Wardens | Episode 12: Operation Elk Dummy | FD Real Show 

My wife and I got on a white tail buck on state land in Montana once but the buck just stood there and didnt even flinch for at least 5 minutes while we waited for it to step out from behind the brush. I began to wonder if it was a decoy and also why in the world the game Dept would plant a legal decoy on legal ground during legal season and legal shooting hours. I decided to shout "Nice Decoy" and the buck turned and ran for his life 😂

As a former guide from Trout Creek, Mt. I can say that at times the wardens and law enforcement turned a blind eye. So many of those families hunted simply to make it through the winter. At times like that compassion and understanding trump the deer population. Sorry... A man must feed his children

I can attest to the steltheness of Wardens. Once i was wade fishing almost 2 miles from any road and 2 Wardens slide up behind me in a canoe and scared the living BaJeseus out of me. I was legal as always, but them boys got me gooood. 😂

I like the fact that they said he was shooting a 248 lol never heard of that lol

248 lol 243 is one of the most popular youth hunter rifles. The fact the warden doesnt know his calibers, especially one of the most popular of all time, makes me worried.

It would be interesting to be in a hunters safety course in Montana and see how detailed they are about when a berm/shoulder ends. So are they saying if he had been just to the other side of that fence he would have been legal?

The case where the kid shot from the fence, I believe that warden was splitting hairs. The kid left the vehicle and got off of the road before the shot.

They do this in Colorado all the time. In fact 2 guys that I use to work with got in big trouble, shooting a mechanical buck, using their truck as a rifle rest, shooting across a county road. Coincidentally they were brothers from Montana. LOL. They caught hell at the factory where we worked. We laughed at them for years.

This is absolutely entrapment! They are enticing someone to break the law.

Glad to see your Legacy with this show continue (Founder Steve Puppe of Wardens) R.I.P buddy...

Rule of thumb...... Make sure the animal takes a step 😂

I really like when they highlight the people doing things legally and properly aswell as the criminals. Gives people who are new or thinking about getting into the sport the right ideas.

16:12 theres no way i "pass the test." Then they tell me i gotta call a friend to try and set him up. I'd tell him to get bent...

Gotta love how the old game warden is just there enjoying his job jumping in front of people 😂

Ive never seen this show before but kinda hooked. Ezra honestly seems like a super cool guy and doesnt like doing this but good on him for doing whats right.

OMG that dog is just amazing and precious. Dogs are the best

is there still a $50 charge if the shooter missed the decoy?

When I was a kid hunting with my dad for one of the first times we had to travel through an easement to hunt my grandmas land (which we also had permission to hunt) and there was what looked to be a giant buck with does. Me being the over excited kid that I was I wanted to shoot it. But my dad noticed something funny about the deer not pinging us like the rest. Long story short the game wardens where waiting 😂

Real fair considering most state land is full of cows because ranchers wait till hunting season to move them onto their leased state land so no matter what you always have to cross a fence

[ENTRAPMENT] SURELY

Dont need to do any detective work if you got a snitch.Impressive job.

Ahaha... Memory time... In Alabama, I used to drink coffee with 4 other gents in the mornings once in awhile. One of these gentlmen, I'll call him Ed, was a game warden. This morning, he was excited to show me his new mechanical deer decoy. I was in awe at how real this decoy looked! This day I was working 3 to 11 and as I was driving home, I see a deer under a well lit sign. I stopped, clapped my hands and nothing. So I opened my truck door, pulled the seat up and came out like I had a rifle saying, "Bang, bang, bang!" I hear Ed say, "Dammit, Yank, get the hell out of here!!" lol The next morning, when I stopped for coffee, I saw Ed and he just laughed and told me after I had stopped, four other folks had stopped and actually shot that decoy. Also, I worked with a guy whose teenage son saw a deer down in a small ravine. He swerved off the road, int that small ravine and smashed the decoy AND his dad's truck!! Yeah, he didn't hunt or drive for quite awhile!! lmbo! You cannot make this stuff up!!! lol

As a sportsman from Utah, I really appreciate enforcement on poaching. I've seen lots of poaching of Elk, Deer - even closely managed Wood Ducks. Big thanks!

Good to live in TN. i get a deer on my own property whenever i want.

Hunting the hunters. Seems like these wardens have lost some perspective here. Stopping poaching is a serious and necessary law enforcement responsibility but citing hunters for subjective issues like where the barrow pit or road shoulder starts or stops literally by inches is over the top and counterproductive.

So funny how these guys calmly deal with people who have loaded weapons while non wildlife law enforcement pisses their pants over people who more often than not don’t even have a weapon but just might have one.

So you set people up 😂 nice

Thats my dream job ! Such beautiful country and the love for wildlife.

The kid makes the honest effort to get off the road, in which he was NOT on the shoulder. Then you write him up anyways. Big man to use his judgement there for that call 🙄

Wherever you are, the law banning two way communication for hunting is beyond words i can even express. Why is it wrong to have communication with the person you are hunting with..

