How many times have you been checked by Wardens?

[Rick Seymour]

First time I was checked was near Craig,CO .......city limits. I had shot for me a very nice symetrical 4x4 Mule deer w/24'wide spread. Somehow the tag had come off due to me improperly attaching it. He read me the riot act, threatened to take it etc., as I can not prove it was mine. He did let me go. Month later I get the pictures and there is the tag attached as it should be...need to go find that crotchity ole.

I had an extremely long successful string for Elk w/rifle, 11 years eleven branch antler Bulls. I would hike in on a closed forest service road 2 miles and then drop into a canyon. Bugger getting them out but part of the game. It always took 4 trips to get them out and I would (right or wrong) usually bring the back straps and rack out the first evening. For 4 years in a row I would get back to the camp w/hind qrt. or whatever and the fellows I hunted with would say Warden was here wants to talk to you. Never did meet the fellow. I would assume he thought they were using my tag and I was at home.

A couple other roadside checks at most. I give them a little grief in fun as that's my nature. Each time they state it unusual for someone to act that way as most act almost fearful. I am enjoying life

 

[Matt Cashell]

I've been checked a bunch of times, especially antelope hunting. Never given any grief or gotten any. Glad they are out there.

 

[RosinBag]

I have been checked a handful of times. I don't mind, they have a job to do and I am not worried about doing anything illegal. You are only cheating yourself if your breaking hunting laws to be successful.

 

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

Only once for me. I was shooting prairiedogs. I think the warden was more interested in looking at my varmit rifle because he never did ask to see my license. LOL!

 

[mattstanton]

just tag checks on deer hanging in camp and random tag checks when we run into them on the road.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Never been checked anywhere out west, although the Forest Service folks seem a bit chatty when they see me walking in.

Had a go round with a warden in the mountains of NC once, he kept saying we weren't allowed to camp where we were setup. It was a base camp we were going to hunt out of for two weeks.
I grabbed the rule book that the wildlife commission gives out, and it said we were allowed to. He pulled out his rule book, and it said we were not allowed to. He ended up letting us stay, but the rule book was changed the next year.

 

[a3dhunter]

I've been checked quite a bit over the years, only had a real problem one time.
In Colorado back in 02', had a warden come driving hell bent into our camp and slam on the brakes with dust and dirt flying. He jumped out of the truck and demanded to see the tag on the buck I had hanging.
As we walked past the jeep that was parked there was a rifle laying against the seat with the butt on the floor, he snatched the rifle up and looked at us, then said "there better not be a bullet in the chamber since this was in a vehicle!"
He proceeded to check it and then put it back. We had black electrical tape around the tag on the antlers and went off about this, saying it was improperly tagged.
He ended up leaving but was back the next day since we had another buck hanging. Almost the same way. He was a jerk in how he talked to hunters and treated them.

Another time was driving down a mountain road headed back to camp and came around the corner and two wardens (one male and one female) had trucks blocking the road with headlights flipped on right in front of me when I came around the corner, I couldn't see a thing and next I know there is one warden on each side of the vehicle with pistols drawn at their sides, they approach the vehicle and ask if I had shot anything. I told them "no" and they saw the rifle I had and asked if they could check to see if their was a bullet in the chamber, there wasn't, after that was all settled they said they had reports of a known poacher was going to be in that area of Unit 62 that night and they had been trying hard to catch him. No problems and they were nice once they figured out I was a non-resident with a valid tag for the unit.

All other encounters were normal license checks. No problems and they were helpful as could be.

 

[bearguide]

we get checked in wyo sometime every year

 

[BuckSnort]

I have been checked a handful of times only a few really come to mind... I was hunting cow elk in UT and had shot a big bodied cow about a half mile from the road in really rugged terrain.. I was on my last load of meat (and after dark) and when I got to my truck there was a warden waiting for me, he asked me where the head was and I told him about 1/2 mile that way and pointed..He ordered me to go get the head so he could see it so off I went..When I got back with the head he wasn't even there..lol

Another time I somehow was the only one to get drawn in our group for CO, so I decided why not and went alone..Just as I got into the unit I was hunting I learned that reverse had gone out of my truck... I had to be really careful where I parked..lol.. Anyway opening morning I was pulled off the road glassing and trying to learn the country when a game officer rolls up..He asked for my tags and asked if I had seen anything, we BS'd for a bit and I told him about my truck not having reverse...He actually gave me his name and personal telephone number in case I got stuck somewhere..Very cool...

