Self reporting wildlife violation

Has anyone ever turned their self in? What was the result? I was watching life below zero where chip mistakenly shot a female musk ox when he only had a bull tag. He contacted Alaska fish and game they told him to surrender the head and hide and distribute the meat amongst his village. They did not give him a fine which I found unusual as Alaska is pretty serious on their laws.

If you're from Anchorage and you do that, they throw the book at you.

Jim

Is that show still on?

I caught a pike in a 330, called the warden. He told me to make sure it doesn’t go to waste and have a good night.

Had a buddy who shot a pheasant thinking it was a rooster, turned out to be a black hen. Warden gave him a small fine and gave him paperwork that allowed him to keep the bird and have it mounted.

Yup several times most outcomes were good one cost some cash. Would still self report in a heartbeat. I need quality sleep.

A couple times, but won't go into detail per Rule 6 at the top of the page. Both times the outcome was just fine.

Why? If you know you messed up and it was accidental then just deal with it and make the best of it. Does anyone call the police every time they speed?

That would have been a more interesting episode if they showed what really happens when you are not on film. Like Jim, here you got to surrender the meat and trophy to the troopers and pay a nice fine. Jim and I apparently have something in common that don't apply to Chip. What do you figure that might be, Jim?

After knowing a few people that had a honest mistake tern them self in and got hammered with fines and other punishments. Nope not for me . You no there job is to catch you messing up on purpose or by accident and fine and charge you .

I wondered if it being on TV the fish and game department went easy on him. Mistake or not I believe the average citizen would have been in trouble. I almost guarantee if I mistakenly shot an elk thinking it was a deer in kansas I would at the very least be paying a fine.

Me no. Had a warden call me up couple years back asking if I wanted some turkeys. Absolutely.
I meet up with him he tells me the hunter killed one then a little later he shot the 2nd he walked up to the 2nd only to see a 3rd flopping around. He reported his mistake got a warning and I got a Turkey and 3 sets of feathers.

Kinda what I was thinking.

We all make honest mistakes. Sometimes its best to not even put that warden in that situation.

True but if the warden found out through the grapevine then the hunter could get poaching charges. Here poaching is now a 4th degree. I'd rather be upfront and hope for the best than to worry about catching a felony.

Speeding is a moving violation, not a criminal offense.

The idea they put across is that if you report yourself they will go a lot easier on you than if you run and get caught later.From some of the cases I have seen in the media,the ones that turn themselves in get one fine.
Those that run and get caught have a bunch of fines piled up.
Are you a gambler?

I just keep my mouth shut and don’t post for the world to see on social media. Talked to a Warden that told me hunting sites and FB have made their jobs a whole lot easier.

Having had the pleasure to listen to a few of our wardens talk about this, they said that if it was an honest mistake they will most likely issue a warning and take the horns. If you shot a doe instead of a buck you would use your buck tag. If you are a repeat offender you will get a fine. Tho they did say it will be better if you go to them vs them having to go to you. Pretty easy to stay within the lines but mistakes do happen. Man up.

My job is to catch people doing stupid stuff...intentional or not. Its darn hard to prove intent but if you dont say something, ore deceptive or straight lie that will show intent.

I'm not a game warden but if someome did call me to report a mistake I'd confiscate the animal amd give him a written warning.

Gee, Dirt, I can't imagine what you're talking about.

Jim

I turned in the fisher I caught out of season 2 years ago. Brought it into the local DNR office. All they did was ask me a couple questions.

I believe an incidental trapping catch is different than say killing 2 ducks with one shot putting you one over the limit.

Tagged a bear with my deer tag, one month later shot my deer and couldn't find my tag. I called our warden and he just laughed and said come over and I will give you another tag. I caught a blue heron in a rat set called the same warden and he took it to a local university. No fines no tickets. I believe a lot depends on your local reputation.

Ive heard too many stories of honest people making honest mistakes , trying to do the right thing but instead getting hammerd by someone of authority with no ability to reason

I have turned in things out of season, and things that don't have a season. I have never even been questioned hardly. As far as Chip and the musk ox goes. From what I saw in AK, the natives in the villages do pretty much what they want. I saw whole moose thrown out in the spring once they thawed and started to rot. Pickup loads of salmon dumped out rather than clean them. Nets full of white bloated fish. Ducks and geese shot in the spring and no attempt to retrieve. They call it subsistence.

Hows that?

I’ve called a couple of times when I caught a few turkeys in some footholds. All he ask could they be turned loose or was the damage to bad . I just snap a few photos and sent them to him and put 2 turkeys in the freezer.

