I feel certain we all know the laws regarding tagging the deer I know for a fact at least two of us are guilty of not tagging one till we get back to camp and I bet we are not alone. Ive been known to go hunting without a pen, evening hunt and morning hunt without a light etc. Im not one that feels like I need to be prepared for the zombie apocalypse and a bug out bag in tow when I go for a hunt on our family ranch. I think there are a lot of people that don't like to play nice with the OP and some holier than thou posts coming out.

I say consider yourself lucky you didn't get a ticket, he interpreted what was going on and decided you weren't a bad guy and gave you a warning to encourage you to do it more right next time.

This thread has potential

I've done it a few times, and had I been caught, I'd have expected at least a warning if not a ticket and would never waste my time sharing the story about how the big bad Game Warden was mean to me.

If I get pulled over for speeding, and the officer gives me a warning, I say, "Thank you sir. I will watch my speed better" If a game warden gives me a warning for not tagging my deer properly, I will say, "Thank you sir, I will make sure to tag correctly next time". If you get pulled over for speeding, and receive a warning, do you complain about it? C'mon! It's the same thing.

Now, I did have a game warden that read me the riot act for not having my hunter safety card number printed on my hunting license. Huh? There is no law that says it must be printed on the license, just that you must have it with you...which I did. That pissed me off, because I had not broken any laws. Not even a small one. In your case, you broke a law. Was it a seemingly insignificant law? Yes. Were you attempting to do the right thing by filling out a tag and be within the law? Yes. But you were still outside of the law when he showed up. Thank him for his service and thank him for only giving you a warning.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^This is exactly what should have happened if his only source of light went bad.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

After reading the OP initial response and poor choice of big words I think the game warden should have written you a ticket and hopefully your Grandson would have learned a good life lesson on how not to act

The sad part to me is that he has heard all the excuses of people trying to get away with something. If people just would follow the rules and use common sense, we wouldn’t have so many laws that seem nonsensical. Again, all these rules/situations we hear about on here are mostly because people try to get away with stuff.

I would be curious to know on what grounds the OP didn't feel he deserved a warning or an outright ticket. He admitted to breaking the law. He admitted to involving his grandson in breaking the law.

Not only did he break the law and involve his grandson, but he had opportunity to have tagged the deer before the GW arrived but instead chose to perform other tasks with the deer (unloading it and getting it hung up to process). The tagging regulation isn't vague. So how was the game warden out of line??
https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/licenses/tagging-instructions/tagging-deer

Whoa, whoa,whoa....hold up there Sparkey....don’t you start muddying thugs up with facts...

right on

Only one person out of line and it wasn't the game warden.

All I care about is...did he ever move that dang ladder from under the feeder? That thing was driving me f'ing CRAZY!

This gets my vote for comment of the week, heck maybe even month. I like it.

Grandson shot the deer as far as I am concerned prove different to the GW

Doing his job is pulling a power move?

So let the grandson get the ticket for an untagged deer? Literally passing the buck.

Somebody gets a ticket

Holy cow.... I've never seen such a large group of holier-than-thou saints gathered in one place before. Some of you armchair warriors talk about tagging as if God himself made the rule LOL

That said, the GW in this case did the right thing by not giving the OP a fine - so he wasn't being a$$, he was just doing his job - reminding you of the rules you need follow while hunting in the great state of Texas. Unfortunately, we live in a time when the government is always going to be up in your business, nothing you can do about it. Forget about it and move on.

Personally, I always tag according to the rules - because I'm just a person who follows the rules, even the stupid ones - but this particular rule is SUPER annoying for anyone who skins and quarters in the field. And let's be honest, it's a crap rule and shouldn't be a fine-able offense.

The irony is palpable.

Yep.

Fixed it for you.

I get what’s going on here and agree with the sentiments by and large.

But, like redchevy said, y’all know anyone who deer hunts any amount has fractured that law a bit at one time or another......

To answer your question,,he was very courteous in giving you a warning, you should have been prepared in the field. Get over it. Your the type that deserved a real citation not a warning.

did he technically break the law? yes. what real impact does this infraction have on deer or deer hunting? you be the judge. every hunter with the exception of about 9 holy rollers have broken the rules when it comes to deer hunting, kinda hard not to when there are literally pages of them.

Awww, look at you... taking initiative and running around helping out ... such a good little squirrel, your wife trained you well. Come on over here and get your treat now.. LOL

Also....

All laws are rules, but not all rules are laws. ... what do they say about fixing things that ain't broken :P