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Dnr
Nov 21, 2023 16:19:03 GMT -5
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BigJLocke likes this
Post by Woody Williams on Nov 21, 2023 16:19:03 GMT -5
I bet SOLID money the ICO had suspicion in that area illegal activity was occurring, and as a good officer he will of course check any and all along the way but likely was looking for one specific person or situation. ICOs are short handed and to be walking around on opening morning I suspect would not be done without a precise reason being associated with such an action. AND any ICO worth their badge, isn't going to divulge or give that away to someone, as for all they know that would tip another off. I agree…
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Post by astronankin on Nov 22, 2023 15:22:16 GMT -5
We actually have a friend who grew up just a few miles from us who got interested in doing something related to wildlife via a Mission Crossfire outdoor ministry group we used to have up here and after being in the military for a while she is now a CO in training for Boone County, IN as of earlier this year.
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Post by stevein on Nov 22, 2023 18:24:43 GMT -5
It seems to me that the officers could just check them in as they drive thru the gate. Seems to me that would be way more efficient. They could and should check them on thier way out as well. A post it note on the dash as they were checked in so when they leave the next officer sees that and dosnt have to be as thorough with the check out. If there was a gate. Roush, Salomonie, Tri-County, Pidgeon River none of them have gates. Sign in stations, yes.
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Post by bullseye69 on Nov 22, 2023 18:28:45 GMT -5
It seems to me that the officers could just check them in as they drive thru the gate. Seems to me that would be way more efficient. They could and should check them on thier way out as well. A post it note on the dash as they were checked in so when they leave the next officer sees that and dosnt have to be as thorough with the check out. If there was a gate. Roush, Salomonie, Tri-County, Pidgeon River none of them have gates. Sign in stations, yes. Well you have to drive in somewhere. Entrance to the property.
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Post by huntsemall on Nov 22, 2023 18:48:57 GMT -5
Yes there are entrances to each property but on most of the state forests, what used to be reservoir properties and I'm guessing F&W properties, there are many outside the entrance parking lots for hunter access.
I understand the frustration of the iniitial post, limited hunting time, lengthy drive, etc and that happens. As we've seen here there are many, many scenarios and possible solutions as to how it could or should have been handled of which many make sense.
I also understand not all will agree and that's okay but what about those who are skirting the law being dropped off at the access area? Those who are violating are pretty savy to getting away with stuff so they are pretty secretive when they are being picked up. Same could be said at the boat dock, the guy with over the limits or undersized fish see the CO checking folks and he just goes on by. So one possibility is to head to the woods and check folks or individually check boats on the water. Again, bad deal for the initial poster.
As far as working hours.....just last week after complaints of shots fired late at night with spotlights, the local COs sat on the buck decoy from 2AM - 6AM but no one showed up to shoot.
Tough job and most counties are undermanned. No doubt there are always going to be a situation like mentioned in the first post. Hopefully just not frequently.
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Post by bill9068 on Nov 22, 2023 18:56:03 GMT -5
I wasn’t a CO but I was in law enforcement. I worked with a couple of COs on cases back in the 80s , those guys are stretched thin and on their own surrounded by people with guns. Why one would walk through the woods checking on licenses I can almost guarantee they got a tip, sorry for your friend who’s hunt was interrupted but I bet there was a good reason. They take and follow orders like most jobs, so I bet his supervisor wanted a complaint checked out.
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Post by greghopper on Nov 22, 2023 19:06:02 GMT -5
I remember when they use to have a DNR check point on roads opening Deer weekend…
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Dnr
Nov 22, 2023 22:18:59 GMT -5
Post by saltydog on Nov 22, 2023 22:18:59 GMT -5
I remember when they use to have a DNR check point on roads opening Deer weekend… It was amazing at the pile of deer that were illegally taken !
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Post by duff on Nov 23, 2023 5:14:48 GMT -5
I have have been blessed with a few interactions with Co's over the years. Most of the time waterfowl hunting. But it has been fishing, trapping, small game and deer hunting. Public and private land.
Never fun but never horrible. One episode resulted in a ticket. Accidentally had 3 lead shot shells with me while goose hunting. It hurt my feelings a bit but got over it. To this day I have no idea where those came from. 3 000 buck. So old the ink was gone but high brass made me think they were duck loads. I have never purchased buck shot...mystery.
