Game warden checks?

benelli-banger said:
Two years ago I waited for a warden in ND to
walk down to his truck, he was on a hill glassing duck hunters. Took 15 minutes…we chatted for 20 minutes, he didn’t ask for anything. I showed him some birds, asked him some questions. A week later he was waiting at my truck at a different spot, talked for 20 minutes…he didn’t ask for anything…I showed him some birds for the heck of it. He said locals are the violators..,the first chat we had a week earlier, he left me and checked some locals…one guy briskly approached him and confessed he didn’t have a license, and told the warden to write him a ticket. Anyhow, I got back home, googled the warden’s name, in order to send him a card of thanks. Learned he lost a 30 year old son to cancer a year earlier…was diagnosed soon after learning that his wife was pregnant with their first child. Hard to fathom, my buddy and I also sent the widow a card and a modest gift of $. Damn, damn, damn. ✝️🙏
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Interesting on the locals comments ... ND Outdoors use to publish the list of issued "tickets" by both cause and residency. Lot of nonresident violations, albeit rarely for overharvest / over limits.
 
BRITTMAN said:
Interesting on the locals comments ... ND Outdoors use to publish the list of issued "tickets" by both cause and residency. Lot of nonresident violations, albeit rarely for overharvest / over limits.
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I hunt with many guys annually in ND…many don’t realize their gun has to have 3 or fewer shells, no matter species being hunted…carelessly ignorant….
 
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The data suggests that a bit over 5% of field contacts result in a citation. Lack of enough PFDs, improper licenses, and failure to carry license in the field are the leading causes of a citation. Only 37 citations for hunting on posted land without permission, but maybe the county sheriffs take more of those calls ???
 
The warden I met in ND is about 64, been a warden for several decades….retiring this spring, I believe….we talked about it in ‘24, he said he’d retire when he had 3 bad days in a row…said it hadn’t happened yet!
 
A few years ago several moose were killed and left in the field, near Dunseith; quite a big deal, lots of resources dedicated to this crime. I believe it turned out to be some local teens, one of whom had a dad that was a deputy shefiff, if I recall correctly. 4 moose or more, I believe….2020…5 moose…no meat taken…April/May….just looked it up.
 
benelli-banger said:
A few years ago several moose were killed and left in the field, near Dunseith; quite a big deal, lots of resources dedicated to this crime. I believe it turned out to be some local teens, one of whom had a dad that was a deputy shefiff, if I recall correctly. 4 moose or more, I believe….2020…5 moose…no meat taken…April/May….just looked it up.
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You know, I was a pretty wild kid. Shooting over the limit if I could, poached a few deer and ducks. But never did I ever kill something and leave it lay. That takes a special kind of dumb ass! I remember shooting a goose with a 22. I was probably 10. I sat in the basement for hours trying to pluck that goose. Mom cooked it for thanksgiving. I can still remember the scents of pride!
 
Hard to fathom…I know some guys who shot some mule deer bucks near Snowmass in March, 1987…they helped a dude out that was in a bind, ended up with a .243 auto with a scope…went out and had some “fun”…stupid. One of them worked for Hillis furs in Aspen…met very famous NFL running back’s wife…she was on a girls trip. She took a liking to my buddy…they got to know each other well…we were 21, wouldn’t want to have seen that guy exact revenge on my buddy…or would I? Pain in the ass person, frankly…I never met wife, or her sister, who she was with. A buddy and I wandered out to Colorado prior to thxgiving in ‘86, found jobs in Snowmass…I had a split shift, off 8-5, got to ski daily. Lived on the hill for the lodge we worked for. A month later 2 buddies came to visit, never left. 4 of us in a hotel room with 2 double beds. The interlopers were the deer killers and other aforementioned debauchery….🥰 The football player has over 11,000 career rushing yards, over 110 TD’s, and over 20 NFL records. Badass!!
 
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Used to get checked quite a bit in deer gun season. We did deer drives and I’m convinced someone was always calling them trying to get us in trouble. Never did. Out of state I hope to run into one to pick their brain. I posted on here before I think, I ran into a gal game warden and just beautiful, hell I asked her out on a date! She politely declined. Alas, what could have been
 
benelli-banger said:
Hard to fathom…I know some guys who shot some mule deer bucks near Snowmass in March, 1987…they helped a dude out that was in a bind, ended up with a .243 auto with a scope…went out and had some “fun”…stupid. One of them worked for Hillis furs in Aspen…met very famous NFL running back’s wife…she was on a girls trip. She took a liking to my buddy…they got to know each other well…we were 21, wouldn’t want to have seen that guy exact revenge on my buddy…or would I? Pain in the ass person, frankly…I never met wife, or her sister, who she was with. A buddy and I wandered out to Colorado prior to thxgiving in ‘86, found jobs in Snowmass…I had a split shift, off 8-5, got to ski daily. Lived on the hill for the lodge we worked for. A month later 2 buddies came to visit, never left. 4 of us in a hotel room with 2 double beds. The interlopers were the deer killers and other aforementioned debauchery….🥰 The football player has over 11,000 career rushing yards, over 110 TD’s, and over 20 NFL records. Badass!!
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I would guess that football player was John Riggins
 
