Game warden checks?

[Golden Hour]

I get checked about once every four or five years. It's typically a very nice conversation. They check license and shells. A number of years ago, I took my wife out for resident opener, grabbed the vest with 20 gauge shells for her and when we finished, gamey shows up and it's discovered my wife had lead shells in her vest on a WPA. The game warden was nice and understanding, I explained it was my fault and he said that even so, it's every hunter's responsibility to make sure they are in accordance with the regulations. My wife was not particularly impressed with me that day.

 

[benelli-banger]

Until they look in your freezer!

I’m legal; do you recall a few months ago a thread about this topic? I called the MN DNR, spoke to a nice representative (posted here 11/3/25) who chuckled at the notion that a hunter in MN couldn’t possess the birds that each state allows…MN, SD, ND in my case. 33? 36? Under that. By a fair #. Making some tomorrow from my last trip. All good. Thanks for your attempts to keep everybody doing the right thing…as you see it! PS—I’ve got 15 from my last trip, and 2 or 3 packages in the freezer, which are typically 3 birds (breasts, primarily)…occasionally I’ll do 4 per bag, but not commonly, I don’t always assume the person cooking wants to prepare that many, so I keep the # a bit more modest. Remy, you should ask Webguy to appoint you “resident ethicist” of the forum…we could come to you and be granted permission/dispensation for all aspects of our hunting…days afield, birds harvested, appropriate gauge, shells, length of shots, group size, being in the kitchen while the wife is home, etc…wait a minute, no, you already do that, and it’s quite laughable…but carry on, shower the world with your joy! 2 packages in freezer, pic attached; 5 I’m gonna prepare tomorrow, pic attached, 10 more in truck; kittens I captured 6 weeks ago while hunting…BEST thing that happened this season! Ongoing, pure source of joy!!! My buddies!!! They love pheasant, I can tell you that! Hope that’s allowable…, FWIW, there needs to be major rooster reduction in next few days, too many still around!!!! Didn’t do good enough job…another shortcoming!!!! Remy, I say this only after a very sober, deep, contemplative assessment of things…I love you. I just want you, and everyone here to know that! You’re a veritable treasure here, and no doubt in your physical community. Keep it up, you do good for us all! I got my first tattoo!!!! WWRD? I give lots of pheasant away, prepared and raw; I give countless racks of ribs away…hundred + racks or more annually; I give smoked salmon from Northern Waters Smokehaus at prodigious levels; I give pies from the Rustic Inn on a regular basis, to many people in my life that I’m fond of; today I had another meeting at my bank, dealing with my mom’s estate, I stopped at great harvest bakery, got cookies and cinnamon chip bread for the staff; same exact thing yesterday when I went to my old office, dealing with some $ matters. I may be unique, I don’t know, but I enjoy being generous.,.and I give what seems to please people. There are quite a few in my orbit that really enjoy my pheasant dish, just got a request yesterday from former client, a widow whose husband hunted birds a ton..,owned farmland in SE Iowa that he personally farmed while also practicing medicine. Happy to oblige her, and her daughter and son in law, who enjoy it a lot, too. I wake up in the morning and set out to make myself, and the people I come into contact with, HAPPY!!! I “live large” in my own way, I make no apologies for it! It’s fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[LC Smith]

Years ago a buddy and I were duck hunting and there were two guys at the boat ramp checking hunters as they came in. You could tell there was a distinct difference in their operation. One was from the State of Oklahoma and the other was a Fed. The guy from the state was acting like everyone was trying to get one over on him. He was being a true AHole. When they got to us the Fed started chatting and just trying to soften the mood. My buddy and I gave our licenses and just started getting out the gear for them to look at. My buddy was having a pleasant conversation with the Fed about areas we were hunting and asked him for other spots. In this back-and-forth my buddy gave the Fed his card and that elevated the conversation into getting out maps, giving phone numbers, etc. The State guy was flipping out and basically accused my buddy of trying to use his DEA credentials to get out of the inspection. The Fed looked over at the guy and told him "just move on to the next group, I got this...". The State guy was fuming...

