Thursday, October 02, 2008
Deer: where and when to find 'em
Bill Cochran
Recent mail
BILL: I was seeing good numbers of deer in fields up until a couple weeks ago, now I’m not seeing so many. Where did they all go?
D.S.
D.S.: I am noticing the same thing in the areas I frequent. I think the deer now are spending a good bit of their time in the woods feeding on an abundance of acorns. The mast crop is pretty decent in many areas, so this is going to be more of a wood’s season than a field’s season for deer. That favors the more accomplished hunter.
Be aware: good mast conditions aren’t found everywhere. I was talking with Department of Game and Inland Fisheries biologist Al Bourgeois this week who told me mast abundance was only so-so in some Shenandoah Valley areas. The variance makes scouting all the more important. Find a grove of white oaks dropping acorns and you should find deer.
BILL
BILL: The state gave muzzleloaders an extra week of hunting (Nov. 1-14 season) this fall in the western part of the state, but no additional bag limit and the season has only one doe day (Nov. 10). I live in Roanoke County where we are overrun with deer and we can’t take but one doe in two weeks? That’s stupid.
R.M.
R.M.: You are correct that the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has extended the muzzleloading season from one week to two in western counties without an increase in the bag limit. According to DGIF deer biologist Matt Knox, some hunters are upset about that. But be aware, Roanoke County and four other counties have full season antlerless deer hunting on private land during the Nov. 1-14 muzzleloading season. A lot of people don’t appear to know that. The other counties are Clarke, Floyd, Frederick and Warren.
BILL
