Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Your best Game Warden story

Been checked in Mn, Colo, SD, ND, Wy, Mt, Ks and Saskatchewan. All in the last 20 or so years. All were decent all business types, except the Sask one was a jerk. No citations or issues with any of them.

I have had approximately 1/2 dozen interactions with GW over 56 years and all were to just check licenses, and in each of those encounters they were courteous and professional.

One experience sticks in my mind. Many years ago my son and I were fly fishing on one of the major trout streams in Western Virginia. This stream has a hiking trail that runs along the bank of the river, or very close to it, for most all of its length. At that time Virginia permits were a yearly permit that were good from January 1st thru December 31st of that year no matter when you purchased the license. Each year the license was a different color. The GW checking licenses that day brought a pair of binoculars and he would ask you hold up your license while he looks at it thru the binoculars. If the color was right your fishing was not interrupted and everything was good. I thought this was very respectful of the GW to do this and avoid having you wade across the river, which might mean going up or down river several hundred yards to cross, just to show your license.

Karnes County. Texas Game Warden. 1983ish. I’m leaning out the door with a rolling length measurement device in my friends 69 428 CJ Fairlane. LaLieu (not spelling it right) pulls in behind us when we pulled into a cattle guard to turn around and start over.

“Boys Country Quarters will cost you two bills”

We never forgot that the middle of the afternoon since we were sure we pulled it in before he could have seen what we were doing.

Another time we were 19 we were cruising the back county rds of SW Jim wells county spotlighting but with no guns, outlaw days lol. Allan and I hear the scanner, game warden, I got a report of a truck that sounds like Allan Harmans, I'm going to check it out. We saw him rolling up behind us, Allan laughs and says f-ck it, and takes off killing the lights, we were hauling ass doing about a 100 and knew we were coming up on a hard right you had to slow down to about 15 to make. We got around that turn and slowed way down watching behind us and the game warden was going way too fast and ran through the bobware fence into the milo field. Good times. We never got caught even on the King Ranch. Allan did get caught on George Straits Ranch yrs later and got 6 months locked up and lost his guns.

Several years back my buddy and I are driving back to camp out in the Fort Rock area. Getting kinda twilighty. I see a rig in the rear view mirror about a half mile back. You can tell he's going at a good clip.

Gets up behind us and I realize it's a state trooper (game cop).

Pull over. He pulls in behind us. Younger cop.

We get out and say our hellos. Asks us how we're doing. Can't remember how the hunting was that year. Notice he's kinda hesitant.

I ask if he wants to see out licenses and tags. He says sure. Checks them out and hands them back. All good.

He's still kinda hemmin and hawing.

Finally he got his nerve up.

Asks us, "Do you know how to get to the main road from here?"

Told him sure and explained how to get there. Got a good chuckle out of that.


That's the good story.



The bad one.

Another time came back to camp (before season) to find two State Fish and Game (not state troopers) guys looking in our tents. We confronted them and they said that they had been told we were snagging browns and lake trout (I think) following kokanee up the Davis arm of Wikkiup reservoir.

Told em we ain't your guys and if you don't have a warrant you have no business looking in our camp. They got indignant, but left. They kept on us though, checking our tags, etc. al season One time accusing my buddy of having blood on his boot.

Should have made a formal complaint.

Deer hunt

Back from the morning hunt at camp

GW shows up. Chats.

He says, “Who’s the hunter?”

I say, “We’re not hunting, we’re camping right now.”

He says, “Ok, have a nice day.”



If they want to check my hunting license, they better do it when I’m hunting



Drive with animal to G&F office to have it tagged.

Officer comes out and asks a series of questions about how the animal was taken, one of which was “did you use dogs?”

I tell him “No. I thought it was illegal to use dogs anyway?”

He says, “It is. It’s a trick question.”

😳

Acquaintance is an outfitter. Takes an out of state hunter on a one-in-a-lifetime Oryx hunt. Gentleman kills a nice bull.

G&F is on them immediately after the shot and loading of the animal.

He asks to see where the shot was taken from. They show him. He gets out a tape measure to measure the distance from the road. Law states the shot must be taken 40ft from a road. Turns out the guy was literally 1 foot short.

G&F cites him and confiscates the animal on the spot. The hunter is devastated and the outfitter pissed and embarrassed for his client and his experience in our state

Spends a fortune on lawyers and court. Wins. Outfitter has someone buy the animal that G&F is going to sell. He has it mounted and sends it to the client. Class

Friend kills a nice buck on his father’s property. G&F checks the animal and asks where it was taken. Friend says, “On my Dad’s property”

G&F asks if he had permission to hunt there. Dad is right there and answers “Yes”.

G&F asks if the permission is in writing and states the permission MUST be in WRITING.

He answered “No, it’s my Dad’s land and he gave me permission like he just said”

G&F confiscates the buck and they go through a bunch of BS to get it back.

