lol.....didn't know they had one. Welcome to the forum.

Thanks!(I don't think they do either so probably no politics for me....)

There is a master key that will fit essentially all master lock keys. Most power and gas companies have one of these. It fits almost all master locks you find on the power line gates. And Yes, a lot of GW have them. That is how they show up in weird locked places.

Guys,

One of the main points I see debated here is the right of the GW to enter your land, with the main arguing points relating to whether or not the GW needs probable cause that hunting or nefarious activity has taken place, hence justification to enter private property.

I am not a lawyer and do not use the following as legal advice. But, when I have discussed this with a GW, he pointed out the following...

> All wildlife are owned by the State. You may own the property, but [typically] you do not own the deer, turkey, etc. that roam on it. They are owned by the State and the GW is the primary Agent of the State to govern the hunting and research regarding.

The following ordinance of the TPWD grants the GW power to enter private property even if Wildlife Research is to be conducted.

"Sec. 12.103. ENTERING LAND; USE OF INFORMATION OBTAINED BY ENTRY; CIVIL PENALTY. (a) To enforce the game and fish laws of the state and to conduct scientific investigations and research regarding wild game or fish, an authorized employee of the department may enter on any land or water where wild game or fish are known to range or stray.No action may be sustained against an employee of the department to prevent his entering on land or water when acting in his official capacity as described by this subsection."

Entry onto lands are not just permitted due to hunting/potential violatoins. A GW can simply enter the land to perform a wildlife survey, forage survey, etc.

I am not a lawyer, but that seems about as broad a definition to permit entry onto private property as one could ask for.

Regardless, I agree with the overall sentiment of the thread; be friends with the GW, welcome him to camp, and he will probably watch your back.

Well almost, but not quite right.

They cannot enter a residence or temporary residence without a warrant.
A residence is a structure ordinarily used by humans as a dwelling / place to live.
A GW warden can and will get a warrant just as fast as the person delivering it to the scene can get there.

Any structure not ordinarily used as a residence or any vehicle, vessel, receptacle or container that is commonly used to transport, store or conceal wildlife can be searched without a warrant.
Reasonable, articular suspicion that the wildlife resource has been unlawfully killed or taken is all that is needed.
Anyone refusing access may be detained a reasonable amount of time so that a search warrant may be obtained.

A GW can without a warrant enter any land or water where wild game or fish are known to range or stray to enforce game laws conduct investigations or research.
No action(s) can prevent entry to any land or water when acting in his/her official capacity.
Reasonable belief that a person has or is engaged in any activity relating to the Parks and Wildlife code is all that is needed.

Any wildlife resource in plain view may be inspected / researched by a GW without warrant to gather scientific data or ascertain compliance with any aspect of the the rules and regulations set forth by the state.

they can come onto the property whenever they should choose.... into a house, etc to check would still require a warrant and they will gladly sit there and wait for one. Be courteous to them, let them do their job, invite them out for a opening weekend fish fry or steak grillin' activities and you will have little trouble out of them. On rare...and I do mean RARE...occassion, some just try to start stuff and its really a bad move on their part if done in the wrong place or to the wrong folks.

I am sorry, should have clarified... Private Property i.e. Land is what I meant.

A game warden came by my house one day real nice guy. He walked onto the property from a neighboring property, luckily my dogs where inside the house. We talked for a while, and I told him to be careful of the dogs next time, because it is rare they are all in the house. Have not seen him since.

It gets complicated. The first part of Sec 12.103 that says they may enter to enforce game and fish laws is simply a restatement of the general law and MAY NOT BE DONE WITHOUT PROBABLE CAUSE.
The second part-for scientific research-is clarified in the statute further by making it clear that no evidence obtained or anything observed can be used in prosecution of a criminal case. This provision merely recognizes that scientific research is NOT the same as probable cause for prosecution purposes.

And as for waiting for a warrant,those require a probable cause finding by a judge-a game warden can't just get one because he seeks it.

The Constitution controls here.If a game warden asks to look in your freezer he must have either 1)your consent or 2)probable cause such as information you violated the law in order to do so.

Now,fighting them in court is another story.But those are the rules....

should have mentioned that probable cause part...chances are slim, they are going to mess with you unless that is part of the equation @ your house.

Well I guess that's one way to to handle a GW on the property situation

He probably thought the same of you and see's no reason to put you on his to check list.
I'm sure there's plenty for him to do elsewhere in the area.

