March 28, 2007Serial wild turkey poacher convictedThe newest issue of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Outdoor Report includes this gem. I had to chuckle when the poacher was listed as the "former" assistant chief of Spotsylvania County Animal Control. Can't very well have a convicted serial poacher working in law enforcement, can you? "Serial Wild Turkey Poacher Convicted The single defendant in this case, Jason Cook, a former assistant chief of Spotsylvania County Animal Control, was charged with nearly 100 criminal violations related to his illegal turkey poaching activities over the past 15 years. A surveillance operation led to a search warrant for the defendant's residence. The execution of this search warrant included the seizure of 81 wild turkey beards, 17 turkey legs with spurs, 38 additional turkey spurs, 6 sets of turkey tail feathers, and hunting photo albums containing pictures of the defendant posing with illegally shot wild turkey carcasses. The conviction resulted in loss of hunting privileges, jail time, community service and over $10,000 in fines and game restoration costs." I was at DGIF headquarters in Richmond yesterday and saw that the agency has put many of the confiscated beards and spurs into a special, transportable display case. The only problem was they had fuzzed out Cook's face in a picture of him posing with a bunch of dead turkeys. Have coyote, will travel (for bounty)Franklin County's board of supervisors just narrowly approved a coyote bounty. Hunters who nail one of the critters will get $25 for taking it in to be registered. Most experts say that coyote bounties don't work. People kill a bunch of coyotes, localities run out of money, and the coyotes are still out there. Not as many at first, but they come back. I guess the bounty-setters just want to feel like they're getting something accomplished. Maybe it's better than nothing, but biologically speaking, nothing seems to be just about as effective. With this $25 bounty, it seems possible that someone could burn that much gas just driving in to get the bounty. I'm sure people will do it, just so they can say they got the bounty. A few years ago a guy called me with a question. He'd just killed coyote. I think it was in Franklin County, which didn't have a bounty at the time. This guy wondered where the nearest county that had a bounty was, which isn't really the purpose of bounties, is it? I couldn't find a master list anywhere (is there one?) but I did eventually figure out that a county way out near Kentucky had a bounty at the time. I kid you not, the guy said he was going to drive out there, and we're talking hundreds of miles, to collect his reward -- a whopping $75. March 26, 2007Turkey season is here, at least down South
Freddy also hunting in South Carolina recently. Hunting was tough. Another friend of mine just got back from Alabama. He said the weather conditions were great but he didn't kill a gobbler until his last morning. I haven't been out listening for gobbling but reports are coming in that the birds are making some noise. It's still nearly three weeks until the April 14 season opener and I'm sure the days are going to crawl by. March 25, 2007The Times offers apology for gun database mistakesTwo weeks after a Roanoke Times editorial writer's column about Virginia's concealed weapons permit list, which included a temporary posting of the entire database on our Web site, the newspaper has acknowledged that it didn't give proper thought into the potential ramifications of the setting up the database. One line is: "The potential for harm is something we should have given far greater thought to in making the decision." The apology -- yes, that word is used -- is today's lead editorial. You can read it HERE. I've read it a couple times and I've got some thoughts. I could sit here for the next half-hour writing up those comments, but I'd rather go sit on the porch, enjoy my coffee and read the rest of the paper. So that's what I'm going to do. Maybe I'll just pepper my comments in with any you all might have regarding the apology, and whether or not you think it is appropriate and sufficient. The Letters to the Editor section also includes a sampling of the letters the paper received. HERE they are. And for all you new Christian Trejbal fans out there, his column is HERE. Today his targets include drivers of "gas-guzzling" sport utility vehicles. Yep, I'm one of those too. Finally, I did end up taking my girls "fishing" Friday afternoon. My Roanoke Times column today is about our adventure is HERE. I don't blast anyone. March 23, 2007Mark Wahlberg's got nuthin' on this shooter
I spent a couple hours this morning at the range with benchrest shooter Mark Schronce of Pulaski, whom I'm doing a feature on for The Roanoke Times. (For pictures of him you'll have to wait for the article.) Schronce is getting ready for the season and was getting his rifles zeroed. As I'd hoped he was more than willing to let me (and our photographer, Kyle Green) pop off a few rounds with this beauty, the creation of local gunsmith Richard Franklin. We were shooting at 100 yards -- point blank in Schronce's terms. It was windy but I still put all three shots in about a half-inch group. With this gun (chambered for 6mmBRX cartridge), Schronce set an International Benchrest Shooters 600-yard record last year with a five-shot group at less than 2 inches. I saw the target and it actually included something of a flyer, a single shot well out from the others, which were in about a 1-inch group. That is just sick, and I mean that as a compliment. When spring temperatures arrive, the