We wouldn't be eating this deer

WV Sawmiller · April 09, 2015, 07:49:17 PM

My grandfather raised a family through the depression in central Florida doing whatever he could to make a living. This included farming, fishing, hunting (Plumes, gators, deer, etc), girdling cypress, construction, and anything else that paid the bills and kept the family fed. Lots of his hunting was illegal at the time as Florida was starting to establish game laws. Grandpa finally became one of the early Game Wardens at which he worked till he retired and was well known and respected at the time.

Back then illegal game and fish was given to the schools and hospitals to be used. One time Grandpa caught a man with a poached deer which was turned over to school. The next day at school everyone was treated to a big pot of venison stew. One of the hunter's sons went to school there at the time as well as my uncle and my dad. The hunter's son came over to Uncle Jr. at lunch and loudly proclaimed "If it wasn't for my daddy we wouldn't be eating this deer!" Daddy said Uncle Jr. promptly replied "If it wasn't for my daddy we wouldn't be eating this deer. You might be eating it but we wouldn't."

Magicman · April 09, 2015, 10:01:27 PM

Sometimes there is just as much truth as there is humor. :D

Mooseherder · April 09, 2015, 10:17:48 PM

That's a good story. :D

sandhills · April 10, 2015, 02:26:21 AM

"Funny things kids say"!

justallan1 · April 10, 2015, 08:55:31 AM

I'd heard a story awhile back about a not so wealthy family having the game warden over for supper one evening. During the meal the topic of poaching to feed your families came up and the game warden asked the guy what he thought of it, to which the guy points to the game wardens plate and asked, "I don't know, what do you think of it?" ;D

WV Sawmiller · April 10, 2015, 11:47:27 AM

Got roofers working here now. One told story this morning of a guy fishing and had a bucket full of fish. Said he turned around and game warden standing there. GW told him "Looks like you have over the limit there." Fisherman said "What these? I brought them from home. They are my pets. I bring them here periodically to let them go for a swim. I can whistle and they all come right back. Watch." He then dumped the fish in the lake. The GW said "Yep, they're swimming okay. Now call them back." The fisherman then said "Call who back?"

Also heard the game warden walked out into a group of hunters and said "Okay boys, I need to see some hunting licenses and permits." All started reaching for their wallets except one who broke and ran. The game warden chased him for half a mile before catching him. The hunter then pulled out his current hunting license and permit. The GW asked "You had everything you are supposed to have. Why'd you run?" The hunter replied "Those other guys didn't have any."

WH_Conley · April 10, 2015, 12:59:43 PM

The new Game Warden goes fishing with the local Poacher, figures as he is new the fellow won't know he is a Warden. The local lights a stick of Dynamite and throws it in the water, sure enough, fish start floating to the top. The Game Warden says"You are under arrest". The poacher doesn't miss a beat, as he dumps the last fish in the boat he picks another stick of Dynamite, lights it and throws it at the warden's feet and says "Are going to set there and talk all day or are you going to fish"?

customsawyer · April 13, 2015, 08:34:26 PM

This is actually a true story. Back in Colorado I have a friend that was just about to sit down for dinner when the GW stopped by to ask some questions about hunters in the area. Being the gentleman that my friend is he invited the GW in for a bit to eat. They were having trout for dinner. At the end of the meal the GW counted the bones and the number in the family and wrote him a ticket for being over the legal limit. Needless to say he hasn't been invited back for dinner.

Magicman · April 13, 2015, 08:38:17 PM

I guess in that instance it would have helped if every family member had had (Tom) a valid fishing license. ;D

Den Socling · April 13, 2015, 08:43:38 PM

What a jerk the GW was!

WV Sawmiller · April 13, 2015, 09:16:04 PM

Grandpa gave a lot more warnings and training than tickets. He'd never ticket someone who was truly hunting or fishing to feed his family. Often he would "just about" catch someone as a warning . Most got the message and walked the straight and narrow. Once in a while one would brag about getting away. He didn't get away the next time. Grandpa always said he figured he was the first judge because he was the one who chose to write a ticket or issue a warning. He took that responsibility very seriously.