My b-i-l was hunting property that a co also had permission to hunt. That was a rough couple years for him. The CO was certainly purposely making it uncomfortable for him. Bum move but not alot my bro could do but move on. The co would drive right to his stand and check his gear and tags multiple times in a season. Drive right past the same truck each time. Lol, it does happen but most are not out there to harass. No different than most hunters are legit and not breaking laws.
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Post by Ahawkeye on Nov 23, 2023 5:20:27 GMT -5
I can understand the frustration for the OP. I'll add my .02, if a CO is checking you while fishing he is also checking life preservers, registration, drug and alcohol use, I'm sure the list goes on and on.
As far as checking while on the stand on opening morning, man that's a tough one for sure. Like Bill said, he's probably got a particular reason he is doing so.
I've always had good experiences with CO's except one. He was certain I was doing something wrong and was very persistent with questions but this was after the hunt and not during so maybe he was looking for someone and thought I was that someone or what but when he left I wasn't holding a ticket or warning so I guess I checked out ok.
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Post by freedomhunter on Nov 23, 2023 6:17:52 GMT -5
I have have been blessed with a few interactions with Co's over the years. Most of the time waterfowl hunting. But it has been fishing, trapping, small game and deer hunting. Public and private land. Never fun but never horrible. One episode resulted in a ticket. Accidentally had 3 lead shot shells with me while goose hunting. It hurt my feelings a bit but got over it. To this day I have no idea where those came from. 3 000 buck. So old the ink was gone but high brass made me think they were duck loads. I have never purchased buck shot...mystery. My b-i-l was hunting property that a co also had permission to hunt. That was a rough couple years for him. The CO was certainly purposely making it uncomfortable for him. Bum move but not alot my bro could do but move on. The co would drive right to his stand and check his gear and tags multiple times in a season. Drive right past the same truck each time. Lol, it does happen but most are not out there to harass. No different than most hunters are legit and not breaking laws. Sure yeah uh dang scoff law
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Post by mstr2175 on Nov 23, 2023 9:14:58 GMT -5
I have had few interactions with DNR but each time except once wasn’t a bad experience.
Story Time - Years ago, I had a terrible encounter. My friend had put shelled corn out in front of a camera in the late winter into early spring. This was on public land. The last time he put corn out was exactly 4 weeks prior to turkey season opening. One week before we decided to turkey hunt this general area, he goes to the spot to make sure there’s no trace of corn left and there isn’t but, what does he find? His camera has been stolen. He’s ticked off but at least we’re good to hunt.
There’s three of us, we each set up a few hundred yards from one another. We don’t have any luck and move to another spot late morning. We call it quits at 1 because that’s when you had to stop. We get back to the trucks, an officer is waiting for us. He begins to accuse us of baiting. We’re all immediately defending ourselves saying we verified there was no trace of anything left and out of his pocket he pulls out old, moldy cobbed corn. We’re confused, and say “there’s a private cornfield on the property that bumps up to public, what does that have to do with us?” He claims he’s been watching us for months and was waiting for us to hunt the area. We don’t understand how he could make such a wild claim?
After a lot of back and forth, and clearly not getting anywhere with him, my friend that originally put the corn down says, “fine! write me a ticket then, but these two have nothing to do with this.” Apparently that doesn’t satisfy him and insists on confiscating all of our guns and giving us tickets. We called a lawyer and he essentially said to take in the chin because it’s not worth it, seeing that our guns were valued around $300/ each and fines for $150, and we weren’t going to lose our licenses it’s not all that bad. We called the department and complained about this certain officer. Fast forward a couple days, we see DNR Facebook page is congratulating him for his efforts on the subject. The comments section is loaded with complaints about this officer for a few days and then the post gets removed. Say what you want about what we did and how you think we were in the wrong, I don’t care because I know I didn’t intentionally do anything illegal. This guy was a young kid, looked fresh out of the academy and we are absolutely convinced he stole the camera knowing it would show my friend hadn’t been there in a month and that cobbed corn was never used. Officers are people just like us, so that means there’s going to be a few bad apples.
With all of that said, I really appreciate what they do and they’re the reason we have a healthy population today. If no one was around to keep people in check then we would wipe them out again like we nearly did in the past.
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