water callsThe first official day of spring, March 21, was pretty chilly in Western Virginia. But within a day that had changed. We got close to 80 yesterday and it looks like we'll be back there today. I was stuck at my desk yesterday, something that happens more than some folks might believe. When I actually sit down to write I'm pretty fast, but it still takes time at the keyboard to knock this stuff out. Plus there's plenty of time on the phone and dealing with the 50-75 legitimate e-mails I get everyday. Not that I'm complaining. The outdoors is the best newspaper beat in the world, at least for me. In a few minutes I'm headed out on an assignment that has potential to be fun and interesting. I am meeting with an expert benchrest shooter at the range. I'm really looking forward to seeing this guy in action. Maybe he'll even let me squeeze off a round or two. I'm going to try to hit the river later this afternoon. The trout trucks came to Glade Creek and the Roanoke River in Roanoke on Wednesday. I don't do a lot of fishing for stocked trout but when I do I prefer to fish a couple days after stocking. The crowds have always lightened up by then and there are still plenty of fish around. I think I'll take my girls. They're probably still a little you for trout fishing but they always like piddling around on the riverbank. They also like throwing rocks into the water so I don't expect to catch many fish. But that's not really the point, is it? March 20, 2007Some gun owners somehow missed database controversyGiven how much attention this concealed handgun carry permit database thing has generated, I figured anyone in Virginia who has a permit had to know by now what had happened. I was wrong. Yesterday evening I was talking to a friend who is an avid hunter and shooter. I said, "I'm guessing you were on the list." He replied, "What list?" He's a smart guy. But he doesn't read The Roanoke Times, in print or on-line, doesn't pay much attention to local TV news, and doesn't see many of us sportsmen types at work. So he was clueless. And, yes, he was on the list even though he didn't realize it. While plenty of folks are still pretty hot over this, things are quieting down. Our last two news stories haven't gotten near the Web views that our stories on the subject were getting last week. But the stories are still getting attention. Yesterday I talked with reporter Laurence Hammack, who's been covering this as a news story for us, and he said that this is the first time he's ever had his voicemail box fill up, that's how much feedback he's been getting. Our two most recent stories have been really interesting. In a large article Sunday, Laurence looked into how Virginia compares to other states in terms of how much concealed carry info is public. If you didn't see it, you can read the story HERE. With the story there's a link to an informative graphic. Interestingly, he found that the Argus Leader newspaper in South Dakota maintains that state's concealed carry permit database on its Web site, but the list includes only the names and the city, town or county of residence, without specific addresses. You can see the entire package the paper did on concealed carry permits HERE. The South Dakota database has generated some complaints, but not to the level we saw here. I have kin in South Dakota and I was not surprised to spot one of my relatives on the list. In an e-mail exchange yesterday he gave no indication that he has a problem with the database as it is. Today, our Richmond reporter Mike Sluss reported that the controversy has prompted the state's Freedom of Information Act Advisory Council to study how much of the permit list data should be available to the public. His story is HERE. There's no certainty the council will find anything wrong with the current system. But it might. Plenty of folks have taken great pleasure pointing out the irony that the paper's decision to make the database public to kick off Sunshine Week could end up prompting tighter protection of that information. March 16, 2007Today's Roanoke Times news story on the gun listIn case you haven't seen it, CLICK HERE to read another story by Roanoke Times news reporter Laurence Hammack regarding the fallout from Christian Trejbal's editorial and the temporary posting of the conealed carry permit holder database on the Roanoke.com Web site. Laurence is one of our best reporters and I hope everyone agrees with me that he has done a good job objectively covering this story for The Roanoke Times this week. In this story he writes about how some state legislators are already exploring what kind of action could be taken to keep potentially sensitive information that is currently open to the public, such as the concealed carry permit list, from getting into the wrong hands. I think most of us could see this coming. Any predictions on whether or not the General Assembly will be able to pass such legislation next winter? Shooting Wire's Shepherd weighs in on gun listJim Shepherd, who produces the Shooting Wire and Outdoor Wire newsletters, is as plugged into the outdoor world as just about anybody I know. If there's a topic of importance out there, he's on it. Not only does Jim have great news judgement, he's an excellent writer who doesn't start typing until he's done the research and done some thinking, whether or not his column is an objective report or an opinion piece supported by that research. I've been wondering when Jim would offer his thoughts on the concealed carry permit list thing here at The Roanoke Times and I got my answer this morning. Any guess as to his position? You can read his piece HERE.
