November 30, 2007Tech student Matt Wimmer with a beautiful 8-pointer
Matt took the time to write up a great description of the hunt. One of my favorite parts is his description of determining what a "shooter" is. I like to say that if you have to think about whether or not it's a shooter, it probably isn't a shooter. Matt's approach is the same. It's a great story so I'm posting the whole thing here: "As per our family tradition, I hunted the entire week with my uncle (and my brother once he got out of school) in Roanoke and Franklin Counties. On Monday, it was just me and my uncle and we began our morning in Franklin County. My first bit of luck began when I popped a large doe as I was coming out of my stand to meet for lunch around 12:00. Once we got the deer to the truck, we headed to Vinton to drop her off at Hunters for the Hungry and proceeded to take a short siesta back at the house before heading to a spot in Roanoke Co. around 2:30. Continue reading "Tech student Matt Wimmer with a beautiful 8-pointer" » Austin Brugh all smiles over his first buck
Jamey and Austin were hunting together in a stand when the buck walked right under them and Austin made a perfect shot with a .410 loaded with buckshot. Ten-year-old Greg Fralin with is first buck
November 29, 2007Bears in the backyard: Have you seen one?It used to be big news to spot a white-tailed deer in town. No more. They're pretty much everywhere, which is why more than 20 localities even have special urban archery seasons in an effort to keep deer from totally taking over. Now there's a new critter moving into suburbia. Bears. Two years ago I spent the better part of Memorial Day running around Roanoke's Old Southwest with animal control officers who were trying to wrangle a juvenile bear. A similar scene played out in another part of Roanoke this spring. Then there was that infamous case of the bear that got into a hospital in Franklin County a few years ago. Get on the outskirts of the city -- or any community of the region -- and bear sightings are becoming more and more common. So someone here had the idea of plotting sightings on searchable map, and that project is now up and running in our Datasphere area. Datasphere guru Matt Chittum goes into a few more details in this blog entry on the topic. The short of it is, if you've seen a bear in an unusual spot, they'd like to hear from you. Just contact Chittum through the blog and provide the details, and pictures if you've got them. Again, the key word here is unusual. The yearling I saw this summer in rural Botetourt County? Not unusual. The sow you saw digging through your trash in a Botetourt subdivision? Unusual. Make sense? Obviously, denning time is near so there won't be too many sightings after a couple of weeks. But they're looking for previous sightings, too. November 28, 2007Mike Webb with a great Bedford County buck
I've got a half-dozen more shots in the hopper and will post them as fast as I can. Mandi Lazenby with a nice eight-point buck
November 26, 2007Big bucks are running, but this one isn't anymore
I've gotten quite a few trophy shots the past few days, and this is one of the best not only because the deer is awesome, but because Matthew's expression is even better. From what I'm hearing, things are picking back up out there after the lull we saw around the middle of the month. I've had a lot of people report seeing bucks chasing does the past few days. I saw some of it myself Friday evening when a nice six-pointer came trotting up to the ground blind I was in, spooked when he got downwind, then immediately forgot about the human danger and started chasing a doe again a minute later. I'm not sure when I'll get back out, but I'd like to find a way to hunt Wednesday afternoon. The weather looks great. I've got a bunch of deer pictures to post so I'll try to get them up over the next couple of days. November 22, 2007Blake Chitwood all smiles over his first deer
Blake deserves, who shot the deer with a 30-30, some pretty major credit for the hunt. He and his grandfather were in the stand at 6:15 a.m. and the deer didn't show up until 10:30 a.m. That's some incredible patience. Happy Thanksgiving. November 21, 2007My friend Bill Sgrinia had to brag about this buck
I haven't hunted since Friday and I guess that's why I haven't updated the blog in a few days. It doesn't help that I haven't been getting many reports. I know there are still some bucks running around out there, but it's been slow. I'm headed out this afternoon to set up some ground blinds for a youth hunt I'm hosting Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. It will be a nice day to be in the woods. I'm taking my kids and if we get the work done early enough I may see if they can sit still for around 30 minutes in a blind around sunset. You never know what might happen.
