Any game wardens watching this site?

[Noah]

I'd love to hear your "frank" thoughts on things if you don't mind..... straight from the horse's mouth.......

[texas_hog_hunter04]

i hope not lol

[cward]

Well game wardens are people to you got good ones and you got bad ones !!!!! You got ones that think they are the law and you got ones who follow the law !!!!!    My problem is most of the time they beleave or side with the person who tattles or call them witch is not usally us but it don't mean we did anything wrong just seems the way it works..... I had a run in with a gamewarden witch was not good but got it solved finally then my uncle called the same gamewarden that I had a run in with for someone that he THOUGHT shot a cow the same game warden was an a$$ to the guy come to find out that guy did not do it!!! So they..... not all of them.....need to take and listen to both side  all the way before they convict someone that is not guilty...

[kevin]

I've only had 1 bad run in.   But many good respectful ones.

 The one in Foard County named Matt is a great one in my book.

[Bump]

What are you looking for?

If a person isnt doing anything wrong...a Game Warden isnt going to bother you. My local GM helps find places for me to hunt as well as the GW from the neighboring county.

They are always helpful and respectful...if the laws are obeyed and a hunter communicates....they could be the best allie you have.

I let the GW know what ranches I hunt and call the neighboring land owners to let them know what Im doing and the chance of dogs getting on their place.

[matt_aggie04]

Rex, I agree with you for the most part.  I have been fortunate in that I have never had to deal with one other then to check my license and they wish me luck and send me on my way.  Having said that there are some around here that will openly admit they don't care for dog hunters and make "our" lives harder.  Also, while in the national forest this year a federal game warden went to tell us that we were the problem and we had created the hog problem as it exists now and that we will prolly lose the right to hunt with dogs there because "we" help perpetuate the problem.  I have a lot of respect for the men and woman that do the job and I would not want to do it but it is like every job out there, there are some folks that should not do the job....
MG 

[Cull Buck]

Matt, did the warden explain why he felt that way.  I'm trying to figure out how dog hunters created the hog problem. 

[matt_aggie04]

Turning hogs loose to hunt....

[mporter]

Good cop bad cop thing. Every game warden I’ve come across has a different opinion on every aspect. Just like everyone else some like there job, some hate there job and no one truly loves there job. The game warden in one county helps find us places to hunt, while one in the next county never wants to here from us. My opinion is some get off on trying to catch someone screwing up and others truly care about the wildlife….

[elliscountyhog]

I belive we have one on hear from la. But i am all for game wardens though like many said there is good and bad ones but more good if u ask me, i cant say that about other law enforcement departments. Our local warden is actually really flexibale with where i can shoot a deer cause dallas county is no deer season and ellis is and the line splits my place

[WAARHEID]

I used to work for my state's fish/forest/wildlife management agency doing outreach and education work and also working as a rifle/pistol range safety officer, and because of this I often worked closely with conservation officers. I can't speak to Texas specifically, but the overwhelming majority of wardens I know are avid hunters/trappers/fishermen. If you're a hunter, and you're playing by the rules, they're on your side because they are one of us.

In private conversation, many will tell you that they have the same complaints and frustrations about government/politicians misunderstanding/mishandling of wildlife and conservation issues.

Sure... a few of them are egomaniacal a__holes, but most of them would rather be in the woods on a trapline or behind some good hunting dogs, than they would being in the woods writing tickets.

[Bump]

Having said that there are some around here that will openly admit they don't care for dog hunters and make "our" lives harder.  Also, while in the national forest this year a federal game warden went to tell us that we were the problem and we had created the hog problem as it exists now and that we will prolly lose the right to hunt with dogs there because "we" help perpetuate the problem. 
MG 

I guess I am talking about my area....I believe that happened but cant believe a SOB can be that sorry. Im pretty fortunate to know and be friends with many Game Wardens. Besides being friends...dog hunters in my area are not very popular and pretty much unheard of. The education and experience the local game warden gets here are through what they have seen with me. Hopefully that is positive and they have a good feel for what we do and not some rare incident from a bad circumstance.

We do TPWD youth deer hunts every year and I took about 7 game wardens and a few biologists hunting this past winter. After we hunted I did have one of the game wardens tell me that he liked the way I hunted and had a little better outlook on dog hunting.

I thought it was a little odd but didnt think much of it...guess he was one of the bad ones.