March 15, 2007Some insight into obtaining a concealed carry permitIn the past few days I've recieved lots of advice and suggestions -- in comments here, e-mails, phone calls and personal conversations with friends -- regarding my considering applying for a concealed carry permit -- plans I had long before this blow-up. I also received a number of invitations to training classes. I really appreciate all of the generous offers to help. As many of you know, obtaining a permit is no simple process. "Concealed Carry," in a comment to a previous blog entry, offered what I thought was a pretty good and concise rundown of the process. For those of you who didn't see it, I'll paste it at the end of this blog entry. For the more detailed guide available through packing.org, click HERE. One thing I learned was that a military DD-214 (discharge form) showing an honorable discharge can help expedite the process because veterans have typically had some firearms training. Even though I was in the Navy I still got quite a bit of small arms training. Many of the crew on our ship had to show proficiency with small arms. I recall qualifying with a .45 pistol at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base. I can't remember the exact details, except I know we were at close range, maybe 10 yards from the target. The target was a silhouette and the Marine gunnery sergeant who was overseeing the training told us, as only a gunny can, to shoot only at the torso. "I don't want you all shooting at the head!" I couldn't blame him as he was used to dealing with plenty of people who'd never shot before. I think we got 25 shots and had to hit 15 or something to meet the requirements. Again, this wasn't for any kind of medal; just a basic proficiency thing. Not that I was an expert, but I wasn't going to miss the torso at 10 yards. So after connecting with my first 20 shots I was looking for more of a challenge. When the gunny saw those five holes in my target's head he gave me this angry look. I shrugged and said, "It must shoot high when the barrel gets hot." He just gritted his teeth, shook his head and walked away. I was part of our Ship's Self Defense Force (SSDF) so I got some additional training. As part of SSDF school we actually got to do some exercises with paintball guns. One of the drills was in a building at Little Creek that was built up to simulate the interior of a ship. In one drill I was part of the defense force and we were being hit pretty hard by a big group of hostiles. I was in a position behind an open hatch (that's door for all you non-Navy folks) when I saw a hostile slowly approaching from the adjacent compartment. It's not like these hostiles were Navy SEALs or anything. They were just other members of the class, and this guy had left himself pretty vulnerable. We all were wearing heavy-duty protective gear but it just so happened that the best shot I had at this guy was at his neck, which was bare and shining like a beacon in the dim light. Well, I took it and I didn't miss. Have you ever seen anyone hit on bare skin by a paintball at a range of 12 inches? That welt was something to behold. We were an amphibious ship so we had Marines on board during our cruises and long exercises. Sometimes they would hold "famfires" on our helicopter pad. I would join them whenever I could. We got to shoot everything from 9mm and .45 cal sidearms to good old Ma Duce, the Browning M2 .50 cal machine gun. They would time the famfires with our garbage dumps (back then we just threw bags of trash right off the ship) so that garbage would be our targets. You can guess what a .50 cal round does to a bag of trash. On the way back from cruise they wanted to burn through a bunch of ammo so they didn't have to deal with it when they got back to Camp Lejeune. We shot for hours. The irony is that when we actually were armed on board -- and we were over in the Med after Desert Storm so things were kind of sketchy at times -- we didn't actually carry ammunition. The guns were just for show. We were worse off than Barney Fife. Even with that past training I would take a class before applying for a concealed carry permit because there are lots of different issues and responsibilities when it comes to carrying and/or transporting weapons in the civilian world. Enough about the good old days. Here is that wrap-up I promised, courtesy of commentator "Conceal Carry": "First. Sign up for and attend an NRA certified basic pistol course fees may vary. This course consists of classroom training, a book, a written test and proficiency with a firearm at the range (shooting the gun) upon successfull completion you will receive a certificate with the NRA logo and instructor information and the date you completed the course. Second. Go to the clerk of the court of the city or county of your residency, present your driver's license and ask for an application for a conceal carry permit. The application will ask for specific information and you will have to answer questons similar to those that are found on any Federal Firearms form. Answer the questions and otherwise honestly and completely fill out the information. Upon completion your application will be reviewed for accuracy and completeness and you will be assesed a fee for a backround check and processing. This background check can take as little as one week to no more