Game Wardens

[glennjones]

Gay Mormon!

 

[Jdeck09]

My experiences havent been bad. I've been checked at the boat ramp a handful of times and in Canada a bunch. Most of those were because I was driving my grandpas truck and the warden was curious. Overall, they have been laid back checks.

 

[2ski]

I've been checked mostly as a high school kid or young adult but mostly counting life jackets. Which was probably just looking to see if we were drinking.

Sometimes checked for fishing licenses. Once I was on the shore and had just found my grandfather's bamboo fly rod. There was no fly on it but he still wanted to see my license. So I had to go up to my car at the cabin and get it.

Been checked at a wildlife area for steel shot and the plug when I was in high school.

A few years ago my dad and I got checked for our etags. My dad had been confused on if he had etags and had no paper tags. The warden was very cool about it and wrote a note so we could stop at the check station and have no issues. I would've shaken his hand if not for it raining and him being in his truck as we talked.

 

[Ridgerunner1]

Just like everything else in this world they are good and bad ones…

saw some that has let a honest mistake slide, while I’ve saw others pull every item in a vehicle out over 1 turkey feather a kid picked up In the Mtn and carried back to the truck..and never offer to put it back when discovered they was wrong ..

 

[wind gypsy]

I've had plenty of good and a couple less than good interactions. One of the bad interactions was primarily my fault in my young and dumber years.

I wish they'd do a lot more of the decoy deer stings to keep the road hunters from being road poachers so frequently.

 

[3325]

I haven’t had a bad interaction with a Wyoming game warden.

One checked my license on a late season cow elk hunt and then offered to use his horses to help me pack an elk if I got one. I’ve also had them give me tips on likely areas during late season cow hunts.

I’ve never had one give me tips on where they saw a big bull. But why should they?

Two Wyoming wardens, I know their names but won’t print them here, “put down” the Grizzly sow that mauled and killed guide Mark Uptain in 2018. This involved catching her cub in a snare and then dropping mad mama up close when she came in hot.

I’ve never had a problem with a Wyoming warden.

 

[3325]

I have no use for them. They don’t catch the real poachers, and they actively try to f over the law abiding hunters and people who support law enforcement with any tiny infraction they can dig up. Would never shake one’s hand

Apparently, we have a different cut of warden in Wyoming? They seem to stake out all night to catch “real” poachers:

How Wyoming Game Wardens Cracked The Cody Serial Poaching Case

Game wardens sat in the dark for five nights in Cody waiting for a serial poacher to strike again. On the fifth night, they heard the sound of a compound…

cowboystatedaily.com

This is but one example.

I will shake a Wyoming warden’s hand.

 

[Elkman17]

Apparently, we have a different cut of warden in Wyoming? They seem to stake out all night to catch “real” poachers:

How Wyoming Game Wardens Cracked The Cody Serial Poaching Case

Game wardens sat in the dark for five nights in Cody waiting for a serial poacher to strike again. On the fifth night, they heard the sound of a compound…

cowboystatedaily.com

This is but one example.

I will shake a Wyoming warden’s hand.

I don’t doubt that you do, and the 1 interaction I’ve had with a game warden while hunting in a red state was pleasant. I thought about it after I posted. The ones I was referring to in my post were from one specific state.

 

[LG1]

I've had good interactions with game wardens here in Idaho. I've probably been checked 4-5 times in my life. The only time it wasn't good was 40 years ago when I was a young and dumb kid and got ticketed for failure to have tag attached. It was punched though. $25 fine and it still embarrasses me. Totally my fault.

 

[JohnB]

My funniest GW interaction involved realizing I forgot my crab catch card in the Puget Sound as I was getting checked by WDFW. I handed them all the paperwork I had then spent the next two minutes trying to delicately wrestle my year old puppy around as she frantically tried to jump into the GWs boat to see what was for lunch. After a couple minutes of laughs I think everyone was relieved to part ways without having to fish a dog out of the saltchuck. I know I was.

 

[Baghdad Bob]

I haven’t had a bad interaction with a Wyoming game warden.

One checked my license on a late season cow elk hunt and then offered to use his horses to help me pack an elk if I got one. I’ve also had them give me tips on likely areas during late season cow hunts.

I’ve never had one give me tips on where they saw a big bull. But why should they?

Two Wyoming wardens, I know their names but won’t print them here, “put down” the Grizzly sow that mauled and killed guide Mark Uptain in 2018. This involved catching her cub in a snare and then dropping mad mama up close when she came in hot.

I’ve never had a problem with a Wyoming warden.

I have to comment on the wardens giving out intel. We always seem to being checked when we are ice fishing in Canada. Most people really don't like them around, but when they interact with us it's 5 minutes to check licenses and then 10 minutes off grilling by us for intel. I think by the time we are done they wish they never encountered us. One thing they never tell us is what someone else caught. They might in general say how the fishing is ,but nothing specific.


t like them around

 

[missjordan]

I’ve had great interactions with game wardens and most are pleasant. The only one time i had an issue with one was we were parked along the side of a gravel road waiting for another hunter to come out and he accused us of driving on state land when we didn’t. But wouldn’t take no for an answer either and started spinning the conversation to bait me into the answer he wanted me to say. It was awkward and tense. Never wrote me a ticket but he was a straight up jerk when he didn’t have to be. That was 20 years ago or so


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[Marble]

A friend of mine, who is now our County Sheriff, told me that part of his rookie training 20 years ago was learning how to "sell the ticket" so they end up thanking you after they get written up.

Exactly this. 23 years in LE and it was more common than not to get a thank you or a handshake at the end of an encounter. Regardless of the citation.

I regularly declined handshakes depending on the situation. But whenever I stuck my hand out there, the what if was always in the back of my mind.

I only had a couple dirt bags over the years try and use it as intimidating behavior. Basically squeezing my hand, trying to pull me closer, not attack me, but to create intimidation of some kind.

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[EastHumboldt]

Elk Hunting as an NR in Idaho, late 90’s. On the way in to camp we saw a herd of Elk on a hillside across a little grassy valley from the road. We got out to have a look and took our rifles of course in case a bull popped up. Watched em for awhile then headed back to the truck. Two IFG wardens were walking up to us. Front one says watch a doin? Hunting elk we said. He says did you shoot one. We said no just cows, and we only have bull tags. He say that’s nice…. Did you know you’re hunting in a closed area? Which we absolutely were, we were right on the border of our area which was open. He gave us a brief lecture about paying attention, wrote us a warning. Told us if we’d shot something it woulda gone a lot worse. We absolutely shook his hand.