The Game Warden

[Swede]

You are back to your truck and notice a State game warden is parked about 40 feet behind. You open the door to your vehicle and take off your pack to set it inside. Immediately you start to deal with your hunting weapon. You notice the game warden has got out of his F150 and is walking up to you. What starts going through your mind?

I think quickly; where is my hunting license, and wonder if that is all that is on his mind? Have I seen or heard anything that may be on his agenda?

[saddlesore]

The game wardens I know, we usually stand around and BS awhile. Have some coffee. Can't remember any confrontations. I watch some of these TV shows of wardens. Those east of the Mississippi seem to be mostly butt holes.However, the administrative types of CPW here in Colorado carry that same trait .

[jmez]

I think they are coming to do their job. Generally ends with a nice conversation with a like minded guy.

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[Swede]

Saddlesore: When I worked for the Forest Service, I would stop in at a camp once in awhile, and just make a contact with the hunters. It was partly business so they knew someone cared about their camp etiquette, but often it became a discussion on where the elk or deer were. I would freely share my thoughts on where the critters were. I knew they would not adversely affect the populations as the State controlled the numbers very carefully. Sometimes I would accept a cup of coffee or even a soda pop. Sometimes I would give them my work map. It was just good relations, and I always felt I made a friend or friends.

[Tigger]

I look at contact with a game warden as an opportunity to find out info about the unit I am hunting. Might be about game, but might be road closures, bear activity, fires, etc. We do everything by the book, so I am never worried about breaking laws.

[lamrith]

No reason to stress or be worried. You (i) am a law abiding citizen, honestly no reason to be concerned at all. Make sure to safe your weapon, unload it and put it away. Then meet and greet time where you can get some unit/game information from them.

[>>>---WW---->]

No problem at all so long as you are doing everything right. Plus, you may strike up a conversation with them and get some helpful information.

I used to work part time for the CPW in Colorado and did ride alongs with several different officers and quckly found out that each one can operate in a different manner. For instance, the older seasoned guys have seen it all. They are easier to get along with and usually overlook the little nitpicky things. But some of the newer younger ones haven't always been around long enough to develop good people person skills yet. Some like to do it all by the book. But that shouldn't be a problem so long as you do everything right.

[WapitiTalk1]

You notice the game warden has got out of his F150 and is walking up to you. What starts going through your mind?

I move around to the other side of my rig and yell back up the trail I just came down "Swede, RUN!... and go hide the full curl ram horns, grizzly skin, elephant tusk, moose antlers, black footed ferret skin, bald eagle feathers, and gorilla paw in your pack"!

I've always had good chance meetings with the GW's in my travels, although I seldom bump into them. There was one time, many many moons ago, in NW Montana (where I grew up and lived during my young adult years), where I didn't do the right thing and got smacked down for it. I was coming back from the Fisher River area outside of Libby with a full cord of firewood on my truck, at some point in late October. I was dog tired (got the cord of larch myself) and didn't feel like stopping at the game check station so I buzzed right by. And...… here come flashing lights behind me. I pulled over and Mr. Burrell walked up to my window. "What's going on Mr. Janicke, why didn't you stop at the check station?". Told him I didn't think I had to as I wasn't hunting. As slick as a courtroom lawyer, he asked if that was an orange vest on the seat, and, if that was a rifle in the window rack? Yes sir, but I wasn't hunting..... just getting a load of firewood. He continued his interrogation... "have you filled both your deer and elk tags already"? No sir, I got an elk in archery season but usually wait until November rifle season to try and get a nice buck during the rut. "So, if you would have saw a dandy 5 point muley on your drive, standing on the uphill bank looking really dumb, you wouldn't have stopped, stepped out and shot it?" No sir, I would not have. I received a $50 ticket for failure to stop at a game check station . Got home an called pop and told him what had happened (he was good friends with Mr. Burrell)… Pop called me a dumba$$ and told me to pay the ticket promptly.

[wawhitey]

I think they are coming to do their job. Generally ends with a nice conversation with a like minded guy.

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My experience has generally been that talking to a game warden is more like an interrogation by some guy that is just certain youre a poacher / felon. Guilty until proven innocent around here it seems.

[Lefty]

I should make long responses to posts on my phone
So the short version
I’ve met a better quality of CO’s than other law enforcement
Just wish Idaho had more

I haven’t been checked in the field in 16 years,

[Tigger]

So RJ, I think you were in the right. You were not hunting. Now if you had saw that muley buck and stopped and got your rifle out, then you would have been hunting....and you would have stopped at the game check station. He planted the idea that you were hunting, yet you were not. Unless there was a rule that everyone had to stop at that station, you were not guilty and that game warden was in the wrong.

