Menu
What's new
By:
Filters

Saw A GFP Check Point Today

SD51555

SD51555

5 year old buck +
I was rolling across North Dakota this morning. At the highway rest stop in the center of the interstate around Jamestown on I-94, there was a mandatory hunter checkpoint being done. There were digital signs on the road stating all hunters were required to pull in for inspection. There were probably 12-18 game fish and parks folks there conducting the checks.

I'd never seen that before. Good thing? Bad thing? I'm not sure. The constitutional SD51555 isn't a big fan. The conservationist SD51555 is kinda glad to see some visible enforcement work. Not sure what to think. I would like to see something like this on the mobbed lakes I sometimes fish in the winter time.
 
Unfortunately SD, that is the reality of it. I personally am sad to see WI move away from mandatory drive-up registration of deer and move towards call-in registration. Convenient sure, ripe for abuse, positively. I wouldn't worry so much about it if I hadn't meet so many sketchy hunters with low ethics over the years, but those types of guys and the e-registration scare the crap out of me and my hopes that deer number counts remain accurate with Wisconsin's new laws coming into affect next year.
 
I have a friend who lives and hunts in Nd and he has said that their wardens are all pretty nice from his experiences. If people didn't break the law then we wouldn't need them. Too many unethical hunters to think we can police ourselves.
 
One thing about checkpoints is now with smart phones is easy to get the word out and warn people, I just did to my cousin that is our there, and I know he will be legal, but it's the little things that get you the unsigned license, the birds not separated by hunter, that one lead shell from pheasant hunting last year that you forgot in your pocket that you didn't even know you had
 
Personally I don't like them. I get the idea but it can be an inconvenience if the officer gets to gunho.

I hit one coming out of a trail head in WY once.

True story, we broke camp and packed out with the horses. I had killed a mule deer and we had the qtrs in feed sacks. My buddy had killed one earlier in the week and took the meat to town to put in cold storage. Unpacking the horses so I put the meat in the shade in a bit of snow that was left in a depression. Continued to unload the horses and load 2 trucks. In the process 2 black bears ran through and grabbed a grain sack that had 2 front shoulders in it. Rescued all but that bag and headed out. 1/8 mile down the road we hit the check point.

They wanted to account for every scrap of meat. Called the meat locker to verify my buddies deer, didn't buy the bear story. We unloaded both trucks for them then went back to the trail head. One officer stayed with us so we didn't flee:) while the other scoured the timber. He finally found bear tracks and an empty sack. Proceeded to ream me for not chasing the bear while shooting in the air. "Honestly"

3 hour ordeal just to say "have a nice day."
 
Good points all. I've had good run-ins with almost all the conservation officers I've ever met. The only ones that have ever been over the top were a few that have patrolled Upper Red Lake the last decade. I met some in South Dakota last year and they were very nice and easy to talk with. I also worry about the little things that can get overlooked. I read the MN hunting reg book cover to cover a couple weeks ago, and I learned I wasn't transporting my pistol correctly.

The book says that if you're not a concealed carry permit holder, your pistol can only be in the cab with you if it is completely empty (chamber and mag) in a case specifically made for casing a pistol. Mine is completely unloaded and in a zipped backpack. I'd hate to have to get in a bind over that.
 
Mixed feelings on this too. They do them here randomly and have found out of state hunters with 20+ deer killed illegally piled into back of campers and trailers. On the other hand, CO's, some of which are good friends of mine, can be the most law breaking people in the woods. Thats what pisses me off. Don't write a ticket for an unsigned deer tag but then do much worse yourself.
 
I also learned while reading my book that it is illegal for me to carry a pistol while bowhunting because my CC permit isn't recognized in MN. I am genuinely afraid of the dark, bears, wolves, and sketchy neighbors while out hunting the public areas around our place. Whether it is rational or not, I feel better with my trusty short nosed judge loaded up with buckshot on my way outta the woods. We've had a lot of bear activity around us for a long time, and I don't want to make the cover of the ODN because I did or did not survive a bear or wolf encounter. Those are the types of things that I get nervous about when in the field in terms of regs. Now that I know those few, I can avoid having problems with them, but what else don't I know?

I also learned there is nothing preventing me from carrying my mare's leg .22 while rifle hunting deer to shoot grouse. Strange, but legal. Most other birds have special rules for shots and calibers. I even called that one in to St. Paul to make sure.
 
