Stewart Lake CO,s and tickets

[whitlers]

Just got back from a succesfull moose hunt. Very happy. Now to the subject at hand, Unless you are in very dangerous bear country, Why would your gun be loaded unless it's in your hand? I know this is not a popular thought but it is safety we are concrned with

Well that's just it. Most of bc is 'dangerous bear country' I for one always have my rifle with me mag loaded, chamber empty when processing game in the field. Call it silly but I would rather be over prepared then not.

I think the issue here is the definition of 'loaded' involving an installed magazine with NO round in the tube. A gun with a loaded mag and nothing chambered isn't going to go off by itself..

[Downwindtracker2]

The fine for the 9 1/2 point moose was $580, there were three violations involved. If you shoot and your count comes up 1/2" short, walk away, it's only one then. Unethical,yes, but the law is the law. The CO had to act, as there was an official compliant lodged by fellow hunter.

I didn't see any grizzly sign around Stewart lake this year. In years past we had a gut pile covered when we went to retrieve the quarters.

[IronNoggin]

The accused can go to court and dispute it.. maybe a judge would see it different

Good suggestion.

Here's a little related tale for ya'll

Quite some years ago I was hunting with two buddies in Saskatchewan.
We knew the area we were headed to very well, having taken a decent handful of good bucks there.
Set off well before daylight, as the area was a bit of a drive.
At the end of that drive, truck better than axle deep in fresh snow, we parked at the end of the trail facing a fence 3 feet in front of us.

With better than an hour and a half to go before daylight, we slowly got organized while discussing the strategy of the upcoming hunt. I took my father's rifle that go. I had dumped 3 rounds into the drop plate mag, left the bolt open, and laid it on it's case on the hood of the truck. And as we chatted and drank our coffees, the minus 25 night crawled ever so slowly towards dawn...

Suddenly we saw a bizarre occurrence. Someone who obviously did not know the trails was BLASTING over the landscape - front axle to rear axle bouncing - as the roared towards our location. Upon arrival, the bubble lights on the truck before us suddenly lit up, giving a rather surrealistic atmosphere among the snow crystals the truck had kicked up on it's sudden stop.

Out leapt a youngish CO, YELLING for us NOT TO MOVE as he ran to the driver's window.
Reaching inside, he shut the truck down, and pocketed the keys. WTF?
Everybody OUT. Roger...
He looked at all the licenses, checked the two cased rifles behind the seat, then finally spied Pa's rifle on the hood. What do we have here he cried. He snatched the rifle up, and instantly saw the cartridges below the open bolt. Who's is this? he demanded...

That would be my Father's I noted as I stepped forward, and quickly removed the rifle from his hands. He was agitated by that move obviously. Give that back he demanded. Don't think so said I. And I worked the bolt with the barrel pointed skyward three times, ejecting the ammo, and leaving the bolt open once again. I handed him the cartridges at that point.

He then said I'll be taking that rifle too, as you were Illegally transporting a loaded firearm.
Huh? You can see there is no gate in front of us, we are at the end of a dead end trail, and could not possibly move without turning around. There is No Way we would do that with Pa's Custom pre-64 Model 70 on the hood.
Give me the gun was his response.

I dumped two rounds into the mag, closed the bolt over one, and let the muzzle drift down to the ground at my side.
Afraid you'll have to be content with the shells was my response. This is a chickenshit charge, and I am a LOT more afraid of my Pa than you buddy! He turned beet red, then looked back at the open door of his marked truck. I could see what he was thinking - his issue 7mm Remmy was on the seat. Don't even go there I said with as much steel in my voice as I could muster. Even more red, he wrote out the paperwork, threw our keys into the snow beside our truck, and returned to his. He then roared off, following our tracks leading out to the distant highway.

My buddies were appalled. They thought the SWAT team would be all over us in seconds. I was shaking like a leaf, and as scared over what I had just done as anything I had ever been scared over before. But no SWAT team showed, and we took two fine bucks that day...

Got home, told Pa the full details. You over-reacted he said, I would not have held you responsible for that man's actions.
Whew!
Then he lawyer-ed me up.

The judge heard both sides. It was good for me that my buddies were witnesses. In the end the Judge chastised the fellow for his actions, telling him he never wanted to see such a case in front of him again. And I walked.

I was a young Hot Head back then. Since, I have been on the other side of that badge, and I know I would never ever even consider reacting in that manner ever again. Lucky at the time the fellow did not think of himself as some sort of Wyatt Earp...

Ain't told this tale to many, for somewhat obvious reasons.
But it does relate to what the OP noted, and I would STRONGLY suggest the fellow who was charged take it up with the Judge.
It may well go in his favor...

Cheers,
Nog

[wideopenthrottle]

all the legal and moral wrangling aside, all i can say is leaning anything up against or loosely sitting anything on vehicles or anything that moves has never been a good idea and it has worked out bad for everything from cell phones coffee cups cigarette packs, optics, and yes guns...

[Bustercluck]

We have all run into that one co on a power trip. Usually you're not expecting it and completely unprepared. I just take the ticket and belittle and call him names until he leaves. They always look shocked when you show absolutely no sign of respect for them. It might end up in more fines, but I don't really care. I'm not out there breaking the law and poaching, but there's always something if they look hard enough.

[Big Lew]

all the legal and moral wrangling aside, all i can say is leaning anything up against or loosely sitting anything on vehicles or anything that moves has never been a good idea and it has worked out bad for everything from cell phones coffee cups cigarette packs, optics, and yes guns...

