It’s November here in Real Texas and newspapers across the state will be publishing their annual hunting guides for their area. I always enjoyed researching the annual hunting guide for my newspaper and have published hunting stories (some true), pictures of big bucks, and stories about the latest outdoor gear involved with hunting and sometimes add in a fishing story or two.
It was always interesting to interview hunters who came from other parts of the state and country to Real Texas and get their perspective on our part of 
the world. I remember running the picture of friend Ronny Delz’ son and his annual big buck picture nearly every year and got to watch the boy grow up. I also enjoyed interviewing the local and area Game Wardens and hearing a few of their stories.
In particular, I usually ran a section called Game Warden Field Notes which was an accounting of unusual stories submitted by Texas Game Wardens doing their duty in the Texas outdoors.
Here are a few of the field notes…enjoy the antics of some of your fellow Texans.
Red and Blue’s A Comin’ for You: A warden was returning home from Lake O.H. Ivie late Saturday night and observed a vehicle traveling a remote county road. He followed the vehicle for several miles, and the vehicle turned around. The warden turned on his headlights and red and blues and attempted to stop the vehicle for not signaling at an intersection. The vehicle failed to stop, sideswiping the warden’s patrol vehicle. The driver stopped a short distance down the road. The driver was arrested for DWI and the passenger for PI.
Stupid Is As Stupid Does: On July 25, a game warden was behind Bringle Lake when a truck went flying down the road and stopped right in front of him. A car then blocked the exit road and a man started walking from the car towards the truck with something in his hand. The truck started to move and a loud bang was heard. The warden stopped the truck and got in between the two vehicles. The man had picked up a rock and in the midst of road rage threw it through the back passenger window of the truck. The very irate man was placed in handcuffs to control him. The warden made contact with the driver of the truck, a very scared 16-year-old. She stated they had passed the man some time ago, and he had been chasing them every since. The man stated when the truck passed him, they threw a can out in front of him and it splashed on his car. The owner of the truck arrived, and the man agreed to pay for the damages so the owner would not press charges. After sitting in handcuffs for a while, the man said his actions were uncalled for and it was a stupid thing to do.
There’s Something in the Water!: On July 27, two Red River County Game observed a spotlight in the distance. The wardens located several individuals a short time later bowfishing in private waters without landowner consent. The wardens summoned the boat to shore and noticed the driver throw something in the water before exiting the vessel. It was found to be methamphetamine, and the subject was placed in custody. Cases pending.
Gotcha!: On July 26th, an Aransas County Game warden apprehended a subject who bought a large amount of shrimp from a commercial shrimp boat captain and then proceeded to set up shop down the street and resell his shrimp at a profitable amount. As the warden approached, the subject asked him if he would like to purchase some shrimp. The warden stated, “No, but I would like to see your license.” The subject handed him a recreational fishing license. A citation for no retail truck dealer’s license closed the “shop.”
A Diamond in the Rough: A marine theft warden obtained a Tampering w/Government Documents conviction on a Tarrant County man, who was also a known “cat burglar.” The individual bought a Baja boat in Oklahoma, paid $54,000 cash, and then falsified the PWD-143 to avoid the taxes. The individual was very hard to locate due to being in jail on another fraud charge. Subject was ordered to pay $2,367.87 to TPWD, and got time served. The U.S. Treasury Department was also investigating the man on similar charges. They served a search warrant on his home and found 85 loose diamonds in a vacuum-cleaner bag. They also found over 100 more diamonds hidden under the carpet that were traced back to prior home burglaries. The boat, a Hummer, and other vehicles were seized.
Record-speed law enforcement: A Coke County game warden received a call about a deer that had possibly been shot on the Coke/Runnels county line inside a high fence. The deer was found on top of a tank dam and had been moved and drug up against the fence. Four hours later, a suspect arrived at the scene, threw over an unidentified object and went to work on the 8-point buck head. The warden was there in record time and the landowner signed affidavit class B criminal trespass; possession of illegally killed deer during closed season. One poacher went to jail.
