I took my son out for his first Snow Goose hunt and, after shooting some geese, we had a NE Conservation Officer stop by to check on us. I've dealt with COs before and, while they're usually pretty aloof, I've never had a bad experience. But, much to my surprise, this CO (based out of McCook, NE) was great!

He did the usual job of observing what we were shooting and that we were recovering all our game as well as checking our shells to ensure we weren't using any lead. Our permits/HIP reg/stamp were in my truck so helped us carry our geese back and then took some pictures of us with my camera and even took one himself so he could post it to their Facebook page! I don't do Facebook but I know he posted it right away because we got a text with the pic last night (which my son thought was WAY cool ). The CO was a down-to-earth fellow hunter (and GSP owner ) out there doing a tough job VERY well and it was truly a pleasure to deal with him.

That being said, my son had an outstanding experience. We saw lots of geese and came home with a cool dozen - most of which were from a REALLY fun spot and stalk (crawling on our hands and knees). I couldn't have asked for a better day and to say my son is hooked would be an understatement!!

The migration's on....


Son with his first Snow goose.....


Results of our spot and stalk.....

Great. Just please make sure the following crawler has an unloaded gun until ready to bust them.

Very nice. Most of the CO's in Nebraska are great!! Never had a bad run in with one!

Where at in Nebraska? I'm going out in SoDak here in a couple of weeks!

Kaiser Norton

Jeff where is the snow?

I've yet to have a bad experience with a warden in Nebraska. Congrats on a great hunt with the son!

Congrats. That's a lot of geese. Nice looking boy. Thanks for sharing.

All the South Dakota conservation officers I've dealt with were nice guys, considerate and a source of good info on good hunting and fishing spots. There was this one kinda hyper little guy who was a pain but not intentionally so. He moved to Minnesota.

Nice story! Thanks for sharing it with us. I wish our encounters with CA's game officers were positive experiences.

Glad you had a good experience with the CO. In my life, I've never had a bad experience with any I've met. I've hunted many states in the past fifty years and my exchange with them has been really pleasant, read that, no richard noggins.

Now just what is you do with those sky carp you been shooting?

Outstanding.

Glad to hear. Looks like a fun day with your boy. The few I have ran into here in Washington state seemed to treat me as a criminal until I proved them wrong. The one experience I had fishing in Montana was awesome. He even told us where to go and put us on fish.

Nice story! I remember not too many years ago, your paragraph 3 was against a state law in Louisiana, but times and bird numbers have changed a lot. Even back in 1991 when I was on a research project near Churchill, Manitoba for Canada geese, the awesome numbers of snows were apparent.

Great report; good work w2 your son.

I enjoy hearing stories of good experiences w/ COs. That guy you talked with certainly gets it and I'd love to meet a guy like that. Thanks for reporting.

We were south of York about halfway to KS.

By the time we called it good, it was around 70 degrees! With this warm weather and high wind, I wouldn't be surprised if they move through pretty quick. FWIW - this coming weekend might just be the peak of the migration.......

Almost forgot - the dogs had a great time too!!

That is a great looking Chocolate lab. Just saying.

Great pics.

Scheit, if it was that warm we would just shave the fugger.

Very cool experience. Only had on meeting with a game warden here in NE and it was a very good meeting.

Have also met a couple of them at the Hunter Ed classes and they were very helpful and they were really encouraging to the kids.

OUTstanding - all around sir.. Congrats.

We had a strong north wind blowing today with some rain/sleet/light snow. I'm hoping this keeps the geese around so we can try our luck again this weekend. Pretty small window but isn't that always the case with the fun stuff??

Great job, both of you!

That young hunter is hooked now.

Excellent post - great pics of the son, the dogs, the geese and you - and much appreciated the positive story about the conservation officer. Maybe we could send some of ours up there for some training.

Awesome! Congrats to you both, well all three if we count the lab.

Good for you! Glad you had a great time.....our Johnny Green Pants here in GA are not so well thought of. One of my former secretary's husband is a GW and he has admitted to me about taking corn out of grain bins and sprinkling it on the ground when making a baited field bust so his evidence is "stronger".

He ended up trying that same trick on me and some buddies one time (long story) and I took him to court over his crap and won. His wife was one of the craziest women I've ever known (naturally) and they are now divorced and she is working elsewhere.

Congrats on a great hunt and experience.

Congrats Jeff! It looks like you guys had a great hunt. Good job on getting the boy out in the field!

Mike

Congrats on the hunt.

Most of my experiences with MT game wardens has been positive. Even when a friend got a ticket for shooting the wrong bird the fellow was very decent. Turns out my friend didn't get a fine in the end. I saw that warden a week later, he asked how my friend was and wished us well. On the other hand, there was one who worked north of Great Falls. Even the local LE personnel didn't have much nice to say about her.

Over all they have been very good to talk to. They pretty much need the peoples help to do their job effectively in the long run. They are alone most times and miles from help should they need it.