PITTSBURGH -- Team 4 has analyzed four years worth of citations issued by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and has found the places where game wardens are most likely to issue hunters a ticket.

Plenty of hunters head to Clarion County, but those familiar with the area urge caution.

Watch The Video: Where Not To Hunt

"I'd go somewhere else because you will be harassed," said hunter Jeremy Best when asked if he would encourage others to hunt in the county.

"There's running joke around here, 'Clarion County, come on vacation, leave on probation,'" said fellow hunter Mac Reed.

The numbers back up the concerns.

Game commission officers issued 1,441 citations in Clarion County from 2004 to 2007.

That's more than any other county in the state.

Somerset County had the next highest number of citations with 917.

Other counties were as follows: Indiana County (684), Washington County (611), Butler County (540), Greene County (518), Allegheny County (501), Westmoreland County (500) and Beaver County (134).

Most of the tickets issued in Clarion County were issued by officer Rodney Bimber.

Bimber's aggressive enforcement has made him a target for critics.

Bimber accused Reed of drinking a beer on game lands.

The violation should have earned Reed nothing more than a ticket, but he was put in handcuffs.

Reed said he was kept in handcuffs for nearly 40 minutes.

"Because he [Bimber] said someone told him I had a beer on game lands," said Reed.

Reed denied the allegation and the game commission dropped the case.

Last year, Bimber cited hunter Kerry Bohatch for target-shooting out of season.

Bohatch said he wasn't even issued a warning.

"No, it was just, this is the law," said Bohatch.

But the top law man in Clarion County wants to rein in the game commission.

Last month, District Attorney Mark Aaron took the unusual step of assigning a prosecutor to every game commission case that goes to court.

"As much as Steeler football is part of the culture in Allegheny County, hunting is part of the culture in Clarion County, and my office is willing to take the extra step to protect that culture," said Aaron.

When asked about Aaron's claim that officers have been too aggressive, Jerry Feaser, of the Pennsylvania Game Commission replied, "I'm concerned there have been cases where his office was lacking in support."

The game commission said citations would be higher in other counties but for a longstanding shortage of officers.

"We have 136 wildlife conservation officer districts for the entire state. There are many municipal police departments who have more than that just to serve one township," said Feaser.

The way those districts are divided also affects enforcement.

Somerset County has three officers patrolling the area while only one covers Beaver County.

Feaser said that may explain the discrepancy in numbers.

When asked if it was sending a message to hunters that they can get away with things in some of these places where there aren't as many citations or officers, Feaser replied, "You would need to understand the differences in some of these counties."

Team 4 found a big difference among counties in the way the handle game commission citations.

Some counties can be more forgiving than others.

In Beaver County, judges dismiss 6 percent of tickets.

Allegheny County has the top dismissal rate in the state at 22 percent.

Washington and Westmoreland counties have an 8 percent dismissal rate.

Clarion County clocks in at 11 percent, Indiana County at 12 and Butler County with 14.

"I don’t know what the violations are that are being dismissed, so I can't really speak to that," Feaser said when asked if it sends a message to hunters that they can get away with citations in certain counties.

"Look what happened to me. I had three citations and all three were thrown out," said hunter Glenn Lackey.

Lackey was bow hunting with permission on a friend's property in Castle Shannon, Allegheny County, but he was cited when someone complained that he was illegally hunting on private property.

When asked if he felt a sense of relief when the charges were thrown out, Lackey said, "Not at all."

Lackey has not been hunting since fighting those tickets, and worries aggressive enforcement will drive away other hunters.

The number of licensed hunters in Pennsylvania has dropped by more than 146,000 in the past decade.

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