January 28, 2008Will tiny change get ball rolling for Sunday hunting?Most Sunday hunting-related bills die quick deaths in the General Assembly, but one bill is actually making its way through the system this year. As I wrote about in my Sunday column in The Roanoke Times, Senate Bill 708 would essentially bring the urban archery rules in line with those governing shooting preserves -- the only places in Virginia where Sunday hunting is allowed. This is the epitome of baby step. Only 21 localities even participate in the urban archery season. And they wouldn't be required to offer Sunday hunting. It would be up to them. And, of course, relatively few hunters actually participate in the seasons. So should this pass -- and it has passed the Senate and is now in the House -- the impact would be tiny. In fact, it would be pretty much transparent. One advantage this bill has is that it doesn't butt up against one key concern of many Sunday hunting critics -- that allowing hunting on Sunday would be disruptive to rural churches. Critics who say hunters will interfere with other recreationists on Sunday also will have trouble faulting this change. With booming whitetail herds in these localities -- which is why they have the urban archery season in the first place -- even the non-hunting public would like to see as much hunting as possible. The question is, will this get the ball rolling down that so-called slippery slope? You know, if things go smoothly, will it open the door for further liberalization of the ban? If it does initiate movement, it seems it could still take years before Virginia's rules are in line with those in nearly every other state. For those of you who would like to see the ban lifted, is this little start -- and it's not a sure thing yet -- better than nothing? Do you think this could get things going? Or will it turn out to be like the shooting preserve allowance? One little thing that will have little effect on the majority of hunters? Of course I'd also like to hear from those of you who support the Sunday hunting ban. January 23, 2008Fred Barnes with his pending state record striper
Date: Jan. 23, 2008 Even though this fish is barely 5 pounds shy of the world record, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if this record falls again soon. It sounds like there are just loads of stripers off Virginia Beach right now and you know there have got to be some bigger ones in there. News flash: Pending record saltwater striper caughtIt looks like Virginia could have a new saltwater striped bass record. The fish just tipped the scales at 73 pounds, 4 ounces at the Virginia Beach Fishing Center, more than 5 pounds over the current record of 68 pounds, 1 ounce. The angler was Fred Barnes of Chesapeake, who was fishing with charter captain Pat Foster aboard Country Girl, one of the boats that runs out of VBFC. Claude Bain, the retired director of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament, called me with the tip. Claude works part time at a tackle shop near the Fishing Center so he was able to get down there when he heard about the catch. "I saw the fish," Claude said. "It's a monster." The fish is barely 5 pounds shy of the world all-tackle record of 78 pounds, 8 ounces, and probably one of the top 10 saltwater stripers ever landed on a rod and reel. Even though the monster striper breaks the record it won't be the official record until Barnes submits an application and it's approved. January 18, 2008No rabbits were killed in the making of this videoI spent a good part of a recent Saturday hunting rabbits with brothers Marshall and Walter Meadows in Franklin County. Seth Gitner, the mulit-media editor for Roanoke.com, came along with his video camera. We jumped only one rabbit, and didn't kill it. Seth pointed out that on the hunting assignments he's been on with me, nothing has ever been killed. It's not like he jinxes us. That's just hunting. Despite the slow hunting, Seth put together a great video of the experience. January 16, 2008A special buck for Sonny Hodges
As dusk approached on Dec. 1, Sonny Hodges of Hardy was thinking that his long sit in a treestand at his Floyd County hunting spot was going to produce squirrel sightings and nothing else. Then at 5 p.m. Hodges heard leaves crunching behind him. He turned to see this gorgeous buck, about 100 yards away. The buck was about 110 yards away when Hodges pulled the trigger. The buck piled up after running about 40 yards. Not only was this 12-pointer the biggest buck of Hodges' life, it was extra special because he was hunting with an old Winchester 30-30 that had been passed down from his late grandfather, Perry Dillon. The rack has a 20-inch outside spread. It also has impressive mass, which is more evident in another shot Hodges sent me. Its most unique feature is the split G-2s on both sides. Hodges said he's been passing up shots at smaller bucks for the past six years. This is what can happen if you have that kind of patience. January 15, 2008Speaking of coyotes, here's Todd Burton with one
Yesterday afternoon I had a good conversation with Abner Druckenmiller (no relation to Jim) at Foxpro Hunting Calls. He gave me some more pretty good tips. I'm hoping I can get my hands on one of their calls for a while for some field testing. Thanks again to everybody who offered some advice on hunting coyotes. Those of you who get out there after them, send reports when you can. January 14, 2008Any coyote hunters out there? Need a little helpI went rabbit hunting in Franklin County on Saturday. It was slow. Really slow. They had nine beagles and in three hours of walking perfect-looking -- and I mean PERFECT-LOOKING -- rabbit cover we had one chase. I actually saw the bugger for a split second but couldn't get a shot. The guys who invited me felt bad but it certainly wasn't their fault. I'm pretty sure coyotes were to blame. Everywhere there was mud there were coyote prints. I had planned to give coyote hunting a try this winter anyway and have a couple places in mind. But this place seems to have some real potential. One of the rabbit guys said he was willing to get us back in there. I've been watching the first Primos Predator video and that's been fairly helpful. I've got a couple mouth calls and have been practicing. Plus a buddy loaned me his old CD-based predator call. Another guy who I met through this blog is also just starting and we're hoping to get out there soon. Before I go out there and educate the coyotes on my spots, I'd appreciate any suggestions or tips from those of you who have hunted coyotes. January 11, 2008Proposal seeks to increase blaze orange requirementsAmong the hunting-related bills proposed this week in the General Assembly is one that would change blaze orange requirements and which could have a major impact on hunters. House Bill 872 would change the