GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

[link]http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20050206/ap_on_re_us/idaho_outlaw[/link]

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

I would say guilty after reading the story, however I sure would like to see all the facts.

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

Guilty or not he's spawned a general bad attitude of hunters towards Fish and Game CO's that puts them in much more danger than before that incident happened. He broke the law plain and simple then got himself in a mess instead of just owning up to it.

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

Plain and simple he is guilty. However, BA, the Fish and Game has done their own job of earning a bad reputation with the hunters.

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

It doesn't really matter. There is no excuse for that kind of attitude. It's wrong and it's dangerous.

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

I am not much for the fish and game. From what I have seen if you put a badge on most men there chest blow up. I had 5 friends that turned in to cops or wordens. EVERY single one of them are no longer my friends,They all think they are now better than I am the only reasion they ever call me now is for me to help them.

I am not saying they need shot but just like in scool a big head will get you all bad reactions.

Every worden or cop I have every seen says I WILL GET EVEN WITH THEM. So I would bet that this guys life will be a living he!! if he dose not move where he can not be found.

The officers do not SERVE AND ASSIST they boss and controle the genaral public now.If they think you are guilty you ARE.

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

Gentlemen, I appreciate those of you who have spoken against the behavior of Claude Dallas. I am new to this forum. I just left a forum where I was a very active member for the past three years. I left because of some of the attitudes concerning this very same post. As a rancher and journalist I was very interested in the Claude Dallas case when it first broke and I read as much about it as I good. A friend of mine cowboyed with Dallas on a Nevada crew and another friend of mine photographed him while doing a book for National Geographic. If you want to know more about the situation I would recommend Jack Olsen's book "Give a Boy a Gun." I live in a state where we see a killing every few years as a result of would-be "mountain men" thinking they can take their weapons, go into the hills, and act however they want. Dallas was a delusional criminal, nothing else. While Bill Pogue had a reputation for being a "by-the-book" game warden he was not known to be vindictive or abusive. Conley Elms, the other slain warden, was known to be a very fine man. Almost every young person who pins on a star and straps on a handgun is idealistic and ambitious in the beginning. Most mellow quickly. We have to remember that without our State Fish and Game Departments there would be no wildlife in America. In fact, the commercial hunting of wildlife had nearly eradicated most species by the 1920s. The first state game warden -- then called "duck cops" was murdered in that decade. In my experience as a landowner who allows public hunting, I have discovered that hunters who have a bad attitude toward authority usually show bad traits in the field, too. The local captain of game wardens hunts on our property. When I first met him some 15 years ago he was a little cocky and full of himself, but he has since become a close friend and I know the long hours, abuse from the public, and short pay that he contends with. During those times when he would like to be hunting he is probably working 18-hour days trying to enforce the laws that maintain our wildlife heritage. Phonies like Dallas, on the other hand, are only interested in killing what they want to kill when they want to do it.

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

Guilty as sin!! I know Mrs. Elms, Conleys mother, she is a very nice person. I have sat down and talked with her, and she even gave me a picture of her son. She said that Bill Pogue called her son up after another officer declined to go with him, she said that Conley never would say no, when someone asked for his help. Claude was one of the biggest poachers around, and laws they meant nothing to him, he lived by his own rules. At least these F&G officers did put a stop to it, but ended up sacrificing there own life so justice would be done.

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

Sunday.... Then you have me all wrong!! I invite you to hunt with me any day of the week and I will guarantee that you won't find a more ethical hunter. I even volunteer as an instructor with Bowhunter's Education with them. It is unfortunately, because of my volunteer work and several personal experiences (1 in particular) where an officer abused his badge and fraudulently accused my friend of baiting. My friend was not doing any such thing and it was finally proven when the officer claimed to have a confession on tape. THERE WAS NO TAPE and to make it even better, my friend is handicapped and the officer told him to crawl out because he was in a "Closed" area. The map said that it was open and in a court of law it was proven to be open. The officer, BTW, was on his own time, hunting the same area when he "busted" my friend. So don't tell me that they are all good and we are bad. I've never been sited for anything because I have never given them a reason to site me. However, my feeling is that they are a very power hungry bunch that doesn't have a group of people to balance their actions. Sadly, it is needed. With that all said, I think Claude Dallas is a flat out murderer who shouldn't be out now. I don't believe that he had good intentions when he shot those officers. Did they deserve it? NO! No action, with the exception of murder itself, would constitute the death of another individual. However, you can't tell me that the Fish and Game are a wonderful organization. On more than one occasion they have proven themselves not to be.

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

Sunday Creek, Welcome to the board. I agree with your post 100%.