I got a game ticket once for leaving a snare unchecked. Had absolutely missed one when pulling them. Was not good. I had it coming paid the fine and have not heard anymore about it. I don't think anybody gets to shook up if you make an honest mistake. Just own up to it and go on.

No, not me. but i will confess ,i did cut a mattress tag off once, could not sleep for days.

That's different than you calling them up and saying , hey I forgot about a snare I left out 2 months ago . And then they come give you a ticket.

That's you...and most of the ol school wardens. With the new people they are now hiring (with, self admitted, absolutely no wildlife experience) I'm not so sure anymore.

For the record, I call in my incidentals, but to each his own.

OK, story time: I was trapping spring rats years ago in SD. Ended up with a live mink in a colony trap...cold and shivering. So I Tossed him in a milk crate in the cab with a sweatshirt and part of a rat inside. Called the warden's office. Was told no problem but MUST let him go at the same exact location where I caught him. Well I was already down the road and wanted him to warm up and come around before letting him go, So he stayed in the cab for an entire day before I could get back to that stop again. Of course he slipped the crate and I came out to a big steaming pile of doo on my consul in the morning. The dog chased the mink around my truck cab for about 3 hrs that morning until I could get back to the right location (per wardens demands).

I do things like I'm "suppose to do" but there have been times when it leaves me scratching my head.

I asked our local version of Sneed specifically about the rare occasion of finding a duck at the bottom of a drowning wire. He told me to not salvage the bird but to toss it into the bushes for other critters to eat and not talk about it!

Here in NJ bobcats are considered an endangered specie, although we have lots of them. If you catch one in a snare by accident, the state requests that you call them to let it out. They come and ear tag it, take a tooth and a DNA sample then release the cat. Oh, and as they are leaving they give you a $65.00 ticket for "impeading the movements of an endangered specie". Meaning that while the cat was in the snare he could not walk elsewhere. No one calls them for help anymore!! Bear in mind that 2 of these "violations" and you lose hunting, fishing and trapping licenses for 5 years.

When I lived in West Yellowstone in the 70's our landlord took his wife out to fill her moose tag. I'd seen a nice young bull next to the lake after duck hunting and told them about it. I stayed at the cabin but they went to the lake. Turns out when they got there they found two different moose, (the one I saw had a drop antler on one side), one was a young bull and the other was a monster Shiras for the area. He gave her a .243 as she was a tiny gal and he was going to back her up with his 7 mm mag. Unfortunately they didn't discuss which bull they were going to kill. She put two into the boiler room of the youngster and when he hadn't fallen after a bit, he leveled on the trophy and soon enough they were both on the ground.

She came back to the cabin in tears and used our phone to call our local warden who was a good guy. We grabbed our stuff and went to clean the two moose. We ate well all winter but she decided to keep the big bull so most of it was burger. The small bull went to the Indian home in Bozeman.

Unfortunately they threw the book at her, I think because she was a non-res.... they lived half time in MT and half time in CA. Her son was a Bozeman cop and later came to thank us for helping his folks. No doubt that she was never going to hunt again she felt so bad. I always figured her husband was really the one at fault, but I guess he paid the fine.

I've never called myself in.... but I'm a good boy.

Pete

Couldn't find a trap one late fall snowed it in ,Low and beold went in early thaw to retrieve it and there was a Red Fox hopping around in it .Let him loose and pulled the trap ,Always wondered how good Gusto was .

i make a real effort to obey game laws. if i mistakenly violate one, then realize it without a warden showing up, i correct it and do not make a complaint to l.e. about myself. why would you?

Wisconsin, 14 years old, hunting with my dad on public land. Muzzleloader only, doe tags. We were hard at it, sitting in a draw early morning. Up trots what we both think is a doe. Being a 14 year old and novice, I can't get my muzzleloader on the deer in time for a shot. The deer trots to the top of the hill and we hear ka-crack! Someone shot it. About 15 minutes later, down comes this guy and stops to talk with us. Said he's going to turn himself in to the warden as the deer was actually a 3.5" spike (3" and under is antlerless in WI).

About an hour later he returns with the warden. The warden measures the antlers, says it's illegal and wires the guy a $300+ dollar ticket. I still remember the conversation that ensued. He said, "but I turned myself in!" And the warden made a remark like, you broke the law, and I'm glad you turned yourself in. In front of the warden and the hunter, my dad turns to me and says, "well, I guess you learned a valuable lesson today about turning yourself in."

If course the warden was (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman), but life went on. 20 years later, I try to do everything by the book and ethically, but for those of us that spend enough time outdoors, mistakes happen. I still remember the lesson learned that day and evaluate the situation before making that decision.

Now that hits the mark. I always try to follow the letter of the law, but have made a few honest mistakes. The wife and I know about them and nobody else. I learned from those mistakes and paying a fine would not have helped me learn any better. Letting the meat go to waste would just be stupid.

