Who's had bad experiences with Game Commission Officers?

[JDC]

I'm sure there are some bad PGC officers but my experience has been mostly positive in the field. I wish there were more in the field and less watching the shooting ranges. I see alot of things more dangerous than stuffing one extra shell in your gun. I honestly haven't seen one officer where I hunt in the last 2 years.

[Poonie]

I've had a few good experiences and a few bad experiences, I guess its all in who you run into. I had one deputy hassle me once on a SGL when I was about to leave the range. He tried to say that he observed me shooting an assault rifle from the hip. When I asked him for details such as when this supposedly happened, what time, what kind of firearm used, etc, all he said was, I observed you and you got into this Jeep. I owned a red Jeep at the time. So, I offered up that there are alot of gun owners who drive Red Jeeps. At that point, I tired of his game, and told him flat out he'd better offer up some proof to back up his accusations or I'd report him to his superiors for harrasment. Firstly I have never fired a rifle from the hip, ever, so right there he was dead wrong. The fact that he could not give me any information(or would not) showed that his accusations were baseless and at best he was hassling the wrong person. He left and some time later(a few months) I heard through the grapevine that this man was fired because of all the complaints lodged against him.

On the other side of the coin I had a WCO approach myself and my father while pheasant hunting. He was just doing a license check. He was polite and very professional and even offered up a couple nice spots to check out. This man restored my faith in the PGC at least to some degree.

[Dredly]

I had a game warden harass me a bit over my stock on my SKS (folding stock) and I got talked to about rapid firing my AK (it says 3 rounds at a time... doesn't say anything about the number of 3 round loaded mags... apparently 6 is to many haha)

Had one talk to me about shooting for a while once, I think he was just bored. Been checked once or twice while hunting, got checked once while NOT hunting (that was fun). No sir I'm not hunting I'm walking in the woods... no sir I don't need a license to walk in the woods... he wasn't very happy with me.


It has recently passed that if you have LTCF you can carry concealed while archery hunting... before last year this was not permitted.

[Poonie]

Just remembered another incident that indirectly involved myself It was a Sunday at the French Creek range about 10 years ago. I used to like going there early on a Sunday to get my choice of table and would then wait until the 12:00 bell. I roll in about 11:30, get out and proceed to put my stuff on one of the tables so noone would jump my grave. So, myself and a couple other gentlemen are sitting there waiting for the shooting hour to arrive, when of course this ying yang shows up, grabs a table and immediately starts firing. I don't remember if he was told about the 12 o'clock rule or not, but regardless, a few minutes goes by and here comes deputy Napoleon(not his real name). I called him napoleon because of his stature and his demeanor. Deputy N gets out of his car, struts over to the line and calls us all around him like it was reprimand day in 7th grade woodshop class. He proceeds to start ripping us all as a group for firing before 12, etc. Of course that's all I needed, so I spoke up and rather rudely said to him "why are you doing this, why don't you hassle the person who was doing the shooting". He then snottily muttered somehting else about shooting before 12, etc. So, not to be outdone I then said, "well I for one am very familiar with the rules here, and if you think I'm lying why don't you come over and stick your nose to the muzzle of my flintlock and take a wiff, and you'll see it smells of cleaning fluid and not powder". The guy didn't know what to say to that and just went about ripping the rest of the crowd. I went back to my table and sat down and ignored him. You know he never even approached me after that, and I was sure he was going to try and make an example out of the smart a$$(me) who spoke up to him, but he didn't. All the other guys just stood there sheepishly and he ripped into them for about another 5 minutes, then left. Noone got fined because I think even deputy N knew he hadn't a leg to stand on form an evidence standpoint. Afterwards I had an older guy come up to me and say "boy I wish I had the balls to do what you just did", and he laughed and walked away. Whether or not what I did was right, I just don't like having someone accuse me of something I didn't do, if even indirectly. I don't care if they are wearing a Kmart badge or not.

Officer or not those clods have no right to treat people with such disrespect, none, and I don't stand for it when I know I am in the right.

[PropCop]

Like any other Leo agency in any county or state, there will be good or bad encounters, and low key or gung-ho officers.

I've had people park under signs that say" no fishing until opening day" or "fly fishing only" or "catch and release", then tell me "I didn't know". Do they wan't a neon sign to tell them the rules? A big white sign on a pole or tree isn't enough?

That said, a mom or dad without a license helping a 5 year old fish gets a suggestion (privately) that they should get one to legally do so. Result: one or two license sales and a kid that will grow up to be a fisherman. No embarrassment to anyone, and a nice contact experience for everyone.

Have a license, but not on you? No problem. You get a piece of paper to continue fishing and you can mail it to me (or I can verify it by phone, under the new system).

My philosophy:

Don't sweat the small stuff.

Not everything is small stuff.

Everyone makes honest mistakes.

Wisdom is knowing the difference.

Sorry about the bad experiences that have been posted, and I'm not making excuses for anyone, but bad encounters happen on both sides. Everyone should be following the law (on both sides). The phrase "ignorence of the law is no excuse" should never be hard and fast. EVERYONE is guilty of this, including Leos. Learn and move on.

[Poonie]

Originally Posted by PropCop

Like any other Leo agency in any county or state, there will be good or bad encounters, and low key or gung-ho officers.

I've had people park under signs that say" no fishing until opening day" or "fly fishing only" or "catch and release", then tell me "I didn't know". Do they wan't a neon sign to tell them the rules? A big white sign on a pole or tree isn't enough?

That said, a mom or dad without a license helping a 5 year old fish gets a suggestion (privately) that they should get one to legally do so. Result: one or two license sales and a kid that will grow up to be a fisherman. No embarrassment to anyone, and a nice contact experience for everyone.

