Fish & Wildlife Officer discretion

Greywolf2 · #1 10-31-2013, 05:54 PM

I read the tread started by Anorthernhunter, "Have you been stopped by F & W Lately" which reminded me of the last time I had been stopped by Fish & Wildlife.

In 2007 my son, TJ, was drawn for antlered mule deer. We got out several times during the season and had passed up several smaller bucks and seen some nice bucks but had not been able to get into position for a shot. On November 30th, the last day of the season, we went out for one last try. It was -30 when we left the truck in the morning.

About an hour after legal shooting light we spotted a nice buck across the valley and decided to try to get closer. As we walked quietly toward the valley bottom we spotted two different bucks feeding in a clearing about 250 yards away. Both were respectable bucks and appeared to be identical.

TJ sat in the snow and lined up on one buck across his knees while I spotted. When TJ shot both bucks jumped and ran out of sight through some poplars then immediately appeared again. TJ and I both thought he had hit the buck but now we could not tell which one he had shot at. We continued to watch them for a minute or two when I noticed the front one had a slight limp and told TJ, “The front one.” TJ fired again and the buck went down.

We walked up to him as the sun came over the ridge and began to take the chill out of the air. He was a beautiful trophy with a perfectly even rack. I eventually scored him at 170 with no deductions. We took lots of photos, dressed him out and tagged him then began to walk out to get a quad as he was over two miles from the truck.

By the time we got back with the quad it had turned into a bright and sunny day and was now a balmy -10. We dragged the buck out to the truck loaded the quad then lifted the buck in beside the quad. That was when I noticed that the tag was no longer attached to his back leg and had obviously been torn off somewhere during the trip to the truck.

TJ and I discussed our options but in the end decided to drive home with the buck. My famous last words were, “I haven’t been stopped by Fish and Wildlife for years.” We drove less than a kilometer rounded a corner and saw the overhead lights come on and the Fish and Wildlife officer get out of his truck and flag us over.

My first impression of the officer was that he was friendly and professional. I explained the situation to him and showed him the hole in the hide where the tag had been. I then had a thought and told him, “We took a couple dozen photos. I bet one will show the tag.” We then went through all of the photos on my camera together, most showing TJ’s big wide grin, but none showing the tag.

The officer then took out his note pad and began writing. After a minute he handed me a piece of paper. “Here’s my name and badge number and a note explaining that I’ve examined the deer. If you get stopped again on your way home, just give them the note.” The officer then sent us on our way with a smile and a friendly, “Have a good day.”

This situation could have been handled differently by the officer and maybe other officers would have handled it differently but every interaction I have ever had with Fish and Wildlife has been a positive one. This officer was professional, friendly and used common sense, understanding and his own discretion to settle the situation. TJ and I had a perfect hunting day together and with the officer’s help it ended that way. That day hunting is now remembered by us both as a great day together.

[/LEFT]

Rockman · #2 10-31-2013, 06:17 PM

Cool. Nice to hear the good stories and that F&W do use their discretion wisely and positively.

Evil69 · #3 10-31-2013, 06:47 PM

Thanks for sharing your story

Goes to show they aren't all pri*ks

Positive vibrations

High_N_Wide · #4 10-31-2013, 07:28 PM

Honestly, Fish and Wildlife officers have the most thankless job I can think of.

They don't really help anyone in trouble, they pull people over and do check stops and write tickets (sometimes). My hat goes off to them, I'm sure they get bitched at because someone missed the last 20min of legal light, or first 20 min of the day. Then those same people complain that there is not enough enforcement looking for poachers.

Tough gig, and to do it because you love the outdoors makes it even tougher since you are busy when you want to be in the field hunting for yourself.

Good job guys.

Zuludog · #5 10-31-2013, 07:30 PM

Good to hear. Let's hope this thread gets as many positive contributions as the negative threads do.

Mayhem42 · #6 10-31-2013, 08:08 PM

Great story, and am glad all went well. Congrats to you and your son

roper1 · #7 10-31-2013, 08:11 PM

Great story. Thanks for sharing

hayseed · #8 10-31-2013, 08:19 PM

Great story!!

I honestly thought that maybe TJ had also shot the other buck..lol..

Glad it worked out!!

rhuntley12 · #9 10-31-2013, 09:29 PM

I haven't run into any in Canada, but have when I lived in the States. Was never unpleasant. Have had them help change a flat tire, tell us where they had spotted/heard something was spotted.

Sledhead71 · #10 10-31-2013, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hayseed

Great story!!

I honestly thought that maybe TJ had also shot the other buck..lol..

Glad it worked out!!

Me too, good to hear such a positive story. My encounters have been far above average as well.