Yes, I agree....and after reading some of the comments, it's not hard to understand why some COs
might have an 'attitude'. I've been hunting on crown land etc for 57 years and have never been treated
poorly or unfairly by COs. The only time I was checked by someone with an attitude was a university
student who had no real training about firearms or the letter of the law and was given a temporary 'badge.'
He backed off when I explained why I wasn't going to hand him my loaded gun through a fence. He also
got a lesson on firearms when I eventually gave him my unloaded shotgun to inspect. He stuck his fingers
inside the loading breech and activated the loading springs, slamming his fingers badly. I then said, that's
another reason you shouldn't be handling a firearm. He did apologize for his over zealous attitude and
thanked me for my patience.

[Fozzie]

Just last week my brother, daughter and I were returning from a successful moose hunt. We were just south of Vanderhoof when a Conservation Officer heading north suddenly pulled a u turn and proceeded to pull us over. He heard my generator running for my cooler on the trailer so assumed we had game. He was nothing but courteous and polite as he checked us out. After about a half hour delay we were on our way again. It's nice to see that they are out there doing their job.

[Gateholio]

Good suggestion.

Here's a little related tale for ya'll

Quite some years ago I was hunting with two buddies in Saskatchewan.
We knew the area we were headed to very well, having taken a decent handful of good bucks there.
Set off well before daylight, as the area was a bit of a drive.
At the end of that drive, truck better than axle deep in fresh snow, we parked at the end of the trail facing a fence 3 feet in front of us.

With better than an hour and a half to go before daylight, we slowly got organized while discussing the strategy of the upcoming hunt. I took my father's rifle that go. I had dumped 3 rounds into the drop plate mag, left the bolt open, and laid it on it's case on the hood of the truck. And as we chatted and drank our coffees, the minus 25 night crawled ever so slowly towards dawn...

Suddenly we saw a bizarre occurrence. Someone who obviously did not know the trails was BLASTING over the landscape - front axle to rear axle bouncing - as the roared towards our location. Upon arrival, the bubble lights on the truck before us suddenly lit up, giving a rather surrealistic atmosphere among the snow crystals the truck had kicked up on it's sudden stop.

Out leapt a youngish CO, YELLING for us NOT TO MOVE as he ran to the driver's window.
Reaching inside, he shut the truck down, and pocketed the keys. WTF?
Everybody OUT. Roger...
He looked at all the licenses, checked the two cased rifles behind the seat, then finally spied Pa's rifle on the hood. What do we have here he cried. He snatched the rifle up, and instantly saw the cartridges below the open bolt. Who's is this? he demanded...

That would be my Father's I noted as I stepped forward, and quickly removed the rifle from his hands. He was agitated by that move obviously. Give that back he demanded. Don't think so said I. And I worked the bolt with the barrel pointed skyward three times, ejecting the ammo, and leaving the bolt open once again. I handed him the cartridges at that point.

He then said I'll be taking that rifle too, as you were Illegally transporting a loaded firearm.
Huh? You can see there is no gate in front of us, we are at the end of a dead end trail, and could not possibly move without turning around. There is No Way we would do that with Pa's Custom pre-64 Model 70 on the hood.
Give me the gun was his response.

I dumped two rounds into the mag, closed the bolt over one, and let the muzzle drift down to the ground at my side.
Afraid you'll have to be content with the shells was my response. This is a chickenshit charge, and I am a LOT more afraid of my Pa than you buddy! He turned beet red, then looked back at the open door of his marked truck. I could see what he was thinking - his issue 7mm Remmy was on the seat. Don't even go there I said with as much steel in my voice as I could muster. Even more red, he wrote out the paperwork, threw our keys into the snow beside our truck, and returned to his. He then roared off, following our tracks leading out to the distant highway.

My buddies were appalled. They thought the SWAT team would be all over us in seconds. I was shaking like a leaf, and as scared over what I had just done as anything I had ever been scared over before. But no SWAT team showed, and we took two fine bucks that day...

Got home, told Pa the full details. You over-reacted he said, I would not have held you responsible for that man's actions.
Whew!
Then he lawyer-ed me up.

The judge heard both sides. It was good for me that my buddies were witnesses. In the end the Judge chastised the fellow for his actions, telling him he never wanted to see such a case in front of him again. And I walked.

I was a young Hot Head back then. Since, I have been on the other side of that badge, and I know I would never ever even consider reacting in that manner ever again. Lucky at the time the fellow did not think of himself as some sort of Wyatt Earp...

Ain't told this tale to many, for somewhat obvious reasons.
But it does relate to what the OP noted, and I would STRONGLY suggest the fellow who was charged take it up with the Judge.
It may well go in his favor...

Cheers,
Nog

You are lucky that the CO wasn't carrying a sidearm at the time, or if he was, that he didn't draw on you. You were clearly acting in a threatening manner and had deliberitaly loaded a rifle to confront the CO. I think it would have been quite legitimate to draw on you and shoot if you didn't drop the rifle immediately

[303savage]

After loading it he leaned the rifle against one tire of the quad. After falling the tree he was bucking up the tree and a co stopped and ticked him for a loaded firearm in a vehicle.

How can a firearm be considered in a vehicle when it's leaning against the vehicle?

[squamishhunter]

You are lucky that the CO wasn't carrying a sidearm at the time, or if he was, that he didn't draw on you. You were clearly acting in a threatening manner and had deliberitaly loaded a rifle to confront the CO. I think it would have been quite legitimate to draw on you and shoot if you didn't drop the rifle immediately

An armed society is a polite society. That CO had no grounds to act in that manner.