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Author Topic: Game wardens in Minnesota  (Read 1249 times)

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Offline bearfat

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Game wardens in Minnesota
« on: December 07, 2006, 03:45:32 AM »
A little known fact about our game wardens up here:

A few years ago I was at a gun range that was allowng the State of MN game wardens to shoot their annual qualification.

They set up man targets at 200 yards and each of them pulled out Vietnam-era issue M-14's with 20 round clips from behind their pickup truck seats.

Cripes even the highway patrol don't carry that kind of firepower do they?

There was only about a dozen of them and some of them were from way up north. The range they cover is huge. In 30 years of hunting I've only seen one warden in the field. It was the last day of squirrel hunting on a Feb 28th. I was on a snowmobile and he had me open the pistol gun case to make sure the Ruger .22 was not loaded.
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Offline Siskiyou

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Re: Game wardens in Minnesota
« Reply #1 on: December 07, 2006, 05:25:37 AM »
I am glad your State has the foresight to properly arm your wardens.  Fish & Wildlife (wardens) officers rate #1 in on the job deaths in law enforcement across the U.S.  California had a Warden shot by a marijuana grower a couple of years back.  You never know what you will find in the woods.

I meet one of your Wardens in 2003, a long tall Lt.  A fine officer, and good representative for your State.

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Offline HuntingGuy

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Re: Game wardens in Minnesota
« Reply #2 on: December 07, 2006, 08:28:37 AM »
Yep, our CO's are ready for whatever comes up.  Great bunch of guys, too - I ride with one often on patrol out on the St. Croix, and it is a blast.  If you are looking into law enforcement and enjoy the outdoors, it's the perfect job.  They issue an ATV, boat, truck, snowmobile, and all gear.  They work out of their homes, simply going 10-8 on the radio when they decide they want to start the shift.  It's "Set your own hours, just stay in your zone."  Neat gig, I thought about it - and may still come back to it.  I'm a Reserve Deputy Sheriff with the Washington County Sheriff's Office now, and we work right along with the DNR out on the lakes and rivers here in Minnesota.  The extra firepower comes in handy when breaking the news to the drunk boater that his brand new Lund is now property of the state  ;)
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Offline bearfat

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Re: Game wardens in Minnesota
« Reply #3 on: December 07, 2006, 11:19:01 AM »
HuntingGuy ever ask them about those M-14's. They had fiberglass stocks, kind of a puke light brown. Never would have guessed they had that kind of fire power behind their back seats.

And what about the rest of the State? County and State Patrol carry AR-15's? I'll be shocked if you say yes.
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Offline billy_56081

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Re: Game wardens in Minnesota
« Reply #4 on: December 07, 2006, 02:20:01 PM »
The M14s were sold to the state for like $100.00 apiece. The police and sheriffs departments can aslo buy these and M16a1 for the same price. I know the county I liove in has at least 1 M16 for the sheriff department. The city police department also has at least one. Its not just an issue of firepower but also one of getting good quality weapons on a budget.
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Offline targshooter

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Re: Game wardens in Minnesota
« Reply #5 on: December 31, 2006, 02:07:19 AM »
I've seen DNR enforcement officers in the Rum River area three times in the past 7 seasons. They are courteous and helpful, as they stopped to see if a man with a broken down truck needed any help. I have never been asked to produce a license or show any verification that a firearm is in proper mode. I talked with them (young guy and an attractive young woman) last year for several minutes, they wore pistols and had an M-16 in the cab of the pick-up.
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Offline SDS-GEN

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Re: Game wardens in Minnesota
« Reply #6 on: December 31, 2006, 02:28:32 PM »
Its nice to see good comments towards game wardens, I hear way to many complaints about these guys (I suspect most are unfounded).  Fact is they are spread way too thin across the nation, and have a heck of a lot of work to do all the time.  Almost everyone they come across is armed, the extra firepower is probably good thinking.
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