Pricks


G&F officer later states that he can confiscate every mounted animal in a home if the tags are not saved and produced on demand.

PRICKS

No doubt that was NM...

Bet the warden's name was Jackson.

Mf'ers wonder why hunters despise them.

A few years ago, I took my then 10-11 year old son to the TX Panhandle hunting. Weather was bad and snow had piled up just beyond the lease gate entrance. Since we cross a neighbors property, I didn’t want to drive out in his grass pasture and ended up stuck in a snow drift. The game warden just lived right around the corner so I called him and asked him to pull us out later. We walked the mile to the blind and my son shot a decent buck and we dragged it the mile back to the truck. About the time we got to the truck the warden showed up and got stuck in the drift too. He called his wife and she drove over and threw a shovel out. Couple hours later we finally got out.

We had one in county that was hell on wheels.

Literally.

He road a bicycle in the woods.

He was fair, but by the book.

Last time I interacted with one, I was 17. Went down to the river access, no one around, so I did a donut with the old hot rod in the parking lot as I was leaving. Headed out of there, here comes flashing lights out of the dust cloud behind me. Gray haired agent known to be an azzhole comes marching up once I stopped, proceeds to berate me for reckless driving says he’s going to ruin my day. I told him nobody was in the lot, where was he hiding out? He was sitting at the bottom of the boat ramp, he said, waiting for some punk like me.

Told me I wouldn’t forget the ticket any time soon. I handed him the license, plumb pissed off by this time. Told him to go write that ticket. My tone caught his attention. He says, and then what? I said, and then I will be here, and kill everything that moves in this area. Be a full time job for you trying to catch me at it.

Stupid thing to say, good at that when I was pissed back then. He says that would be a bad idea. I admitted that was true, but said it wouldn’t stop me. He went back to his Jeep, was there a minute or two, came back and handed me my license, told me he’d mail me the ticket. I laughed. He stomped back to his Jeep and we left. Never got that ticket. He got his boat perforated while checking folks’ lines in the river a few months later, asked for a transfer, and was gone.

can't figure out what you were cited for?

measuring the length of the road?

Another time when I was in my 20's (in the early 70's, I was in my Scout coming out of the woods and found a dead deer, no bullet hole or blood. Didn't touch it, went home and got to thinking about it, so I called the WM office. they had me call a game warden by the name of WEAVER. I did and I picked him up, it was dark by now and we had at least a 30min ride to get to the dead deer and the whole time he was trying his damdest to get me to admit that I killed the deer, he really, really, really wanted to make an arrest. He got all my info in case he needed me far a witness later, (but I do believe it was so he could arrest me later. But we picked up the deer and he took it to find the cause of death. They called me back a week later and it had anthrax which was spreading in that parish. I think I remember them closing the season over the spread of anthrax. Back to the game warden Weaver, if memory serves, they found him dead in the woods with a bullet hole in him. But that was 50yrs ago so I might have my facts wrong.

Wonder if it’s the same Jackson I know! He’s always been nice as can be to me.

I don't understand your post.

Sounds like he was marking a quarter mile drag racing spot.

Story my dad always told him and my grandfather were cruising the backroads early in the morning looking for deer, My grandfather had a old double barrel loaded with buckshot. Young warden pulls themselves over walks to my grandfather's window reaches across the seat and pulls the shotgun out by the barrel and sticks his nose up to it to smell it to see if it's been shot. My grandfather starts chuckling and the warden asks him what's so funny, my grandfather said the guns loaded and I have control of the business end your lucky I'm in a good mood.

Can't imagine that concern over a dead deer.
Have found them in our posted property, with the minds and straps pulled,
for 30 years. Never called PGC. They won't do anything, except keep a little watch and try to pinch you.

Tresspass!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Out of any big season, they will tell you they have State Police power.
Ie, more power than a cop, cop+possum cop power.
Call them for a trespasses during hunting season, "You gotta call the cops, we can't enforce trespass laws".
They don't want to enforce trespass laws, PGC is focused on fines and fees.
Enforcing trespass might cause some hunters to not hunt. (Buy tags)
2 decent Pa encounters.

1, we used to hunt on a volunteer deputies farm. He was great, never checked us unless he was with The Big Guy. Who was a bastard.
Often heard Tom was a prick, but he never shït in his own yard.
He left the neighbors alone. Nice? Smart? Wise!

2, Daughter played ball with a wardens daughter. Seemed like a good guy.
Spent a few hours chatting. He has been moved to this area, hope any future meetings don't change my mind.


Have encountered wardens in CO numerous times.
Mostly the same dude who I'm sure retired.
Gunnison, Crested Butte area. He was an ok guy.
Never any attitude.
Never any of that "Ive gotcha, gotta figure what to write on the ticket" BS.