In winter of 1980 I was hunting ducks with a buddy in eastern Colorado on some public land. The hole of water were hunting was 1.25 miles from the parking area. Since it was the farthest away, it got the least hunting pressure. We killed a few Greenwing Teal, a pair of Gadwalls, a few Widgeons, and just before dark, we filled our limit with 3 greenhead Mallards and one hen. One of the mallards was wounded and out-swimming the dog. Each time the dog got close, the duck would dive under, then pop up 50+ feet away. We gathered up the decoys, spent hulls, dead ducks, and carried it out to the road. I grabbed my gun and started slipping along the dyke behind the cattails. I saw the mallard just before he saw me. As he was preparing to dive, I ended him. The dog fetched it and we headed out.
After we made the long walk back to the parking area, a game warden was the only other vehicle in the parking lot. He asked who was shooting after dark and I explained that I had a cripple that I needed to finish with one shot. I think we must have made him late for supper, because he wasn't hearing it and wrote me a ticket anyway. I immediately decided to fight the ticket in court.
When my court date rolled around, my truck was in the shop and I couldn't arrange a ride to the next county. So, I got up early and started walking at 4:00 a.m. that morning to cover the ~12 miles to make my 9:00 a.m. court appearance. I got to the courthouse just as they were pulling the doors closed. I had to plead with the officer that I'd started walking that day at 4:00 a.m. to get there in time. He let me in.
The game warden failed to appear, so they bumped my case to the last on the docket to give him the opportunity to show up. I had to sit through cases of spousal abuse, motor vehicle theft, petty larceny, drunk & disorderly, shoplifting, armed robbery, etc.. By the time my case rolled around, the judge said he's seen that I barely made it in the door and wondered how seriously I was taking this. When I told him that my truck was down, I couldn't get a ride, and I'd walked the 12 miles to get there, it changed the way he was looking at me. I explained the situation and that I accepted responsibility for firing one shot after legal shooting time to finish off a wounded bird that I was responsible for. If I had to pay the fine, I would, but I didn't feel it was justified. He asked me to approach the bench and said in a low voice "We've had a courtroom of bad and evil people in here all day today and I'm sorry that we made you sit through that". "It sounds like you were doing exactly what a responsible sportsman should have done and if that game warden would have taken the time to listen to what happened, he never should have written this ticket in the first place". "He couldn't even be bothered to show up today". "I find in your favor and waive any court costs"..."Have a nice day, sir". "I wish we had more responsible citizens, like you, then my courtroom wouldn't be so cluttered with evil people and lawbreakers".
Jim
