I met my Dad for a camping trip over the weekend and he told me a funny story that happened back when he was a young man. He said one time him and a friend got special permission to hunt turkeys on private land on the Canadian River in the Texas panhandle. He said they camped out the night before and got up early and got all cammoed in and hidden in a spot where they thought the turkeys would be. When the sun came up they saw a flock of turkeys coming their way and they were picking out the ones they wanted to shoot when all the sudden a game warden's vehicle came driving over the hill and a shotgun barrel came out of the window and a started blasting at the turkeys, nailing one and peppering my Dad and his friend with shot.
The vehicle stopped and a game warden and a little boy that was about 8 to 10 years old got out to collect the bird. My Dad said when him and his friend revealed themselves the game warden almost turned white. He quickly got a jacket from his truck and zipped it up so they couldn't see his badge or name tag. He said he was real apologetic to them and him and the boy quickly gathered up the turkey and hauled ***.
After that my Dad and his friend spent a few hours hunting in a different spot and then hiked back to their camp. And when they got there low and behold the game warden was already there, only this time he didn't have the boy with him and his demeanor had totally changed. He was an *******. He had gone through their stuff and started questioning my Dad about a shed deer antler he and found and tossed in the back of his pickup and wanted to know where the rest of the deer was. He asked to see their hunting licenses and land owner's permission slip and was giving them the whole nine yards. And when they mentioned the turkey shooting incident he didn't know what they were talking about. Eventually he let them go but he didn't have his jacket on any more and before he left my Dad said "I know your name now."
I asked my Dad if he tried to report it or anything and he said no, it just would have been our word against his. If I were in his shoes I think I probably would have tried to report it and I would have said something like I know it's a our word against his type of deal, he might be able to tell a convincing lie, but how well do you think that little boy is going to be able to lie?
What would you have done?
The vehicle stopped and a game warden and a little boy that was about 8 to 10 years old got out to collect the bird. My Dad said when him and his friend revealed themselves the game warden almost turned white. He quickly got a jacket from his truck and zipped it up so they couldn't see his badge or name tag. He said he was real apologetic to them and him and the boy quickly gathered up the turkey and hauled ***.
After that my Dad and his friend spent a few hours hunting in a different spot and then hiked back to their camp. And when they got there low and behold the game warden was already there, only this time he didn't have the boy with him and his demeanor had totally changed. He was an *******. He had gone through their stuff and started questioning my Dad about a shed deer antler he and found and tossed in the back of his pickup and wanted to know where the rest of the deer was. He asked to see their hunting licenses and land owner's permission slip and was giving them the whole nine yards. And when they mentioned the turkey shooting incident he didn't know what they were talking about. Eventually he let them go but he didn't have his jacket on any more and before he left my Dad said "I know your name now."
I asked my Dad if he tried to report it or anything and he said no, it just would have been our word against his. If I were in his shoes I think I probably would have tried to report it and I would have said something like I know it's a our word against his type of deal, he might be able to tell a convincing lie, but how well do you think that little boy is going to be able to lie?
What would you have done?
