By Sherman Shifflett Opening day of any hunting season is always exciting, and the 2021 spring turkey hunting season was no different. Lloyd Runnett and his son, Robert, both bagged big birds on Saturday, April 10, 2021. I have known the Runnett's since I arrived in Louisa in 1968, and they have always treated me like part of the family. I deer hunt with them, but … [Read more...]
A Stable Deer Harvest
I remember back in 1987 when the deer harvest first exceeded 100,000 animals. I thought at the time that the Game Department had lost their collective minds. Their regulations were far too liberal. Too many deer killed would decimate populations. Boy was I wrong about that. The very next year, the deer kill jumped to about 120,000. In 1990, that figure increased to over 160,000 and in 1992, the … [Read more...]
Two Left Feet
The last time my son Jimmie was in town, he helped us clean up our downstairs storage room and removed a lot of clutter. He saw a pair of his old fishing waders in the storage room, hip boots, so he took them back to Atlanta. Last week, my grandson James talked Jimmie into an early morning duck hunt in a swamp somewhere in Fulton County. Jimmie remembered his waders, and tossed them in the truck. … [Read more...]
No More Checking In Deer
The good old days of checking in a deer or a bear at a Game Checking Station are over. From now on, Virginia will go exclusively to electronic checking, and that’s a shame. Says the Wildlife Division: “Since 2004, DWR has offered some form of electronic harvest reporting, and beginning in 2019, electronic harvest reporting options were available for all game species for which reporting is … [Read more...]
A Nice Louisa County Buck
The glory days are over. No more will there be the numbers of deer killed as there were about 10 years ago. That’s when the Game Department declared war of the doe population in order to keep the overall deer herd numbers under control. Also, about that time, coyotes moved into Virginia in force. They did a number on birthing deer as did bears. Both animals have acute senses of smell and can … [Read more...]
Another Opening Day
By Sherman Shifflett Even as Old Man Time continues to creep up on me, I still get excited about the first day of regular hunting season. This year, November 14, 2020, was no different. It was more difficult crawling out of the rack, and I was not quite as chipper, but I got on with the program. I'm 78. Things would be different this year. My hunting buddy for the past 40+ years, Greg … [Read more...]
Doe, A Deer, A Female Deer
On Wednesday, October 16, Bo Bundrick of Louisa shot this deer with his bow. It was most unusual for two reasons. First, the antlers were still in velvet – even in mid-October - and secondly, it was not a buck. It was a doe, a deer, a female deer – with antlers! A little background on antlers. Antlers differ from horns in that they are shed each year while horns are there forever. Deer drop … [Read more...]
New Archery Record for Blue Catfish
On June 29, Lindy Rowles drew back his bow and sent an arrow towards a submerged target – a 52 ½ pound blue catfish and he managed to pull it in. The Game Department just certified the big cat as a state record for bow fishing. But this cat was just a baby as far as blue catfish are concerned. The overall record weighed an astonishing 143 pounds, boated by Nick Anderson in Buggs Island … [Read more...]
The Resident Sportsman’s License
Each year, Virginia sportsmen either go on line or make multiple visit to the local sporting goods store for a variety of hunting and fishing licenses. They often buy a regular hunting license, a bear license, a deer and turkey license, an archery license, muzzleloading license, a freshwater fishing license and a trout stamp. If they forget even one, there can be a hefty fine. This … [Read more...]
Spring Gobbler Harvest Encouraging
The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries announced a harvest of 17,929 turkeys during the 2019 spring gobbler season. The 2019 harvest was 11% higher than last year’s harvest. DGIF Turkey Biologist Gary Norman said the harvest was encouraging because reproduction was low in recent years, which would have predicted fewer 2- and 3-year old birds. These age classes typically comprise the … [Read more...]
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