Ruined Squirrel Hunt

[BrownBear]

Every town and enforcement district is different, but around here I'd be having a talk with the head shed about that officer's attitude and lack of education. If he knows so darned little about guns, the correct call would have been to politely ask you to wait while he called in the game shop for assistance, rather than leaving it to chance that someone who knew his hiny from a hot rock actually showed up to resolve the situation.

 

[stinkyfeet]

You know since I am hunting with the game warden I will mention the pulling of the tapes and see what he says and let him handle it on his level. I would rather not be involved but I know the area we are going back to is the area I was just accused of poaching in. I think it would be funny if they called the law again on the game warden though might make me laugh a lot.

 

[MattC]

As an officer, I will say without reservation that if it is proven that they are calling in maliciously, I hope that they are prosecuted to the fullest extent.
People can say whatever you want to my face, but you cant mess with the 911 system. I think we can all agree on that.

 

[Carl Fowler III]

This really bothers me on so many levels....first of all why didn't dispatch just pass it along to the game department and let the correct department and their officers handle the issue...you should also push for the tape and get the game dept. to prosecute them if it was a malicious anti hunter just screwing with your hunt....your lucky that officer was gentle with your gun, I've seen many damaged guns when others touch em....on all counts this incident sucks! See what happens when you create a society of snitches....a rat by any other name is still a rat! :barf:

 

[Roguedog]

I have zero tolerance for rats. They make my blood boil!

Jeff

 

[Eric Krewson]

Years ago I drove onto a local Mgt area with my recurve to hunt some squirrels. I passed a young fellow in a state truck on the way in.

I hunted for a few hours, shot through a couple of squirrels that escaped into their dens to expire.

When I walked out of the woods to my truck the same young fellow and a game warden jumped out of the bushes to arrest me for hunting deer out of season.

I was perfectly legal, no broad head tipped arrows, I explained what I had been doing.

Both apologized and stated they had never seen anybody hunt squirrels with a bow much less a recurve. When the young fellow(newly hired area manager) saw my bow in the seat beside me he assumed I was after deer.

We all became friends after this incident. Later they asked me to teach hunter safety for them as I knew about selfbows, traditional bows, modern bows, black powder and what it is like to take a bad fall out of a tree stand(which is a story for another day). I taught hunter safety for ten years after this chance meeting.

 

[Billnpatti]

I can't say that my experience was quite the same as yours but I did have a bit of a problem on one squirrel hunt. I had been hunting in Indiana on land owned by a friend. It was an evening hunt and I was not getting many squirrels but was loving my time in then woods. I lingered a bit too long enjoying the twilight in the woods. I headed back to the truck but it got DARK in those woods. I had no problem, or so I thought, because I was familiar with the woods having hunted there several times before. I started back to the truck with no flash light, the batteries were dead. Suddenly, a voice called out "What are you doing hunting on my land without permission?". I was surprised and assured the voice that I was not on his land to the best of my knowledge and I was sure that I had not killed any squirrels on his land. I was hunting on _____'s land. He said that I was on not on _______'s land, I was on his land. I told him to wait a minute and I would find him and find out what the problem was. I assured him that my gun was unloaded. I found that I had somehow gotten turned around on my way back to the truck in the dark and had walked onto another man's property. Once I had explained to him what the problem was and that I had only accidently been on his land for a short distance and had not fired a shot while I was on his land because it was dark and after legal hunting time, he told me it was okay. We shook hands and he pointed in the direction of my truck. The hunt wasn't ruined but I was a bit shook up about getting turned around in the woods and ending up on someone else's property. The folks in that area are easy to deal with and most will let you hunt their woods if you approach them in the right way and ask for their permission but they sure don't take to people hunting their land without permission.