Could be…🤓 Totally unrelated to my story, I’m sure, I’m aware he got divorced from first wife in ‘91, I believe…also, I believe he got drunk at a black tie event and told Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor “Loosen up, Sandy Baby, you’re too tight!”….then passed out under the table. 😆
 
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I’m not, or ever was, a good skier, but napping in the sunshine while riding the chairlift to the top of Elk Camp, for example, was a highlight of my life…then cruising down the groomed mountain, stopping several times to take it all in…usually 40 degrees or higher. I skied for the first time at 18, then took a 1 credit PE class at UMD….downhill skiing at Spirit Mountain. Vowed I’d be a ski bum for at least one season…best decision ever. Bird hunting and downhill skiing are both exhilarating activities…loved Krabloonik’s restaurant and bar…had no $, but a few beers and apps was darned good. Realized being a ski bum indefinitely wasn’t the route for me, but would have made a good life out of it regardless.
 
BirdDoggin said:
My game warden experience, and not one I'm proud of, was maybe 25 years ago with a group in SD, annual trip with a few friends and one guy had some relatives out near Wessington. We would typically go the same weekend annually and back then, the daily start time was Noon, and would reset to 10:00 after daylight savings would kick in. I don't recall the reasons why, but we moved our trip up a week and got into the field at 10:00 and had a lot of shooting and bagged several birds right away. We take a break after the first field and notice a truck pulling up and realize it's the CO. He gets out and explains to us the season doesn't open until Noon, writes each of us a ticket and takes all our birds. Boy did we feel stupid. I think we all pooled our money together and paid the fine right there on the spot, in cash. Total blunder and embarrassment. A bunch of guys in their 20's that were so excited to be out there we completely forgot about the Noon start time early in the season.
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We did that in Iowa, at the time being from NE Indiana we didn't change our clocks. My dad and I were in Iowa and forgot about daylight savings and we were in the field at 730, start time was 830. Fortunately, a passer by stopped to let us know we were an hour early. So we high tailed it out and went to the local diner for breakfast.
 
Coming up on 50 yrs of bird hunting in SD/ND, very few meetings with GF&P. Most were ok, but one jerk doing his best Barney Fife imitation. I believe he would write his mom a ticket for breathing. As for big-game hunts, three years in a row in NE WY while antelope hunting. First one I was helping a handicapped guy get his goat. He shot one from the ditch attached to land we had permission on. I think the guy was a lab rat who got handed a gun/badge and told to go forth and harass hunters. Second guy was ready to write me a ticket for not having an orange hat on while eating lunch on the tailgate. The 3rd guy didn't like the signs on my friends truck as we exited land we had permission to hunt. He had the ticket book out wondering what he could write us up for. Ended up getting the usual verbal threats, but didn't actually write any. That was several years ago, but with such cordial wardens like that, AND $326 to shoot a goat, I'll just hunt birds.
 
I have yet to be checked out of state bird hunting. Do get occasionally checked in Michigan. Working for the DNR I know the local CO's pretty well and when i am check it is just a conversation.
 
McFarmer said:
We have a property we put into the IHAP program for 3 years. The DNR was supposed to burn it but never did so we took it out. The place was 1/3 CRP 1/2 corn field and the rest pond and lake shore. Duck hunters liked it, so did deer hunters.

Anyway the next door person, farm is all CRP, didn’t really like anyone and everyone being able to hunt just across their fence, the ducks especially, and deer. I have always known they hunted deer there and sometimes asked.

Part of the IHAP deal is no vehicles can be on it. I don’t really hunt other than pheasants so opening day I hunted it with four friends. At 70 I was the youngest. Not thinking I told the 90yo to take his truck down the corn field and post on the edge of the grass.

We hunt for maybe a half hour and here comes the DNR guy and I see the neighbor watching from his side. Well the DNR guy has kids in sports with my grandkids and we have gotten to know each other pretty well, but he didn’t know this property was ours.

He looked pretty sheepish when he saw me walk up, and had already called in to identify the property owner. I saw the humor in the whole deal but one of my friends kinda got irate. I confessed I had forgotten about the no driving deal and he said it’s kinda gray being I, as the property owner, told the guy to drive. The DNR guy was kinda embarrassed about the whole deal. He didn’t check licenses or equipment. Good thing because I imagine the old fella hasn’t bought a box of shells in 50 years, all reloads. Not steel.

Anyway we ended it with a reminder that driving wasn’t allowed and we are good friends to this day.

He drove up to the neighbor and judging by the arm waving that fella wasn’t happy. Oh well.
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So row cropped ground can be put into IHAP? Is there any financial gain tied to that? I guess I thought IHAP was generally CRP parcels and the trade-off for enrolling as IHAP was that the state "managed" it. Saying that, management would maybe entail mid-contract management active (burning) and maybe thistle control if there was an epidemic, in exchange for allowing the public to hunt it.
 
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