We don't have a lock on the gate, but the GW still climbs the fence and walks to the cabin.

Dad used to say the game wardens had the best huntin spots.

They hang out at the processors, convenience stores, feed stores, look for spot lighters from public roadways, make traffic stops, follow up on Operation Game Theft tips and develop probable cause just like any other branch of law enforcement. The right to privacy on my own land or land that I may lease is the dilemma. I work cases where people murder each other and they tend not to make it easy for me to catch them. I still have to obey the law and Code of Criminal Procedures or risk having the case thrown out.

Last year I got pulled over Sunday evening on the way back from opening weekend by a DPS officer conducting what he called a "speed check". Once he found out we had been at the lease, he went back to his car and out of the passenger side came ol Mr Green Pants. He came up and questioned us for a while. I wasn't towing a trailer with an ATV or had a deer strapped to the hood... anything that would make you think I was hunting except I was in a 4X4 going down a 2 lane highway in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't until I was driving away that I realized that kinda pizzed me off.

I've never had a bad encounter with one though... unless you count the 6'10" game warden father of my high school girlfriend. Actually he was/is a great guy, miss him more than his daughter LOL.

Had the same thing happen to me while working on a tractor next to a barn. It didn't really piss me off much but the landowner who was helping me didn't like it at all.

IMO, the practice equates to an officer seeing a vehicle parked in your driveway and then knocking on your door to ask if you have a driver's license.

Ive been cited by the game warden only once. It was a stupid mistake on my part while dove hunting in Fisher county.

Growing up in Odessa and hunting All over the Sandhills at least 100 days a year for 21 years I never saw one game warden.

All of the wardens I've met on the water were good people. I lived on lake Palestine In east Texas for 5 years, and knew the warden well. Being single I had a lot of different girls in the boat with me that had no fishing license and not one ever got a ticket while we were hybrid fishing with live bait, they were all my rods, and the girls were usually in bikinis.

Every time I go to Amistad which is at least 5 times a year we get pulled over once a trip and have had only one problem. A buddy of mine had a brand new skeeter and a young warden alone tried to check us while we were fishing a windy point in a 20mph wind. He harpooned the side of my buddies new boat with the front of his. That poor kid got mutherfkd at least 20 times like I've never heard before. He asked to see a fire extinguisher and life jackets and my buddy really got pissed. The kid ended up driving off with his head down. You'd think they'd train those newbies to call you out to open water before a check.

I just don't like to mess with them while I'm hunting or sitting in camp.

I once surreptitiously removed the federal tag from my new mattress. It was late at night and I figured that nobody would ever find out. I felt so bad about it the next day that I called the FBI and turned myself in. Fortunately, they let me off with a sternly worded rebuke.

I'll never do that again.

Make it difficult, pay the price for a mistake. Make friend, get a break for a mistake. They have master keys to most locks in production. Are you trying to keep the landowner out too?

You give him the same impression. You make it hard for him, he will make it hard for you. Who ya gonna call when you need him?

So...you want them to wait at the gate till you are going home? Seriously, while evidence can be destroyed?

I've had numerous encounters with wardens as had my dad and all have been good. I remember dad was fishing on LBJ and had just run his trotline. He had taken a yellowcat off that was a couple inches too short. When dad got to the ramp the GW was checking licenses and catches. Dad told the GW he had a yellowcat that was a little short but it was dead when he took it off and just couldn't throw it back and let it go to waste. The GW told him not to worry about it. A couple weeks later the same GW stopped at dads house as dad raised a huge garden every year. He asked dad if he could pick some tomatoes and okra and dad told him to help himself. He stopped a couple times that summer and he and dad became friends. That deer season, dad lost his lease and didn't have a place to hunt so he had no way to get venison. The GW came by a few days after season started and gave dad a deer that had been illegally killed. He knew dad loved venison and made sure he had a steady supply during the season. This year, while dove hunting in Cotulla, I was at my MIL's house when at just about dark a GW pulled up. Asked if we had been hunting and told him yes. Showed him my and my wifes license and if there was anything else he wanted to see. He said no and as he was leaving I thanked him for coming to the ranch to check as my MIL lives alone and it's good to know he checks on her.
I know some people on here says they have met some sour wardens. I've met some sour mechanics, HVAC, plumbers, etc and yet I don't judge them all the same. We all have bad days.

I had issues with trespassers and poachers dumping carcasses on back side of my place, GW took care of it, land owner back there has history of various violations that’s why GW has unlimited access

Why give the GW a key to your cabin?

Chad, I do not break any laws either but I'm also not looking to get hassled. There are good GWs and there are bad GWs and then there are always a couple of Barney Fife GWs out there simply trying to screw with people to prove how tough they are and I've experienced all three. For the last two you really don't have to do much of anything to get them to show that they're jerks, could be something as not hearing/understanding something they say and asking a question for clarification and all of a sudden they act like your challenging their manhood...ugh. So I choose to avoid them if possible because I do not want to deal with the bull.

I don't need a hunting license if I am not hunting!

You still call him, of course. If he does not provide the needed service, you report him.

I don't want their job. And for that reason, I will gladly comply, be respectful and give them a reason to not have an interest in worrying about me being a person they feel inclined to be concerned with.

Luckily no bad experiences. All 6 of mine while dove hunting even with a ticket for no HE 23 years ago. 3 were last year alone in 3 separate counties! Never seen one where I deer hunt in 12 years.

Why the hell would I ever need him?

It was the landowners idea and is still his lock.

Ah. The Nuremburg defense. That makes everything ok.

Game Wardens are necessary. Sometimes they are an inconvenience that in my opinion is outweighed by the service they provide. The majority of my experience with them has been overwhelmingly positive with the exception of two encounters. Overall that is a better track record than most professions. Personally I am happy to see them on the property I hunt and wish they had a regular presence there. I have no problem with them checking to see if I am obeying the law. I would think trying to lock them out is a sure way to get their full attention, and I would think a good way to piss off the landowner, unless you are the landowner. Locking out a utility companies lock is a violation of the law. If you are not ticketed for that, whether you are aware of it or not, you were given a break.

I see some really disappointing comments from a bunch of so-called conservation-minded outdoorsmen on here. Everybody is pro-police, as long as Mr. Police is paying attention to somebody else. I personally have only good experiences to share regarding my interactions with GW. I couldn't do what they do on my best day, and they do it in all kinds of weather, at all hours, alone, miles from help, while dealing with people who are always armed and often intoxicated. God bless 'em for doing their job.

a few bad apples will ruin the whose basket...there is good and bad in every walk of life..the systym will fix this..if he or she is a good apple..he or she will last a long time..on the other hand if he or she is a bad one he or she will be gone and will not have a career..having said that it doesnt bode well for the profession if there is somebody over reaching..over reacting..and i think that comes with experience with the professional..with age comes wisdom..your more seasoned GW are awesome! He she has the power and demand respect..and that goes for anybody in authority..sometimes i dont like it..but its always better to respect rather than disrespect anybody with any authority,,they will appreciate it

Game Warden is welcome on my place any time. He has all the combo's for the locks on the big ranch and we request he do a drive through when ever possible. In over 50 years I've never once had a problem with a Game Warden. maybe it's because I follow the law, understand the job they have to do and I don't give them any attitude. To be honest I don't understand why anybody would cop an attitude but they most certainly do, seen it too many times. Our game laws in Texas are about as simply written as they can be, if you screw up then suck it up and shake their hand for doing a good job.