 

[redhaze]

I went to a small college in Las Vegas, NM, New Mexico Highlands U. This was in the mid-late 60's. The local state warden was taking some classes with a buddy and me. We always had a beer or two with him a couple times a month. He invited us to ride with him some. We did. He's a sneaky fellow. It's was fun to be with him when he was checking fishing licenses in a local river. People would nonchalantly start maneuvering towards their poles when they say him. I had many giggles from that. Also rode with a GW out of Tucumcari, NM one time. It was antelope season and he would pull up to a rise and not quite go over it. He would get out and glass the prairie just over the rise. He said he could sometimes see the bad guys. Not much happened, but was fun to hear their stories.

 

[McFarmer]

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.

Yes, on that piece it just made it easier to enroll the whole thing. The duck hunters liked it.

 

[airmedic1]

My friend and I were duck hunting when the new young female game warden stopped us. She was pleasant as she checked our licenses and thanked us for having the proper stamps.
As she was about to leave she asked us if we had plugs in our guns. My buddy answered in the affirmative, he was shooting a 870 and then she looked me and asked if I had a plug in my gun. I was shooting an O/U and said no. Her mood changed and she said she would have to give me a ticket for no plug because all shotguns needed to be plugged. I thought she was joking but she was serious! We discussed this for awhile and she didn't relent so I told her to go ahead and write the ticket but I insisted that she write the make, model and serial number on the ticket because I was going to court over the issue and I wouldn't be paying the fine that day.
She wanted to know why I would go to court after I admitted to her that I didn't have a plug in my gun? I politely told her she was going to look like a fool in court and the case would be dismissed. She didn't write the ticket and my buddy and I kept the incident quiet instead of going to the bar and telling everyone.
She worked in the area where I lived for a couple years and then moved on to a different part of the State but she never stopped me again and we would wave when we would she each other. She never stopped my buddy either. A couple years ago I saw where she had retired after almost 40 years.

 

[remy3424]

This a response to b-b's comment above. Sorry to everyone else that reads it and maybe b-b too.

b-b, just keep trying to convince everyone here you are THE pillar of society and we can't get along with out you and your good deeds that you CONTINUOUSLY need to tell of, to remind us of just how good of a person you really are. Saving kitty's, feeding the town, BSing farmers, directing some one where to hunt, taking folks with you hunting and occasionally letting them shoot a bird. It seemed like you tripled-up on this after you pretty much admitted that you didn't follow possession limits a month or 2 ago and now we get showered with every good deed you ever thought of doing. Keep blowing on with 10 posts a day, nay we may forget your greatness.
I am not perfect, I may stir the pot on occasions, not the best person you will meet, maybe don't care for a lot of people. I do love pheasants, creating habitat and most things related to pheasants, including hunting them. I play by the rules and think everyone else should also, this is not just in hunting, in all aspects of life. I try to do the right thing. I consider myself a conservationist and a person with ethics & integrity. Ya, I am not a perfect person, as if I were, I might not have hit the "post relpy" after you calling me out to do yourself damage control or whatever you are doing. Depending how you see this post, maybe I let my integerty slip a bit. That is who I am, don't expect a relpy to whatever you want to post about me next. I guess I just am following your pot-shot with my own, quite immature. I had a gut full of it and now I need to sign out and re-adjust my forum attitude. I can easily get a bit wound-up and maybe too much caffeine today.

 

[benelli-banger]

This a response to b-b's comment above. Sorry to everyone else that reads it and maybe b-b too.

b-b, just keep trying to convince everyone here you are THE pillar of society and we can't get along with out you and your good deeds that you CONTINUOUSLY need to tell of, to remind us of just how good of a person you really are. Saving kitty's, feeding the town, BSing farmers, directing some one where to hunt, taking folks with you hunting and occasionally letting them shoot a bird. It seemed like you tripled-up on this after you pretty much admitted that you didn't follow possession limits a month or 2 ago and now we get showered with every good deed you ever thought of doing. Keep blowing on with 10 posts a day, nay we may forget your greatness.
I am not perfect, I may stir the pot on occasions, not the best person you will meet, maybe don't care for a lot of people. I do love pheasants, creating habitat and most things related to pheasants, including hunting them. I play by the rules and think everyone else should also, this is not just in hunting, in all aspects of life. I try to do the right thing. I consider myself a conservationist and a person with ethics & integrity. Ya, I am not a perfect person, as if I were, I might not have hit the "post relpy" after you calling me out to do yourself damage control or whatever you are doing. Depending how you see this post, maybe I let my integerty slip a bit. That is who I am, don't expect a relpy to whatever you want to post about me next. I guess I just am following your pot-shot with my own, quite immature. I had a gut full of it and now I need to sign out and re-adjust my forum attitude. I can easily get a bit wound-up and maybe too much caffeine today.

