|
Post by hornharvester on Nov 4, 2012 15:03:54 GMT -5
I think sometimes those in the wrong tend to bend the truth a bit to make the ticket look like its not their fault.
Your attitude with the CO when approached will sometimes get you a ticket. Treat them like you would want to be treated and Im sure some of the "I wasn't doing anything wrong" stories would turn out better.
The last couple weeks Ive dealt directly with a CO concerning a stand placed by a neighbor on my property line, on my side and in an unsafe location. The CO has handled the situation in an outstanding manner. All involved are satisfied. h.h.
|
|
pwoller
Full Member
Cut Em!
Posts: 85
|
Post by pwoller on Nov 4, 2012 17:54:56 GMT -5
In hind site I should of asked him to show me the bait. I think he was bluffing because he gave up pretty quick and handed my license back and said be safe and have a good day no warning or anything.
Its weird because this spot is close to a town so I get checked a couple times a season and have always been treated just fine. I'm going to call tomorrow to have him point out the problem. Its a small property so there is a chance he thought I was in a differant area.
|
|
|
Post by firstwd on Nov 4, 2012 18:03:57 GMT -5
We found bait sites right on the property line last year, so us getting those questions would not have surprised me. It's an quick way to judge body language.
|
|
|
Post by jabba on Nov 4, 2012 18:58:12 GMT -5
The ticket was written for when the CO observed my friends in the canoe heading south on the river. The guns were uncapped, and they pulled their hoods over their orange hats to ward off the chill wind. It was pretty bitter that day. Later in the day... we were NORTH of the ramp, and they capsized their canoe. I was in a power boat both times, and we managed a water rescue of the men, but they lost their rifles to the river. The CO could not confiscate them... as the river already had. But he still wrote them a ticket for hunting without properly displayed orange from earlier in the day when we FIRST departed the ramp. He had NO WAY of knowing of their guns were capped or not, and simply took a guess that they were. And they were not.
Like I said... I would have fought it... But I am not afraid to go to court and argue it out.
Jabba
|
|
|
Post by esshup on Nov 4, 2012 19:00:28 GMT -5
There are good and bad in EVERY occupation. IMHO - the good COs FAR outnumber any bad ones.Usually the bad dont last long.. There is a citizen complaint process if you think you have been treated unfairly by an CO.. Woody, in my duck hunting buddys situation, the complaint process was used. They had reservations about using it, but after they got a phone call to verify some of the information, they found out that the DNR takes the complaint process seriously. In all the times that I've had interactions with a CO, only the one in Illinois was the bad one. Maybe becaue I had out-of state plates, I don't know. I agree with the body language and how you talk to them. His asking me if the gun was unloaded, me replying yes, then him seeing the "shells" in there was like watching a kid unwrap a Christmas present. When I pulled the "shells" out and he say the wooly mops, it was like the Christmas present turned into coal. It was only after that he saw the wooly mops that he said what he did about the gun case.
|
|
|
Post by jabba on Nov 4, 2012 19:06:01 GMT -5
We have hunting property near Shoals. When we started coming down there... the neighbors didn't like us much, and we got the DNR called on us A LOT. We were always clean, respectful, and friendly. They eventually stopped responding to complaints about us. Then... eventually the neighbors decided we were OK, and not just Indianapolis A$$holes.
Jabba
|
|
|
Post by woodswalker56 on Nov 5, 2012 6:36:34 GMT -5
There is always two sides to the story, and it seems that when/if we get to hear the "rest of the story" it is not quite what is originally spawned on this site. Sounds like there is a complaint process in place. If you have a real complaint use it.
