Well i wish i had alot of pics to post on here after my first waterfowl hunt but we only called one teal in eary this morning.I was planning on dove hunting around 10 when we were done but decided to call it a day and jut leave.
While unloading my boat and letting it drain the Game Warden showed up. I grabbed all my lisences, my vessel certificate, and even my hunters safety card from when i was 13 and now im 30. I always say I never want to brake any laws to chance taken my rights away, tickets, or shot. so i was prepared.
When he was checking my gun for a plug and going threw everything I owened. I was enjoying it cause i was done hunting and got to meet the guy who will be watching me all season. i had nothibng to worrie about. Then it happen I got yelled at for haveing doveshot in my boat. He said you shoot waterfowl with this? I was kinda shocked. So I showed him were my waterfowl shells were in the boat and he started yelling again at me threating that he better not here of me shooting ducks with dove shot. Earlier we even said we were thinking of hunting dove while talking to him.
Not sure if every game warden is the same or if it was just younster but he was rude. neadless to say I i learned something today. if you are duck hunting never keap any dove shots on you or even in your boat. The only thing that saved me so he new i wasnt lieing is that in the 1/2 case not a single box was even opened.

Teal and dove combo hunts sure could be fun. Just check out all the rules first.

Buy #7 steel shot for combo hunts

yeah john, good idea to just leave the lead in the truck. some GW can be real hard asses and not believe that you weren't hunting duck with lead shot. glad you got out and good luck with learning the sport man. get a whistle and get good with it. much quicker to learn than a call and usually produces good results.

They can get ya for having it in your truck too.

Where did you find that in the Regs?

This is what I see ...

Nontoxic Shot:

No person, while hunting waterfowl anywhere in the state, may possess shotgun shells containing lead shot or loose lead shot for use in muzzleloaders. Approved shot includes steel, including copper, nickel or zinc coated steel, bismuth-tin, tungsten-iron, tungsten-polymer (i.e., molyshot), and any other non-toxic material approved by the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Having lead shot in your vehicle does NOT constitute possession while hunting waterfowl. It has to be on your person or readily adjacent and available to you while you are in the act of hunting waterfowl.

At least that's my belief.

Having a case of lead shot in your boat while duck hunting is clearly not a good idea and only getting a tongue lashing by a warden was an act of generosity of his part.

i hope thats not true, cause i had all my dove loads in the toolbox this morning

if it is in your vehicle you are fine. if it is in your boat or bucket or blind bag not good and you are violating the law. Once done with duck hunting and ALL of yoour DUCK hunting gear is put up then you can break out the lead.

did it many times last year, teal hunt in the morning, dove in the afternoon, lead was in the truck,,,never worried about it.

Nope, Put away in your truck is fine. I even emailed TPWD to ask. Boat is a no no and a single forgotten shell left from a previous hunt even if it does not fit your gun, can get you in trouble. Man a couple days ago, before loading up for the Teal hunt I searched all up in my kayak to make sure I had no lead shells spent or unspent left in there from my dove hunting last week. #7 steel is much simpler and it kills birds just fine.

Yup! No lead in your pocket,boat,bag, or anywhere "within reach". I have used 2 3/4 #6 steel on dove just fine.

Well, you certainly got off lucky, but still no reason to be rude.

I agree he definately cut you a break for even having lead shot so a little arse chewing should have made up for that.

i talked to a collin county game warden who said you cannot even have it in your truck. Dumb law if you ask me but its what i was told. I just shoot 2 3/4 6s at teal and doves. 6 dollars a box at academy not that big of a deal :-)

He was wrong or did not understand your question. It was why I wrote Parks and Wildlife a few years ago. I specifically asked for a written response to this scenario. To hunt ducks in the morning on a WMA with decoys and steel shot, but have lead shot locked in my truck in the parking lot. Return to my truck in the parking area following my morning hunt, put the ducks in a cooler, drop off the steel shot, lock the decoys in the truck. Then return to the hunting area with lead shot Dove hunting shells from my truck to hunt Dove. The answer was yes I could do so, because the lead shot locked in my truck would not be in my possesion while I was duck hunting. I also had the same game warden that told me I could not have lead shot in my truck tell me I could not hunt from my canoe unless it was beached or anchored. It had no motor on it when he checked me and told me this. He was wrong on that too. Both questions I got a written response from the Chief of Law Enforcement in Austin to carry in case I was stopped again.

It is my understanding that persons who have gotten a ticket for lead shot while hunting waterfowl when the lead shot was in camp or in a vehicle, it was related to a verbal response to the warden at camp that indicated they had used or intended to use the lead shot or some other admission of guilt. It was not because the lead shot was in camp.

You are lucky really lucky can't believe you called him rude. He should have could have taken everything you owned and called the federals and you would not have had an untouched orfice on your body. You should be thanking him. I hope he reads your post and next time doesn't give you slack for being ignorant to the laws.

thank you for clearing that sniper john. I appreciate it. I suppose if i ever get a ticket for either of those i could hit you up for those to take to court rofl. :-)

You got off easy. He could have hung you out to dry, I wouldn't bad mouth him

So when the warden and you meet up at your truck and you have a load of dead ducks and lead shot how do you explain that you didn't carry it with you and it was locked in your truck?

To me it isn't worth it. They have so many idiots lying to them that I don't want to give them any gray area to sort through.

These days people will try to get you just for kicks. Stay safe and get steel shot. I agree with you though. He didn't have to yell at you one bit. Yelling doesn't accomplish anything but making you look like a jackarse. If you are using lead leave it in the truck...we were always told you can't have lead shot in the field. Truck is fine. But some game wardens make mistakes just like you did having lead in the boat...just learn from it and be thankful you didn't get a ticket. He obviously yelled to try and scare you cause in the end he was a nice guy. It's tough these days for a man to respect another man, but that's a whole new topic

I would say, "I left the lead shot in the truck". I hunt public and I hunt often. I have been checked several times actually. Not a problem.

I was told the same thing last year in person by a Warden,that beats an e-mail for me.

the law is crystal clear.. its whatever the game warden feels like interpreting it as for the situation haha

so by that, if I am hunting water in my 30 acre trap in my back yard, I can't have lead shot in my house? or locked up in my vehicle parked in front of my house?

no

you can have it in your vehicle or in your camp, you can't have it on you in the field, or in your boat or on your atv.

what an azzzzzzzzzzzzzzz,sounds like you have had the orafice search before.........

in my opinion the whole steel shot thing is bs anyways...stupid feds