.
Isn't this self-incrimination and illegal?
Was in NY about 35 years ago, before it too bad.
It was/is illegal to carry a loaded rifle/shotgun DURING Big game season in a vehicle on a state/city/county road.
He couldn't care about the loaded .45 on my hip.
A game warden has MORE power than any other LEO. They can and have entered private homes and cars to search for illegal meat from game, with NO warrant or court orders. Try telling the fish and game person to stay off your boat till he gets a search warrant for how many fish you got. :shock:
In Kalifornia: Nothing but negative. Fish and Game watched me from a distance for about 30 minutes, then came over and checked my out of state license. I placed my loaded O/U in the bed of my pickup and he said he would have to write me for that. I said no you will not as I am retired LEO and that shotgun is my personal defense weapon. Later he said he would like to come to work as a game warden in Idaho, and I said "Don't bother, you would not fit in. Idaho has no use for a ticket writing machine as a game warden", and he left.
Margaret Thatcher
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
Mark Twain
That's the way it's always been in Georgia......who needs a Judge's signature ?
"Never do wrong to make a friend----or to keep one".....Robert E. Lee
We continued another half hour or so until the blue lights of a conservation officer pulled us over. The head county officer by the name of Frank Allen. We had just shined his house!
He was pretty pissed and had us both get out of the truck together and place our hands upon the vehicle with our legs sprawled out. Then he went into the truck and really did a thorough search for weapons or alcohol or ??? He found nothing but made it a point of anger that he was pretty upset about the light hitting his house. He asked us both for our ID's and when he saw our last name asked if we were related to Harry Hall. Harry was our dad I said and ole Frank's rage turned into a much more friendly banter!
He once worked with our dad many years ago and they were good friends. He actually shook both of our hands and just told us to be careful next time. Say hi to your father from me and drove off.