Behind the Badge - Lending a Hand
Lending a Hand
District Game Warden Gage Muench
It was a relatively quiet afternoon near the end of December. I had spent the afternoon patrolling for archery hunters with the close of season approaching. Late in the day, I noticed a hunter field dressing a deer a couple hundred yards into a piece of public land. After a few minutes, I lost sight of the hunter as he walked into the woods. I drove down the road and waited at his vehicle. It took the hunter longer than I anticipated to make it back to the road. Eventually he did and was carrying a bow over his shoulder.
I recognized the gentleman from previous interactions over the years at the same piece of property. He was in his 80s and appeared tired from hiking out in the snow. I told him it looked like he had been successful. He stated he had been and harvested a small buck.
The gentleman mentioned being unsure of how he was going to drag the deer out alone. He said just getting himself through the snow drifts had been a challenge. I told him not to worry about it and that I could drag it out for him. I told him to catch his breath, and I would be back in a few minutes.
I took off through the woods and headed towards the deer’s location. Upon arriving, I checked his archery tag that had been validated and affixed to it. I drug the deer out to the road and got it loaded on his cargo hauler.
The gentleman thanked me and jokingly said I “saved him from a heart attack and a half.” He explained that for the previous couple of months he had been having heart issues. He even missed being able to muzzleloader hunt due to being in the hospital. With only a few days left in season he was getting worried about not having any venison for the freezer. I congratulated him on his success and for sticking with it.
We chatted and swapped stories for a few minutes next to his vehicle. He shook my hand, thanked me again, and we parted ways. This job often comes down to being in the right place at the right time and that evening it worked out for both of us. The entire interaction only lasted about 20 minutes, but I’m sure neither one of us will forget it.