Close call with the wardens

B

Bob Peters

Well-known member
We got stopped at the game warden convention checkpoint. There were a pile of them, probably 20+ officers, feds too(maybe for waterfowl infractions). Everything checked out but one bag of frozen birds, the friendly lady couldn't find a spur on the leg. She offered it back to me and said, "can you find a spur?" Honestly I couldn't, but said we'd shot all roosters. I was a little nervous but not too bad because I knew we hadn't shot any hens and had pics to prove it. Then she said she'd take the ziploc over to "the boss" and be right back. They said they saw a little nub and we were good to go. So my word of caution here is this, if you shoot a real young one, probably best to leave a wing on, makes it easier on game wardens as you pass by on your way to Saskatchewan and the Indian shrine to beg forgiveness for shooting a youngster. Yes, this is a true story. The part about traveling to Saskatchewan I know nothing about other than internet hearsay.

P.S. if you have a case of mistaken identity, the bird goes to Davy Jones' locker, so I've been told....
 
They don't mess around, but they are pretty efficient at getting people through. The feds are there for interstate Lacey act violations and waterfowl enforcement. The checkpoints aren't just for people hunting/fishing in SD, they often catch violators traveling on I-90 with western big game.
Been through these checkpoints enough as a SD resident I've learned some tips that get you through faster.

Be able to quickly access your licenses. Don't waste their time trying to log into an app.
Don't clean any game or fish if possible. Gut/bleed, throw on ice in a cooler.
Tag your waterfowl with a different color zip tie for each person's birds in the vehicle.
Keep bleach spray in your boat and hit your livewells after you drain them.
Lower your boat motor to let water run out before raising up again for travel.

If you want to be the gray man, have zero sporting goods or evidence of hunting/fishing in the cab of your vehicle. If everything is under a tonneau cover or in an enclosed trailer, depending on how you answer any of their questions, you'll possibly get through quite quickly. Interpret that how you will.

And if you want to spend a good solid hour getting your stuff gone through, have walleye, pheasant, ducks, and a pile of snow geese in your trailer and have 1 of the 4 guys in your truck be too hung over to figure out where his wallet and phone are. :ROFLMAO:
I've had canadian border crossings that went faster than that stop did.

Good bet the next checkpoints will be along I-90 around west river rifle opener, as well as the I-29/US-12 junction sometime in the coming weeks as that is a hotspot for non resident waterfowlers traveling back to MN, WI, etc. The boating checks in the summer are a little less predictable in location.
 
Bob Peters said:
We got stopped at the game warden convention checkpoint. There were a pile of them, probably 20+ officers, feds too(maybe for waterfowl infractions). Everything checked out but one bag of frozen birds, the friendly lady couldn't find a spur on the leg. She offered it back to me and said, "can you find a spur?" Honestly I couldn't, but said we'd shot all roosters. I was a little nervous but not too bad because I knew we hadn't shot any hens and had pics to prove it. Then she said she'd take the ziploc over to "the boss" and be right back. They said they saw a little nub and we were good to go. So my word of caution here is this, if you shoot a real young one, probably best to leave a wing on, makes it easier on game wardens as you pass by on your way to Saskatchewan and the Indian shrine to beg forgiveness for shooting a youngster. Yes, this is a true story. The part about traveling to Saskatchewan I know nothing about other than internet hearsay.

P.S. if you have a case of mistaken identity, the bird goes to Davy Jones' locker, so I've been told....
Click to expand...
Where exactly was this checkpoint and when?
 
I go into Canada on a gravel road, but here is some advice. Don't bring a whole bunch of beer, or booze you can bring like a case. Don't bring a whole bunch of guns and I think you can only have like six boxes of ammo. You don't want to have to buy ammo in Saskatchewan cuz it's outrageously expensive.
 
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