Well I guess a cop or a warden should let everyone off that says its a mistake. Everyone would be making mistakes no need for law enforcement. I guess I understand both sides of it but I have heard plenty of stories that guys laughed about in bars after the fact, using excuses. I guess if it was me I would for the most part issue a ticket and tell them they should plea there case to the judge and let him decide. Not taking side but just understanding both sides and yep I made mistakes.

I haven't but a friend killed 2 deer with one shot about 5 years ago. A doe he hadn't noticed was right behind a buck and when he touched the shot off, both went down.
He didn't move them - left them alone and called a CPO. The officer looked the site over, gave him an educational talk and a verbal warning, but then helped him drag them both out to a field where he could get his pickup to them. He told the CPO he would donate the doe to Sportsmen Against Hunger. The CPO said that was a good thing to do and drove off.

Intent and officer discretion is always part of the game - so is lying to an officer.

I know a guy that shot a yearling buck he thought was a doe. Turns out the deer had a 3" antler that ran down along the side of it's head instead of going up beside the ear. Couldn't see it in a scope let alone with iron sights. Is a guy supposed to self report and take a fine for a freak of nature like that when it was impossible to discern? I wouldn't, and there was no bragging at the bar about shooting a yearling buck. Mistakes happen, a fine doesn't improve the learning process for those interested in following the law.

I had this happen last season, let the warden know about a mistake I made in the tagging of a deer and I got ticketed for it. Kinda makes you not want to tell them anything

You takes your chances.
You pays your prices.
If I were to be hunting in Maine, or just about anywhere in the northeast, and had something go wrong, I would be sweating bullets. Danged if you do, danged if you don't.
That is why I do not hunt there.
I bear hunted with a guide in Maine one year. The guide was an outstanding guide and a wonderful person, but he made it clear that if we messed up and he learned of it, he was required to report it. If he did not, he would automatically lose his guiding business for a ridiculous amount of time, if not permanently. The game department in Maine does not play any games.

I agree that it depends on the situation and the warden. There is nothing that says they have to give you a break . There is also a lot of difference in game wardens some are good and will assess the situation and act fairly some just want to be a barney fife. I am not saying if you broke the law you shouldn't pay a fine but if you own up to your mistake that should be taken into consideration.

i aint afraid ta say it---yeah,i'll get right on that one.

Deny everything, admit nothing, make counter accusations....

Not quite the same, but close.

I have had a number of people come to me and tell me that they screwed up. I have them explain themselves and 99% of the time, I do not write a ticket or any other form of sanction.

Years ago a few days before the end of spring beaver season we got a lot of rain,which with the snow melt raised our rivers here probably 3' or more over our usual high water in the spring.Having high water and out of reach beaver traps is not that unusual here,it happens.In the past I just waited until the water went down and went looking for them.Yes,it was after season closed but I never thought much of it,it was a real job trying to find them since they were silted over bad and were never operational.This one spring I had this happen and I got thinking about how I'd never ran into a Game Warden while doing this and how I should notify them to give them a heads up,and so they'd think I was a pretty honest guy .Ha,when I called the office I was put in touch with the head CO,he listened to me and said"I'll let this go just this one time,but you better make sure it never happens again".You bet it'll never happen again,the next time something like this comes up I won't be informing anybody,it'll be business as usual.Incidently after this happened I ran into a Game Warden and told him about it and he said"we're supposed to be working with people,not against them".My sentiments exactly.

A friend of mine hunted in the mountains of Alaska where he lives shot a large big game animal it ran behind the house size Boulder and came out the other side and he put it down. The problem was that his animal died behind the house size Boulder and another animal ran out from behind the house size Boulder when he got there there was two big game animals on the ground. He reported it got into a world of (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) and basically he could have just packed out one and let the bears eat the other.



I also know of an instant where a conservation officer was hunting with his father and the father accidentally shot two turkeys this was in Michigan. Nothing was ever done.

I'm not condoning poaching but an honest mistake is an honest mistake and when you turn yourself in they hang you from the highest tree.

When a coon chews a trap tag off I am not calling the warden to tell him. I just put a new tag on. If I am trapping a chicken killing coyote in August and a skunk shows up I'm not releasing it or calling the warden. If I'm filling an antlerless deer tag and find out my doe is a spike that deer is getting ate and I'm not turning it in either. I make an honest effort to stay legal but a whole season without a tag getting chewed off? not very likely.

I think intent should be given more concern when a crime happens than it frequently is, including during the charging process, not just the sentencing.

Keith

this about sums it up

Exactly. Intent of the law itself and intent of the potential lawbreaker.