Should I report Violations?

[Horizontal Hunter]

A few years back I called to report someone hunting with a shotgun in the middle of a large bowhunting only parcel. I even offered to take time out of my hunt and meet him on the trail to show him where he was hunting and shooting from.

I met him on the trail and he was far more interested in me than the call he was on. He never even looked for the gun hunter but he really busted my balls. I was treated like a piece of crap. I would be very very hard pressed to call in another violation. It would have to be a true matter of life and death before I would pick up the phone again.

Bob

[Jonny]

Walking down tracks is not a game violation.

Correct but still illegal unless the laws changed.

Yep, it’s illegal but a warden really has no part in that. Would be a county sheriff I think.

I have “permission” from a couple train operators who 99.9% of the time are the ones driving on the tracks by me. Use the rail to access some fishing spots I couldn’t ever dream of fishing without it.

Essentially said all it is, is go at my own risk, and charges will be pressed if anything happens. But if they see me, I better let them know how the fishing and hunting is.

This is not the Mississippi River railroad. That’s a much bigger issue right now. And that one is patrolled. Mine is not, which is why I’m “allowed” on the tracks.

DO NOT TAKE THIS AS ME SAYING WALK ON THE TRACKS. But if you see a train crew, stop and ask them. I stopped to ask how they were doing, and gave the crew each a beer since I had a cooler full. All of a sudden I knew where they have been seeing deer and what bridges have deep holes near them. And got “permission” to walk on the tracks.

[mheichelbech]

For me it depends on the violation. The COs around here would write a ticket for chewing gum if they could. It’s really ridiculous and they never give anyone a break for anything. Also, the regs Indiana are often vague and difficult to understand. I feel a lot of these are purposely vague.

If I see a situation where the violation looks to be not intentional or minor and a stupid law to begin with, I wouldn’t report it. Although I would let the violator know, if possible.
If the violator appears to be the type who doesn’t care then would report.

[ThePreBanMan]

A few years back I called to report someone hunting with a shotgun in the middle of a large bowhunting only parcel. I even offered to take time out of my hunt and meet him on the trail to show him where he was hunting and shooting from.

I met him on the trail and he was far more interested in me than the call he was on. He never even looked for the gun hunter but he really busted my balls. I was treated like a piece of crap. I would be very very hard pressed to call in another violation. It would have to be a true matter of life and death before I would pick up the phone again.

Bob

Ahhh Massachusetts...... love it here...... NOT!!! Don't you know - you got that jack wagon out of his truck where he was enjoying his DD coffee and donuts on the clock/payroll of the hack EPO job his brother in law's BFF got him... That's why he was pissed. He actually had to do something resembling his job... Welcome to Mass...

[tgreeno]

Reporting them is the right thing to do! If that doesn't solve the problem, things usually have a way of getting resolved.

[Horizontal Hunter]

A few years back I called to report someone hunting with a shotgun in the middle of a large bowhunting only parcel. I even offered to take time out of my hunt and meet him on the trail to show him where he was hunting and shooting from.

I met him on the trail and he was far more interested in me than the call he was on. He never even looked for the gun hunter but he really busted my balls. I was treated like a piece of crap. I would be very very hard pressed to call in another violation. It would have to be a true matter of life and death before I would pick up the phone again.

Bob

Ahhh Massachusetts...... love it here...... NOT!!! Don't you know - you got that jack wagon out of his truck where he was enjoying his DD coffee and donuts on the clock/payroll of the hack EPO job his brother in law's BFF got him... That's why he was pissed. He actually had to do something resembling his job... Welcome to Mass...

Connecticut actually. Young guy power tripping on his tin badge. Learned a valuable lesson though.

Bob

[Rich M]

OP is lashing out in frustration. I hope it doesn't backfire.

FWIW, I would not hesitate to walk down railroad tracks as a good access route. It has been presented on here in the past and no-one made a stink over it being illegal. Just don't get hit by a train or reported by a self-regulating socialist.

Not targeted at OP - general statement -> Are you gonna be the number on the game warden's cell phone that he grimaces at every time you text him another stand location or complain that someone else found your secret spot?

IMO, save it for a real violation. Poaching or some arrest-able offense.