 

[stinkyfeet]

Update: While out squirrel hunting this AM I asked him about the caller and see if they could investigate further. He told me to the best of his knowledge I was seen loading my gun outside of my truck and walking into the woods in the morning before dark. He went on to say theres been a few shots during the early morning within the same area and they were investigate a possible poacher. Thus the phone call by someone offering assistance. The local Police officer was dispatched to the area and awaited my return before the Game Warden was able to arrive on site from a ways away. Knowing all the facts I feel better about the situation knowing it was an honest mistake from concerned citizens. However my new hunting partner did say had I not had squirrels I harvested in my possession the situation would have been worse or had I had a CF rifle. Ohhh and while we only got a single squirrel today it was a great outing, he had to leave early because its opening day of dove season here and he has work to do.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

OK now I'm just :stir: but as I remember from Liddy's book WILL a "rat" is someone that was part of what was done, a partner in what was done. And talk. So this would be a witness, maybe a false witness, but not a rat.

This caller may well just be as uninformed about hunting as I am about say Facebook (it is there but I have not looked at it at all, as I have no wish to use it.)
I myself had a brake in & the shooting of my dog with a bb gun both stopped by noise nabhors.

*****2 Talls last post was not up when I started this one so my post is a bit belated. ****

 

[zimmerstutzen]

When I was 20, I purchased my first flintlock kit, a pistol and put it together. I was on a farm with permission, target shooting at a bank, a good half mile when the local part time town ship cop drives down through a soybean field like he was responding to a fire call. He asks for and looks at my ID and confiscates the pistol, issuing me a citation for violation of the state firearms act. It took calls from my dads attorney to the DA and threats of a civil rights action to get the cop to realize that flintlocks didn't come under the law and I could openly carry the flinter pistol. Then it took three weeks for the one part time officer department to "find the pistol" so I could get it back.

But the real kicker was when I asked the head of the Game Commission's Bureau of Law enforcement why I can't use a wheel lock in the regular deer season for deer. He laughed and said that's the stupidest thing he ever heard. Why would some one hunt deer with a gun that can't shoot 25 yds?

And he was the chief of the law enforcement bureau at the commission! Thank god now retired.

 

[Roguedog]

Point taken. It's wise to know all the facts before casting judgment. But....I still don't like rats. I'm glad the story had a happy ending.

Jeff

 

[Kapow]

I am an ex Policeman in an anti gun, anti hunting country. You have no idea how good you have it. Here they would have been repelling from a Blackhawk. From my considerable country experience I would say it is a bit of a stretch to call the cop dumb. Ignorant on the subject of blackpowder firearms perhaps. But as I used to say, "I know nothing about jewellery but I know how to lock up a jewellery thief."

Secondly, anytime you deal with the Police they will put a bit of pressure on you to see if you pass the attitude test. That way they know the type of person they are dealing with. That is why you must always keep your cool and remain polite. Remember how Columbo used to act dumb to rile people up?? Trust me it works every time.

It sounds like the game warden certainly passed your attitude test. We get boarded by water Police every time we go fishing. Imagine someone trying that manure on a golf course???

 

[Roguedog]

Kapow,
Your post made me thankful to be living in the USA and I will do everything I can to defend mine and our rights. Thank you for your perspective. Sometimes we need to look at things from a different view to see the whole picture.

Jeff

 

[Pioneer flinter]

Amen!!! Rdog I wish people would worry about what they are doing leave others alone!

 

[newtewsmoke]

The local Police officer was dispatched to the area and awaited my return

how long did he get to wait on you?

 

[stinkyfeet]

The local Police officer was dispatched to the area and awaited my return

how long did he get to wait on you?

Don't know I didn't ask but I was in the woods for a few hours so prolly a while.

 

[Danny Ross]

Technically here in Ohio if you were next to your truck along a road and you hadn't dumped your pan or uncapped your gun you would have been illegal. You have to have your gun unloaded with in 100ft of the road. That you could have been fined for. Other than than as far as I know here you would have been legal. As long as archery season hadn't started. DANNY

 

[stinkyfeet]

Technically here in Ohio if you were next to your truck along a road and you hadn't dumped your pan or uncapped your gun you would have been illegal. You have to have your gun unloaded with in 100ft of the road. That you could have been fined for. Other than than as far as I know here you would have been legal. As long as archery season hadn't started. DANNY

You are correct but I was actually in a parking area off the main road so legal. But good learning point for everyone.

 

[hanshi]

Too many "people" want the world to themselves and want to control everyone else and they will lie to get it their way. Ignorance can usually be fixed but stupid is forever.