As someone who enforces regulations on a daily basis for my job I really sympathize with others that do the same. In my experience people really focus on being upset about the 'little things' but often neglect to realize when they are doing something that is seriously wrong. 90% of the time if you show someone respect you will get the same in return. I have conducted thousands of inspections on licensed facilities and can count on 1 hand the number of items that it got seriously volatile and that was because they refused to allow the process to take place. It is often not easy being the person who works for the government and is trying to the best of their ability to do their job. The perception of what someone's motivation are, and their actual motivation is, are often close.

I have honestly never been stopped at a checkpoint so I can't speak from personal experiences but my only run-in with a CO was on a lake when I was draining my boat after coming off. He saw I pulled the plugs and checked for weeds on my prop and then moved on. No searching or seizing.

I didn't think about how this is an extension of the police state. I guess that is my fault. I am more concerned with police departments maintain central databases of license plates, owning tanks, and seizing money to expand their budgets than I am with COs making sure people aren't poaching. Very valid point though. Can someone explain to me the process that takes place and what the CO can and cannot do during the search? My might convince me to change my position.
 
We hit a checkpoint coming home from the Rainy River several years back.
We had duck hunting gear with as well, just in case ducks were in the 4 mile bay area.

There were 4 wardens around us, and they had us there for well over 30 minutes, and they looked through everything.
We didnt duck hunt that trip, but they made sure to look in every compartment for ducks and/or fish in the boat, and had us unload several items out of the pickup.

I was chewed out for freezing the fish in water, because he couldnt inspect the bags close enough to know if there was additional fillets in the bags between the other ones....

It was not a pleasant experience. Lots of attitude being shelled out.....
 
We were checked by a warden in Wyoming while on a public land antelope hunt. He chewed us out because we did not cut out the complete "V" on our tag identifying the date of kill. We cut the date with our knives, but we did not cut out and remove the entire "V". We also had to identify every portion of meat from the animals and show him the carcasses (I actually liked to see that they were so picky with the meat since we saw lots of antelope carcasses that only had the hams and backstraps removed). He came at the end of the hunt, so we had to explain that on a hunting trip we do eat fresh venison, so some steaks and backstraps were missing. And 4 guys can eat a lot of steak in a few days. He also said that the bloodshot meat with bullet and lead fragments in it needs to be salvaged and eaten as well. We cut that off the carcass just like he said and kept it in a special bag. After he checked everything for over an hour he said that earlier that day he found people shooting antelope and leaving almost all the meat, so he was in a pretty bad mood that day.

But since then we now make sure to keep all the meat for each individual animal in separate coolers with the type of meat clearly identified and the tag in the same cooler. We also keep a the bloodshot and bullet fragmented meat in a special bag to take care of when we get home.
 
Ben.MN/WI said:
We were checked by a warden in Wyoming while on a public land antelope hunt. He chewed us out because we did not cut out the complete "V" on our tag identifying the date of kill. We cut the date with our knives, but we did not cut out and remove the entire "V". We also had to identify every portion of meat from the animals and show him the carcasses (I actually liked to see that they were so picky with the meat since we saw lots of antelope carcasses that only had the hams and backstraps removed). He came at the end of the hunt, so we had to explain that on a hunting trip we do eat fresh venison, so some steaks and backstraps were missing. And 4 guys can eat a lot of steak in a few days. He also said that the bloodshot meat with bullet and lead fragments in it needs to be salvaged and eaten as well. We cut that off the carcass just like he said and kept it in a special bag. After he checked everything for over an hour he said that earlier that day he found people shooting antelope and leaving almost all the meat, so he was in a pretty bad mood that day.

But since then we now make sure to keep all the meat for each individual animal in separate coolers with the type of meat clearly identified and the tag in the same cooler. We also keep a the bloodshot and bullet fragmented meat in a special bag to take care of when we get home.
Click to expand...
What do you do with the shot up meat? MN DNR has all kinds of warnings about lead fragments in meat near the entry and exit wounds.
 
Everbodys comments above are true. I have a couple good friends who are GWs. There are lots of good ones and definitely some who are just $&?holes. I have both kinds in my immediate area.
 