My example - we duck hunt a lot and if you duck hunt you know how the GWs/LEOs like to dump on duck hunters. Set up in marsh and some guy keeps shooting at a duck specie with a 1 bird limit - thankfully he's a bad shot. So, several folks called him in and reported him. We all boat from the marsh back to the parking area to see 3 federal LEOs. They all but gave us body cavity searches - you might not know the drill. Licenses, drivers licenses, stamps, permits, check gas can for false bottom, inspect decoys and decoy bags, all buckets and compartments in boat, boat registration, safety equipment, check guns for capacity, magnets to all shells, count shells, asking questions that overlap, looking sideways at you, ask you to empty pockets, etc, etc, etc. And we knew the lead warden there - she stopped em after this or they would have kept going. Turned out the guy in question had entered the refuge early (passed the line of hunters waiting to enter - really upsets them) and managed to hit 1 legal and 1 illegal duck. 5 parties got strip searched and borderline harassed over 1 duck. A couple of those parties called this down on themselves. Given another opportunity, I'm sure they would gladly pass on the whole thing.

Fast forward to the day you leave the woods late cause you make a bad hit on a buck and the warden is waiting for you with a citation for hunting after hours or something...all cause you call him every weekend. This is what you are inviting when you call the LEOs - increased presence, increased BS.

Pick your poison.

[Horizontal Hunter]

IMO, save it for a real violation. Poaching or some arrest-able offense.

My example - we duck hunt a lot and if you duck hunt you know how the GWs/LEOs like to dump on duck hunters. Set up in marsh and some guy keeps shooting at a duck specie with a 1 bird limit - thankfully he's a bad shot. So, several folks called him in and reported him. We all boat from the marsh back to the parking area to see 3 federal LEOs. They all but gave us body cavity searches - you might not know the drill. Licenses, drivers licenses, stamps, permits, check gas can for false bottom, inspect decoys and decoy bags, all buckets and compartments in boat, boat registration, safety equipment, check guns for capacity, magnets to all shells, count shells, asking questions that overlap, looking sideways at you, ask you to empty pockets, etc, etc, etc. And we knew the lead warden there - she stopped em after this or they would have kept going. Turned out the guy in question had entered the refuge early (passed the line of hunters waiting to enter - really upsets them) and managed to hit 1 legal and 1 illegal duck. 5 parties got strip searched and borderline harassed over 1 duck. A couple of those parties called this down on themselves. Given another opportunity, I'm sure they would gladly pass on the whole thing.

Pick your poison.

Not all that different than what happened to me.

Bob

[Rich M]

I'm originally from CT - we used to get checked down in Stonington every Saturday we hunted ducks by the same 2 LEOs. Compare that to the number of times we got checked fishing out of the same ramp - maybe once per year. Amazing.

One was a nice fellow - would come out and sit in the blind & chat with us. The other was a real jerk - even went as far as scratching my camo paint off my shotgun trying to find serial number - dad put a stop to that. Nothing like getting treated like a criminal - it is like they know we are doing something wrong and just need to figure it out...

[Jonny]

OP is lashing out in frustration. I hope it doesn't backfire.

FWIW, I would not hesitate to walk down railroad tracks as a good access route. It has been presented on here in the past and no-one made a stink over it being illegal. Just don't get hit by a train or reported by a self-regulating socialist.

They heavily patrol the railroad along the Mississippi river in wisconsin. I know piles of guys that came back from ice fishing with tickets on their cars. No warnings. Been doing it all their lives. It's been a law in wisconsin that you can't walk on railroads since 2006. Got passed in a budget bill and nobody saw it. Just started enforcing it the last 2-3 years. Total POS law.

Anywhere else in the state, or country to be honest, I would have zero issue walking down the tracks. But unfortunately, a couple suicides, and dumb kids wearing noise cancelling headphones ruin it for everybody else.

Other than the one railroad, I don't know anybody who has gotten fined for walking down tracks. Have walked 2+ miles (shortest route) to fish a hole under a bridge, and got checked by a warden who walked in the other way to sneak up on us. That was back around 2010-2012, and never mentioned walking on the tracks.

[Rich M]

Sounds like some very good local knowledge to have.