than one month, during that time your history will be reviewed and your name will be put through the FBI and other agencies. Third. Upon approval you must go back to the court where they will issue the permit only after your fingerprints have been added to the computer. Fourth. Stay safe and get to the range to practice, practice and practice." March 13, 2007Labels, not bomb at editorial writer's houseThe mysterious package at editorial writer Christian Trejbal's home turned out to be a box of blank DHL mailing labels. Here's the latest news update. Breaking News: Bomb squad called to editorial writer's homeMoments ago we posted a story on the Roanoke.com Web site that a bomb squad has been called to the home of editorial writer Christian Trejbal, whose Sunday column and role in posting an online database of Virginia concealed handgun permit holders has prompted outrage among gun owners. Click HERE to read the story. Man, I hope this is a misunderstanding. It gives me an opportunity to highlight what I felt were some powerful comments Jeff Buchanan posted to an earlier blog entry: "I was troubled to see some on my side of the argument attempt to shed light on Trejbal's family's whereabouts such as schools his children attend, etc., because that is NOT what the 2nd Amendment crowd is about. We are not about retribution or intimidation, but we are about accountability. We support the protection of life, limb, and property from those who would deny us those things and we proactively take measures to prevent those denials from occurring." March 12, 2007The concealed carry permit database has been pulledI just got word that the concealed carry database has been pulled off our site. A statement is likely forthcoming. I don't have time to offer more comments because I'm late to pick up my kids from the babysitter. What a day... Column on concealed weapons blew me awayI invested quite a bit of time and thought on my Sunday column on the despicable practice of some celebrity hunters, including Jimmy Houston and country music stars Ronnie Dunn and Troy Gentry, taking shortcuts to pad their egos and resumes. I was pleased to get a fair amount of supportive feedback on the column, but another Roanoke Times column from Sunday has pretty much, ahem, blown me away. In an editorial in the New River Valley Current, Christian Trejbal wrote about his efforts to obtain a list of New River Valley residents who have concealed handgun permits. This was his way of kicking off Sunshine Week, during which we citizens can celebrate the fact that the public has access to many government records. You can read the column HERE. As I type this, the column appears to have generated 312 comments on an attached message board on our Roanoke.com site. I write "appears to" because I can't open the message board. I know Trejbal's column has gone national on shooting and hunting boards so it wouldn't surprise me if the feedback has overwhelmed our server. As a journalist, I'm a big supporter of open government. The Freedom of Information Act helps us -- and concerned citizens -- locate information that can shed light on misdeeds of government officials. For example, a few years ago it helped expose spending misdeeds within the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Under Virginia's system, the list of concealed weapons permit holders is part of the public record (just like boat registrations, among other things, by the way). Which means anyone who's willing to pay for the processing of the request can get their hands on the information. Trejbal got the list, which was in turn posted on the Roanoke.com website and can be accessed through his column. Trejbal is catching some heat for this passage: "Local celebrities generally don't carry, but at least a half dozen elected officials do. I'll leave it to readers to figure out which ones so you can avoid annoying them at meetings." I think that was supposed to be funny, but if you were one of those permit-holding elected officials, what would you think about that sentence? But this is the passage that's getting most of the attention: "A state that eagerly puts sex offender data online complete with an interactive map could easily do the same with gun permits, but it does not." Judging by e-mail and Internet message board chatter, some concealed carry permit holders aren't too happy with the implication that they and convicted sex offenders be treated similarly, particularly since permit holders must undergo a background check to ensure they are not convicted felons, so they are pretty much on the opposite end of the criminal spectrum. But the real question is, should that kind of information be EASILY accesible? Would it be used only by law-abiding citizens who want to make sure their neighbors, babysitters or carpool drivers aren't, as Trejbal writes, "packing"? Some critics of the column are pointing out that criminals could also get their hands on it, and not necessarily so they know which houses to avoid for fear of encountering an armed homeowner intent on protecting his property and/or family. Rather, they could wait until the resident leaves then burglarize the home in hopes of scoring more guns, because, let's face it, a concealed carry permit holder likely owns more than just one gun. Granted, criminals intent on stealing guns already get some help pre-qualifying