I have a good buddy who grew up in ND and still has an old hunting shack on some property. They went up and shot some pheasants and left the wings on for ID on the ones they were going to transport home. They put some in the fridge and were marinating them to put on the grill and the game warden gave them a ticket for not having the wings attached. Another example of a game warden writing tickets outside of his authority. These stories are the outliers and extremely rare in my opinion.

But I have never had a problem with one. In fact, I am friends with 3 of them around here. Great guys just doing their job. Treat them with respect and you will be treated fairly.

[>>>---WW---->]

In RJ's case, the warden had every right to question him because he saw the vest and rifle. That is reason enough to be suspicious. And his Dad was right. Pay the $50 fine and forget about it!

Know your state's game laws, or at least have a good story! Apparently in the state where RJ resides it is illegal to pass a game check station.

[7mmfan]

My experiences with game wardens has been overwhelmingly positive. I have run into a couple jerks, and had one very bad experience when I was young, but that was it. I have found that the direction most meetings with game wardens go is based completely off the first impression you give them. If you ignore them, or act even the slightest bit shady, they will press. I have made a point of walking up to them if they're around and initiating the conversation. If they approach me, I give them an upbeat hello and shake their hand. All my ducks are in a row, so I never have anything to worry about. I've gleaned a lot of good information from them with this approach and made some good contacts.

[Swede]

I too think RJ was wrongly cited. Just because he had a hunting vest and gun in his vehicle does not mean he is out hunting anymore that a spare tire and equipment to make a quick change means you are out to have a flat. He had it there just in case he saw a critter that was begging to be shot. If he saw such an animal he would have stopped somewhere, got out and legally pursued it, at which time he would have become a "hunter". I have a lot of things in my truck all of the time including a Bible. That does not mean I am going along reading or planning to read.
When I was a kid dad almost always had his hunting rifle on a gun rack in the back window of his pickup. It was there so long, the scope turned from gun blue to gold from being in the sun so much. It was a fixture there like a spare tire under the truck bed. He had the right to keep and bear arms. He was not hunting when he was traveling to and from his logging jobs.
The Forest Service used to have the check stations for wood cutters in places. We were told to quit it as it had been determined to be illegal/unconstitutional search and seizure. To stop and search someone you need probable cause. A pickup full of firewood does not give rise to probable cause. If a hunting vest, seen after stopping RJ, seems suspicious, then a lot of people in MalWart should get a ticket. I do not know all about RJ's situation, but I would have contested the citation in court.

[js80138]

My experience in Colorado with GW has been very good and a matter of fact I was grateful for the experience. It seems every year the GW's travel the main road bordering our unit. Many times they simple ask for license, chat about game and offer suggestions. Two years ago in the fall I was making my way back to camp and I noticed a GW standing at the rear of my truck writing down my license plate info. As I approached he said "Hi there" and kept writing. When he finished with my tag information, he immediately asked me for my license, chatted about my experience so far in the season and made safety suggestions as I was hunting solo and noticeably walking awkward. (3 weeks before my spinal fusion). I asked if he detailed all of the hunters in his unit every year. He replied that he would put down general info normally but there were fires in the area and he wanted to make sure he accounted for the hunters camping along the road. I let him know that I was only hunting the weekends and that I would be back up again the following Thursday night. As it happens the following week my camping spot was entirely engulfed in the fire along with the area I was hunting. It actually gave me peace of mind knowing that the GW cared about the hunters in the unit and in case of emergency knew who needed to evacuate.

On the other hand, forum rules limiting certain words prevent me from describing my experience with fishing GW's in Colorado.

[stumpy waters]

In RJ's case, the warden had every right to question him because he saw the vest and rifle. That is reason enough to be suspicious. And his Dad was right. Pay the $50 fine and forget about it!

Know your state's game laws, or at least have a good story! Apparently in the state where RJ resides it is illegal to pass a game check station.

He had a right to question him, but he had zero proof he was hunting and it would have not held up in court unless he had admitted he was hunting which it doesn’t seem he did. I have hunting clothes and a rifle in my truck regularly, hunting or not.

[jmorr]

I think they are coming to do their job. Generally ends with a nice conversation with a like minded guy.

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My experience has generally been that talking to a game warden is more like an interrogation buy some guy that is just certain youre a poacher / felon. Guilty until proven innocent around here it seems.

I feel the same way. I hate the feeling of being interrogated. I too have had some great experiences with GW's but because of the negative ones I hope to never see one again. My brother and I were duck hunting at a refuge in California. He hadn't hunted in years so he bought his federal duck stamp the day before. Turns out the post office sold him the one from the year before. Not a huge deal but they turned him away at the check station and he had to drive to town and wait for the post office to open (and miss all the early morning action). He finally gets to the blind, sits down and loads up. Not more than 5 min later the GW comes driving down the dike and parks right above our blind (I think he followed him in). He checks every one of my shells, all is well. He checks my brothers- He accidentally bought a box of lead shells! They were green, like the steel shells we used when we were kids so I think he assumed they were steel. He never fired a single shot that morning and the warden wrote him up for all 25 shells individually. I get that my brother was in the wrong but come on. I think there is room for compassion and understanding, even in law enforcement. He saw that he had just sat down in the blind, and there were no spent lead rounds anywhere.