Remy, regarding not observing possession limits, I have no clue what you’re talking about. That’s crazy. Bottom line, your agenda is pretty clear, you do you…I’m not everyone’s cup of tea here, nor do I want to be. I’ve made some friends here, I enjoy that, and frankly some of them likely will end up being pretty close friends. I hope you’re a happier person in reality than you come across here, at least to me. If I’m guilty of anything, I spend too much time here and am not reluctant to share aspects of my hunting life, and life in general. Who I am is who I am. Clearly you’re not a fan, that’s fine…feeling is mutual. I enjoy a great # of the participants here, there’s some good dudes here…they make it worthwhile. Hope 2026 is a good year for you and your family, your farming, your hunting, etc. Don’t read my posts…ignore them, block them, or whatever it’s called. The funniest thing you reference in your post regards my bs’ng my farmer friends in SD…they’re as close of friends as I have anywhere…farmers are pretty good judge of character…I think, anyway…I’ve known these folks over 25 years, some over 30.,,you evidently know better…not shocking. You’re probably a great dude…husband, father, son, brother, friend, etc, etc…I hope so. If I generally rub people the wrong way, I won’t post so much or so candidly..,if it’s not perfectly clear, I have no life outside of my bird hunting!. I think about it 24/7, and this place is one of the only outlets to chat about it with like-minded hunters. Let me know, I’m ok not being active here…Remy is probably on to something… I
am full of faults and shortcomings and character flaws, that I can guarantee you… Thanks for teaching me post pics…very easy, and I enjoy it… Last thing (yeah right!)—my mentioning of my sharing ribs, salmon, pies, baked goods, and pheasant, is simply to point out that it’s my nature, so it’s not difficult for me to use up my birds…that’s all. Besides my birds I have from my recent trip, I have 6 or 7 in the freezer. But go ahead and allege that I’m over the limit, that I don’t observe the law, blah, blah, blah. Like I have noted here on 11/3/25, and again today, the MN DNR confirmed that I’m legal…but go ahead and contradict them if you feel so inclined….

 

[benelli-banger]

Having been publicly smeared (wrongly) regarding observing game laws, specifically limits, I’m wracking my brain about Remy’s assertion; I recall a thread that concerned ruffed grouse #’s in NE MN, where I live; I commented on the amazing #’s in ‘23, though I may have incorrectly referenced ‘24. In that post, I stated that bird #’s were so high, “nobody paid attention to limits”, and what I meant, and clarified soon after in the thread, was that hunters got limits so commonly that year, nobody paid much attention to the feat, which normally would be the case. I also stated that I’ve never shot a limit of ruffed grouse (5), I think 3 is the most I’ve shot on a walk. I know some serious ruffed grouse hunters, and they seem to do well most days, in most years. I don’t bushwhack…I’m afraid of getting lost. Beyond that discussion, I have no idea what Remy is talking about. Come to think of it, I think Remy was the one who questioned me about the ruffed grouse comment, and I explained the semantic misunderstanding. I own land in SD, which happens to be in close proximity to a ginormous amount of new CREP ground in the past two years, which has attracted LOTS of hunters, and the warden as well. I love shooting roosters, and wouldn’t jeopardize that by not observing limits. I know of hunters houses that have been checked, as well as motel rooms. There are times I’m doing the counting as we’re hunting in a group…just how it goes. Never been busted for anything hunting or fishing related. I’m open to character attacks, pointing out my faults, that I rub people the wrong way, etc. If I’ve professed to being indifferent to game limits, let me know. I think this allegation regarded ruffed grouse, and how easy/common limits were for many hunters in ‘23, and nobody paid much attention to those feats of getting 5 in a day, as it was pretty common that year…which was a strange year for a population peak, fwiw. This was in the thread titled “Please!…I’m dying here!”…my comment was 8/19/25…I replied to it just now, should be up near the top…in SD section….

