Thursday, April 10, 2008
Bagged 500 turkeys and still counting?!
Bill Cochran
Recent mail
BILL: The 2007 January-February issue of the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Turkey Call magazine carries on pages 88-91 an elaborate article on Mr. Earl Groves bagging his 500th spring gobbler in the spring of 2006. Mr. Groves has been a fixture on the NWTF board with other good-old-boy board members for many years; in my opinion, far too long. He has received lifetime awards from the board for service and “conservation” of the wild turkey.
The primary mission of the NWTF is conservation of the wild turkey, and board members and management of the NWTF should set high standards of examples for the turkey hunters who are members.
Mr. Groves started his quest for 500 gobblers in 1958, according to the article. Now 78 years of age, he has been harvesting gobblers on the average of 10 per year since this is 2008 and he has obtained his goal of 500. I doubt that there are many “outlaw” turkey hunters that have bagged this many spring gobblers in their lifetime. I believe that Mr. Groves is also a fall turkey hunter and I have to wonder how many fall turkeys he has bagged to add to his total turkey kills.
I am an avid fall and spring gobbler hunters and have bagged my share of this grand old bird. I have always hunted for the thrill of the hunt, not the number of kills I make. I know that the vast majority of turkey hunters feel the same way. I believe in conservation of the wild turkey and for this reason I find it despicable for someone to brag about killing 500 gobblers in their lifetime.
For years, I have found it most satisfying to introduce new hunters to the sport and let them pull the trigger. I have introduced my wife, my son, a son-in-law, a grandson, a granddaughter, an outdoor writer, a retired game warden and a postmaster to the sport. I never carried a gun with them, just callers and 50 years of turkey hunting experience.
My father taught his five sons many years ago two thing regarding hunting of any kind. First, don’t shoot something unless you are going to eat it. Second, always leave game for another day and for another hunters. The sons practiced that all their lives and the surviving sons are now imparting that to their children.
Bagging 500 gobblers, I think, has deprived many fellow hunters opportunities to bag a bird. Certainly it is not in my definition of the conservation practices for which the NWTF was founded.
Mr. Groves is 78 years of age and I am not personally attacking a senior citizen. After all, I am almost 72 and a turkey hunter of 50 years. I think I have the right to express my views on actions of a board member of the NWTF.
Perhaps this is an example of the problems that apparently the NWTF board and management are having right now. Excess! Personally, I think it is time for Mr. Groves and some of the other good old boy board members to take a hike along with the management of the NWTF and let new management and board members get the NWTF back on the track of conservation for the benefit of its members, the turkey hunters, and above all, the wild turkey.
J. CARSON QUARLES
NWTF Life Member
Roanoke, Va.
BILL: In the last several years, I’ve noticed a definite split on the view of hunters in the state: Those who support Sunday hunting and those that don’t want the ban lifted.
Both groups are steeped in the hunting tradition, yet disagree as if they were negative poles of a magnet. It would also appear that the hunters who are active in hunting deer with hounds are mostly against Sunday hunting while the group wishing to have an extra day to enjoy their sport mainly still hunt for deer and hunt turkeys.
I cannot see why any hunter would not want another hunter to have any time in the woods. But this is the case, it seems. I understand that the arguments for maintaining the ban range from giving the animals a rest to it being a religious day of worship.
If any of those arguments are justifiable, then why are almost all of the other states allowing their sportsmen to hunt on Sunday? And why can’t private landowners determine how their land is used as long as it stays within the regulations set by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries?
What is your opinion and do you have any advice to those of us who feel we are being unfairly treated by the state of Virginia?
T.B.
T.B.: In my opinion, Virginia is growing closer to embracing Sunday hunting, but it still has a long way to go. As you note, there are many hunters in our state who oppose Sunday hunting. That opposition has been eroding, but at a slow pace.
Why do so many hunters oppose hunting? Is it a matter of religion? Do the animals need a day of rest?
I think it more is a matter of tradition, along with a concern that many landowners are opposed to Sunday hunting, and hunters don’t want to risk their ire. Wildlife doesn’t need a day of rest, so there really aren’t any biological considerations. If Sunday hunting were to usher in undue pressure on game animals, it would be a simple matter to adjust the seasons and bag limits. I don’t see the ban as a major religious issue, either. We do everything else on Sunday, why is hunting any different.
The big holdback has been the lack of qualified leaders among the advocates of Sunday hunting. Most every year, during the General Assembly, a new group of people appear to advocate Sunday hunting. They fail because they have little knowledge of how the legislative system works, and they have failed to build support for their cause. They lose the battle, then disappear and a new group starts the process all over the next year. Until that cycle ends, and a solid foundation of support is built, there will be no Sunday hunting.
My advice: Get organized. Hire a skillful lobbyist to be your representative in the General Assembly. Sell the idea as providing wholesome recreation and enhancing the economy of the state.
I say this not as an advocate of Sunday hunting, but to address your question.
BILL
BILL: Do you know which businesses in the Salem area have sign-up sheets for the Cave Spring Optimist Club Fishing Tournament on Smith Mountain Lake?
CHIP BLEVINS
CHIP: Tournament Chairman Ike Harris tells me that there are two businesses in Salem where registration tickets can be obtained. They are Thompson Masonry, 804 Union St., and The Part’s Place, 612 Chapman St.
Tickets also can be obtained through the mail by requesting an entry form from the Optimist Club of Cave Springs, Inc., P.O. Box 1276, Salem, VA 24153. They cost $40 each. The tournament is set for May 2-4 on Smith Mountain Lake. Many businesses around the lake are selling entry tickets.
BILL
