Game warden ruining hunt?

[grayfox]

Most have checked me at the truck. Had one a couple years ago slip into the woods & wait on me to come out but he didn't interfere with our hunt. It was youth day & I had my little cousin with me. When we started out I happen to see him sitting on a hillside about 150 yds from us. When we walked up to him I saw it was one I knew who had checked me before. He's a nice guy & asked me how I spotted him. I told him I just happen to see him through a small opening through the trees. Told him he was going to have to do a better job next time. We both got a good laugh out of it. In my 40 years of hunting most of my experiences with game wardens have been good.

[snapper1982]

Had one in a helicopter that kept circling over top of me during deer gun season. He was about 150 feet up. Really ticked me off. So I start to the road and there is one walking down a logging road looking for me. So he checked me and off he went after my cousin. I got to the road and there was 2 more. They checked me. I start down the road to the truck and the heli came over head and hovered until another warden showed up and checked me. I got down the road about 300 yards and look down the right fork and there was 2 more warden trucks unloading four wheelers. Watched them take off into some private land. I get about 150 more yards to where I can see the owners house and the truck and there is yet another warden truck talking to the owner. So they back out and come and check me. I was so mad. They had not had a call of any wrong doing. They said they was in a joint effort with all the surrounding wardens to locate and check as many hunters as they could. This was in the afternoon and they said they had been at it since day light and had caught 2 people without license and 2 people without deer tags. So it seemed like a complete waste of time and resources to me for that many guys and hours of work and to take the surrounding counties wardens away from their own county.

[VA_Birdhunter]

I've only been check a few times and both were good people.  I've worked with several back in my home county and always had a good relationship with them.  It's a very dangerous job and I'm glad there around enforcing the game laws but unfortunately sometimes that interferes with our hunting...but its something that happens went actively seeking people breaking the game laws of the state. 

God bless


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[tomstopper]

Never had one walk up to me while hunting, but several times they were waiting for me back at the truck. Just checked the normal stuff and off he went.

Gman

^^^This.

[ShortSpurs]

While turkey hunting in Montana, I had a warden check my "OK to hunt" card signed by the ranch-owners. He said he did not recognize the signatures and thought I had forged them. So I quickly called the rancher on my cell-phone and had him speak with the warden. The rancher began laughing and said to come-up to the ranch-house and we'd talk about it!. Warden said ok, he'd follow me to the ranch, as he did not know the rancher (?) As we approached the lane to the house, the warden went on by, not stopping or following me to the house. Never saw him again!!

[Tail Feathers]

Had a Federal GW come slipping up behind my brother and me when we were doing some walk-in duck hunting on a big lake.  He was kind enough to stop in the brush and hide his face when ducks came working in.
We shot two and he gave us a quick check and went back where he came from.
I got checked while fishing one time.  I noticed the warden had some trot line gear in his boat.  He smiled when I asked, he was doing his own fishing between checking folks.  Super nice young man.

[neal]

Yep opening morning I was in FL in 2012 working a gobbler and he was closing fast, only to have a game warden come walking in to check license. I wasn't pleased but did kill a really nice 4yr old that afternoon so maybe he saved me from killing a smaller one

[goblr77]

I'm inclined to believe Phil Robertson's statement about heaven. Mallard ducks are flying everywhere and you don't have to worry about game wardens because there's no way any of them made it to heaven.

[TauntoHawk]

Ive never been checked, and have only ever seen one warden on duty driving down the road near public land.

[RutnNStrutn]

I've had them come roaring up in a boat while we were slaying the fish, and scare all the fish away. 
Haven't had any ruined hunts by GW's, but a friend of mine had a GW with a dog track him from his truck to his treestand, and showed up at prime time to check him. WTF??? Couldn't he have waited at the truck?
I've also had a GW threaten to confiscate a hen turkey I took with a bow legally during fall archery season. I had to break out the rule book and show him how to do his job!!   He also had 3 guys in cuffs sitting on the ground nearby. As I got in my truck to drive away, I looked back at the GW, winked and asked what those guys did wrong. He didn't think I was as funny as I did.
Other than that, all my experiences with GW's have been positive.

[silvestris]

I have had two bad incidents with wardens.  The first was when the warden pushed and pushed to get an extra shell in a young man's shotgun until the plug broke at which time he wrote him up.

The second ruined more than a hunt.  The lessees of an 800 acre tract didn't turkey hunt and gave me carte blanche of the place and it was a sweet property.  The landowner reserved about 400 acres adjacent to the lease and apparently decided that he wanted to turkey hunt.  There was constant noise emanating from the 400 acre tract in the form of 4-wheelers, barking dogs and other general noise making, but seeing my vehicle parked on the 800 acre tract caused him to believe that I was the cause of him not hearing any birds.  He had seen my son and I walk up the public road following a hunt and he could have inquired about my presence on the property at that time, but he didn't.

A couple of weeks later I had gone up the powerline to hunt a gobbler, but the turkey went quiet and I decided to lay down for a nap.  I awoke around eleven and peeked down the powerline with my binoculars.  The powerline ran across the ridges.  I spied my gobbler on a ridgetop between me and the car and as I was watching the gobbler and deciding what course of action I was going to take, the gobbler threw up his head and took to the timber.  I immediately saw a man on the next ridge near the car and thought he must be a timber man.  Having permission to hunt the property, I headed back to the car.  When I got to the ridge where I had seen the man I was ordered to stop.  I explained my rights to what turned out to be a game warden, but as he had been summoned by the landowner to arrest me, that is what happened.

When I presented my permission letter from the lessee at court a couple of months later the judge naturally dismissed the case and gave the warden a chewing out he will never forget.  Unfortunately, the landowner is always right, even when wrong, and I lost a heck of a place to hunt and he lost the best caretaker of his property that he ever could have.  Such is life.

All other incidents with wardens have been pleasant.

[TURKEYWHACKER]

I have been checked a few times while fishing with no problems. Never had a hunt ruined but have been checked while walking back to my truck, when returning to the ramp after duck hunting and while sitting in my truck eating lunch during a deer hunt. Oh yeah, many times while checking in a gobbler at the WMA check station. 

[flintlock]

Had one drive his truck through the farm, checked my license and left and I killed a 12pt 30 min later.  Had one wave as I went by trolling w the wife last year and he didn't even ask me to stop.  I was shocked and very glad as I was coming up on the crappie point and even boated a slab within sight of him.  I guess he figured the wife would keep me in check, LOL

I have had dozens I other "outdoorsmen" screw me over though.  Even had a guy two years ago take his boat between me and the bank and I was 30 ft off if it and catching crappie.  It was over after he did that as the fish were gone.  The wife was along that time too so I acted civil but boy was I ever ready to give that guy a thorough talking-to.  Oh well some guys are just stupid whether they are in the woods, on the water or in their car cutting you off in traffic.

Good luck

[ShortSpurs]

Its easiest for me to buy the turkey permits at the local F&G office, as its nearby. But I have met these same folks in the field and I'm here to tell you they ain't the same customer-counter-service-being-salaried-by-my-tax-dollars folks as when they're in the office. That's life I guess,