|
|
|
Post by Boilermaker on Nov 5, 2012 8:30:36 GMT -5
I've never been checked...heck I've never even seen a CO while hunting. Maybe that means I'm hunting all the wrong places lol. I had a buddy get checked one time while duck hunting; he'd been on the White River down south of Columbus. He actually didn't have a plug in his gun at all; I guess his brother had used it to deer hunt and didn't put the plug back in, he was wrong in any case. The CO realized this and only gave him a warning and told him to fix it before he goes out again. I was more than shocked when I heard the story (because ya know, it's usually only the bad ones you hear); it's amazing what being polite and respectful will get you! I chuckle every time I pass one on the road because I know they're only gonna help me; and hopefully catch the guy down the road
|
|
|
Post by joeyb on Nov 5, 2012 9:10:00 GMT -5
Always had pretty good experiences. I play by the rules, so it always seems to be ok. Fishing this summer, my buddies trailer lights went out when we were leaving the lake. The CO pulled us over, and gave us field sobriety checks. Then just let us hook up the boat to my truck instead of my buddies (the lights worked on my truck). No tickets, he even helped us push the boat up to my truck. Been checked a few times duck hunting at Geist, but never had a problem. Always been fair.
There is a state cop that shoots his guns out at my buddies house. He always has good stories, and I guess since now that everyone has cell phones.... everyone calls the police about every little thing they see. Anyways some lady called in about a guy out in a field throwing dead geese out of the bed of his truck in the middle of a field. So he called a CO, and they met up at the field. When they went out to the guy in the truck they saw that he was throwing goose decoys into the field getting ready to hunt. I'm sure half of their job is dealing with stuff like that.
|
|
|
Post by Squealy on Nov 5, 2012 15:07:54 GMT -5
In general I've had less than great experiences with CO's....
During deer season several years ago, we had a CO check us three (YES 3) times for for hunting licences... He checked going into the the wood (HNF) one evening and was at our truck when we came out. And all of us have lifetime licences....
|
|
|
Post by jabba on Nov 5, 2012 18:29:19 GMT -5
Didn't that same CO write a kid a ticket for riding his 4 wheeler in the forestry because he rode in and got a guy out that was having a heart attack? Rode in and brought him out to the ambulance? Then the CO ticketed him?
Jabba
|
|
|
Post by Squealy on Nov 6, 2012 8:39:04 GMT -5
Didn't that same CO write a kid a ticket for riding his 4 wheeler in the forestry because he rode in and got a guy out that was having a heart attack? Rode in and brought him out to the ambulance? Then the CO ticketed him? From what I've been told, yes. Story is, guy bow hunting on HNF. Has a heart attack, help called. Local kid there on quad, kids dad (no relation to guy having heart attack), tells kid to go get the guy on his quad and bring him out to the ambulance. Ambulance shows up, CO shows up plus sheriff and such. Kid bring the the guy to the ambulance and they get the guy to the hospital, guy ends up OK. As soon as the ambulance leaves, the CO give the the kid (teenager) a ticket for riding on the government land. Apparently the kids dad and the CO got in to it at that point. Dad ended up in jail. Finally it went to court and the judge threw it out... That's what I've been told, I did not see it happen or I do not know the people involved. But I was told the EXACT same story by several different people at different times...
|
|
|
Post by woodswalker56 on Nov 6, 2012 8:45:07 GMT -5
That's quite a story Squealy. I'm going to see if I can find out if it"s true. I'll let you and Jabba know what I can find out. What county did it happen in and even better yet who was the CO accused of this action?
|
|
|
Post by Squealy on Nov 6, 2012 8:58:14 GMT -5
That's quite a story Squealy. I'm going to see if I can find out if it"s true. I'll let you and Jabba know what I can find out. What county did it happen in and even better yet who was the CO accused of this action? Perry County I'm not going to post a name on here, I'll PM you with that... :-)
|
|
|
Post by ncmountainman on Nov 6, 2012 10:50:11 GMT -5
Only met one IN DNR officer. I was heading home in my truck. Wife and grandkids in a car in front of me. We were gonna eat before crossing the river. I had two bucks in the back of the truck. One I killed and the other a local friend killed and gave to me for the meat. Cold weather and both were fresh. Both were tagged, had been checked in, and had the metal bands attached. He happened to be in stopped traffic on the right lane and I was in slow traffic in the left lane. He turned on his blinker, pulled in back of me, and blue lights came on. I pulled in the parking lot and he asked if I knew the buck limit in the state of IN. I said yes, ONE. I explained that a local friend gave me the other buck for meat. Talked a pretty good while. I told him the friend's name, where he lived, phone #, and where we hunted. He asked what was in the cooler. I told him two does boned out meat and the metal tags were hanging in the truck on my shifter. He said "you are a lucky man...have a good day". Very professional, nice, and courteous.
