Im just going by what i have witnessed. Ive been told i was under surveillance on public land, and ive seen them cut locks on sheds, search cars...just because there was hunting related stuff in the vicinity. Ohio is very loose on these laws.
I didn't read every single post so forgive me if this has already been suggested, but perhaps you have a deer loving neighbor that could see the rack through your yards and called you in.
Pretty easy, in NC. I'd just give him my NCWRC number, and tell him to look them up (I'd tell him which year I shot it). In NC....GW's have more lee-way in this arena than other LEO's.
I have worked pretty close with differnt GW's over the years and there are a few I could call good friends, but when he got to the part of where I killed my deer I would have told him, none of your business pecker head !
To me it seems that game wardens are checking up on more people that play by the rules rather than those that don't.
This thread is interesting Everybody wants GW's to do thier jobs and catch poachers, & then they complain during a situation where the GW's are actually trying to do so.
That's just statistics coming into play. There are more people that play by the rules. If they make 100 stops or inquiries then 98 of those are going to be on people who play by the rules. I'm not sure why people get tweaked out if they've got nothing to hide... I say good for them for keeping everyone honest!
I'm pretty sure you'd need some form of license or permit to posess antlers in NC. You could posess them on someone else's (permit or license) IF you had a written detail of who/when you received them....and which permit/license they utilized to obtain them. In other words......you'd have to prove a deer mount you received as a gift from someone was taken or posessed by that person, legally, prior to them gifting it to you. IF the GW wanted to be an ass.
I am not a GW, but I deal with law and statutory authority on a daily basis in my career. With that said, GW's (in most states) have some of the most broad and far reaching ranges of statutory authority that exist in all law enforcement in this country. There is a lot more to statutory authority than probable cause. Probable cause is just one of the levels of suspicion an officer uses to determine the scope of his authority and that authority can vary greatly depending on the information the officer has to go by. Probable cause is the level of suspicion when a law enforcement officer has the authority to begin depriving you of certain liberties, for example placing you under arrest and collecting evidence or seizing property. If a GW reaches the level of probable cause, you are probably getting a ticket or going to jail depending on the violation. In the specific example mentioned in this post, these guys had either "mere" or "reasonable" suspicion. They can make contact with anyone they want in order to have a conversation with them. The level of suspicion they have and can articulate in a court of law determines wether or not that conversation is consentual. (Meaning wether or not you can walk away from the conversation) There is no way to determine at what level they were without knowing all the info they had. As far as entering onto private property, they only need reasonable suspicion and possible only mere suspicion to do that, so yes, at that point he could walk around and look around for evidence of a crime that may be in "plain view." However they can not search your home or buildings without consent from you or a warrant. People often think an officers actions are beyond his scope of authority because they are unfamiliar with how thier statutory authority works with regards to levels of suspicion. Most people are only familiar with probable cause and think everything revolves around that....and like I said, there is alot more to it. As long as officer's are doing thier jobs with integrity, give them your support, they have a very tough job.
i'm not positive on the exact laws, but they don't need much to ask questions or check out anything they want. a friend of my who loads my rifle ammunition, got checked out once. they said someone reported him shooting deer illegally. they came into his house and went thru his freezers. he needed to provide proof for all his meat, when where and so on(he did and all was fine). so them seeing some horns laying around was cause for them to check you out. i would be annoyed if that happened to me but i understand it. all the poaching and illegal things that go on with hunting because of a few that choose to do whatever they like, is why this is necessary and happens. i keep all my info and the metal tags that i get go right in the freezer with the meat, so i know i'll have no problems
For some of you guys liking the fact that the GW's just walked up onto Aaron's property and just started rummaging around.....think of this scenario if the police were granted the same powers as the GW's in the Aaron's scenario. The police drive by and see a beer can on your back porch. Hmmm. So before you know it the cops are walking all over your property asking your children to submit to breathalyzer tests and such. HUH? No, I don't accept that as being "justifiable" and I in turn do not believe what the game wardens were doing was justifiable.
I would tend to agree with some of the others that said someone tipped them off. I don't know when your season ended but ours ended Jan.1. Most of the GWs around here are really good guys and are overworked and UNDERSTAFFED. I have worked closely with most of them in our counties over the last 10 yrs or so and they have the keys to all of my gates and patrol when they can. I have places cut out in the woodlines so they can park on field edges and watch roads and fields for night poaching (the use of spotlights to look at/for deer is allowed until 11pm). Most of these guys are very dedicated and will do just about anything you ask...all ya gotta do is ask. There is only one GW in my area that I really don't talk with alot. He is good at getting law breakers but he just has a bad attitude ( IMO). All you have to do is start talking about how this one GW acted towards somebody and people already know who it was without saying his name. His attitude is going to get him in trouble one day. I completely understand there are bad apples in every line of work but like I said earlier, most of the GWs around here are good guys who are very dedicated to protecting the wildlife and will protect you and your property.
I don't understand why the possum cops have more authority than state troopers. Probable cause is a pretty broad term.
In regards to the beer can.... I don't (by NC Law) need a permit or license to posess it. I'd tell him I funneled it, this morning, with breakfast. And, I'd invite him to hold the funnel while I did it, again. If he saw what he thought was a violation of a law.......I'd cooperate.
What is next, the GW's witness some housewife cutting up fish out on her back porch, then investigates her by asking where she caught the fish, did she use an illegal net, does she have a fishing license...and her response..."I bought the fish at the market..." Then their response...Ok m'am put your hands behind your back for lying to us and now we will begin to search your house. Jeff, your drivers license serves the same purpose as your hunting license in regards to purchasing and possessing alcohol.
What's the surprise? Game wardens have had this kind of power for ever. I thought everyone knew that. At times I think they're excessive, but I don't argue or question their authority. It would be futile. I
They both have the same statutory authority and have to follow the same rules with regards to their levels of suspicion and the scope of thier authority. The main difference is that a GW is a peace officer and is also charged with enforcing state conservation and game management laws, as where a state trooper is a peace officer who probably doesn't have the authority to enforce those state conservation and game management laws. However, if the ST thinks there is a violation of those laws he may detain you until he can get a GW there to enforce them. But, that may be different from state to state.
And if he wants to check me for age verification, I'm fine with that. If a GW comes onto my property and thinks he's going to question my wife (who's cleaning fish), I'm gonna laugh at him and tell him he's just jealous.