[Lefty]

I think there is room for compassion and understanding, even in law enforcement. .

Most of my experiences have been good with all law enforcement.
The GW I grew up with was an educator. there were a number of us walking in together, My group we were teenage hunters, another group, likely their first time water-fowling.
The GW noticed their new guns, new gear.
He sort of reviewed what was on a duck stamp, license , how he checked for steel shot etc.
He checked my gun for three shells, then pulled my gun apart "checking the plug" my group knew exactly what he was doing. Showing those other guys how to put in a plug. Then he went on how in an emergency a cattail stem could be used until a wooden plug was in place.
Upon leaving he told us all , he didnt have time to check all our gear that day but would check the next time.

[Indian Summer]

Pa not bad. Wyoming... great people. But a Montana game check station is like a rabbit walking into a coyote den saying hey guys how’s it going!

[Pop-r]

MT GW's have the intelligence of the FWP remember. That state is an embarrassment to themselves and they don't even realize it.

[Indian Summer]

MT GW's have the intelligence of the FWP remember. That state is an embarrassment to themselves and they don't even realize it.

Yep. But there’s still some damn good elk hunting and they close the game checks at sundown. So kill your bull and take your time and you’ll be fine.

[Marble]

Most of the time it's a none issue. For a few years we had an outfitter in CO that would call the warden on us everytime he saw our horse trailer parked at a trail head. He would make some random accusation. It was always BS. Eventually the wardens in the area knew the guy would do it and knew us so they just let it be.

My partner almost got cited one time for the blaze orange restriction in CO with 360 visible on the hat. He had an all brown boonie hat with blaze orange marker tape attached to the brim. It was visible 360, just not to the liking of the warden.

There is a requirement to have the tag attached to the quarters while in transport. We stopped doing this because a few time tags got ripped off or lost in the pack out. The wardens have seemed to ever care.

[Swede]

Welcome to the forum campfire Marble. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and pull up a chair, or whatever you can find to sit on. Keep an eye on WapitiTalk1 as he can be tricky. I think the last stunt he pulled was to drop some fir needles in Lefty's Postum. Lefty won't drink coffee so it took him about half a cup before he noticed any difference. The last time I ever tried Postum, I concluded it made no difference if it was contaminated.

[saddlesore]

There is a requirement to have the tag attached to the quarters while in transport. We stopped doing this because a few time tags got ripped off or lost in the pack out. The wardens have seemed to ever care.

Not required packing the meat out, but once it is in camp or being transported by vehicle etc,tag must be on.

[WapitiTalk1]

Welcome aboard Marble; glad to have you on board.

[Lefty]

Unlike RJ I went to see the Judge
It was a beautiful September Day I didnt have school (work) I packed a lunch for my 4 year old daughter and took a road trip with a shotgun.

I had a already killed a limit of Hungarian partridge set my daughter on a hay bale , and took a great picture of her and the birds. Planning to drive some tough ground for chucker,
And drive around my wifes family historical ranch .
Later in the afternoon a National Monument Ranger came racing down a road with lights going . Kind of surprised me when when he stopped .
The fellow gave me a ticket for hunting within a Golden Spike National Historical Park.

I went to see the judge and in front of me was a fellow that was a Highway Patrolman. The Judge had just fined him for hunting the same area I had received the ticket.
Then the judge said wait a minute to the Highway Patrolman, as he looked at my charge
I told the judge Where I shot the birds , in the road ditch outside of the Park. The Ranger was there . And said the road was now part of the park.

I told the Judge the sign for the Park was over a mile away.
The Judge asked the Ranger where the Park sign was located , The Ranger confirmed that the sign was where I stated.
The ranger proceeded to tell the judge the park system had bought the surrounding ranch and that the Road as of the previous week was now with in the Park.

The Judge called out to the fined Highway Patrolman, Called him by his first name to the bench.

Then "Mr. Hauser your charges are dismissed."
Then spoke a bit authoritative to the ranger Something to the effect , That the Park Service was to not write anymore tickets until the area was properly signed

[Marble]

Welcome aboard Marble; glad to have you on board.

Thanks!! Happy to be here!!

Long time elk hunter, mostly rifle. Now I'm getting it done with a bow.

Looks like a great place with great info. Less drama....

[Magic]

I have very seldom hunted Colorado without being checked and I always view this as an opportunity to talk with someone that is very familiar with the area and recent or expected game movement. When I open my billfold to get my license, I always hand them my business card which is then followed by them handing me theirs. I have never had anything other than a friendly conversation during these meet ups.