How prevalant are Game wardens?

In Colorado two teenage girls camp near by maybe sisters hunting deer one girl shoots one it runs over a hill they go after it on the other side of the hill a older man sees the gun shot deer and shoots it dead the girls soon show up the man askes if one of them shot it one girls said yes .The man told them he was more camping then hunting and that he did have a hunting licenses and they should tag it and take the deer. They pack it to camp they where so happy and could not wait to go home and show there parents there deer. short time later the game warden shows up after the older man shared the story with the warden .

The older man got a ticket for not tagging the deer he killed and the one girl got a ticket and lost the deer .
 
another instance

Just remembered, I was checked once in AR coming out of the woods late in bow season. So that's checked twice in 48 yrs. I was stopped on USFS land as I left the area on FS roads.

There was some comment about "open fields doctrine", which is a component of the search & seizure law and the 4th Amendment..... your constitutional rights. There are also some law phrases typically associated 4th issues, open view and plain sight.

Note that depending on how your respective state game/conservation laws are written, a WCO or game warden my have MORE search discretion than a typical LEO (or vice cop). When in the act of hunting or fishing, your vehicle, gear, etc, MAY be "open for inspection" to the officer. A WCO/warden MAY be able to look/search, absent what is typically considered probable cause necessary for a search of a vehicle or ones person. Depends on your state law. I cannot say if that latitude can extend to residences and other outbuildings, but seems as if I have heard in some states it can.
 
There's more to that story, I'm sure.
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sounds like plenty of opportunity to get tickets. especially if NM has the same "no party hunting" rules as ID. telling a GW that you shot an animal and didn't tag it, is one way to get a ticket, telling another person to tag it is another, and tagging an animal that you didn't shoot, while not-necessarily illegal in most states is considered *gasps* unethical to many hunters. any decent game warden might have acknowledged that the man was helping out by putting down a suffering animal and that the animal was tagged and not left to rot, and let both parties off with a warning, but that's not to say the warden wasn't having a bad day or was just an %(^$&*(^$&*^$ to begin with.
 
sounds like plenty of opportunity to get tickets. especially if NM has the same "no party hunting" rules as ID. telling a GW that you shot an animal and didn't tag it, is one way to get a ticket, telling another person to tag it is another, and tagging an animal that you didn't shoot, while not-necessarily illegal in most states is considered *gasps* unethical to many hunters. any decent game warden might have acknowledged that the man was helping out by putting down a suffering animal and that the animal was tagged and not left to rot, and let both parties off with a warning, but that's not to say the warden wasn't having a bad day or was just an %(^$&*(^$&*^$ to begin with.
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I don't see party hunting.
Based on the limited information presented in the story, I see:
One person shoots deer.
Deer runs.
Some one else shoots deer.
Deer dies.
Both parties meet.
First party says, "hey, that's my deer."
Second party says, "cool. I don't want a gut-shot deer, anyway."
First party tags it.
Second party walks away.
First party goes back to camp/home.

Two people legally shot it. (Assuming the story is complete and accurate...)
Only one can tag it.

What do you suggest, cutting it in half?...
 
I'm not sure there's an actual written law on the topic but in NY it was always understood that the animal is supposed to belong to the person who fired the first "immediately fatal" shot. They even teach the concept in hunters education.

A gut shot deer that was later killed (presumptively by a properly placed shot) by 2nd person, would belong to the 2nd person. Now, in NY it's no law. Whoever wants to tag it can tag it. Somebody has to, but as long as one of the two tag it, there is no violation.

It's hard for me to believe this is a CO law. I've never seen any reference to it in the past and can find no mention of it now.

How could such a law be enforced? What if both shots had been "immediately fatal"? Who can tag the animal? Who can't? It doesn't make sense.
 
Co Party Hunt law as follows, kill some else's game or let someone kill yours. You need deer tag here to kill buck/doe and those are draw tags.

You really only have 2nd or 3rd hand account on what happened.

If you don't have tag it's Poaching. Co doesn't cover killing wounded big game animal and I would assume if I was to do that I'd have tag and tag it other wise I'd call DOW let them handle. They do cover Accidental Killing and how to handle that.

Before we had draw tag DOW figure that they put in 4 pt or better for bucks and normally the do change for 5yrs. The great hunters killed more forked horned/3pt and just left to rot than 4pt and DOW cancel 4pt or better after 2yrs.
 
I have hunted here in Alabama for 30+ years. Never seen one other than at a game-check station. Never encountered one actually out in the woods. My elderly dad got "busted" last year for shooting doves over a baited field (they had no clue the guy had put out some the day before) but we were pretty sure someone called that one in.

Jaughtman
 
I have a GW (Dawson) where I hunt elk and mule deer who I talk with on a regular basis. Dawson will often times go find a youth or first time Hunter and put them on a deer or elk. He's an avid outdoorsman and he loves to see people successful especially the kids. However, he has a job to do and if you're doing things wrong he's going to do his job.

