Ugh... one bird too many. How screwed am I?

jim2024bob

Too stupid to quit.
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15 in the cooler and 1 forgotten bird in the back of the vest. Didn’t notice it due to the weight of the shells in the vest side pockets. Game warden came to the field while we were sitting back having lunch. Ticketed me for one bird over. Montgomery county. Anyone ever been cited and survived? What’s my damage?
 
Fine, cost of court.

Just a guess. Never been in possession of too many animals.
 
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Seems ridiculous though, the world burns and resources are being utilized to check on birds.

The coons and foxes and coyotes don’t get fined.
What about the morons that run over anything and anything that happens to wonder in the road.
Do they get ticketed?
 
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Depends on how he wrote it but usually exceeding you daily limit in game birds (not turkey, waterfowl or such) is a class 3 misdemeanor unless you have prior violations ... which can be up to $200 & value of the wildlife plus court costs.

ETA: did he just cite you or did he take your birds?
 
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Citation and confiscated the one bird. Allowed me to keep the remaining. Took pictures of my shotgun serial/make/model.
 
Citation and confiscated the one bird. Allowed me to keep the remaining. Took pictures of my shotgun serial/make/model.
You did break the rules ... even if you did not mean to. It sounds like he treated it as the minimum infraction. No suspended license or such just a monetary slap on the wrist. Federal waterfowl now would have been far worse ... I’ve even heard of community service being part of the sentence in a few of those type cases toward the coast in Pamlico, Beaufort and Hyde counties under the Atlantic Flyway.
 
Honesty at this point I’m just trying to feel out what to expect. A clean criminal background is necessary in my job and I’m afraid of losing it depending on what a guilty plea would mean in this situation.
 
Possum Poleeece,Clam Cop, Shrimp Sheriff, Coon Cop, Deer Deputy now Dove Deputy. They have more authority than any LE in S.C.
Here you would be in bad JuJu. This early in the season they'd be using you for an example.
The DNR here don't Play!!!
 
Claim the extra bird was brought to your feet by another hunter’s dog and couldn’t get the dog to carry it to his owner.

LOL. Well it’s actually funny you bring this up. The forgotten bird was from another hunter who was teaching his young dog to retrieve. On the second bird I shot he asked me if I would let the dog get it. Well he did and in young dog fashion pretty much mutilated it. I stuck it in the back of my vest in disgust once I got it back. That’s why I forgot about it once the birds started to fly more heavily.
 
If you decide to go to court...tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have been described as "Painfully Honest". I wear it as a mantle of honor. Tell them exactly what happened. It'll all work out. Never lie. Who amongst us would want to be known as a liar to our friends?
 
Claim the extra bird was brought to your feet by another hunter’s dog and couldn’t get the dog to carry it to his owner.


Won't matter. The charge is possessing too many not shooting too many. At least it used to be. Had a friend once who was hammering the ducks right at quiting time. He didn't know the warden was watching him so he kept shooting. Warden was waiting for him to collect the ducks so he could get him for that. Friend kept shooting so long the warden finally came out and told him to stop.since he had not collected any duck all he could get him for was shooting after hours. Much less charge than too many ducks.
 
LOL. Well it’s actually funny you bring this up. The forgotten bird was from another hunter who was teaching his young dog to retrieve. On the second bird I shot he asked me if I would let the dog get it. Well he did and in young dog fashion pretty much mutilated it. I stuck it in the back of my vest in disgust once I got it back. That’s why I forgot about it once the birds started to fly more heavily.
Stupid thing is, guys kill birds they never find and that doesn't count towards their precious government allotment.

Should have thrown the mutilated bird into the bushes for the coyotes, they don't get tickets.
 
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If you don't get popped every now and then you ain't huntin'.

I have run afowl several times myself.
 
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Never been in violation of to many birds but did get popped by a bunny cop for something else two years ago. My charge was also a class 3 misdeanor, and was charged in Chatham county. There were 7 charged at the same time with the same violation. Two paid the fine and took the misdemeanor, three of us hired a lawyer, and two just showed for the court day. The five of us that didn’t pay ended up doing 10 hours of community service a piece and paid court costs. Charges dropped. Hope your issue works out the same.
 
Have your lawyer talk to the prosecutor.
I was involved in doing a stupid, and the cops also were a little overzealous. Court, prosecutor, etc, nobody wanted anything to do with me. My lawyer showed up late to court, walked into the prosecutor's office, came back out 5 minutes later with a deal to reduce stupid misdemeanor charges to a civil infraction as long as I didn't sue the cops. I have no idea what was said in that office. My lawyer said it was a good deal so just shut up, sign the paper, and walk out of the courthouse without so much as a smirk in the prosecutor's direction.

