At the time of this writing, it appears that House bill 1140 will become law. It will “handcuff game wardens” according to my friend John Cooper, former GF&P Secretary from 1995 to January 2007. I believe John, and I believe the former GF&P people who have been critical of the bill. Interim GF&P secretary Kevin Robling brought the bill forward at the request of Gov. Kristi Noem, and current conservation officers have been “silenced” from commenting on the bill by Sec. Robling and Gov. Noem.

Basically, HB 1140 would restrict the entry of conservation officers onto private land without landowner permission. This would mean that a conservation officer couldn’t enter a cornfield to check licenses and bag limits without landowner permission. Gov. Noem sees the legislation as a means of strengthening relationships between land owners and conservation officers. I see it as free license to break the law.

There’s a possible loophole in HB 1140. I’m looking at “emergencies or reasonable suspicion of probable cause.” How a court interprets suspicion or probable cause could be interesting. Is a TIPS call probable cause? I applaud Gov. Noem for keeping our businesses and schools open, but she won’t “silence” me. Our SD conservation officers have not abused the right to enter private property, and I am against HB 1140. Unfortunately, what I think doesn’t matter.

I see where Ziebach, Lyman, Mellette, and Sully Counties have been added to the CWD or Chronic Waste Disease list. We now have 16 counties where the fatal deer disease has been identified. This insidious problem continues to grow, and I don’t know what can be done about it.

When the Corona Virus pandemic hit in force last March, Betsy and I spent a few more bucks and upped the level of our TV programming as we would be spending more time around the house. This programming included the Outdoor Channel. While I usually enjoy the Outdoor Channel and programs like Longmire, I find some of the hunting programs to be repulsive.

I was especially disappointed by the TV show “Buckmasters” last Sunday night. The show host, Jackie Bushman, took a bad shot at a trophy whitetail buck with a 300 Winchester Magnum (overkill), wounded the deer, and left it lay overnight to be devoured by coyotes. Is this how we want our sport portrayed to a general audience?

Many of these TV show deer hunters make me sick. They talk about how hard they worked hunting in frigid 40 degree temperatures while sitting on an easy chair in a heated blind. This deer blind sits over a deer buffet food plot of irresistible deer goodies, and they rode to this blind in a comfortable quad cab ATV. They then pass up numerous bucks because they aren’t “shooters.” I have no respect whatsoever for these hunters or the record book bucks they shoot.

Who am Ito be critical of these TV celebrities? My credentials are certainly not very impressive. I have never killed a record book buck I never But, 97% my on not run off wounded like too many TV trophies. Though I’ll be 79 next month, I walk to my West River post from the ranch house, and I have never used an ATV on a deer hunt. On my 2018 East River deer hunt, I sat alone on a hillside in a below zero wind chill factor and didn’t give it second thought. I use neither scent attractants nor range finders. Instead, I pay close attention to wind direction, and I’ve learned through experience to judge distances.

The bucks I have killed? They have been mature deer, often in excess of 200 pounds, more often than not with four points on a side and an occasional five points. If I measured them, which I don’t, they would average around 125 Boone & Crocket points while some of the TV trophies go 180.

If you talked to me about my deer, and I like to visit, you’ll find I killed my deer. I didn’t harvest them. We harvest beans and corn, not deer. The word “harvest” may be politically correct, but I don’t need to apologize for killing a deer. As I see it, I’m just a regular guy when it comes to deer hunting. I’ll never be a TV deer hunt host, but if I was, I’d earn my deer. I hope you feel the same way.

See you next week.