Friday, January 18, 2008
Late in the game
The end of Virginia's popular deer seasons doesn't mean hunting is over.
Mark Taylor is outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times.
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Mark Taylor
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For many hunters in Virginia, the end of the late muzzleloader deer season on the first Saturday in January means it's time to pack up the gear until next fall.
But not for Marshall and Walter Meadows.
For the Franklin County brothers, whose passion is rabbit hunting, things are just getting going in January.
But cottontails aren't the only choice for hunters willing to stick with the game after the new year. Other opportunities include waterfowl, squirrels and even deer.
Rabbit
Season closes: Feb. 29 (newly extended this year).
License required: County or state license.
Marshall Meadows was hopeful for action as he and brother Walter set out nine beagles Saturday morning at a farm near Sontag where the Meadows had yet to hunt this year.
Walter Meadows led the dogs through a tangled thicket, shouting "Find 'em, y'all" to his four-legged hunting partners. The dogs remained silent until they broke out of the brush and started sniffing around some tall stick weeds in an overgrown field.
A few barks and bays hinted that the dogs smelled something they liked. Soon, the beagles were howling in unison as they sped off in pursuit of the first rabbit of the morning.
The fun of working with hounds is the main attraction of rabbit hunting for the Meadows brothers and many of their fellow cottontail chasers.
Rabbits are a popular late-season quarry for a few other reasons.
In January and February, rabbit hunters have their hunting spots largely to themselves. The season is long, having been extended through February this year.
Because rabbit hunters keep moving, hunting even in bitter cold is tolerable.
Rabbits also make great table fare. Not that the Meadows brothers get to enjoy many. Instead, most go to friends and landowners who allow them to hunt.
This year they haven't had as many to dole out, though.
Through Saturday, they had killed fewer than 30 rabbits, an all-time low.
"We've killed as many as 175 a season," Walter Meadows said.
Even with their good dogs, the brothers just aren't finding as many rabbits even though they hunt perfect cover featuring a mix of brushy woodlots, brush piles, overgrown fields and croplands.
The first chase Saturday, which didn't produce a rabbit, turned out to be the day's only chase.
The brothers suspect that coyotes, foxes and hawks have taken a toll on their favorite game.
At the farm they were hunting Saturday, coyotes could have been the culprit. Just about every muddy spot on the 90-acre property seemed to have a few coyote tracks in it.
The brothers said they would keep at it. They love rabbit hunting too much to give up easily.
Duck and geese
Duck season closes: Jan. 26.
Goose season closes: Feb. 15.
Licenses required: County or state hunting license; state waterfowl stamp; federal waterfowl stamp.
It's 33 degrees and you're sitting in a camp chair knee-deep in frigid water, a biting north wind ripping into your face as you scan the sky for little black specks.
Sounds like fun, huh?
For waterfowl hunters it is fun, in part because the worst weather conditions often bring the best hunting.
Hunting across Southwest Virginia has been just fair this year, but things could pick up if this cold stretch pushes some more migratory ducks south into the region.
Cold snaps can also help because small ponds freeze over, which concentrates ducks and geese on larger, unfrozen bodies of water.
Urban archery for deer
Season closes: March 29.
Licenses required: County or state hunting license; big game license; special crossbow or archery license.
Special note: Open for antlerless deer only
Additional information: Visit www.dgif.virginia.gov/hunting/urban-archery.asp.
The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries launched its urban archery program in 2002 to give localities another tool with which to manage burgeoning urban and suburban deer populations.
It may be one of the state's most under-utilized hunting programs.
Hunters in Fairfax County killed more than 230 deer during last year's urban archery season, but that is by far the highest of the 21 participating localities. In some cities and towns, annual kill totals register only in the single digits. However, many also allow hunting during the main deer season so the total kill is typically substantially higher.
That's doesn't mean the hunting isn't good, just that not that many people are out there taking advantage of it.
Why?
Weather can be miserably hot during the two-week season in September. Also, some hunters may not like the requirement that they shoot only antlerless deer.
Nelson Lafon, the state biologist who manages the program, said another challenge is connecting hunters with landowners.
Although a few localities have systems to help urban archers find places to hunt, many do not.
Lafon suggests that hunters contact local archery clubs, or spend some time at check stations asking if anyone knows of areas suitable for hunting. Another option is to simply drive around and knock on doors.
Because localities can set many of their own rules for urban archery, the regulations vary so hunters will need to make sure they comply with the regulations of the locality in which they are hunting.
Squirrel
Season closes: Jan. 31.
Licenses required: County or state hunting license; national forest license and special weapons license when applicable.
Serious deer hunters know that preparation for next season starts now, and getting out and scouting is a great way to find signs that may point to a hot spot next November.
Rather than just walking the woods, it's a great time to carry along a .22 for squirrels.
While hunters who are scouting for deer will be on the move, the best way to get shots at squirrels is to sit quietly in likely-looking spots. While the action can be best at first and last light, squirrels also can be active at midday, too.