I think that was an ideal solution
 
I had a similar instance where my cousin informed me that the season for dove was still in, despite it closing the weekend prior. I had not checked the dates myself, but went out and sat on the field for a few hours. Never saw a single bird.

Walking back to my vehicle, a game warden was already waiting there for me. He asked for my license and asked if I had any luck today. I told him I did not, and had not seen any doves flying. He then asked to inspect my shotgun to make sure the plug was in it.

After handing me back all my gear, he told me he was going to issue me a ticket for taking birds out of season, while I did not agree that I was guilty of it, the regulations state that taking includes the attempt.

I went to court and they asked how I would like to plead, I informed them not guilty, and they decided to have an immediate hearing at the time. I was asked if I checked the dates myself in the regulations, or if I knew that "taking" also included the attempt. I answered no to both questions. The judge then asked me if I had saw a dove that day if I would have shot it, and of course I said yes. The judge decided to give me a prayer for judgement and only had me to pay the court costs, which I thought was fair.
 
Never been in violation of to many birds but did get popped by a bunny cop for something else two years ago. My charge was also a class 3 misdeanor, and was charged in Chatham county. There were 7 charged at the same time with the same violation. Two paid the fine and took the misdemeanor, three of us hired a lawyer, and two just showed for the court day. The five of us that didn’t pay ended up doing 10 hours of community service a piece and paid court costs. Charges dropped. Hope your issue works out the same.

Get a lawyer, get the charges dropped with a fine or community service. Maintain the clean record.
 
It seems like to me, even though the warden was being professional and doin his job, he could have explained what the consequences are even being 1 bird over the limit, and say dont let it happen again. Everybody make mistakes. That would have set me straight for life. Just my 2 pennies.
 
If you decide to go to court...tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have been described as "Painfully Honest". I wear it as a mantle of honor. Tell them exactly what happened. It'll all work out. Never lie. Who amongst us would want to be known as a liar to our friends?

The Criminal Justice System is a joke and is for the criminals...... However, in the two times I had to actually go before a judge this is exactly what I did and it worked out for me both times.
 
It seems like to me, even though the warden was being professional and doin his job, he could have explained what the consequences are even being 1 bird over the limit, and say dont let it happen again. Everybody make mistakes. That would have set me straight for life. Just my 2 pennies.

These are game wardens. They get off on this stuff and live for the opening day of dove, deer, and duck seasons. I've never met a pleasant one. I dang near shot one in self defense as he charged me at the boat dock at dark thinking he had me for lead shot (opening day of duck) that he saw in my truck. This was probably the most scared I've been to date regarding self defense. I started shucking shells into my gun and he finally started hollering Warden. He was wrong and was pissed for a bit but after talking to me he turned out to be ok and we converse when we see each other but I'd much rather meet a pissed off NCSHP, they use logic.
 
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Everyone is poking fun at the Warden, calling him names and making derogatory comments but would we have any wildlife left without them??

I know they sometimes ruin your day but it wasn't THEM that shot that 16th bird or failed to watch the time and quit before legal time, it was YOU....
Probably. Certain things got ingrained, like not shooting does. And the number of hunters has been dropping. And they're overpopulated anyway. Would probably be just fine without them[here]. Can't say for other areas.

Also, according to his story, he didn't shoot the 16th bird, either. :p
 
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Never had a hunting violation. I absolutely suck at bird shooting, so shooting 16 doves in a year would be a miracle for me.

Did get busted fishing with a license 2-days expired once. I wasn't even aware that it was. I called a game warden friend of mine, and he told me if I went out and got a fishing license, and showed up for court with it in hand, my charges would most likely be dropped.

I've never had an issue with game wardens. All of my interactions with them have been good, and over the years I've called several my friend. Our wildlife regulations are there to protect a public resource so that future generations can enjoy it just like we do. Prior to the 1920's, a lot of the game animals we take for granted these days were nearly extinct.
 
Fox limits is one

Bear seasons is another
Can you expound on this. I believe what you are saying but just curious if there is any evidence or articles you could link. I believe the way flounder regulations have been recently handled is also political. If there were biological reasons to close recreational fishing they would have stopped commercial fishing in NC waters as well. Also VA and S.C. made no changes to their regulations that I am aware of.
 
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