I got arrested........

[vintage hunter]

by the S.C.D.N.R's KGB department for having a pistol in the seat of my jeep, ON PRIVATE LAND. I was checking food plots and feeders this afternoon and parked my jeep well off the road on MY OWN land and went to do my looking on foot leaving the pistol in the seat. When I got back the game warden was there so I asked what he wanted and got out my wallet to show my license even though I wasn't hunting, didn't even have a gun with me. He asked if I was on my way to or coming from hunting or fishing and when I said no I was checking feeders and such he placed me under arrest, shoved me up against his truck and cuffed me. I asked why I was under arrest and he said for unlawfully carrying a firearm. I asked to see the search warrant and he said he didn't need one he had probable cause but wouldn't say to me what that was. I have never so much as received a warning from the D.N.R. for anything. He also confiscated a rifle and shotgun from an overhead rack in the jeep along with a Kabar machete and two skinning knives from the dry box and my dad's electrician's knife out of my pocket. I just got home about an hour and a half ago. Don't know what the outcome will be but my lawyer got me released without bond and the guns and knives were given to my uncle to hold for 24 hours until I cooled down. I think this is the biggest pile of the purest horse S%@T I've ever heard of. This absolutely does it for me, I no longer have any trust or respect for any form law enforcement in the State of South Carolina.

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[kar98k]

guess you can say Sieg Heil!. that's fascism at it's finest.

[jmoore]

???!!!

I'd have had something firearm on me, if nothing other than a S&W 940. Which reminds me, the last time I got pulled over in the middle of the "no-wheres" the state trooper allowed me to unload said piece and only issued a traffic warning. Nice fellow.

[WarPig1976]

Hopefully the charges "if any" are dropped when this A.SS clown realizes he's got NOTHING on you. Stories like this are happening more and more often. He feels real good about himself, he showed you who was Boss. That brown shirt went home and put on his special pair of silk panties and bra, smeared hot pink lipstick all over his face and and stared in a mirror telling himself " I'm the Boss" while Madonna's "like a virgin" played in the background. Well, when something similar happened to me that's what I thought anyway...

Thanks for letting me vent!!

[Brian Dick]

The green shirts and their Glocks aren't too popular up here either Tom. My guess is it'll get thrown out in court. Was the pistol securely encased in a holster? That will be the clincher.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

Was the pistol securely encased in a holster? That will be the clincher.

Was this a game/hunting violation (so called) or a firearms possession issue? I my area is is not illegal to have a firearm loaded,unloaded, holstered,unholstered, visable or concealed in you vehicle .
Perhaps some vague Game regulation about firearms possession while in proximity to game? Why should you have to prove your innocence on your own property? I am distressed with the "charge them and let the judge sort it out" attitude that seems to prevailing Modus operandi with LEOs these days.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

This makes me ill. How can a GW arrest you for having a firearm in tour vehicle on your own land? I understand the probable cause threashold is much lower for GWs which iw why the PDs use Gws to gain entry to homes for which the PD standard of probable cause cannot be met. I quit dove hunting for the same reason. Swarmed by 7 GWs for dubious reasons no ticket but they drug it out for a year. We are all guilty it is up to the PD GW etc.. to determine of what.
Very bad taste still remains in my mouth. I think it fair to say we (hunters) are the Good Guys of sociaty as a rule. If this thread gets closed please PM me and let me know the outcome.

[Aragorn243]

I'm not taking sides here but Game Wardens do live a pretty dangerous life. That's one reason the standards of probable cause are lower. Nearly every one they approach is going to be armed and they are usually in some out of the way location where backup isn't available.

In PA, you are allowed to transport a handgun to and from a range or while hunting. That is in the game laws. What complicates things is PA is an open carry state, meaning so long as the weapon is visible, you can have it with you at all times whether hunting or going to the range or not. If the weapon is concealed, you must have a concealed weapons permit. Another complication is that PA does not allow semi-autos for hunting. So even if you have a license to carry a concealed weapon or can legally openly carry a handgun, you may not carry a semi-auto handgun while hunting You also may not have any firearm in your vehicle unless it is locked in the trunk while spotlighting. If you are caught doing that, they can confiscate everything, including the car.

Game wardens are also allowed on private property without a warrant. They do have powers far in excess of the police. This subject comes up periodically when one of them does something that upsets someone with a little bit of authority..

I've met some that were very nice, very reasonable and some that were complete jerks. I had one watch me drag a big doe 300 yards across a field and then struggle to load it into the back of my car before coming over to demand to see my license and check the tags. I was ticked. I did nothing wrong and he just sat there the entire time. I had another stop me and my daughter one time when we were leaving the woods. We were back in a railroad trail, probably half a mile in when he pulled up behind us. The track isn't open to "normal" folk. Anyway, he checked my gun and my daughters, asked her how she was doing and then asked if he could talk to "Dad" in private. He then quietly told me that I needed an orange hat. I had forgotten it but went in anyway because I was covered in orange from the waist up. He said the hat requirement is a must, he was right, but that he did not want to spoil my daughter's day by giving me a citation. He told me that if he had a hat which he usually does, he'd give it to me but just advised me to head out like we were planning and that was the end of it.

It sounds like this fellow went out of his way to cause trouble. His probable cause was likely the visible firearms. Whether that would stand in court or not who knows. Nothing illegal about it in my state anyway. But in regards to that, call me paranoid but I never leave any firearms visible in the house, car, etc but that's mainly to avoid theft.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

Aragorn
Interesting PAs laws are similar to ours.You did a good job of backing up my point that we are all guilty of somthing just a matter of the authorites determining what we are guilty of. Your orange encounter is a good demonstration of the fact that not every LEO GW is a Jack Wagon.
IMHO there are to many legitamite willfull game violations spotlighting deer,potching etc.. for GWs to go for the low hanging fruit of a lack of a hat etc.. While LEOs GWs do not know who the good guys vs bad guys are before contact once it is established their encounter is with a law abiding tax payer who pays his salary the citizen should be treated with the same respect as an employee treats his employer and discretion should rule the day. If you are courtious to a LEO ,GW the respect should be returned.Obviousy I do not know vintagehunter but my impressions from his posts I have read is that he a thoughtful and courtious "good guy" and I hope he can get this cleared up without to much cost orinconvenience.

[Cobra1836]

Remember Game Wardens have the right to investigate on private property without warrants. all they had to have was somebody say hey i saw somebody go back there with a gun and they might be hunting, game over probable cause right there. As far as the arrest and confiscating of weapons to me it's bs but to them it's evidence.