From my interactions with Game Wardens they're just trying to do their job, and they want to do it in a pleasant and friendly manner for the most part. I'm sure you can catch one on an off day or if you're having an off day things can go south.

Other than Dawson most of my interactions with the GWs have been at check stations for pronghorn, and one time duck and dove hunting. Never had any issues with them and never felt like they were out to get me. All any of them ever did was check my license and check my firearms to make sure I wasn't transporting a chambered round in my rifle/shotgun and to make sure I had a plug in the shotgun.
 
Taylorce1
I've lived in Colorado 70 years and have never seen a "check station." Where does the CPW locate check stations? How do they identify hunters, or is every vehicle required to stop?
 
The only one I've been at is the one they set up opening weekend of rifle pronghorn season at the intersection of CO highways 71 and 94. They stop every vehicle much like a DUI checkpoint. However, they didn't do one there this last year for some reason, but we also didn't have the hunters in the GMU that I hunt that they have had in the past.
 
they are similar to the check stations set up for boats to check for mussels. in ID they normally use slow vehicle pullouts, temporary weigh stations, or chainup areas and set up signs directing all hunters to stop (with or without game). the video double naught found is an example of a larger one, but that's essentially what they look like everywhere that does them. usually they post them at choke points (one road in, one road out) like highway 95 just north of Riggins, Highway 12 east of Lewiston. I normally hunt fairly close to home so I don't have to worry much, but last year I went on a trip farther from home than usual and I had to submit to a stop on my way home.
 
What tahunua describes is about all I've encountered in Idaho and Wyoming, except that those check stations in Wyoming were set up at low speed choke points or major intersections, with wardens actively watching traffic and actively flagging down hunters (aside from generous signage telling all hunters to stop).

In Utah, however, I've encountered the 'DUI' style check points where major dirt roads tie back into highways, and they stop every vehicle - at least long enough to just peak through windows or into the truck bed, to see if the person may have been hunting.

In any of the above states, they will come after you (if they have the manpower available) if they see evidence of a game animal, or enough evidence that you were likely hunting, but you don't stop at the check point. I've seen them do so in Utah and Wyoming. And...


In a previous post, I said I hadn't ever stopped at a check point in Idaho. That's true, but I did encounter a warden from one once. Coming home from a family member's hunt in Utah, a couple years ago, there was a check station (I think more for CWD inspection) set up just inside the Idaho border. I blew past it, since I wasn't hunting (and hadn't been) ... even though I had hunter orange visible and a pack frame strapped to a 4-wheeler in the back of a muddy truck. (For anyone that has traveled northbound on I-15 into Idaho, over the last 7-8 years, this was at the rest area that doubles as the watercraft inspection location, and has a dozen signs on the highway indicating such.)

I stopped at the gas station in Malad, ID (about 6 miles further up the highway). As my son and I were getting out to pump gas, a Fish and Game truck pulled in behind me. Summarized exchange from memory:
F&G: "What are you doing, dude?"
Me: --"Gittin' some gas. What's up?"
F&G: "You blew the check point. You know that's a [some monetary amount]-dollar ticket, right?"
--"I wasn't hunting."
F&G: "It sure looks like you were."
--"Yes. Yes, it does. That's fair. But I wasn't. I was in Utah providing use of my 4-wheeler and on standby as a pack mule in case an elk was dropped by family."
F&G: "You mind if I poke around a bit and take a look? Do you have any firearms, besides the one on your belt?"
--"Yea, there's a loaded revolver there and a rifle with a full magazine behind the seat [motioning to where they were]. You can look all you want, as long as you start here..."
I grabbed a fuel receipt out of the driver's door pocket, showing that I had been in Heber City, UT (150 miles away) about 2.5 hours prior.

We exchanged a few words, and then pleasantries. And then he took his leave without digging further, after saying, "next time, tell the story at the check station, please; so we don't have to chase you down for it."
 
reynolds357 said:
You might want to learn search and seizure law. You are a bit off on your "facts." As retired L.E. with most my time in vice, I know my facts. Study "open fields doctrine." Me and the rabbit sheriff are close personal friends. I am not running him down, I am stating a fact about him.
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Yep, I know about "open field doctrine". It's explained by the local warden at most every Hunter Safety class I help with. Still for the most part, a warden(at least around here) does not enter private property unless there is just cause. Such as someone reporting something or they witness something themselves. You don't see them entering private property regularly just to check licenses. Most(again around here) are way too busy for such trivial things.

