Hunting Citations...cost 110.00

[fastlanedude]

My first official day of hunting...ever, was Nov. 22, 2009.

I was well practiced with my 308. Could hit 2" moa sitting using only the rifle sling. After months of reading and watching videos on hunting, fully read the rules for South Carolina hunting (I thought), and hundreds of dollars in gear, I was ready to find some meat. I hoped to find a hog. Would save the deer hunting after gaining a little experience.

I drove around South Carolina's Francis Marion Forest Hellhole WMA for a half hour finding a private, high ground, and good spot. After another hour, I had finally climbed up using screw in pegs up to my budget tree stand. Pulled up the Rifle and backpack...drank some bottled water and was ready to sit for a couple hours.

(Thought it was ok to switch from orange to camo hat). Within the 1st hour,

I heard a vehicle stop in the distance and shortly thereafter someone walking in the woods near me. I thought "can't believe they have to hunt right where I am. Then, I saw him wearing his orange hat. As he got closer, I noticed the sidearm and green shirt with patches. SC DNR officer...Is he looking for me? He was looking south and I was about 100 yards from him. Briefly thought, I could just sit here in my tree stand quietly and he might go away. But, I'm not doing anything wrong and he has scared off any animals in the area. So I hollered "You looking for me?" "Yes" he replied. He walked over to me and said "...closed unit...have your driver license on you...I'll meet you at the truck..."

So, down I climb, gathered all my gear and put on my orange hat. As I walked back, trying not to get lost, I thought he said it was open to dog drives today, not still hunting.

Long story short, He cited me 110.00 and a warning for not wearing orange in the stand. I went home feeling let down and a little angry. Later that night and Sunday, as I was researching the SC Dept. of Natural Resources handbook and maps, I finally came across a statement pertaining to the WMA I was on "Youth Only Nov. 21 either-sex." Buried on page 49.

So, THAT JUST SUCKS! I should have read the manual better.

 

[fastlanedude]

P.S.

I'm looking for a hunting mentor in South Carolina.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Looks like your state is no different than ours in that the important regulations are buried in the fine print at the back of the book.


Sorry bout your 1st experience, I wish you better luck next time

 

[jbkebert]

I'm looking for a hunting mentor in South Carolina.

Just keep your mentor in the game right there with you. This fall we took a group of kids from that months hunter safety class on their first dove hunt. We had 20 kids and 20 instructors in the morning and then another batch in the afternoon. I was sitting with my assigned student in some sunflowers just inside the cut line. To the west of us 75 yards was the edge of a cut milo field. Birds were flying like crazy and my student was getting alot of shots but not connecting. Anyway the kid well into his third box of shells was eyeing the sky. My phone rang and like a moron I answered it and got to talking. I bird came in from out six o'clock and the student started to rain lead. I looked and it was a sparrow hawk. Thank the lord this kid couldn't shoot. Here come the game warden and I mean right now. He was with another student about 50 yards away. I voted they shot me because had he hit that hawk I think they might of.
Don't feel bad I teach hunters ed and can barely keep the laws straight from the fine print.

 

[NCsmitty]

Sorry that you had to learn the hard way, but ignorance of the law is no excuse. Imperative that you read and ask questions, especially if you are new to hunting. They do make the information available, it's sometimes not easy to find though.



NCsmitty

 

[BushyGuy]

i follow the laws cuz the fines are really stiff where i live

 

[azyogi]

I think I was law abiding, it could be I just didn't get caught. We were in Germany and I had to take a mandatory hunter education course. I of course thought that was a complete waste of my time. Maybe it wasn't, I at least knew all the little buried regulations. The Jagermeister [game warden] would answer any questions, since he was there to teach the class, not to enhance revenue.

 

[Mike In Charleston]

I don't even bother with the printed copy any more since all the WMA's are different. I just load the pdf version from the DNR site and do a fast search. All the WMA season info are on a couple of pages for each zone.

You probably have it but here's the link in case you don't:

http://www.dnr.sc.gov/regs/pdf/rulesreg0910.pdf

 

[bad_aim_billy]

Try figuring out the elk regulations here out west, it's like trying to do taxes...