All the elk in El Paso: Two El Paso game wardens received a call from the El Paso PD about an elk that was discovered in the backyard of a northeast El Paso residence when the owner went out to clean the pool. They arrived to find a very large and very unhappy Aoudad buck. With assistance from the Texas Department of Health veterinarian and his tranquilizer gun, they were able to move the animal without incident.
Educational rattlesnake: On September 20, a Grayson County Game Warden received a call from a man whose 9-year-old son had caught a baby snake that he believed might be a rattlesnake. Warden Moses went to the location and confirmed that the boy had indeed caught a baby Timber Rattler, which is a threatened species. The snake did not have its rattle yet. The snake was confiscated and will be used for educational purposes.
Protecting doves: On September 19, a Somervell County game warden and a Hamilton County game warden were patrolling Hamilton County when they entered a field with eight hunters, five of whom were kids, who were finishing up for the day. When the wardens checked the bag of one of the kids, they found an Inca dove. The hunters were all educated about the Inca dove. They were taught that it is a protected species and they were shown how to identify it. The dove was confiscated.
Rolling on the river: On September 20, a Somervell County game warden was patrolling along the banks of the Paluxy River in Somervell County when she observed three children on two ATVs riding in the river. When Warden Kuykendall pulled up, the kids took off down the river. Warden Kuykendall borrowed an ATV from the Dinosaur Valley State Park and with the assistance of a Park Ranger, the kids were found riding in the river upstream. When the warden and Park Ranger found the boys, they had sunk one of the ATVs up to the seat and were trying to get it out. Warnings were issued to the three juveniles for violations of the 2003 state law prohibited motor vehicle traffic in riverbeds, and the parents were contacted.
Sweaty sleep: On September 17th, a Hardin County game warden received information that a Saratoga resident was in the process of skinning a white-tailed deer behind his residence. Upon the game warden’s arrival, he observed a subject running under a vapor light in the direction of the residence. Moments later, the subject in question appeared from behind his house sweating from head to toe. He told the warden that he had been in bed trying to get some sleep and denied he had been hunting. After receiving consent to search, the warden noticed fresh drag marks leading into the woods. The warden recovered a freshly killed deer that his subject had tried to conceal after hearing the sound of a vehicle entering the neighborhood. Cases pending.
Deer rescue opens dove season: On September 20, an Atascosa County game warden went to Charlotte to donate some confiscated doves. The warden noticed a fawn deer in a dog kennel surrounded by hog dogs at a residence in Charlotte. The warden made contact with the homeowner, wrote a citation, confiscated the fawn deer, took it to a licensed deer rehabber and then continued with his confiscated dove donation.
Hunting in the rain: While working dove hunters in central Duval County on the morning of Sept. 19, a game warden and a deputy game warden heard numerous shots from various locations. After checking three groups of hunters, they issued four citations, and confiscated 23 doves. After lunch, the deputy game warden received a call that a truck was driving down a nearby county road with men were shooting doves off of power lines from the bed of the truck. Three wardens broke camp and conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. One of the wardens issued two citations for hunting from a public road and having an open container. That afternoon, scattered showers crept into the area. As the deputy game warden and game warden drove into the showers, hope of finding the hunter became slim. Within the hour, however, two of the wardens heard a number of shots, even though it was raining. As they moved into position to check the field of hunters, the sky was filled with doves. After making contact with the hunters, many of whom were hunting in rain jackets and slickers, 462 doves were confiscated and 23 citations were issued for hunting over bait. At the end of the day, the game wardens and deputy game warden had issued 27 citations and confiscated 485 doves that were illegally killed over baited fields in Duval County. Cases pending.
So there you have some examples of Texas’ finest outdoorsmen and women. I have some personal stories, but I’ll have to check the statute of limitations for those.
I’ll probably stop at some time during hunting season at Jesse’s Hungry Hunter in Llano to visit with my friend Jesse Weaver. See ya there.
Deer season in general is from November 7, 2009-January 3, 2010. Happy hunting.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
i shot as nice 10 point buck last week and by mistake put a mule deer tag on it what and recived a citation for it is there any way i can fix this with out paying a large amount of money.