Thursday, August 14, 2008
Defining a loaded gun, mystery call in the wild
Bill Cochran
Recent mail
BILL: At the April 8 meeting of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the board proposed the use of electronic ignition systems for muzzleloaders. Final board action was to be taken at the June 3 meeting. I have checked the DGIF Web site for more information and find nothing.
Was the electronic ignition approved and if it was, when is that firearm considered unloaded?
The reason I ask, a firearm that uses 209 primers is considered unloaded when the primer is removed. The same thing for guns that use caps.
JIM FIELDS
JIM: The gun manufacturer, CVA, holds to the position that the Electra gun is considered “unloaded” when the switch (safety) is turned off. Nonetheless, Virginia and several other states are going to require more than that, according to Bob Ellis, chief of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ wildlife division. The battery must be removed for the gun to be considered “unloaded” so it can be transported in a vehicle.
Electronic ignition systems have been approved for use during the upcoming muzzleloading season.
BILL
BILL: I did an overnight backpacking trip over the weekend on the North Mountain Trial in the national forest in Catawba, from the parking lot on Virginia 779 to the Dragon’s Tooth parking lot.
I saw my first black bear a few miles in on the ridgeline and was lucky enough to get a picture of it before it ran down the mountain.
After I set up my tent on the ridgeline and it got dark, I heard an unusual noise that sounded like a low-toned air horn or bugle -- a short, single call lasting only one-half second or less. It was very loud and carried through the forest, and it would sound infrequently, every 20 to 40 minutes.
The sound was coming mostly from one direction, but occasionally I heard it from the opposite direction. It sounded like no frog, bird or mammal that I have ever heard, and it went on all night until dawn.
I read in your column recently that you live in this general area, so I wondered if you have any ideas on what this was?
JIMMY THOMAS
JIMMY: You are correct, I live in the area, but I have not heard the sound, nor do I have a clue as to what you heard. I even asked some experts on the outdoors.
Matt Knox, biologist for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheres, said he had no idea. Biologist Nelson Lafon said what you heard sounded less like a natural call than some sort of industrial horn, although that doesn’t explain the noise coming from different directions. Retired biologist, Dr. Pete Bromley said: “Even though Jimmy reported his observation objectively, there is not enough information for me to identify the source.”
Sorry I could not resolve the mystery.
BILL