 

[Evan Williams]

I have only actually been stopped ONCE!!! This year in Colorado. They were actually unloading a 400 lb black bear boar that was a nuisance bear. One officer checked my license and then the three of us shot the shit for a while. They did get a good laugh when I asked which way the bear ran. They pointed SW as I hung my head and said "SHIT"! They all three at once laughed and said, 'thats the way your headed!'. Yes I answered. More laughing, 'you should be ok for 2 or 3 days we loaded him up with some rock salt. Again, I shook my head! "Yeah well I am in for 7!". Hysterical laughter!!! It was a good time

Warden pulled up next to me in kansas once. I was filming a TON of rutting activity off the highway coming home from an upland hunt. I looked at him smiled and said, "Stoney!! how's things going." Good was his response. He said the rut was really kicking in and that there were already some good bucks taken in the area. "Damn Non-Residents," he said. (PS in our area NRs have a BAD REP because a few yrs ago they were running through farmers' fences with their trucks shooting anything and everything. Its been hard on all of the NRs since. And some deserved it.) I laughed and said some guys are just looking for those 180" Kansas Whitetails where there aren't any! (PS we have piss poor whitetail genetics in our area...don't pass a 120"!!!) He asked how are day was and if we needed anything. Replied we took our limit and even bagged a tranny pheasant. ( younger hatch poult that hadn't turned full color. That one he wanted to see. Interesting color he said and hopped in his truck and said...you have my number call if you need me! Never asked for tags or anything. He actually called us about 3 years back. Someone had wounded a buck that was running around a drilled wheat field just off state lands and he was an hour away. He told us where it was and asked if we would go put him down if it was as bad as he had heard since he knows we hunted in the area. We found the buck and put him down. About an hour and a half he showed up and wrote us tags out for him and took the antlers for the state.

Was in New Mexico in 2008 sighting in our rifles and one of the game officers showed up and just started shooting with us zeroing his new service rifle. Ended up talking for over an hour about our tags and the officer in the area to contact.

The ones that I know and have met were really good guys. I have heard some horror stories but have none personally.

 

[littlebuf]

i bump in to them pretty regular.most of the time its the same two guys.they must see a ton of guys because it always takes them a minute to remember me.once they do its a little bs'ing and im off.im glad there there,i wish there was more of them but its what it is.only time i got any "grief" if you could call it that was by a warden i never met before,me and my daughter were out bugling bulls in between seasons.he stopped us coming out late and said h smelled alcohol.i dont drink other than an occasional beer when out for a dinner and i sure as hell dont drink driving around with my kids.i held up the rockstar i was drinking and said "maybe this?" we were on our way shortly after

 

[craitchky]

I have yet to be checked, both in CO, and in IL.

 

[Curtis C]

Only twice! First was many years ago and on a Colorado Free Fishing Day. I still wonder why they(CDOW) would have someone doing license checks on a day licenses aren't required. Never ask to see the stringer, guess he had watched us for a while

Second was in AZ while hunting Javi's. GW hiked way in to where we had found some good coues. We were sitting there glassing them wishing we had spent the money for a tag. He sat with us glassing for 30-45 minutes before saying "Need a quick look at your license and I'll be on my way".

C

 

[alecvg]

I have been stopped a road blocks in Washington, and been checked while duck hunting in Washington, some of those guys can be real a-holes!

 

[littlebuf]

I have been stopped a road blocks in Washington, and been checked while duck hunting in Washington, some of those guys can be real a-holes!

you have to consider the clientele they work with on a daily basis.ive found that hunters like the guys on forums such as this where hunting is a huge part of there life that demands large amounts of sacrifice both financially,physically and time wise are not the norm.i cant imagine some of the shit heads wardens have to deal with.and there all armed.i cut the GW's a little slack even if they seem a little snippy

 

[ScottR_EHJ]

Just about all of my interactions with the G&F Department has been positive. The way we have check stations here it's almost a guarantee to get checked at least once. 2 seasons ago I even ran into one 3 miles back, he was hiking in checking licenses.

 

[alecvg]

Thats very true, but when your sitting in a duck blind in the early morning, and they come out and walk through the field spooking circling birds, and then start yelling at you for trespassing when we had permission to hunt the field we were im, it gets aggravating. All the guys I have met in the field while hunting big game have been very professional.

 

[Ozz08]

I get check at least 4-5 times every duck season here in ca while hunting the wildlife refuges here. I've never really had a bad experience. I've been annoyed with them a few times for stopping me in the morning while racing to a honey hole just to let the next group of guys go past them without being checked and beat me to the spot but for the most part the wardens I've come into contact with here have been pretty cool guys.

 

[weaver]

Never been checked.

 

[les welch]

Been checked in NM, WY, ID, and CO.