 

[Tim the student]

So, THAT JUST SUCKS! I should have read the manual better.

Well, yes. Sorry that you had to learn that the hard way, but much better it happened that way than when you were dragging a critter out.

I have called our guys and asked about things to make sure I would be good (ex: I learned it is legal to use bluegill for bait, but you cannot net them, but you can net other non game panfish in Iowa), maybe you could do that in the future. I wouldn't think they would have a problem with someone trying to do the right thing.

Good luck the rest of the season.

 

[Nick5182]

It's always good to know what's going on before going into the field, but it could always be worse man. When I was living in Wyoming, some...idiot...(for lack of a better word) Bought all of his out of state tags, and traveled from Florida to hunt in Wyo. When he went to the DNR office to check in and tag his...deer, he was explaining to the Fish and Game official that Wyoming deer are the biggest he'd ever seen in his life. When the hunter pulled the tarp off the animal, the Game officer was less than pleased when he saw the bull elk sitting in the bed of the pickup. He was fined, I believe, well over $1,000 for poaching, and i think he spent some time in jail too...so like I said, it could always be worse.

 

[bswiv]

I hunt gators with a friend who is a Deputy Sherif. What I've learned over the years from our many conversations is that law enforcement officers know they get lied to ALL the time. The hard part is sometimes figuring out when it's just someone screwing up a little out of ignorance and not actually intentionally breaking the rules.

They have a certian amount of on-site discression as to how to handle a situation. If they're sure you're just ignorant or purely unintentional that's when the "warning citation" gets written.

When they are not sure the default position is to follow the letter of the law. That's about the best they can do.

 

[CoRoMo]

(Thought it was ok to switch from orange to camo hat).

Was there something in the manual that made you think this?

 

[fastlanedude]

Old new hunter

I don't think the game officer believed it was my first day out hunting. Newbie 50 year old hunters around here are very unlikely. But, I wasn't born here and my Dad never took me hunting as a kid. Thanks for all the feedback. And switching to the camo from the orange hat in the tree stand was my idea. I thought, "who's gonna shoot at me in a tree?" I guess you never know.:banghead:

 

[ArmedBear]

I thought this thread was going to be about shooting at old Chevy X-cars. My mistake...

Sorry to hear about the fine, although, in the grand scheme of things, I'd rather be out $110 than take a bullet because I wasn't visible.

So, of the three possible outcomes here, yours is the one in the middle, $110 worse than no consequences, but infinitely better than getting shot. Next time, you'll know.

Even the fine could have been worse.

I know someone who was hunting quail in California. To hunt quail there, you need a $7 stamp on your license. He wasn't aware of it. A warden asked to see his license, and asked what he was hunting (he hadn't bagged or even seen anything). He said, "Quail," and the guy wrote him a $300 ticket.

The warden could have said, "You said rabbit, right? Look, you need an upland stamp to hunt quail. They sell them at the convenience store on Highway 78, back a few miles. Now get out of here or I'll have to write up a ticket."

But he didn't. 300 bucks, and the guy hadn't actually done anything.

Good hunting, and stay safe out there!

 

[41magsnub]

An example of another jerk game warden. My hunting buddy had just moved to MT from IL and it was his first time hunting out here. He shot a nice little whitetail buck. He was very careful to tag the animal immediately. He was very proud of himself.

He was driving back in his Buick with the deer in the trunk and no visible hunting gear. He could have driven right past the game check station and nobody would have thought he was skipping it. Instead he does the right thing and stops in. The game warden takes one look at the tag and says "Is this your deer?". Dave says yes, the warden yanks the deer out of the trunk and writes him a citation for several hundred dollars. Instead of notching the date on the tag, he had just slit it.

Dave had made a violation, but clearly he was trying to follow the law and do the right thing. Instead of just saying to Dave, here in MT we have to notch the date. I need to go check that guy over there and will be back in 5 minutes he had to be a jerk. He took it to court and got the citation thrown out but the deer was still gone.

 

[ArmedBear]

41, man, that's really bad. I wonder what the citation is for a hanging chad?

Shouldn't the warden be cited for wasting game? Seriously.

