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 required. Last hunting season, 86% of all deer, 93% of fall turkeys, 100% of spring turkeys, 100% of bobcats, and 58% of all bears were reported through an electronic harvest reporting system. Mandatory game checking, a cornerstone of DWRs game management program for more than 70 years, will remain vital for game management in Virginia for many years to come. Thus, it is critical that every hunter report their harvest using the electronic or telephone harvest reporting systems.”
“DWR recognizes the traditions associated with paper checking and game check stations and is exceptionally grateful to check station operators for their decades of service collecting the harvest data that has supported restoration of our deer, bear, and turkey populations. While moving to an electronic/telephonic check system will no longer necessitate official “check stations”, those operators who wish to continue offering this service to hunters may do so by assisting with electronic or telephonic checking.”
But one of the great joys, particularly for deer hunters, was loading a fine animal into the bed of a pickup truck and checking it in. All the fellows in the store – be it a gas station or a sporting goods store – would go outside to the parking lot and admire the kill.
“How many points? What was the spread? Did you have to track it far?” were some of the rapid -fire questions which gave the hunter a chance to relive and re-tell his experience.
But you can’t do that electronically. The computer doesn’t give a rat’s behind about antler spreads or tactics or dog chases or lengthy rifle shots down power lines. It just wants numbers and hunting is far more than numbers. It’s the camaraderie within a deer club, it’s working with a pack of beagles, it’s taking a youngster on a hunt he or she will remember for a lifetime, and yes, it’s checking in a fine animal at a place where folks will really appreciate what hunting is all about.