November 17, 2007After 10 years, I finally kill a deer with a muzzleloaderI bought a muzzleloader in the fall of 1998 when I moved to Roanoke, and I've hunted with the thing each season since. Yesterday, right at last shooting light, I finally killed my first deer with the thing. I'm either a really bad hunter, a really unlucky hunter, or didn't spend much time hunting with the gun. It's probably a combo of all three. I really haven't hunted much with it in the early black powder season because I usually stick with the bow. And when I do carry it I typically am on the lookout for mature bucks, so I'm passing shots at does. I've hunted some in the late season, and actually missed a shot at doe a couple of seasons ago. Yesterday I hunted a friend's place in Botetourt. The wind had layed down a bit from Thursday, but the morning was still awful. I hunted on a fairly protected hillside but couldn't hear a thing because of the wind howling through the treetops. I didn't see a deer, and gave up after a couple of hours and spent the next few hours at the cabin catching up on some work. (I know you shouldn't take your laptop to hunt camp, but I do.) By afternoon the wind was getting better, but it still blew pretty well. I hunted the point of a ridge that was fairly exposed, getting in the stand at 1:30 p.m. At 3, I saw a button buck. Then, at 4, the action got pretty good. The problem was the deer were all above me, most at least 100 yards out. I had two does at about 50 yards but couldn't get a shot at the largest one. (Yesterday wasn't an either-sex day in Botetourt, but the property is under DMAP so I had an antlerless-only DMAP tag, which is valid whether or not it's a designated either-sex day.) One note about my muzzleloader. It's a Knight in-line and relatively "obsolete" in that it uses musket cap primers, but it's a decent gun and shoots well. Like any decent muzzleloader, its effective range is at least 100 yards. But my scope is just a 4X. For me, at that modest level of magnification, a deer much past 50 yards is pretty small. So, that's pretty much my self-imposed max range, although I'd shoot at a deer beyond that under the right circumstances. After a parade of about 10 deer around 4 -- they were all does except one four-pointer -- things got quiet again. After sunset I heard some loud crunching below me. I was sure it was a deer, but it turned out to be the loudest squirrel ever. Then I saw movement and spotted a deer that had come in quietly. It was a big doe, about 75 yards out. I pulled up my binoculars to get a better look. It was pretty brushy but I guess she still saw me. Or maybe she smelled me because she was dead downwind. She got real jumpy, and even snorted a few times. But she didn't bolt. Over the next 10 minutes she worked her way to within 50 yards but was facing me. I know the brisket shot is OK, but I'd rather not take it. Finally, she turned broadside and I shot. She bounded off. I immediately went to the spot and started looking for blood. But my headlamp's light was dim so it was pretty hopeless. I marked the spot with my blaze orange hat and went back to my truck at my friend's cabin to get a better light. By then my buddies were filtering in from their hunts and they all offered to come help me look for the deer. Even with better lights we couldn't find blood. I just walked downhill toward where she ran and there she was. The hit had been perfect, but she still went a good 75 yards, about three times farther than the doe I killed with my bow last month. My friend Hal Orr and I took turns dragging her down the mountain to the nearest road while the other guys got an ATV and met us. She weighed 93 pounds field-dressed, which is pretty good. Rifle season opens today but I might not even get out, which seems strange. I've got family obligations early in the day. We've also got a ton to do to get ready for our Thanksgiving guests. But maybe I'll slip out for a quick hunt at my Bedford County spot. The weather is perfect today, sunny and crisp. I think we're in kind a lull in the rut, which usually happens around now as bucks connect with does and stop moving around as much. But I think we'll see stuff pick up again in the next week as Round Two gets underway. November 15, 2007Patient hunter David Brugh rewarded with first trophy
David, who's another one of those guys who gets that hunting is about more than hanging antlers on the wall, has been hunting the place for four years, patiently passing up shots at smaller bucks. This is what happens to good people who are patient. From the many reports I've gotten the past couple of days, action has been kind of slow. Maybe the warm spell had something to do with it. Today's wind certainly isn't pleasant. But, usually, things do get kind of quiet right about now as bucks hole up with does. I think things may be a bit quiet for a few days but it will pick up again.
