96-percent of hunters doing something illegal?

The federal game warden who patrols the national wildlife refuge where I hunt told me last year that 96 percent of the hunters there are doing something illegal.

I thought at the time that was an outrageous assumption coming from a law enforcement officer.

Earlier this week he wrote my friend -- I’ll call him Da’Quan --a $125 ticket for being in possession of toxic shot. Da’Quan had a low-base trap shell in the pocket of his hunting vest when checked by the warden. It obviously wasn’t a pheasant load like the other shells in the vest, but the law is the law and Da’Quan got a citation.

When he started to protest, the warden told Da’Quan he could make it much harder on him.

An hour later, while we were signing out at the refuge headquarters, the warden stopped by to chat. I told him I thought the ticket was a bit harsh.

His reaction was to demand to see my shells although he had already checked my license and shells earlier in the season. That time he told me I didn’t have the required paperwork to hunt the refuge. I’d purchased my licenses online and thought I was legal, but had failed to include the required Hunter Access Enhancement license which is supposed to be a prerequisite for any hunting license purchase.

Apparently it wasn’t for my online purchase.

The warden told me I was hunting without a license, and sent me to town to buy the $2 Hunter Access Enhancement license.

I was embarrassed I didn’t have the proper licenses. Like most hunters I know, I try to follow the laws, purchase the proper licenses, do the right things.

So does Da’Quan.

Neither of us has ever robbed a convenience store or attacked a police officer.

But when the warden assumes you’re a criminal, even the smallest infraction is eagerly jumped on to justify a warped vision of the hunting public. Talk about profiling.

At a time when folks are protesting the militarization of the police, it doesn’t help that the federal wardens dress like SWAT team members and carry assault rifles in their vehicles.

And it sure doesn’t help matters when a federal wildlife officer assumes the demeanor of Neidermeyer from Animal House.

I considered quitting the refuge for the rest of the season. There are a lot of other places to hunt. But I’m rather fond of my public land so I’ll return, even if I’m perceived as a criminal.

Parker Heinlein is at

[email protected]