Tag your animal immediately!

[thorhunt]

On another note the article said they were on a neighbors land. I might be mistaken but even a warden needs permission to enter private property at least that was my understanding. Did he just go onto the land without such?

I've heard of one major land owner in that area just waiting to catch that warden on his land, they've rubbed elbows in the past!!!

 

[Zach]

Good thing he wasn't African American, he probably would have been shot or strangled.

Wow.... I expect something like that from Jose...

 

[lucky guy]

Just FYI, not very hard to carry a small roll of electrician tape to attach a tag, which would solve your problem.

Nylon ties work great, waterproof too. I always make a small slit and put a fresh round into the carcass if I'm leaving part of it for the second trip so I can prove it's mine if someone else tries to claim it.

 

[Big Sky]

This all kind'a reminds me why I enjoy hunting big game less and less, and this from someone that was obsessed with it for nearly 40 years. Anymore when I hunt, I enjoy coyote hunting the most. Not many rules or hassle. The whole situation with the old guy and his elk just turns my stomach. I don't care what the letter of the law says, IT WAS HANDLED POORLY. Right is right and wrong is wrong, it was handled wrong.

 

[RobG]

As mentioned above... you don't have to leave all that nasty stuff on there, just a portion. I usually leave a small portion of the penis attached to one hind quarter, the rest is chucked. Its easy to do, and no more clean/dirty than the rest of the carcass. It runs between the rear legs, and if you're careful you can even get a piece to stay on each hind quarter.

The tube under the skin... This is a good idea.

 

[glass eye]

First time I ever hunted in AZ. I had spent too much time taking photos and measurements of a javelina for a life-size mount. I had not removed it from the kill site and I had not put a knife to it yet. Game Warden walks up and wants to ticket me for not tagging the animal. The more I tried to convince him I wasn't a poacher, the more dead-set he was to ticket me. He kept trying to get his partner on the radio for his opinion but couldn't get a signal. Finally I told him to just write me the ticket and we could be on our way. He says " So now you want a ticket ?.....I say "No, but nothing I say is going to change your mind, so let's be done with this"
So then he gives me a ride to my camp and doesn't ticket me.

I still take field pics before tagging because I don't like seeing a tag in the photo, but now I'm a little quicker about it.

However, I heard that some are getting fined for posting online brag shots without a tag attached. Don't know if that is true or not but I don't doubt it.

 

[Southwind]

Kansas regs say must be tagged at kill site which leaves a lot of interpretation.

I was turkey hunting and was scouting some new public hunting when we spotted a small flock with a couple of nice Tom's working their way through some tall grass. The ground was such it was a very god stalkable situation so I baled out of the truck and snuck in to set up for a bushwhack.

My brother in law stayed in the truck so not to spook the birds with too many bodies trying to sneak in. It played out this time and I ended up shooting a nice tripled beard bird.

As I am walking out I see another truck parked behind mine and a guy talking to my brother in law. In my haste I left my turkey vest in the truck and my tag was in my vest. I get back to the truck and the guy is admiring my bird and talking about the stalk as I pull my vest out and tag my bird, He then pulls out his badge and informs me he is a Fish and Game officer and had watched the whole hunt from a hill above. He then said had I not immediately tagged the bird he would have given me a citation and that technically the kill site was where it lay dead.

He was real cool about it all and I told him that I normally tag as he said but thought I was still o.k. because I hadn't left the kill site. He admitted it was up to some interpretation but always recommended tagging where it lay. He had been watching this flock because they traveled back and forth from public to private and were real visible on the private land.

Most of the fish and game officers I have run into in the field have been real professionals, I even had one give me phone numbers of private land owners to call for permission to hunt.

I kind of think the presence of the film crew had an influence on the situation and it certainly didn't warrant the outcome it got.

 

[double_a85]

I agree with the above posts mentioning the camera had something to do with it. When I read the article, there was no intent to do anything wrong and even the county attorney felt that way.

I have rolled thru a game check with all these cameras, had no game in the pickup but for some reason they still made me feel like a criminal. I have always had great relationships with game wardens both professionally and in the field... but I think the cameras and the TV show add a very negative dimension to the enforcement.

 

[FishN4Eyes]

While I think the warden could have handled this particular case better as there didn't appear to be ill-intent, wardens have to deal with a lot of bad situations and I'm guessing it creates a little cynicism on their part.