current blaze orange law. It would require that hunters and anyone accompanying a hunter wear blaze orange during any deer firearms season, including muzzleloader seasons. It would increase the minimum amount from 100 square inches to 250 square inches, and eliminate the provision that allows someone to display blaze orange at their hunting spot (by tying a ribbon around a tree, for example). Now, we all know why the current law was implemented for general firearms seasons and not for archery or muzzleloader seasons. The thinking was that because bows and muzzleloaders were close range weapons, hunters would be less likely to mistake a hunter for a deer. That was then and this is now. Most of us also know that modern muzzleloaders are not exactly close range weapons. Just look back through this blog at pictures of big bucks shot with muzzleloaders and see the ranges at which those deer were shot. So if blaze orange is a good idea for general firearms hunting -- and I think most of us agree it is and safety statistics bear us out -- isn't a good idea for muzzleloading hunting? But here's the rub. Black powder seasons sometimes -- often, actually -- run concurrently with other seasons during which blaze orange use would not be embraced. While archery deer hunters wouldn't be crazy about blaze orange, I think folks would eventually get used to it when the realize it isn't hurting their hunting. (And, I really think it wouldn't.) Turkey hunting is another thing. I'll be honest. I don't know how well turkeys see blaze orange. I plan to ask the experts. But I do know that turkeys have amazing eyes, which is why we wear head-to-toe camo when turkey hunting. I also know that I had turkeys hang up at about 40 yards this fall one day when they saw the blaze orange flap on my hunting pack. They didn't spook, but they didn't come close enough for a bow shot. Anyway, I'm working on a column on this and other proposed legislation. I'd be interested to hear what you all think about the blaze orange proposal. Is it fair? Could it be better crafted? Should the rule be left as is? January 9, 2008Hard work and patience pay off for Emerald Griffin
Ritchie said that Emerald was particular about getting a broadside shot and passed up several shots that he (and, I'm guessing, most of us) would have taken. That says something, doesn't it? What great sportsmanship. Or, should that be sportsgirlship? I've got just a couple more deer shots to post and I'll try to get those up soon. Then I guess it will be fairly quiet on the hero shots until spring gobbler season, although I'd be more than happy to post your pictures of waterfowl or even squirrels or rabbits. In fact, I'm planning to go rabbit hunting on Saturday and if we get any I'll try to get some pictures. January 8, 2008News flash: Tinker Creek stocked today, Jan. 8A friend just called to tell me he saw the trout truck at Tinker Creek this morning. This worked out well. I'm actually working on a piece about wintertime trout fishing and thought I might head up to Pandapas Pond, which was stocked yesterday. This saves me a trip. What a great day for fishing, huh? It's going to be beautiful. Maybe I'll see you out there this afternoon. I'll be the one with the camera. January 7, 2008Katrina D'Inzillo with a Bedford County double
Katrina shot the deer at ranges of 175 and 200 yards, respectively, within a few seconds. She was using a Savage .243. I went out Saturday afternoon for my final deer hunt of the season (assuming I don't get out on any urban archery hunts). I decided to hunt a Bedford County farm from a stand that I hunted only once, during early archery season. It almost worked out. Walking in I bumped three deer that had bedded just 20 yards from the stand. I knew the stand was close to a bedding area, but they usually don't bed right there. As they bounded away I hustled down the road bed that cuts along the hillside, just in case they planned to cross ahead of me. There, trotting away from me right down the middle of the road, was a big gobbler. It was no more than 30 yards away and would have been an easy shot with a shotgun. Just my luck. I just shook my head and let him run. When I stopped I couldn't hear anything. I stood there for a couple minutes hoping that the deer had stopped within range and were just waiting to better check out the cause of the disturbance. Eventually I figured they had gotten out of there so I started on toward the stand. Of course they were only about 40 yards away, and blew and got out of there for good. Things were quiet for the first hour in the stand but then I heard deer behind me. One deer was chasing another through the woods. It was like a buck chasing a doe, but unless the chaser had small spikes it sure looked like they were both does. They came to within 20 yards of my stand but never stopped so there was no way I could get a shot. A couple minutes later I spotted two more deer about 75 yards away. I had a borderline shot at one but it was pretty brushy and I also couldn't be sure with my 4-power scope if the deer was a doe or a yearling buck. So I held off. While I was standing there trying to figure out if I was going to get a shot my heart was really pounding. I actually started feeling a little faint. I'm not sure what to think about that. On one hand, it's good because a big reason I hunt is for the excitement. On the other hand, I don't want to pass out (or have a heart attack) 20 feet up a tree -- safety harness or not. I hope this was just a function of my not being in the best shape. Now that deer season is over I'm going to switch my recreation focus to getting back in shape. But I'll probably try to get a few times for squirrels, probably when I'm taking stands down, and maybe on a waterfowl hunt or two. I'm also planning to try some coyote hunting over the next few months. January 2, 2008John Pinkard with a big Franklin County buck
Picture submissions have pretty much slowed to a trickle and most of the shots that have come in from the past few weeks are of deer killed in November. That's normal. There are still some big bucks wandering around out there, but most are doing their wandering under the cover of darkness. And, as usual, deer hunting pressure in this part of Virginia has pretty much ground to a halt. Of my friends who have been hunting, most are focusing on other stuff, such as waterfowl and coyotes. The same can't be said of hunters in Eastern Virginia, where the final week of the deer season is pretty popular among those who hunt with hounds. Driving back yesterday from a weekend at my mother-in-law's in Virginia Beach, I saw lot of hunter activity. I talked with a guy as a gas station in Crewe who said his 70-member club had killed over 100 deer this season. |
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.....
|
...Advertisement...
...Advertisement...