[crackerc]

The last ranch I managed had a lot of game on it. It bordered other large ranches on two sides, but had roads on two sides. Because we had a lot of game, and some open pastures, the game was visable from the roads at times. Therefore, we had poaching problems.
I invited our local game warden and his son, to hog hunt with me at the ranch. They were good people and while the game warden was not all that into hog hunting, his son (who was in high school) was. So they came out every week or so and went hunting with me at night. Once the poachers heard that not only was the game warden watching the place when he was on duty, but was hunting the place with his son, when he was off duty....it slowed the poaching way down. No one wanted to get caught poaching the game wardens hunting spot!  My game warden even asked of he could bring a game warden from TN out one night and take him on a hog dog hunt. The TN GW had never seen a wild hog or hunted with dogs. We bayed and caught several that night and caught a 230 lb barr we gave the TN GW as he had never eaten wild hog before. Was a good night.

I always had a rifle in the truck, even if we were spotlighting open pastures at night, looking for boar hogs. It was against the law, but nothing was ever said. They knew me well enough to know I wasn't going to do anything I shouldn't do (like shoot a deer at night) so they never mentioned it.

So I will have to say that if you get to know your local game warden, and keep your nose clean, they can be good guys. I am sure there are some that are aren't, but I have had good relations with most.

[Jasonmac]

I still to this day 2 gws that are friends of mine that i hunt with. They are not all bad.

[Box R Outfitters]

i buy hogs for southern game!!! a man called and i met him in town to got weigh the hogs- when i got there the game warden was already there harressing him  so i pulled up  to help --the man told the game warden he was selling the hogs to me and I  said that was right- he then said did i have a hunting license  i said i do but why would i need them i am a licensed buyer through the state of texas to buy the hogs- he said he didnt care what i had i better have a license to posses the hogs and the same way with the man who i was buying the hogs from---- we  both had license  but that was not good enough he took my drivers license and called in to check me out after about 15 minutes he came back and said well you dont have any warrents on you and then i was mad!!!!! THE NERVE OF THIS GUY HARRESSING US FOR NO REASON  I AM 56 YRS OLD I HAVE A CONCEALED HAND GUN LICENSE  I AM BEST FRIENDS WITH ALL THE COPS (CITY-COUNTY-HIGHWAY PATROL)  THEY ALL HATE HIM AND THINK HE IS A A_ _ HOLE  i do know not all them are bad but i do believe and i have been on the city council and have helped hire city police that  ONCE THEY PIN A BADAGE AND GUN ON THEY THINK THEY ARE THE LAW-- NOT JUST HERE TO ENFORCE THE LAW  he also said and i will give you his name and number if you dont believe  me  you can call him  IF YOU KILL A HOG AND LEAVE IT LAYING HE WILL GIVE YOU A TICKET FOR WASTING MEAT!!!!!!!!!! if you want his name and number  pm  me and i will give it to you   thats in callahan county    SO YES THERE ARE SOME BAD WARDENS AS WELL AS COPS  i called his superiors and they said if i ever had trouble with him again to call their office from my cell phone   ANY WAYS THATS MY STORY  THANKS FOR READING

[rafterfpuncher]

I guess I'm very fortunate, but the county I live in does not have a warden but all four surrounding countys do, and all four of them are as nice as they can be and I'm good friends with all of them, and have hunted with all of them but one.  The one I haven't hunted with was raised in my little home town and is the warden in next county to the south. Two of the others are father/son and in adjoining countys north and west, three were replacements in the past ten years or so and they all three replaced good guys that did their jobs well, but didn't go to extremes unless they were after someone that they knew broke the law andhad proof of it.  But as has been said several time already, there are some good and some bad, but for the most part, I think there are more good than bad. JMO

[hillbilly]

It is one living just a few miles from me. He is a good guy. He has a few hogs on his deer lease and gave me permision to go on it anytime other than deer season. Went hunting next to a WMA couple weeks ago and the dogs wound up in the restricted area of the WMA. We was standing on the road trying to call the dogs out and a GW pulled up to where we were at. Just asked what we were doing. Told me one of our dogs had come out in the road. Also told us to go on in the woods and get our dogs if we needed to. I would say that the ones I have met are pretty good folks.

[TRAPPERJOHN29]

I actually had a GW come out to my place yesterday and check out my hog pins and asked me questions about how i catch the hogs,and if i sell them? after being completley honest with him he then took me to his truck and gave me alot of numbers to call that were haveing hog problems and told me to tell them that he refered me to call and now i have four new places that i called and they want me to come and remove as many hogs as i can!! he also gave me the new regulations on transporting them from place to place!! so I guess i can say the GW I had to deal with was a nice guy and i hope when i run in to him down the road he will know im out for hog and just gives me a hand shake and not a ticket!

[Yeller]

That's Awsome! wish they were all like that

[Tusk Hunter]

Im almost done with my law enforcment schooling, My plan is to get on as a game warden. There be at least one GW out there Hog Hunting. No matter where I end up I will always be back to kill some pigs.