I'm sure they've heard every story and excuse in the book and unfortunately, there are a lot of slob hunters out there.

Most wardens I've had contact with do a good job and if you have all your ducks in a row you usually don't have a thing to worry about.

That is a thankless job and there is a shortage of wardens so I tip my hat to those guys that do it and thank goodness we have them out there, wish there were more of them.

Some of the stuff I see just makes me shake my head sometimes.

 

[DRAFTSTUD]

IMO, Anytime one of those shows points a Camera at me I should have the option of saying "Please turn the Camera off" and it should be done. If they show me as an outlaw and I go to court and prove I am not, that little discalimer at the end will not make people forget the Warden's words and emotions. Maybe you should have Antler Tags, and 4 Meat bag tags. As long as one is notched and they all match numerically then you would be fine. John

 

[NoWiser]

Pretty low of that Game Warden. A simple warning would have been more than sufficient to educate him on the law. If I was in the guy's shoes I wouldn't even want the antlers back as they'd just reminded me of the whole situation. I think he is owed a major apology and possibly a 2015 elk tag, on the house. I have a hard time imagining this same scenario being played out had there NOT been a cameraman involved.

 

[sbhooper]

While I think the warden could have handled this particular case better as there didn't appear to be ill-intent, wardens have to deal with a lot of bad situations and I'm guessing it creates a little cynicism on their part.

I'm sure they've heard every story and excuse in the book and unfortunately, there are a lot of slob hunters out there.

Most wardens I've had contact with do a good job and if you have all your ducks in a row you usually don't have a thing to worry about.

That is a thankless job and there is a shortage of wardens so I tip my hat to those guys that do it and thank goodness we have them out there, wish there were more of them.

Some of the stuff I see just makes me shake my head sometimes.

This is correct. There is the letter of the law and there is the intent. If the intent is to comply, then a little common sense has to take over on the warden's part. I see them do stuff all the time on that TV show, that I am sure would have been treated differently without the damn camera making them famous. Disgusting.

 

[Sioux33]

Wow, what a crock. Seems like the hunting version of getting ticketed going 57 in a 55. Pretty sure a warning would've been good enough. Just no common sense anymore these days. Good grief.

 

[The Hedgehog]

Bummer losing an animal for something like that. The hunter is unlikely to win any legal fight, because technically he broke the law.

You can't believe everything you read and there's always more to the story. Maybe the warden really is a total DB -- but maybe he walked up there (just doing his job) and said, "Hey you're supposed to put your tag on it right away.." Maybe the hunter gave the warden a ration of lip, and it escalated from there. Who knows. Having had to suck it up and take my lumps in the past, I'll say it's best to have your ducks are in a row. They do like to write tickets, I'd bet especially to guys with an attitude.

 

[belly-deep]

Wow, what a crock. Seems like the hunting version of getting ticketed going 57 in a 55. Pretty sure a warning would've been good enough. Just no common sense anymore these days. Good grief.

Cuz you waz doin' 55 in a 54....

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Bummer losing an animal for something like that. The hunter is unlikely to win any legal fight, because technically he broke the law.

You can't believe everything you read and there's always more to the story. Maybe the warden really is a total DB -- but maybe he walked up there (just doing his job) and said, "Hey you're supposed to put your tag on it right away.." Maybe the hunter gave the warden a ration of lip, and it escalated from there. Who knows. Having had to suck it up and take my lumps in the past, I'll say it's best to have your ducks are in a row. They do like to write tickets, I'd bet especially to guys with an attitude.

It wasn't anything we read! This was televised on the weekly show "Wardens" and it was easy to see everything that went on and like everyone stated, the guy got screwed by a GW that used no common sense or discretion.

 

[tjones]

It wasn't anything we read! This was televised on the weekly show "Wardens" and it was easy to see everything that went on and like everyone stated, the guy got screwed by a GW that used no common sense or discretion.

Has this episode been on TV yet? If I read the story right he shot the elk on opening day this season.

 

[The Hedgehog]

You gotta consider the source Tony.

 

[----]

......

 

[noharleyyet]

"Our videographers are trained to be a fly on the wall and stay out of the way," Petrie said. "There's no pressure to produce anything."

....bridge for sale.