potential victims because many love to advertise their passion through window and bumper stickers. Should it be made even easier? Prompted by a neighbor who just took a concealed carry course, I had actually been thinking recently that I should also take the class and get the permit. No, I don't want to start "packing." But the law regarding concealed weapons is pretty tough and I want to make sure I'm compliant when driving to the range, etc. I was thinking it would be interesting to write a column about the process, so I guess it wouldn't be a secret for me. Because I write about shooting and hunting, anyone who's paying attention, and that includes my neighbors, knows I own guns. And they also know I keep them all locked up from kids and burglars. But I appreciate that I can put that information out there under my own terms. And I also appreciate why most concealed handgun permit carriers would prefer to keep that information more than just a simple mouse click away. If you haven't already gotten burned out from posting on other boards, I'd love to hear what you all think about the topic. March 8, 2007Will gobbler luck set the tone for hunting season?Yesterday started fairly early for me and photographer Sam Dean as we headed up to Giles County a little after 7 a.m. to connect with DGIF wildlife biologist Mark Lowles, who is working on a turkey collaring project. As we were driving through Blacksburg we saw a herd of maybe 10 deer standing next to a subdivision. I wanted Sam to shoot them (with the camera) for possible use with our future coverage of urban deer issues. By the time we got turned around the deer were gone and the detour had put us a few minutes behind. When we got to where we were supposed to meet Lowles there was only one state truck at the site. That was odd. We figured the truck was technician Marvin Gautier's, who had walked in before dawn to get in the blind near the net canon set-up. So where was Lowles' truck? We were in the middle of nowhere so it wasn't as if he had slipped down to 7-11 for a cup of coffee. We suspected that Gautier had shot the canon and Lowles had driven up the gated Forest Service road to work up the birds. So we started hiking up the hill. We didn't go far before we thought better of it. We had no idea how far up they were. Fortunately Lowles had left the gate unlocked so we ran back to my truck, I shifted into four-wheel-drive and we headed up. We found them about a mile up the mountain -- and there was Lowles about to snap a transmitter on a huge gobbler. Before I had even stopped the truck Sam jumped out, started taking pictures, and got what we needed for a couple of stories. Only after the gobbler and three hens Gautier had also nabbed had been taken care of and released did we have a good laugh about how close we'd come to missing those shots, which were critical for a couple of stories I'm working on. Sam and I plan to do some turkey hunting this spring. I can only hope this is just the start of a string of gobbler luck. March 2, 2007Salem cop's buck one of Virginia's biggest in 2006
The buck had 15 scoreable points, and racked up a score of 172 (unofficial) in the Boone and Crockett system. It wasn't the highest-scoring buck shot in Virginia this past season, but it was up there. I lead my Roanoke Times story about Virginia's big game kill with a short re-cap of Wynn's hunt, but I didn't get to use this picture on today's Outdoors page because technical issues kept me from getting the pictures until the page was already done. As for the big game kill numbers, I wasn't too surprised. I figured the abundant mast might negate the effects of liberalized antlerless hunting regs, but that didn't happen. If it had been a poor mast year, which would have made deer even easier to locate, I bet we would have seen a record kill or close to it. The record bear kill is proof that Virginia's black bear population is incredibly healthy. I realize plenty of people don't care for the idea of killing bears, but without hunting these big animals would be causing big problems. As it is, bears could be one of the big wildlife management challenges of the near future. The turkey kill was dismal. Abundant mast was partly responsible, but the big thing is a lack of hunting pressure. Many deer hunters will still shoot turkeys when the opportunity presents itself, but the number of hunters who specifically chase the birds in fall is going down, down, down. Since the numbers were released I've heard from a couple of folks who blame the low turkey kill on coyotes, which these folks assume are devastating the turkey population. Coyotes certainly do get some birds, but biologists say the impact is minimal. |
About this blog
While growing up in rural Southern Oregon, Mark Taylor developed a passion for the outdoors while he and his younger brother tagged along with their father on fishing, hunting and camping adventures. Graduating from Northwestern University in 1988, Taylor spent four years as an officer in the U.S. Navy based in Norfolk before moving into journalism. After five years writing about the military for a Norfolk-based publishing company, he became the outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times in 1998. He lives in Roanoke with his wife and twin daughters. .....Advertisement.....
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