Bolete · #11 10-31-2013, 09:54 PM

It's nice to hear a positive story. It's a nice change to the reality I have experienced, at least in this country. When I lived in the US I got checked regularly while fishing, once even by a Sheriff - every time it was polite and professional.

peakseeker · #12 10-31-2013, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by High_N_Wide

Honestly, Fish and Wildlife officers have the most thankless job I can think of.

They don't really help anyone in trouble, they pull people over and do check stops and write tickets (sometimes). My hat goes off to them, I'm sure they get bitched at because someone missed the last 20min of legal light, or first 20 min of the day. Then those same people complain that there is not enough enforcement looking for poachers.

Tough gig, and to do it because you love the outdoors makes it even tougher since you are busy when you want to be in the field hunting for yourself.

Good job guys.

x2. Only ever had one bad incident where I can honestly say the guy had a chip on his shoulder, but every other encounter I have had has been very pleasant. I used to get stopped every year at the same place, not far from my place. Same old guy, I miss the conversations we used to have. I think that's why he'd stop me hahaha. Throwing a salute out to ponoka fish and wildlife

brownbomber · #13 10-31-2013, 10:29 PM

That's right on. I haven't had much for bad experiences either.

gphunter12 · #14 11-01-2013, 06:50 AM

awesome of the f & w officer to be understanding. congrats on the awesome buck

rokman · #15 11-01-2013, 07:29 AM

Great story - thought it was going to go south while reading it, and that when he pulled out his booklet, it was for a ticket.

My father shot his limit of grouse two years ago and as we do with all grouse, he pulls the guts out in the field to help keep the meat fresh. Unfortunately, on one grouse, the wings pulled off. This is where his dilemma began: He knews there would be people out there that would throw the grouse away, into a bush, forever to be forgotten about. He's as ethical as they come, however, and his reasoning is "I shot that bird; I will keep that bird." He was in an area with no cell service and could not call out to report his situation to any C.O.'s in the area. Unfortunately he ran into a C.O. later and was issued a ticket as the bird was deemed "unidentifiable." He hasn't hunted since as it was his first time ever getting a ticket while doing what he loves most. He thought he'd have the understanding C.O. while he was transporting his game back home. He asks me, "what was I suppose to do?" My reply: "You did the right thing. Don't let it bother you (which he can't help; it bothers him.) Sometimes... sh*t happens."

He went out that morning prepared for an amazing day of bird hunting. He came home with the gut-wrenching feeling of being a bad hunter and he hasn't talked about bird hunting the same since. Those are the facts that I wanted to share.

Very happy to hear you had this positive experience. That's how it should have been handled.

Lefty-Canuck · #16 11-01-2013, 07:33 AM

In the future if the wings pull off, retain them with the breast....both of them, explaining what happened, by the colour of the breast meat , feather pattern on the wing, and the effort to retain the wings I would hope most CO's would be a bit understanding.

Too bad that incident soured you fathers hunting experiences.

LC

H380 · #17 11-01-2013, 07:39 AM

Great story and beauty of a buck . A tip for dragging out game .. we drag with tagged leg on top side wrapped in a cloth / t-shirt . Never had a problem with it coming off .

Lefty-Canuck · #18 11-01-2013, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H380

Great story and beauty of a buck . A tip for dragging out game .. we drag with tagged leg on top side wrapped in a cloth / t-shirt . Never had a problem with it coming off .

What we started doing that works really well is on the side you have tagged....carefully skin a little bit up the leg only on one side just above the tendon....it makes a little Pocket that you can tuck your tag up inside to keep it out of harms way.

LC

rokman · #19 11-01-2013, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

In the future if the wings pull off, retain them with the breast....both of them, explaining what happened, by the colour of the breast meat , feather pattern on the wing, and the effort to retain the wings I would hope most CO's would be a bit understanding.

Too bad that incident soured you fathers hunting experiences.

LC

Cheers to that.

H380 · #20 11-01-2013, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

What we started doing that works really well is on the side you have tagged....carefully skin a little bit up the leg only on one side just above the tendon....it makes a little Pocket that you can tuck your tag up inside to keep it out of harms way.

LC

Good idea Lefty , I'm getting tired of going home without a shirt .. lol..

Pony · #21 11-01-2013, 07:04 PM

There is an awesome fish & wildlife guy out of Canmore. I ran into him a couple of times, once with a moose my buddy shot and he was totally professional and happy for our success. I ended up talking to him about the 410 bow zone and he brought out maps from his truck and showed us the good areas and all the borders to be careful about

Totally awesome! Respect the wildlife, respect the rules and this is what you can expect

Cheers to our conservation officers!

gatorhunter · #22 11-01-2013, 07:11 PM

Sounds like a normal game warden story to me. He's a hunter and knows what can go wrong.

As for the other incident with the grouse...tough call on that one. Too bad the old fella didn't think to bring the rest of the bird with him.