Have a license, but not on you? No problem. You get a piece of paper to continue fishing and you can mail it to me (or I can verify it by phone, under the new system).

My philosophy:

Don't sweat the small stuff.

Not everything is small stuff.

Everyone makes honest mistakes.

Wisdom is knowing the difference.

Sorry about the bad experiences that have been posted, and I'm not making excuses for anyone, but bad encounters happen on both sides. Everyone should be following the law (on both sides). The phrase "ignorence of the law is no excuse" should never be hard and fast. EVERYONE is guilty of this, including Leos. Learn and move on.

I'm assuming from your handle and your message that you are an officer with the fish commission. Your handling of the situations mentioned is commendable, and I will agree that its true about ignorance on both sides of the fence. Curiously though you make only a glancing mentioned of the as you put it, "gung ho" LEO. Hmm, why is that? Are you trying to imply by not mentioning things that these individuals are few and far between? If that's your motive then sir I feel you are wrong, as I have encountered more of the "gung-ho", and egotistical types, than the polite and professional officers. And by this very thread it would seem there is evidence to back me up......I don't know what it is but I guess the uniform and badge go to many a person's head and in the case of alot of PGC officers that in turn gives them the self authority to treat the public like $hit. Sure there are those who deserve it, but for about everyone I'd venture to guess who posted here, it was a case of Deputy Douchebag pushing people around because he knew he could get away with it, and nothing more, So please don't turn this into a "well there bad apples on both sides" argument because thats not what this thread is about.

[PropCop]

Poonie,
I implied nothing. Just a straight forward reply. I'm glancing nothing. There are good and bad on both sides, and I'm defending neither.

Some of the incidents cited go back 20 years. What is your point? Does this stuff happen today? Sure. Am I excusing it? NO. Did I say these incidents were few and far between? NO. Tell me what I'm missing. I didn't say anything you are alluding to me.

If you want to chastise me for something I've said, go for it and I'll take my lumps. If you want to give me grief for something I didn't say or imply, then we will have a discussion.

And there are bad apples on both sides. This is not an excuse for either side, it is just a fact. And I use the word "sides" very loosely, because we are all citizens of this state, Leo or not. No one should have a special privilidge. Did I say people should be treated like S**T? Did I agree with this?

What is this thread and forum about? I thought reasonable discussion was allowed, and even encouraged. Am I wrong?

Please don't put word's in my mouth. I'm not afraid to say what I think, and I don' need any help to do it .

As far as your interactions with the PGC, I did not try to make any excuses for them, only that the circumstances may or may not be exactly as presentented. One side of the story may not always be accurate. Are the tellers on this forum stretching the truth? Probably not. Could the reactions by the Leo's been more reasonable? Probably. But I wasn't there and neither were you, except for your personal encounters. Speaking up for your rights is commendable, and you should continue to do so . All that said, there is no reason to be treated with disrespect by anyone, and being in the right just makes the experience more delightful. Agreed? It's always best to speak up if you know you are right.

[incynr8]

The above poster made me recall a fine day with my father..........I was about 11... He didn't display his fishing license.......But he had it................

A F&G officer ticketed him for not displaying it.. Wouldn't hear a word about how he had it.. We had been fishing all of 10 minutes....

LOL.............

[buster]

Originally Posted by PropCop

Like any other Leo agency in any county or state, there will be good or bad encounters, and low key or gung-ho officers.

I've had people park under signs that say" no fishing until opening day" or "fly fishing only" or "catch and release", then tell me "I didn't know". Do they wan't a neon sign to tell them the rules? A big white sign on a pole or tree isn't enough?

That said, a mom or dad without a license helping a 5 year old fish gets a suggestion (privately) that they should get one to legally do so. Result: one or two license sales and a kid that will grow up to be a fisherman. No embarrassment to anyone, and a nice contact experience for everyone.

Have a license, but not on you? No problem. You get a piece of paper to continue fishing and you can mail it to me (or I can verify it by phone, under the new system).

My philosophy:

Don't sweat the small stuff.

Not everything is small stuff.

Everyone makes honest mistakes.

Wisdom is knowing the difference.

Sorry about the bad experiences that have been posted, and I'm not making excuses for anyone, but bad encounters happen on both sides. Everyone should be following the law (on both sides). The phrase "ignorence of the law is no excuse" should never be hard and fast. EVERYONE is guilty of this, including Leos. Learn and move on.

I thought that was an honest post. Rep sent.

I have only been checked twice by WCO's twice in my 22 years of hunting, with a lot of miles logged in five different counties. But I have heard ridiculous stories from many different people concerning game wardens. To support Propcops post, though, I will share one.

A friend of my father-in-law exited the woods in spring turkey season without an orange hat, only to find a WCO nearby. WCO notes that he isn't wearing his required orange hat . The guy replies that he isn't. WCO asks if he has one on him. The guy replies that he doesn't. WCO ASKS HIM IF HE HAS ONE IN HIS TRUCK. The guy replies that he doesn't.

WCO did write him a fine, but it seems he may have let him off if he had an orange hat with him somewhere.

[Scallywag]

I've only had one contact with the Game Wardens and it was extremely courteous and professional. A bunch of us were on a deer drive, the Wardens shows up and starts checking on us - guns all unloaded, licenses up to date and signed etc. A couple of us had doe tags that weren't signed, the Warden just told us to do it in front of him.

Biggest issue though was that nobody (except one person in the party) had any ID on them. This is in fact a requirement of carrying a hunting license. When we pointed out to him that nobody wanted to risk losing a Driver License in the woods, the guy was perfectly understanding and told us that any ID would do, including an expired Driver's License or even a photocopy of it. He could have ticketed us but he didn't - in fact sent us on our way with some tips on where we should try hunting.