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

Hikchick - I had no problem with your comments at all, in fact, they were not even a consideration in my post. I have worked with enough game wardens to know that there is always some who will abuse authority. I do stand by my one statement though, that through decades of dealing with the public, I simply will not open the gates of our ranch to anyone who comes with an attitude toward law enforcement. And, of course, that counts double for those who come with an attitude toward landowners. On the forum I just left there were a number of people writing in who sympathized with Claude Dallas and saw him as some sort of hero of individual rights. I know the Canadian western singer, Ian Tyson, and my one disappointment with Ian is that he wrote a song -- later used as the theme for a "B" movie about Dallas -- that added to the myth. For anyone who thinks Dallas was a modern-day mountain man just remember this: after escaping jail he was eventually apprehended outside of a 7-11 convenience store in southern California.
Wolf - thanks for the welcome.

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

Most of the people who hate CO's probably have that attitude because they or someone they know did something wrong and got caught. That's pretty amusing.

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

Brutal Attack,
Nope, never been busted for anything (never done anything to be busted for). And I've not known anyone who got busted for anything. But when you spend your own personal time to volunteer for the Fish & Game and they don't appreciate you and say, "What are you worried about? You are ONLY A VOLUNTEER!!" What does that say for them? Not much. I know you work for them, and possibly if I knew you I would think differently about them. However, with my friend being prosecuted for something that didn't even happen, and the negative attitude towards the people who scratch the Fish and Game's back for them only to be slapped in the face, well.... I don't have much respect for them anymore. So think what you want, but believe it or not, there are plenty of things for the general public to dispise about the Fish and Game.

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

why would u kill two inoccent people just for poaching it doesnt make sense, murder carries a longer sentence and than poaching it just doesnt add, its really stupid. :(

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

I do not think he is by no means a winner.I think they sould kill off most of the muderers say us taxpayers some money.

The way you say it is eather you are for the wordens or aginst them.That is not true at all I do not do any thing roung to get any tickets so I have not gotten any. BUT I have 3 friends that are wordens they all 3 think they are GODS. They treat people like crap [NOT ME I KNOW THEM]. I think if you are friends with them they are allways good guys.I gess I could say I understand how they can be so crappy to people but that would be a lie.I can tell you since I know them I am treated way better by the reast of the wordens in the surounding places. the wordens will be treating me like crap all I have to do is say I KNOW PAT OR CHRIS and the wordens treat me WAY WAY better. I do not think this is right.The wordens that are nice are allways about to retire.

I have lived in montana now for 6 years the only worden that was a good guy is in great falls.mmmmmmmm you gessed it he retiered 1 year after I meet him.EVERY time I meet the one here in helena the 1st thing he says to me is WHY DID YOU MOVE HERE CHARLES? I do not think this sould ever be a question any worden should ask.I did contact people over him they quoted [he is a good guy].The last time I ran into him I had JIM with me [good friends with 2 wordens in bute]. The man started being a pain in the but and JIM said HAY DO YOU KNOW SOINSO.well all changed and the worden is now OK with me BECOUSE I am friends with a friend of a difrant worden.

I stay on the right side of the law so I do not feer the wordens I just think they are not fair in any way at all.

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

Thank you, ELKINMTCWB. My point exactly!

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

Hey Hikchik, what about that dude that got busted for shooting at geese with an SKS[:-]:D:D

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

That's right!!! I'd forgotten about that!! But, I have no sympathy because he deserved it!! And I hold no grudge against the officers, because they were right!! :)

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

Of course he was guilty. A jury convicted him of that and he served his time. His debt is paid as the system placed on him. Life goes on, people live and die, some sooner than others.

RE: GUILTY or NOT? Claude Dallas
 

I'm with Sunday, they should have hung Dallas from the nearest tree!! I also agree with Hikchick, I to have been on the side of a "Power Hungry" warden, which was getting close to retirement. He checked my dad and I after I shot a whitetail buck, and pretty much treatened/got a gruff voice with me because I hadn't "Cut out the complete date" on my deer tag (a black triangle with the dates on it on the back of the tag). A few years later I shot a deer in an area where I shouldn't have (ALWAYS READ THE REG'S) and in court pretty much lied to make me "guilty", when I had told the judge that I had made a bad mistake, well I got my licences revolked for two years and a $1100 fine. Yes I have had to learn a VERY hard lesson, and yes I have met quit a few "good" wardens, some that I've sat and shot the bull with for a couple of hours. My dad wears a badge and he doesn't think that hes "better" than everyone else, I do respect those who wear a badge, they keep our country the "Land of the Free, and the Home of the BRAVE"..............