 

[Wind River]

Never judge a man until you have walked in his shoes. There is a seat at my table for you BB. God Bless
My grandfather would say, Don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see. It is the people we meet in our lives that make life special.

 

[benelli-banger]

Never judge a man until you have walked in his shoes. There is a seat at my table for you BB. God Bless
My grandfather would say, Don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see. It is the people we meet in our lives that make life special.

Thank you! Amen…

 

[birddude]

I'm staying out of it but I will say that I don't agree with freezing kitties! And what's WWRD mean?

 

[benelli-banger]

I think for a long while people have worn jewelry, clothing, etc, that has “WWJD?” on it…”what would Jesus do?”…so, in this case, I’ve substituted an R for the J. Freezing kitty’s? Try it, it’s effective…slows them down, dumbs them down…we’re not able to keep up with them like we used to…15-20 minutes, about right…

 

[benelli-banger]

We make sure we know where the cats are when we open the doors to the house, the freezer or the frig…especially the kittens…they’re good at slipping by. I was carrying that little guy yesterday when I went downstairs to open the freezer…he may like the chilly air, I found him outside in early December kind of hunkered down in a snow drift…he and one of my dogs had a bit of a Mexican stand off,,,about the size of a tennis ball…

 

[2point]

WTF, boy did this thread take a weird turn. BB seems like a great guy on here. Maybe somebody is jealous because he gets to hunt so much and is very successful. Who knows??

 

[benelli-banger]

Here’s a text pic I just received a few minutes ago from one of my farmer pals out in SD…”only 2 days left” was the title of his text…hunted with small-medium sized groups of his 4-5 times this season….he has land that abuts the land where we stay, he swings in many evenings when he’s in the area working or bow hunting, his passion….5,6,7 years ago I’d routinely take their lab and keep him for several days at my place and hunt him…great dog! Many fabulous hunts with him…nice to have another dog in the rotation. They’d stop over many evenings to visit us…they liked that he was getting hunted…great dog, now old and infirm…

 

[benelli-banger]

The wife is a vet, just works on their own herd, but she’s very helpful when main clinic is closed. One of my dogs got into some terrible burrs in November…Pam has a great brush, and helped us big-time! The bbcue ribs come in handy…I smoke pork shoulder quite a bit, she’s a recipient, a big fan. Great people…

 

[3birds]

I get checked about every other year in Kansas. Never in SD, never even seen one.

You may not have seen them but they probably saw you. Very common practice in South Dakota is to observe from a distance with a spotting scope.
A lot of COs will not waste time interrupting honest hunts. Do something wrong and you'll get acquainted with the boys in brown.

 

[benelli-banger]

WTF, boy did this thread take a weird turn. BB seems like a great guy on here. Maybe somebody is jealous because he gets to hunt so much and is very successful. Who knows??

I was accused by Remy of being over the limit, per some misguided understanding or interpretation that he evidently has, despite this being discussed on 11/3/25 in a different thread, in which I reported my findings after calling the MN DNR, and clarifying what I can possess in my freezer, based on the 3 states I’m licensed in. She chuckled at the question. We’re in the 5th month now of the SD season, not hard to use birds up….i have the 15 I just returned with, and 6-7 between the 2 bags in my freezer. I enjoy sharing lots of things, including cooked or raw pheasant. I’m periodically on the receiving end of walleye…love it…and salmon and halibut…love it! I periodically get DM’d here and do my best to give tips or advice…I enjoy it. I’m not attempting to be a “pillar” here, just as happy to be pilloried, as long as I’m able to chat with a few friends here and kill time between hunts, or hunting seasons…good luck to you all this year, fingers crossed for a good carryover and a good hatch! Good health to us all, including our 4 legged heroes!

 

[benelli-banger]

I have friends that catch lots of lake trout on Lake Superior and lake Nipigon, many are brought up from very deep water, and are released…they catch lots of fish….not sure, but I would guess that’s detrimental to the population of lake trout…these are often pretty big females…very big females. Last time I checked, shooting roosters is helpful to the bird population…sure, pushing them out of their roost before dark in very cold or inclement weather isn’t good…generally not something I do, but the good news is that there’s lots of great roost cover nearby to most all our spots…no distance of any sort to move to. Good news this year, and last, and maybe ‘23 (can’t recall), we didn’t have any snow to contend with, nor did the birds.