I think you have every right to be a bit irritated. Fixing fences on your own land and then get asked for your hunting license. However, I would cooperate to avoid problems in the future. I would rather have a game warden look at me as a good guy than a suspect in the long run of things.

Put me in the no big deal camp. He asked for the license cause you said you were going to go hunting, just checking. It's the same as if you were hunting. The difference and issue may have come if you didn't have it. then what would he do? My guess, nothing, wish you good luck and remind you to make sure you have your license.

You met the CO, this is a good thing!

Probably not a big deal. However, in the medical community there's a phenomenon known as "white coat syndrome" Basically the sight of a doctor makes you nervous, your blood pressure rises, etc. I get the same thing with LEO's, and I'm definitely a law abiding citizen. Nothing to hide. I'd imagine others feel the same way at times.

While it appears it is no big deal.. I am in disagreement.. He has no hunting equipment with him and only fence mending pliers.. There was really no need to ask for his hunting license at all IMO. It was a gate on his property and he could of asked if he own the land where the fence he was fixing is or how the fence may have gotten broken. But, no he looked right by that and simply asked for his license.. I feel he was out of line on this issue..

We had a warden up in this area that would ask for your hunting/fishing license while you were fishing or hunting. No big deal he is supposed to then. But, when he asked to see it everytime you are out. Then that is going to far. 3 maybe 4 times would be acceptable until he got to realize he has checked you out and now has an idea of who you are. This same warden checked my license and me out 3 times in less than an hour out Ice fishing one day. He ended up leaving me alone after I asked him if he thinks he could try and find some one doing something wrong. We had a nick name for him here, that was Sneakers Bob. He ended up getting shipped out of this area to a new location. For more than one reason.

The new warden gets along with fine with most here. He checked my license out a couple of times and hardly ever bothers me and we talk normal stuff like mentioned here earlier. This past spring I was heading turkey hunting and came across a guy in his 70s walking on the dirt road I was traveling. I stopped and asked if everything was alright. He replied that he and his wife who is a diabetic had gotten stuck in a side road about 3 miles from where I had stopped. As well as they spent a cold night in the car. He had just gotten out of the hospital 3 days earlier. I told him to jump in and get warm while I called from my cell phone to get the local wardens number. That was after asking if an ambulance was in order.

The warden showed up and asked me to stay with the old fella and he was going in to check on his wife. Also another warden was on the way out. It took roughly an hour before the other warden made it there and the old fella got into his truck and they proceeded down to where his wife was. Now get this I informed both wardens I was on my way turkey hunting. Neither one was concerned about my hunting license. They both thanked me for contacting them and keeping the old fella warm. They also wished me good luck with my turkey hunting. That surely is a big difference from the warden mentioned first that was assigned here.

So I could clearly see no reason to check for his license and if he did not, he should of stated good luck if you get to go out hunting.. As Cal stated a little kindness goes along ways..

My local warden has seen and talked to me so much that he just waves when he see's me now.

We've talked on the phone a lot just shooting the bull. He's convinced at this point that I don't break any laws. Which I don't.

On the license checking issue it's just a small thing but small things are remembered when an officer is acting under color of law. I'm always legal when hunting so getting checked is nothing.
I'm my case it was outside the scope of the officers duty to ask to see a hunting license.
What if I was on my back forty mending fence and a trooper stopped by and I said I planned to drive home later? Do I need to show my drivers license?

I know it sounds frivolous but I am always sensitive to government intrusion into areas where it has no business.

You should have said...........I only carry it when i'm hunting!

Now this is a good response but, then this warden might just start hanging around and messing up your hunting. Just because he can.. I think he did the right thing by showing his license to him in order to save on perhaps a future headache. But, IMO it is still wrong to have checked him out like that.

I can understand where everybody is coming from and the fact that different people have different comfort levels and expectations from wardens, etc. I wouldn't have done it that way (looking at the LE side of things) but then again, I've always looked at LE (Law Enforcement) stuff like the old choices you used to get in catalogs when buying something--Good, better or Best.

Like Bull, I was a tad overzealous and pretty green when I first started in LE. It was kind of a quantity versus quality issue. As I learned over time and a lot from some wise old guys (they often have made the same mistakes you have and already learned from them), I figured out how to go for quality versus quantity. You catch a lot more bad guys that way and you gain a huge amount of respect and cooperation from everybody else and often even the bad guys.

From what I read, I don't think that particular warden has hit his stride or is operating at his "best" level yet. Hopefully he matures and gets there.

I agree with Cal's assessment of the warden.
The guy was as cordial as could be and did not project a badge heavy attitude at all. I was cordial right back but a little miffed afterward simply because, like most folks here, I am very touchy about my property rights and being confronted on my own land.