Ben.MN/WI said:
We were checked by a warden in Wyoming while on a public land antelope hunt. He chewed us out because we did not cut out the complete "V" on our tag identifying the date of kill. We cut the date with our knives, but we did not cut out and remove the entire "V". We also had to identify every portion of meat from the animals and show him the carcasses (I actually liked to see that they were so picky with the meat since we saw lots of antelope carcasses that only had the hams and backstraps removed). He came at the end of the hunt, so we had to explain that on a hunting trip we do eat fresh venison, so some steaks and backstraps were missing. And 4 guys can eat a lot of steak in a few days. He also said that the bloodshot meat with bullet and lead fragments in it needs to be salvaged and eaten as well. We cut that off the carcass just like he said and kept it in a special bag. After he checked everything for over an hour he said that earlier that day he found people shooting antelope and leaving almost all the meat, so he was in a pretty bad mood that day.

But since then we now make sure to keep all the meat for each individual animal in separate coolers with the type of meat clearly identified and the tag in the same cooler. We also keep a the bloodshot and bullet fragmented meat in a special bag to take care of when we get home.
Click to expand...
Had the same v jacking at a checkpoint in Montana. When it said 3 cuts were required to valid tag. Never said it was technically 9 cuts.
The guy could care less there was 2 dead spike elk up the mountain in a 4x area. Checkpoints are a waste. So is in person registration. I could have gotten away with every deer I killed this year. Wardens are basically useless if you keep your mouth shut.
 
Unfortunately, that is most likely true. When someone poached a deer off our land two weeks ago, the CO said there wasn't much he could do unless we had a plate or pic, or someone shot their mouth off. I get it. There isn't much they can do by looking at a gut pile with no other evidence other than put it on the list and see if the behavior continues or accelerates in the neighborhood.
 
SD51555 said:
What do you do with the shot up meat? MN DNR has all kinds of warnings about lead fragments in meat near the entry and exit wounds.
Click to expand...

We take the shot up meat home and throw it away there. There's no way I'm eating a blown apart section with lead in it, but I also don't want an expensive ticket. Perhaps they have eased up on that a little in the last few years since the issues with lead fragments is even mentioned in some hunting regulations books.
 
Or post it on Facebook! They nailed a couple of poachers in our area last year by a post they made with the latest of their 2 deer they killed.
 
I think a check point is BS. I did not know any state did that.

I have been checked a few times. When I was about 17, I killed a doe on January 31st which was the last day of bow season in Ohio. I checked the deer and had it skinned and quartered sitting in our garage. The warden knocks on the door, asks for me and mentions that I had checked in deer that day. He wanted to inspect it. I was one scared kid wondering what I had done wrong. When he walked into our garage, he saw a couple of bows and a deer carcass that was clearly shot by an arrow. He said that many people kill deer in the late season with a gun and check them as bow kills. He made a point to inspect as many as possible that late in the year. Once he realized that I was crazy enough to bow hunt in that kind of weather, he told me he would not worry about our family when it comes to deer hunting. I have no problem with that kind of investigation but random targeting of people on the highway is wrong IMO.

Most other times I have been checked while duck hunting. I never had a problem. Once had my 13 year old nephew with me. Even though the warden checked everything about me and a buddy, he never looked at the kid's shells, gun or anything. I thought that was a good thing. Think the warden preferred to let something slide rather than bust a kid. At the time I was wondering if he was legal on his waterfowl stamps but all was good.

We were just checked in Colorado. Wardens were very professional and we had no problems even though I forgot to sign my license. Warden gave me a pen to make me legal.

You guys are right about people running their mouth. This book is about Ohio's first undercover warden. It is a good read.
Poachers Were My Prey: Eighteen Years as an Undercover Wildlife Officer by RT Stewart

 
I'm OK with these check points, but...... I've never been through one myself, yet. ;)
 
I have been stopped 2 times (last time was 2010) The first time we had an Elk and a mule deer quartered in 4 big coolers the guys at the check point helped us pull all the stuff out of are trailer and put it back in. The second time in 2010 we had 1 while antelope in a big cooler the guys at the check point searched are entire truck and trailer pulled all are stuff out and then said we were ok. It took us a long time to repack all the stuff. It seamed more like a drug search than a game check. First time seamed ok 2nd time I felt my civil right s were being violated .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top