I had a buddy in Alabama hunting on a deer drive. Another hunter encroached on him so be moved further down the logging road. The guy did it a couple more times till buddy stepped over onto local paper company land then the guy walked up. Was a game warden and he wrote a ticket for hunting without proper permit. In this case the GW actually largely caused the violation. Those guys give all the good GW a bad name.

Den Socling · April 13, 2015, 09:24:31 PM

I applaud your Grandpa. 8)

JJ · April 13, 2015, 10:43:55 PM

Another story about zealous game wardens (hearsay several years ago).

A local rod and gun club raises ring neck pheasant for put and taking hunting (takes special stamp in certain Maine counties to fund the stocking).

Each year they have a game banquet, and members donate birds and game to the banquet.
Just before the banquet, wardens visit the organizer, and summoned him for over possession limit of pheasant (cooked, or frozen; not eaten). The several hundred live pheasant in possession the month before did not matter, just the dead ones at the time.
------------

A true story:
I once lived on Pushaw lake with several room mates, and we have great duck hunting there. One evening in our hunting spot, somebody was shooting at ducks well after hunting ending. A room mate calls the wardens to report it. By the time they show up; sky buster is not around, so we chat at lake edge in front of our abode.. After a bit the warden notices the camouflage canoe with electric motor attach and ask who owns this fine piece of duck hunting equipment. It is owned by the good sportsman who called the warden...
Reply is here is your $150 summons for un-registered motor boat (was registered, but painted camouflage over reg numbers and decal). So much for doing right thing.

JJ

Den Socling · April 13, 2015, 10:54:03 PM

Again. I'm disgusted. Where do these jerks come from?

WH_Conley · April 14, 2015, 07:55:21 AM

We had a game warden here, retired now, that was a nice guy to talk to. He gave no warnings or breaks of any other kind to anyone. He always asked the judge for the maximum sentence. His wife worked at the local soil conservation office. She was caught embezzling. The judge gave her the maximum sentence.

beenthere · April 14, 2015, 10:28:14 AM

Once I was in the Warden's office during our gun deer season, and overheard the conversation of two deputized wardens (hired to help out during gun season). Was buck only season with some doe permits available.
Seems the two met up near the end of the day out in the boonies and decided to put on a small drive between the two of them of a small 4-5 acre patch of woods. One drove while the other posted. They kicked out a doe and it ran to another patch where they heard a gunshot. After they finished their drive, they both wandered over to where they heard the shot and found a hunter gutting the doe they kicked out, but with no permit arm band visible. They asked him about having a doe permit, and were told "not to worry, as the GW's don't get out in the woods, they just drive the roads looking for violators". The violator got a ticket after they helped drag the deer out of the woods. ;)

sawguy21 · April 14, 2015, 10:44:43 AM

I grew up on an acreage in a small town, our fence line formed part of the city boundary. My dad, not a hunter, had borrowed a 410 to scare the pheasants out of the garden which was between him and the road. Once a bird took off just as he fired and didn't live to do it again. A vehicle driving by at that particular moment turned into the yard, it was the CO. Ahem. He knew my dad so gave him a short lecture about gun regulations, the old man was pretty embarrassed. :D

Roger2561 · April 14, 2015, 04:24:04 PM

My dad grew up through the great depression and it wasn't unusual for people to hunt during the "off" season to feed their families when money and food was essentially nonexistent. When dad was a child a neighbor snitched on another neighbor to the game warden that the guy had been poaching deer and other wild life. The fellow that had been snitched on had 3 deer hanging in the cellar of his house. The game warden went to guys' house and said he had to look around to see if any deer were taken out of season. The guy told him to go ahead and have a look around. All the game warden did was stick his head in the door of the house, looked left, looked right and told the guy that he didn't see anything, and that he was to have a nice day. Later that week the game warden told my granddad that he knew there was deer in his neighbor's cellar but he wouldn't be able look himself in the mirror if he had taken the deer and the only source of food that the family had. Plus he would have had to arrest the guy and take his fire arms away. The family was mom, dad and 4 children. Roger