I worked part time in KS for six (6) years for Wildlife and Parks and worked in law enforcement for over 29 years. I have noted that Game Wardens in general are very under trained in Officer Survivability Tactics and that none of the Game Wardens in this video were wearing protective (bullet proof) vests. Hopefully since the filming of this video times have changed for them.

Love watching poachers getting taken down!

4 guys in Lincoln learned their lesson. They lost hunting privileges for 14 years...Great deterrence for Poachers🤣

In West Virginia, the road is property line to property line with or without a ditch or room for a vehicle, right of ways are measured from the center of the road and on small roads can be up to 30 feet, I work for state roads and we deal with this every day because of mowing and tree removal

I love puppy's ❤️

Looks like this could be entrapment, I wonder if anyone has fought it in court. I'm pretty sure that warden cannot have the one guy calling his buddy to lure him in.

“That’s what he’s shooting, a .248.” Wow…

I do admire the wardens. At 13:40 minutes a warden identified a cartridge as 248. Know the law. Know what cartridges are.

They introduce wolves that kill thousands of elk, deer and moose, but they nitpick at some guys that pay thousands of dollars in licenses and tags to be able to maybe get one deer or elk per year.

In Wyoming, as long as you cross a ditch, you are no longer on the shoulder and its perfectly legal, provided you have permission to hunt that property

Growing up my neighbor lost his hunting rights for life when he got caught for the third time shooting at a decoy the week before season started. When he made the shot, he just set the rifle on the hood of his truck and put his hands up because he knew what was happening.

I enjoy watching 2010 era shows. They have a different feel to them. Only thing that gets me is when they use the oriental music 😂 mmmk

Sad to see people that seem honest get in trouble with the law. I'm not super familiar with Montana game laws, but some of these violations seem rather technical. Hunting laws have become so complex, only a lawyer could learn all of them.

Game wardens you will meet will be a 50/50 between good and bad. Even though you are 100% legal they like to find things to charge you with. But get a good one and you learn good hunting information

It's a nightmare to draw a tag and we all put up with it, patiently and gratefully; jerks that circumvent access to (and destroy) rare resources we all have to share should face more severe punishments.

Love these videos reminds me of my buddy dowdy

They handled dealing with the violator's very good respectful and educational to show them 10:12

Wow, Montana can't use 2 way communication?that's nuts

Real Hunters Can Tell From A Fake Decoy To A Real Animal Most Elk Will Walk Or Run Once You Stop Your Vehicle Pretty Logic Unless Your Drunk Or On Drugs

The guy was shooting a 248!! Never heard of that caliber before!! Lol

I get what the wardens are trying to do here but I'd just like to see the real poachers get caught. These are are all regular hunters that mean well. Sure, were all guilty of a little buck fever here and there but this is like the cop that hides and then gets excited about writing a ticket for 10 over to the guy just trying to make to work and back. To me, this is lazy law enforcement trying to hit a quota. Go find the real bad guys

Game wardens not wearing orange huh? If it's not safe for us why is it safe for them?

These guys have the nicest uniforms.

I hunted many times in Montana and very often the Lodge owner would call hunters and tell them if elk were migrating down lower. I never heard of this before, although I know many hunters carry radios for hunting purposes.

Glad to see y'all on YT. My biggest gripe with the state was the slap on the wrist many of these criminals got for poaching and such. Kinda made me thing "Why bother going to the trouble of catching elk or deer poachers if all they get is a slab on the wrist?" Hell, if some of these people were caught in Texas or another state doing this stuff, they'd be behind bars or pay a ton of money in fines and still lose their guns/other equipment including vehicles including their right to hunt/fish in the state for years. In Montana, it just seems the justice system didn't place a very high value on their wildlife.

If the rancher moved the fence 2 ft further in would it still be the shoulder maybe 100 ft in still the shoulder a private fence is not a public shoulder marker

They absolutely do put it up as a gotcha

Some set out plastic ducks to hunt ducks. Some set out plastic deer to hunt real quacks.

Getting out of the truck and shooting from the ditch in no way should be illegal. Good job hunters. Bad job law.

Government out here like "Hey, stop that! that is OUR nature to destroy"! lol I love the two guys going "Well , yuh see, wut we do here is put them elk right where they shouldn't be, create that temptation where there would be none, and try to catch people." as if those people would be stopping for anything else but an easy opportunity. It's entrapment lol

6:30 If a Person does Shoot at Decoy, It’s a Crime. If a Person warns others, That It’s a Decoy, and Don’t Shoot, a Crime Has been Prevented.