We had a local GW that wrote a 10 year old boy a ticket for shooting a squirrel out of a tree in his front yard a couple of days before the season opened. He happened to be driving by. My brother was living at my house which is the homeplace for about 6 months after moving from GA. He had not changed his drivers license to NC yet. He did have a NC hunting license. He was off work one day and took my beagles to go rabbit hunting and the season was open. He made it 50 yards from my driveway with three dogs on a leash and same GW drove by. Wrote him a ticket for hunting with illegal license. Local clerk of court threw it out. This GW was known for a filthy mouth and aggressive nature. He checked three guys from a neighboring town across the mountain while fishing on our lake three different times in one day out on the lake. When they got to the boat ramp 1/2 mile from my house, same GW checked them again and wanted to search their truck also for alcohol. An argument started, the GW swore at them, and he tried to kick one of the guys in the privates. He got knocked out on the spot in the parking lot of the ramp. Quite a stir for this little mountain community. Lots of witnesses in the parking lot. The three guys drove across the mountain and turned themselves in to the local sheriff there. Court time came along and they were found innocent due to self defense. The GW was transferred to another county and either resigned or was fired about a year later. There are good and bad in every profession. The bad need to find something else to do and thank God for the good ones in each and every profession.
|
|
|
Post by caliber on Nov 6, 2012 11:50:34 GMT -5
Been 'bluffed' twice on the water. Once the CO claimed I was fishing by haulling a$$ in idle zone and asking where the fishing pole was. Not,'what ya doing?' simply "where's the fishing pole? I saw you fishing." Sitting in my bathing suit with my wife on our pleasure boat. He asked a few more questions, checked life preservers and flotation device, then went on his way. Then a seperate occasion they claimed I didn't have the proper sticker for the boat while idleing. They said the color looked blue when that year's tag was green, so they stopped me. The previous year's tag was orange....apparently we have some colorblind CO's. It was a reason to pull me over and see if I had been hitting the sauce, which I hadn't. I'm used to them being JO's on the water. I've been checked a few times in HNF. THe CO's down there have been great to talk to and not XXXXXly at all. (watch them beat me up this year. HA!) Polar opposite of the ones encountered on municipal reservoirs.
|
|
|
Post by raporter on Nov 6, 2012 12:55:49 GMT -5
The ones I have met here on Patoka lake have all been very profesional and have had good conversations with them. I have ran into some real wise guys but not in a long time.
|
|
|
Post by woody1071 on Nov 6, 2012 15:02:32 GMT -5
I have only been checked one time coming out of a woods after deer hunting. Just got new permission for a property that day. My father-in-law had worked for a farmer at one time and was still friends with him. It was in a neighboring county (Blackford). I followed my father in law to the property and asked him all of the boundaries. While wer are standing at the edge of the road, a neighbor speeds down the road at us, gets out and asks what we are doing. Explains that he watches over all of the woods in the area. We tell him that I just got permission from the owner and that I am going hunting. Apparently that was not good enough for him.
When I was up in a tree I saw a CO drive by my truck slowly. When it got dark and I got down and walked back to my truck the CO was waiting on me. I propped my gun up on my front tire and walked to him. He wasn't really polite but yet not really being an a-hole. He asked to see my license (lifetime). Then asked if I knew who I was hunting on. I answered. He said, thank you and good luck hunting. We didn't make friends or enemies. Just a guy doing his job.
|
|
|
Post by jabba on Nov 7, 2012 7:23:56 GMT -5
I propped my gun up on my front tire and walked to him. man... I don't want to start a war on here or anything... but that is a pretty signifigant safety violation there. It's actually illegal in some states. I THINK. I was taught to never lean your gun on ANYTHING. Jabba
|
|
|
Post by schall53 on Nov 7, 2012 9:13:59 GMT -5
I know they can nail you for hunting from a vehicle in Wisconsin, if you have a LOADED gun leaning against a vehicle.
|
|