Out of sight, out of mind?

http://www.butlereagle.com/article/20111115/NEWS12/711169815

I find it hard to believe the PGC supports this. Wonder what the WCO input ( if any was sought, or considered ) was?

Of course I also believe it should be an ageny decision, not a legislative one.

TOM VENESKY


Hunting license should remain on our backs TOM VENESKY OUTDOORS


Two worn holes adorn the back of each of my hunting coats.

Small game, turkey and deer – three coats for three different seasons -- and all with the same two holes.

They are a result from displaying my hunting license year after year, a tradition I had ever since I started hunting at the age of 12.

The license holder went on my small game jacket first, followed by turkey and then my deer hunting coat. After the rifle deer season ended, the license holder goes back onto my small game coat for some late-season rabbit hunting.

The only other time the license is removed from my coat was when I was lucky enough to shoot a buck and had to fill out the tag.

But soon there might not be a reason for any of us to poke two small holes in the back of our coat or slide a license holder through the loops on the back of a jacket.

House Bill 460 would remove the requirement to display a hunting license. The bill has the support of Pennsylvania Game Commission officials, who are all right with the idea of hunters simply carrying their license in their wallet.

In my opinion, it’s a bad idea for a number of reasons.

When I hunt, I want to be burdened with as little belongings as possible. Rather than load my pockets up with things I don’t need, I take the bare essentials into the woods.

That means leaving my wallet behind. I have no use for it in the woods and I don’t need to be worried about losing it while crawling through a thick briar tangle.

But convenience isn’t the only reason why I feel it’s important to display a hunting license.

It also serves as a good law enforcement tool – namely for other hunters -- who can, at times, obtain a license number when they suspect someone of a violation.

The law enforcement benefit is compromised a bit, however, with the new-look yellow licenses with much smaller numbers that are difficult to see.

Many hunters support the legislation to remove the display requirement, and some argue that it’s too easy to lose a hunting license when you have to pin it on a coat.

But not having to display a license could increase the amount of checks conducted by a Wildlife Conservation Officer. Right now, chances are if a WCO sees a hunter afield with a license on his back, he won’t venture out to check him or her.

It takes the guesswork out of things and there’s no wondering who has a license and who doesn’t.

But will the removal of the display requirement force WCOs to stop and check everyone they encounter just to make sure they have a valid hunting license?

And how will hunters react to being stopped and checked more frequently? Will they mind being stopped and having to take out their wallet or dig through their pockets to find their hunting license and identification?

I’m willing to bet most will view it as a burden and some might even feel they’re being harassed, even though the WCO is just doing his or her job.

When it comes to hunters having to display their license, the approach taken should be similar to that of license plates on vehicles.

All cars and trucks have to display a current license plate, which greatly aids law enforcement and private citizens alike.

One quick glance at the bumper of a car will tell you if it’s legal or not.

Shouldn’t the same hold true for hunters?

After all, if the owner of a vehicle has to display a valid license on their car, it’s certainly not unreasonable to require a hunter to do the same.



Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/sports/Hunting_license_should_remain_on_our_backs_TOM_VENESKY_OUTDOORS_10-24-2010.html#ixzz1duU7mQ28

I think it just gives them an excuse to stop you and look through your personal effects, vehicle, cabin, etc.

Displaying my fishing license never deterred any officer from stopping me and reading me the riot act.

Letting them enforce the traffic code for probable cause so they can stop you is one of the stupidest ideas I have ever heard of.

If you don't have probable cause to check someone for a HUNTING violation then leave them the he11 alone...

Bunch of BS.


Seems like many of the other states have a no show license, don't know why it won't work here.

Do away with displaying that dam fishing license too......

ORIGINAL: World Famous

RC, They don't need anything else to stop and search you or your car. Really don't even need "probable cause", unlike a policeman...WF

I'm aware of that. What I'm saying is that its just one more excuse for the officer to stop you to have a look-see.

"Hey, the reason I stopped you was to check your hunting license. Do you mind if I have a look in your backpack? Ok, I'm going to check the bed of your truck. What do you have in that cooler? Do you mind opening it up for me? I see you have a foldable saw. What is that for? You have an empty beer can in the bed of your truck. Do you like to drink and drive?"

I was under the naive assumption that the reason hunting and fishing licenses were to be worn in a visible fashion was so that these officers could check you from afar and would leave hunters and fisherman the F alone.

Kind of like a pork sandwich can now pull you over, solely for having your seatbelt off, or maybe because he "thinks" you're not wearing your seatbelt. The whole goal is so they can stick their head inside your vehicle and see what other violations they can find...

Since the inception of the new yellow licenses with tiny lettering, you can't see the licenses from any sort of distance anyhow.  Every time I have been checked, the WCO asked for me to remove my license from the holder to determine whether or not I had the proper tags.  My point being that the WCO can not verify all of the information he would need by just examining the license while displayed.  

Why not just keep the thing in your wallet like you do in most other states with the realization that one way or another the WCO will likely need to see more than just the part that currently must be displayed?

It is about time for this one to go through.

ORIGINAL: RhnstnCowboy

I was under the naive assumption that the reason hunting and fishing licenses were to be worn in a visible fashion was so that these officers could check you from afar and would leave hunters and fisherman the F alone.

It is not possible to check the new style license from any distance.  The print is too small to read and with hunting licenses, not all privileges must be displayed on your back.

Quite honestly if they only were verifying licenses from a distance, a yellow piece of paper with some black pen scribbled on it would do just fine. 

ORIGINAL: LOVETOSHOOT

I believe that you are supposed to carry your ID with you PSU. Do you take your's out of your wallet?

I put my LTCF in my license pouch, never carry my Drivers License. It's a photo ID issued by Clarion County..so if the local WCO has trouble with it, I'll take my chances with the local magistrate

Game Commission Officers have to have exactly the same amount of cause and justification to make a stop or detention as what any other officer needs, no more and no less.

Hmmm... You should tell that to many of the ones who have stopped me...

All of what I wrote in quotes up top was actually said to me by officers...

I had a guy grill me for 20 minutes because there was a single empty beer can in the bed of my truck. My favorite line was: "Do you enjoy drunk driving?" I was totally sober, it was the middle of the day, and I had picked the can up up and thrown it in the back of my truck because it was laying on the ground when I parked.

Mabee you had a tail light out.....

Headin out to the gamelands public shooting range this morning. I know it was mentioned before, but thought it fitting for this thread. If you are gonna use the range you need to have your hunting liscense with you. We were checked 2 weeks ago by WCO. He said that they are no longer giving warnings and handing out citations. Taking that 44 mag back out with some Hornady Leverevolution ammo. Hope it works.

I have been chest deep in water a few times when a warden on the bank cheked my licenes with binoks instead of having me come out of the water just to see if my tag was curent watched him check alot of guys that day in boats to otherwise would have to come in or be checked on the water. I think it will result in more checks like was said earlyer.

I like the idea of not displaying my license.  In firearms deer season, I often go from the tree stand, where I wear a HSS vest, to still hunting, where I get rid of that heavy vest and switch to a lighter, more quiet one, and back again.  I just know that one of these ties, I am going to forget to swap the license.  In addition, I don't wear my license when guiding or hunting on a preserve (not required), but need one when I hunt off the reservation for upland game.  If I had a dollar for every time I had to turn around and head back home after a few blocks to get my license, I could buy next year's license.  Heck, I actually forgot it once this year (that makes me a slob hunter according to Doc) and didn't realize it until I got home and hung up my vest and there was no license on it.
 
With the change I will buy my license, put it in my wallet and that will be that.