Call me a poacher or whatever you want but the kid that shot from the fence I honestly wouldn’t have an issue with, hear me out, he wasn’t shooting ACROSS a traveled roadway he got out went to the fence and used the post to take a steady shot. The argument that if he would have been on the other side of the fence is absurd, being 16” on the other side makes it ok give me a break. I’m sure there is a rule on the distance they have to be from a roadway but in this case him saying he needed to be on the other side is asinine. Then to argue “well it’s unfair for the animal because they were hunting from a vehicle.” They were traveling in their vehicle, more than likely been hunting all day without success, then seen a very nice size legal buck and took a shot. You hear everyone say when they score a big one “ ya I was lucky just happened to be in the right place at the right time” in my opinion I don’t see how that situation was any different, they happened to be in the right place at the right time. Now I’m sure I’ll get called out “i can only imagine how many animals you’ve poached” and my response is I haven’t even taken game in the past 2 years I’ve been hunting because I have been wanting my wife to get something nice and legal. So before I get bashed for this I’m just expressing my opinion, I would say nail them to the cross if they were shooting out the window or at night with a light but that’s not what happened.

$50 for damage to the decoy😂😂😂💪

Been using this decoy for 20 years.....thatll be $50 to replace the decoy.

Legal entrapment needs to be expanded. On principle, if you’re supplying the means of a crime for the purpose of creating crime, you are responsible for the crime, assuming it even is a crime.

Decoy not even close to realistic. Its just a idiot tax.

Here in Vermont, you need to be 25 feet off the edge of the road unless it's a class 4 road, in which case you can't be in the traveled portion of the road.

Imagine if Banks left stacks of cash out on the tables in their lobby to see if anyone would steal.

Wow, I think the kid could of gotten a warning, and maybe had a serious talk with his father.

Law enforcement filming them selves conducting entrapment techniques 😂

One warden looks like he would be Dennis Quaids brother...

I was bass fishing on a busy lake. All types of recreational boating activities going on while we fished. I was getting a very annoyed by the jet skis and kids on tubes buzzing us, but I also realize that they have the right to enjoy this lake as much as I do. Then a ski boat drove right up to us! I was about to yell at them when I noticed their uniforms. Game Wardens! They checked us out, all of which was perfectly legal. I complemented them on their stealth, they chuckled and wished us a good day. That was the only encounter I have ever had with a warden.

In Maine, pavement is what defines a road. Dirt, no matter the purpose is considered unimproved and legal to shoot from.

This makes me wanna be a game warden! In my area I had huge bucks all summer and leading up to season. Literally 1 day before open bow season, I heard gun shoots during prime hunting hours in the morning and evening.... I even told my 17yr old son who helped til and plot and feed all year, I heard shots and it was probably our bucks and we'll see if they show up on trail cam.... Never seen em again... still to this day not even a doe 😢 I know someone illegally shot em! That was sept 30th and rifle season just opened 2 days ago for us. 😒

Warden looks like Jim from The Office if he was an outdoorsmen lol. Warden Halpert

"thats what hes shootin.... a .248" 😂🤣

That's a pretty vague description of boundaries. He was out of the truck off the road and as a road builder in Az he was off the shoulder, he was in the right of way but off the road.

Are there any lawyers reading the comments? Im curious to know if this is entrapment.

I mean the end of his barrel was on the other side of the fence lol

Engineering-speak here. The road template includes the road, the ditch (both sides) and sometimes to the top of the cutbank on the high side or the toe of the fill on the low side. I carry a shotgun with 4" blackpowder blanks, just because.

Your tax dollars at work! Show me the man, I’ll show you the crime! Thanks for your service game wardens! 😂 😂 😂

If the orange vests are legitimately for safety concerns, then why don't the wardens need to wear them while in the woods on public property?

In most states this considered entrapment

A friend in the country had a fake deer in a field by their house. The number of shots tht fake deer took was amazing. Shooting towards their house! The house was clearly visible and not far from the “deer”

Great job. Keep up the good work 👏

This is entrapment where I come from.

good job!

Too convenient. Hunter would have known it was a fake if he was a real Hunter

This is awesome to see! Sadly the warden here is extremely corrupt and lazy.

These game wardens are so brave and noble ,really have to admire how they prey on people and uphold their big egos while they protect and serve themselves , what wpuld we do without the modern police state we live in , also their famous last words they all live by is , we dont make the laws we just enforce them, spoken like the true boot lickers they are

As a outdoorsman poachers make me sick. If you’re doing something illegal you deserve everything taken away. If everyone else has to do it the legal way so should you.

I’m sure the word is entrapment, sir, be careful..

Find it strange Wardens are not wearing hunter orange while out in wild .

I do think that decoys are intraptment

I'm not sure what's worse, how much those jerks poached, how dumb they were trying to get away with it, or the fact they ziptied two wooden pistol grips onto a Sten

Take a poachers hunting license for 14 years...wow...that hurts. Like that will stop a poacher.

The officer called the rifle a 248 for witch there is no such thing and even looked at the spent brass, there needs to be some improvements here.

I live in the country on a farm, anyone who can't tell the difference between a real and fake animal is obvious from the city and knows nothing with respect to hunting, animals, or property owners rights. I deal with the city a-holes every hunting season.

Warnings warnings warnings, nobody learns from a warning.

.248 huh?………he sure knows his shtuff😂 those pesky 3’s can sure look like an 8