We sometimes have to do some work on and around RR tracks - the various rail companies make you get trained, certified, and badged. Some projects require a railroad guy to babysit and call us to stop or start work based on train locations. They are very strict - the engineers are required to call in the locations of people and descriptions when they see folks on the tracks.

[Lockdown]

You are either part of the problem, or part of the solution. Those that don't report are part of the problem imo.

Yep.

[matt1336]

OP is lashing out in frustration. I hope it doesn't backfire.

FWIW, I would not hesitate to walk down railroad tracks as a good access route. It has been presented on here in the past and no-one made a stink over it being illegal. Just don't get hit by a train or reported by a self-regulating socialist.

They heavily patrol the railroad along the Mississippi river in wisconsin. I know piles of guys that came back from ice fishing with tickets on their cars. No warnings. Been doing it all their lives. It's been a law in wisconsin that you can't walk on railroads since 2006. Got passed in a budget bill and nobody saw it. Just started enforcing it the last 2-3 years. Total POS law.

Anywhere else in the state, or country to be honest, I would have zero issue walking down the tracks. But unfortunately, a couple suicides, and dumb kids wearing noise cancelling headphones ruin it for everybody else.

Other than the one railroad, I don't know anybody who has gotten fined for walking down tracks. Have walked 2+ miles (shortest route) to fish a hole under a bridge, and got checked by a warden who walked in the other way to sneak up on us. That was back around 2010-2012, and never mentioned walking on the tracks.

My family has been using tracks to access public marsh for 3-4 generations. Up until several years ago we were given no hassle. Now they treat it like you robbed a jewelry store. I understand that the insurance companies have forced their hand on the matter but it really makes things difficult when there are large sections of marsh that you basically can’t touch.
I guess in a way it’s good as it saves some deer. But what has happened is that it gives the private land owners that own land adjacent to the railroad track public a sense that the public is off limits to anyone. So now when I bust my but to get back there legally I have landowners accusing me of trespassing and deputies called on me. This one guy loves to ruin my hunts now and he knows how I access the land is legal...yet he still drives his crappy three wheeler down his property line and yells at me.
Now what really gets me is that I’ve started calling him in for harassment and the deputies agree with me that he’s harassing me and anybody else there down there yet he doesn’t get ticketed. The one deputy told me that he didn’t issue a ticket because he didn’t want to go to court. He said that the land owner is such a dbag he knew he’d take the ticket to court and he (the deputy) didn’t feel like doing his job basically. So now this land owner feels insulated because he’s only been warned about his harassment. He keeps doing it. Now he’s swearing and yelling at me because he thinks he’s untouchable. This last time I had enough and started yelling back. I can only take so much. After last season the deputy that I know well told me that he gave this guy his “last warning”. But we will see how that goes.
It’s a great area and I hang on to it more because of principle and tradition. But that land owner is a real piece of work.

[bigwoodshuntn]

I don’t. Main reason is I’m not perfect either.

Something like light trimming, or stands left up really don’t bother me. Chainsaws, screw in steps and blatantly illegal does. Even then, remove and toss the steps, poop on bait piles, and make it well known somebody was there does enough for me.

Regardless of legality, I have zero issue with guys putting a stand up, leaving it up over night to hunt the next day, and cutting small stuff for shooting lanes doesn’t phase me. It’s so common it’s not worth getting bothered

There is a couple counties left that screw in steps are legal. Last I knew it was even OK still down by you in one of the counties.

[Jonny]

I don’t. Main reason is I’m not perfect either.

Something like light trimming, or stands left up really don’t bother me. Chainsaws, screw in steps and blatantly illegal does. Even then, remove and toss the steps, poop on bait piles, and make it well known somebody was there does enough for me.

Regardless of legality, I have zero issue with guys putting a stand up, leaving it up over night to hunt the next day, and cutting small stuff for shooting lanes doesn’t phase me. It’s so common it’s not worth getting bothered

There is a couple counties left that screw in steps are legal. Last I knew it was even OK still down by you in one of the counties.

Yeah as long as they are removed daily with the stand. Steps were taken out after I confronted the guy and the stand is still there. Haven't seen the guy since