I'll have to remember that. I don't generally carry little scrapbooking scissors in the field (or anywhere, since I've never "scrapbooked"), so it hasn't occurred to me that the notches would have to be done perfectly.

 

[41magsnub]

The way I do it now is to use the tip of my knife against the deer's hoof. I'm very careful after his experience!

The confiscated deer get processed and given to various charitable organizations so it was not wasted meat.

 

[schlockinz]

41 mag, that was a dick move on the wardens part.

In Oklahoma, I've been lucky. When I was 15, I forgot to tag a deer, my friend (also 15) and I drove the deer into town to check it, the game warden asked if it was my deer, I said yes, and I got yelled out for not tagging it properly. I explained that I had never known how to tag a deer since everyone that I hunted with had lifetime licenses. They showed me how to do it and told me that they could have taken my deer, but since it was a nice buck and I had the tag on it, they let it slide.

Another time I got checked duck hunting and had lost my HIP (one time) and another where I had left my hip in another city in my truck. Same game warden, he let it slide both times, telling me to either keep it with me, the one that I lost he was a little confused as to how I'd get a replacement during the weekend since most places don't sell them anymore.

So, I've been lucky, but I also used to work for the dept, so that helps some since I know some of the wardens friends and have met many of them before, so they know that I'm at least telling the truth. They also know that I'll call in poachers and trespassers and watch the lands pretty closely, so they like me for that, otherwise I'd be screwed.

 

[ArmedBear]

The confiscated deer get processed and given to various charitable organizations so it was not wasted meat.

I am glad they do that.

 

[CoRoMo]

The confiscated deer get processed and given to various charitable organizations so it was not wasted meat.

Yeah, sure, okay. Well, maybe sometimes, but sometimes not. I've often heard that some charitable orgs can't/won't accept anything other than USDA meat, but I'm sure some otherwise can.

My next door neighbor used to live in Wyoming, and attended church with, and was good friends with a game warden there. Every fall, they'd get loads of game meat from his confiscations. They'd just go over to his house on the weekend, and there'd be an elk or deer hanging in the garage that he had confiscated from some hunter who shot a buck/bull when he should have shot a doe/cow, etc.

If ever a game warden tells you that, "Look, I'll be lenient, I won't write you a citation, but I have to confiscate your kill" you might venture a guess at where that meat will end up since there is no written record of your interaction.

Just a thought.

 

[ArmedBear]

If ever a game warden tells you that, "Look, I'll be lenient, I won't write you a citation, but I have to confiscate your kill" you might venture a guess at where that meat will end up since there is no written record of your interaction.

I grew up in a beach town with miles of sand a few hundred yards wide, with rows of firepits. The cops would cruise the beach in the evenings in 4x4s, and reap cases upon cases of beer from underage drinkers. I understand they had some great parties.

 

[auschip]

I paid a $350 fine. My fault because I didn't check my license carefully. I went into Academy and asked them for a license that included everything I would need to hunt ducks. Got the license, got the Fed duck stamp, but they didn't put the State Duck Stamp. Next year I bought a lifetime license from the State. It comes with every endorsement, so no more guessing.

 

[41magsnub]

Yeah, sure, okay. Well, maybe sometimes, but sometimes not. I've often heard that some charitable orgs can't/won't accept anything other than USDA meat, but I'm sure some otherwise can.

In this care I definately believe it, there are a lot of charitable organizations around MT that take wild game as donations. The only exception I know of is the food bank and that is because they are not really set up for perishables.

 

[sumpnz]

I said I didn't get caught as there's so many rules that you're almost bound to violate something at sometime. Kinda like driving. Only 1 ticket (out of 7 times pulled over) in 15 years of driving. But I darn sure could have gotten many, many tickets over that time had I been caught even a fraction of the times.

One example though of a stupid rule that I don't mind not following 100%. The WA tags are flimsy and are supposed to tied or taped on right away after the kill. I don't bother to put it on right away unless I know there's other people watching becuase it would waaaayyyy too easy for that tag to get torn off somehow in the process of getting it to the truck. I still tag the critter, but if I can I wait until I'm in a better place to do so that right where the animal expired. In AZ however the tags were of a sturdier construction (at least the last time I hunted there they were) and they were self adhesive. Those I would put on right away.