Behind the Badge - Lights, Sights, and Nights
Lights, Sights, and Nights
District Game Warden Justin McFall
One night during deer gun season, while patrolling the dense forests near J. Clark Sayler Refuge, another game warden and I noticed a vehicle parked in the back of a Wildlife Management Area at the end of legal shooting light.
We waited near the vehicle for the owner to return.
About an hour after legal shooting light, a hunter exited the dense forest and threw some items into the tree line along the road before heading to the vehicle, not knowing we were there.
“Well, that seems strange?”
We turned on our lights and conducted a field check of the hunter.
The hunter said he was deer hunting and showed us his deer bow tag.
We then followed the hunter back to his items he threw into the tree line.
One of the items he left was a crossbow, and on the crossbow was a night vison sight and infrared flashlight mounted to it.
Not only was the sight mounted on the crossbow illegal, but the hunter also did not have a crossbow permit.
The hunter denied using the night vision capabilities while hunting.
Whether the hunter used the sight/crossbow or not, it is unlawful to have it with you on your hunt, especially after dark.
So let this hunter’s mistake teach you that you need a permit to hunt with a crossbow in North Dakota and to read the equipment regulations before you head out for a hunt.
Stay safe out there and good luck!