I'm too am a close personal friend of a local retired warden. Was friends with him for most of his active career. Like regular LEO, folks either love 'em or hate 'em. Most of the time it relates to how they've been treated by them in the past, or how much respect they have for game laws/regs. Just like regular LEOs, you have a small percentage with a power trip going on, that get some form of enjoyment out of trying to make a major case against everyone. I've found tho, for the most part, most wardens(again, at least around here) work hard on not just enforcing the laws, but educating folks too(as is the case with our Hunter Safety classes). They also use discretion as to how to handle cases on an individual basis and they try to walk away from folks with a positive experience unless they have done something wrong.(and in that case it's hard). I don;t see them looking to make "big bucks" by nailing folks where it's easy. As in the case of opening day or when folks are standing shoulder to shoulder in a river, it goes back to what I said before.......they've picked a good stand. History and experience has taught them tis is where a high incidence of violating goes on, thus, a needed focus. Kinda lie when the Hell's Angles come to town and stop at a local watering hole. They generally get a little more focus from the local PD, than the weekend biker that stops at the same place.

Gotta be tough to work daily with folks that are generally carrying guns, and are generally not in a good mood when they see you walk up. Most of the time, those folks are on the defensive and have their hackles up. Nature of the beast. Those same folks tho are happy to see the same guy if they are lost, injured or have witnessed someone else violating where they hunt/fish. Kinda like the tax assessor. Folks are snibble it's too high, when they see their assessment and the amount of taxes they must pay, but, when they go to sell, for some reason they explain to a potential buyer, that the same assessment, is way too low.
 
Husqvarna said:
So my guilty pleasure now is North woods law, so yah "reality" TV :~\

130 game wardens in Maine according to Google


The concept of game wardens is totally alien to me. Atleast ones out patrolling

We have sorta equivalent but they are bureacrats mostly and each state only got a few.

How often do you encounter them in a regular hunting year?

When it comes to tags and such we selfreport. Bears they do come out to physically inspect it) and if a Wolf has been shot

Overall game management here is done by the state (the bureacrats I alluded to) But us hunters do the practical stuff ourself in our national and local orgs and landowners/hunting leasers.

Is there really as much poaching and hunting violations?

Sure we have a few big hunting crimes/cases a year in all of Sweden.. But 2017 there was about 2200 hunting crimes nationwide (but over half of that is hit and run game traffic collisions which falls into the category), all these small violations here are just not happening and/or glossed over, self policing if you will

How can it be so different?
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Haven't read every response, so someone may have already pointed this out: there are approximately 16 million hunters in the U.S. (as of 2014), or almost twice the entire population of Sweden. Or to be more precise, 15.8 million people bought a hunting tag in 2014.

I don't know how many hunters there are in Sweden, but I'm guessing it's a small percentage of the whole population. Bottom line, probability math assures us that the U.S. is just going to have more total infractions than Sweden.

For myself, I've run into at least two game wardens a year every year for the last dozen or so years, mostly while fishing. I'm glad to see them, as I often see people violating the fishing regs in the various states where I fish.

I also think we are seeing more hunting/fishing violations/poaching in recent years because many new hunters don't seem to have grown up hunting/fishing. In other words, they didn't have a mentor (a father/uncle/whoever) to teach them how to hunt/fish legally and responsibly. Of course, I could be wrong, but in mhy personal experiences, this seems to be the case.
 
Rangerrich99 said:
I also think we are seeing more hunting/fishing violations/poaching in recent years because many new hunters don't seem to have grown up hunting/fishing. In other words, they didn't have a mentor (a father/uncle/whoever) to teach them how to hunt/fish legally and responsibly. Of course, I could be wrong, but in mhy personal experiences, this seems to be the case.
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Your mileage may vary but...

From what I've seen, the "Good Ole Boys" club has consistently been among the worst and most blatant offenders I've ever seen. Those are the guys that don't even BUY a tag, say nothing of putting it on an animal. Same guys who "push" deer using drivers with bird shot in 12ga shotguns, to "keep the deer moving". The "young" of those groups usually take right after the old.

The guys new to the sport tend to be yuppy-ish and relatively sophisticated, with expensive clothes and even more expensive gear. Maybe a tad snobbish for my tastes, but I usually fit in better with them, not least of which because they tend to not be nearly the violators the previous generation is.
 
Brian, your post reminds me of the thing I hated most hunting in Utah - the "drivers" who roll boulders down the mountain to make deer move.
 
Colorado Redneck,I don't know if they still do,but for years they had a check station at Ted's Place,Livermore, at the junction of HWY 14 coming down out of Poudre Canyon and HWY US 287.

Generally,if you are driving a pickup or SUV,are wearing orange.have 4 days stubble,etc,you better stop. A camper profiles you pretty well,as does a trailer horses or 4 wheelers.

I think maybe a Prius or Mini-Cooper could pass through if it was not muddy and you weren'r wearing camo or orange.

There are roadway choke points in and out of National Forests,etc.
 
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