November 12, 2007Chuck Sharp with a nice Botetourt eight-pointer
His Saturday hunt in Botetourt County got off to a rough start when he saw three coyotes. But then this unique eight-pointer showed up and Chuck will now be back to hunting east of the Blue Ridge this week. (Hunters can take only one buck in Western counties during the early muzzleloader season, one of the strangest and least sensible rules in Virginia's hunting regs book.) So, the question everyone wants to know now is "What's going on with the rut?" I wish I knew. On Nov. 2, I saw a four-pointer aggressively chasing a doe. But that's been the only real chasing I've seen. Granted, I haven't been out there a bunch, but I've been out there a decent amount. I hunted with a muzzleloader in Botetourt County on Saturday afternoon and saw a bunch of does in a big field. I would have expected to see at least one small buck out there bothering them. But I didn't see a one. A decent six-pointer showed up right at last shooting light, and walked by me at 20 yards. He was a big deer and at least 2 1/2. But he was nowhere close to the six I shot last year so I passed on him. My friend who hunted the same property saw six bucks that morning and none seemed to be chasing or even seeking. He said they were feeding. Supposedly the key to the timing of the rut is photoperiod, or length of daylight and dark. So, it really shouldn't change from year to year. But it really does seem like things are kind of slow to get rolling this year, and we can't really blame the weather because it's been fairly cool, unlike in some recent years. I know one thing is really behind -- leaves on the trees. I'd expect to see the woods in this shape about the last week of October. So maybe the bucks are chasing and we're just not noticing because we can't see them through all the leaves that are still out there. I plan to hunt this afternoon and tomorrow morning, back in Botetourt. I have several buddies out there this morning and haven't gotten any text messages from them, so I'm assuming it's been pretty quiet. November 9, 2007A pile of dead bucks in a pickup truck
In an earlier entry I mentioned that my buddy Freddy McGuire and several of his friends had a 38-point morning on Wednesday. Here's the carnage, plus a bonus deer killed the previous evening. I'm sure the animal rights crowd, who apparently have found this blog, will really appreciate this shot. The guys responsible for this huge pile of venison and antlers are typically strict about game management, but were hunting a piece of property where the landowner wants them to kill every deer possible. Freddy calls it the "If it's brown it's down farm." But it just so happened the first deer they saw Wednesday morning were bucks, including a couple of real trophies. (These guys are also great at hero shots, so it's not like this was the only picture they got.) I had a great hunt this past Saturday, seeing about a dozen deer. I also realized just how lucky I was to get that early-season doe kill on video. I had three does fairly close but just couldn't put the camera thing and shooting thing together. I hurt myself by trying to zoom a little closer. I actually left the camera at home for my morning and afternoon hunts yesterday so I wouldn't have the distraction. So, naturally, it was slow. I've got to take my girls to ballet in the morning so won't hunt until the afternoon. I plan to hit a place in Botetourt with my muzzleloader. It hasn't been hunted for deer this season as the landowner doesn't allow bowhunting. It has potential.
November 7, 2007Jeff D'Agostino with an awesome six-pointer
Jeff Hansen with a beautiful Floyd County whitetail
Carl Camper with a pretty Bedford County buck
More pix or more bucks to follow later today. Amy McGuire with a nine-point muzzleloader kill
The past few days I've gotten a bunch of pictures of great bucks. This one features my friend Amy McGuire with a great nine-pointer she killed with a muzzleloader Saturday morning in Franklin County. I'll post some other pictures throughout the day. If you're a hunter, I hope you don't see those pictures until tonight. That's because you should be in the woods today and not at your computer (unlike me). I had a feeling things would be smokin' today, and that seems to be happening. I just got an e-mail from Amy's husband, my good friend Freddy McGuire, saying he and several friends had killed a total of 38 points so far this morning. They are hunting a farm in Bedford where the landowner wants them to shoot everything, but it just so happens they're seeing bucks and some good ones. The tally so far includes a 6-pointer, 8-pointer, 10-pointer and 14-pointer. So, they're a 12-pointer short of shooting for the cycle. I expect things to stay hot through Saturday, which is good news for those hunters West of the Blue Ridge who will be out there with muzzleloaders Saturday. November 5, 2007Great opening day for two new turkey dogs
Norma killed this turkey with the help of young Boykin spaniel sisters Missy and Mandy. The hunt was bittersweet. Missy and Mandy are the successors of the Quarles' previous turkey hunter, a Boykin named Brandy, who died last year. Brandy was a great turkey dog and I was responsible for dozens of fall turkeys -- including several for me. It looks like these two are off to a great start. |
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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