Hunter/Game Warden relationships

[EspressoBuzz]

Wow! My eyes is burnin! I wondered how long before it turned anti cop, warden or Gov't.

 

We are The Wardens, The Cops and The Gov't and they are US! The same percentage of idiots and asswipes in the general population are represented in our Officials. I've never had a bad experience with wardens, and my share of tickets from cops that if I'm honest with myself I've earned. So why are we haters? Because they most often catch us when we are being our laziest? Breaking a rule because we think no one is watching or its just this one time or worse yet because we deem it a stupid rule? Yes, mistakes are made, we all make them, i'd rather my warden make a honest mistake than my brain surgeon when he's taking out the tumor this thread is causing!

[dbHunterNY]

I think wardens get a bad rep because they're always looking to write tickets.  never stop to ask a land owner how things are going or hunters how the season is going.  it's always interrogative questions.  makes sense people would feel uneasy around them.  I've never had problems with them but I don't do anything wrong and buy a super-sportsman every year to hunt every season (except waterfowl).  never heard of biologists with boots on the ground around here and the ECOs don't ask any questions to give them any info.  lot of people think all they do is write tickets.

[Sab]

Not really a fan too much. It seems that even when I've done everything I can to show them respect, such as putting my gun or bow down, keeping my hands in plain sight and walking away from it to show I clearly had no interest in anyone getting nervous (me or them) they still seem to be on a power trip. Sorry if it hurts peoples feeling here to hear that but that's how I see it. BTW I've been ticketed once in 34 years of hunting and that was years ago when I was younger, nothing the last 20 plus years yet I still get treated like a "suspect" and not just a guy enjoying the day afield hunting

[Terry]

I have only had two interactions with wardens. Both on state property, and both times they were easy to deal with. The last time the guy talked guns with me for 15 minutes up to Happy Valley WMA.

[pointman]

The only incident I  ever had with  DEC officer was back in 1970.  I was an  off duty police officer at the time and was hunting in the Ithaca area.  It began to snow very heavy and decided to stop hunting.  I unloaded my shotgun and proceded to walk on a dirt road heading toward my vehicle. On this road I hear a vehicle approaching me with a DEC officer inside.  He stopped alongside me and asked for my license. I said you got to be kidding.  He said he was not.  I complied but asked him to get of the vehicle if I was going to get wet so should he. He got out, checked my license and left.

[nyantler]

I notice that most people who have a problem with any law enforcement officers.. seem to have had many problems with them... multiple tickets that, off course, per their account were unjustified... my experiences have been that most officers would rather not have to do the paperwork involved with issuing a bogus ticket... unless of course maybe you were giving the officer some reason not to like you or your attitude... I make it a point to be compliant with game laws or laws in general... if I didn't know the law and didn't know I was breaking a law I would simply tell the officer that and also tell him that I understand that I was wrong and would completely understand if he decided to write me a ticket.. ignorance is no excuse for the law.

 

I have encountered the occasional "chest puffer" officer who starts out with the "I'm authority" attitude... but usually I kill their attitude with kindness... I find that they stop with that attitude when you show them what a more pleasant one looks like.

[nyantler]

The only incident I  ever had with  DEC officer was back in 1970.  I was an  off duty police officer at the time and was hunting in the Ithaca area.  It began to snow very heavy and decided to stop hunting.  I unloaded my shotgun and proceded to walk on a dirt road heading toward my vehicle. On this road I hear a vehicle approaching me with a DEC officer inside.  He stopped alongside me and asked for my license. I said you got to be kidding.  He said he was not.  I complied but asked him to get of the vehicle if I was going to get wet so should he. He got out, checked my license and left.

Why would you think he was kidding? A hunter carrying a gun walking down the road during a snow storm? Why would he not want to make sure you had a license?

[rj23nyr]

Cool thread, I have only seen an ECO once in the field.  I was hiking in the Adirondacks and my dog was off-leash.  The officer was very nice and friendly, liked dogs, and stopped to chat for a while.  He got to talk to us about what we had seen that day and it reminded me of when people talk about cops "walking the beat" back in the "old days." 

 

I guess if he didn't like dogs or was having a bad day, I could've gotten a ticket though.  Then I'd either be complaining that the game wardens never cut anyone a break or I'd say I broke the law and deserved it. 

[DeerDuck]

I've never had a bad dealing with them, whether I was hunting or fishing. Most of the ones I've come across hunt and fish. I also don't do stupid or illegal crap. I have had 1 ask me about the salt water license while fishing the local dock with my 6 yr old, even though we were throwing everything back, and never asked the other fisherman from South of the Border for anything.....

Last season, an ECO walked about 10 yards under my stand , I whistled , he was surprised. I asked if he. Emended me to comedown and check my license. He then replayed , nope, I don't want to mess your hunt up and left the same way he came in.

[stoneam2006]

I got one about a sherif not game warden...but before this safe act BS happened I was shooting with my old man out in field behind his house in canandaigua we were shooting AR AK and a highpoint when 2 sherif cars pulled up and started walking out in field....we unloaded and shouldered the rifles. They asked for Id and proceeded to tell us we were doing everything right and legal shooting downhill into a backstop. The one sherif asked me to take a look at the AK as he had never seen one of course being a gun guy I handed him it unloaded and he ran the action and looked down the sights and said he liked it. I had a nice long conversation about parts kits and how I built it and he was very impressed overall a very nice experience with the local leo.