Yeah, probably so. I don't even kill deer I am allowed to kill. We try our best to do what is best for the deer on my place. Passed on quite a few legal deer this year, waiting for a mature one.

Other than speeding tickets I have have nothing on my record, if he ran my name. I am sure there are lots of places in my area that need his oversight. I actually with I saw them in this area more.

I respect all LEO's, but I have never met a friendly Game Warden. They don't seem to have respect for anyone.

This thread brings up a question I have. This past Saturday, down in LaSalle county, all of the hunters were out in blinds for the afternoon hunt. One of my sons wasn't seeing much, so he went back to camp early and fired up the barbecue pit, and started supper. While he was cooking, a game warden came into camp. He was a real nice guy, and he stayed there awhile and he and my son chatted about hunting. This brings up my question. He asked to see my son's hunting license. Naturally, he had it, so there was no problem. But what if he was just out there visiting and had no license? He was in camp, cooking. Also, his mother (my wife) had gone out there for a visit. She's never hunted in her life, and had gone into town when the GW was there. Would she have had to show a hunting license also if she had been there? Also, if there are any game wardens on this forum, what is the rule on a non-hunter sitting in a blind with a licensed hunter where only the licensed hunter is hunting and there's only one gun in the blind? Is that person required to have a license? I can't seem to find the answer in the TPWD booklet.

Our game warden in Nacogdoches made a horrible 1st impression on our lease last season. Wrote bogus tickets that did not hold up 2 seconds in court. Pretty much soured our hunting season last year. Wife hasn't had desire to hunt since.

report him then on the spot...Donnie is retired, but Shawn is a nice fella to get to know.

Lots of these post's remind me of a story I heard as true from somewhere on the east coast...I think in Readers Digest

The wife of a fisherman took a book and got in their boat to go enjoy the afternoon while her husband and the other members of the fishing party were snoozing after a lunch at their weekend cabin getaway. Naturally the husband's fishing tackle was left in the boat, and the wife did not have a license as she did not fish at all ever.

A GW saw her anchored up and came over to inspect everything since she was "acting suspicious" laying down in the boat and avoiding looking at him when he drove up - she was asleep...and wrote her a ticket for not having a license while fishing even though there was not a hook in the water anywhere since there was tackle in the boat that could have been being used.

The wife argued about it, as she was not fishing and the GW stated that he could write the ticket because there was tackle in the boatthat he had seized as evidence. Then as he was leaving the wife told the GW to go ahead and file the no license ticket as it proved he had had contact with her and that she would be charging him with 1st degree rape...since the GW had the necessary equipment at his immediate disposal...he supposedly tore up the ticket.

Even if the story is not totally accurate it makes you think Hmmm how will this whole incident look to a Judge & Jury.
Ron

LMAO

Rifleman.....can't tell if you were reponding to my post or someone else's? There are two game wardens running Nac. A white guy and a hispanic guy. Last name?

I did report to their main office in Rusk. Generic responses only.

Phillips, he's over the district now and just a really good guy in general.

I like having GWs come by my lease, we keep it legal. He pulled us over 2 wknds ago headed back from town at night, he recognized us, and we invited him back to our camp to see my buddies deer and hung by the campfire for prob 1.5hrs. He didn't even ask to see our licenses. They have alot of valuable info if you ever get the chance to hang with one.

that they do.... they are human though and can get out of line. If some of them are your friends and newbies to the profession, it is common courtesy to give them the dos and donts on what places they can mess with and which ones to just keep away from unless they get called out. I've seen one attempt to write tickets for sub13" deer in the harvest log of an MLD3 lease.... heard about it happening at another lease that a forum member is on and an inlaw holds the lease to from the timberco.... and one instance where the GW was trying to do his job, he was just trying to do a little to much on a very prestigiuos place (that will actually invite the wardens out for their t-bone dinners <----- good wasn't it BOBO?). Never met one that wasn't nice, some just aren't acclimated to their areas.

I would say that if they are sitting in a blind, and are old enough to posses a license they should have one on them. Regardless if they are not armed with rifle or bow. As for you wife, no she doesn't need a license to be in camp. Just make sure all animals are properly tagged, and if there is anybody in the field they have a license.

You don't need a license if you are not hunting. What you need a fishing license to ride in a boat? As long as you are not hunting you don't need a license.

If you are sitting in a blind in the field, i would say that you are hunting. Especially if someone in the blind has a rifle. One gun, then both people in the blind need a license.