Sunday Hunting: Hot Topic in Virginia

If you live in Virginia, and you want to hunt on Sundays, right now, you have to go out of state.

Hunting on sundays is a topic that's causing controversy in the Commonwealth; from rural counties, all the way to Richmond.

"It divides families, it divides communities," says Republican Delegate Ben Cline. "It's a contentious issue we're going to deal with this year."

There's been a ban on Sunday hunting in Virginia for years.

"To change that tradition simply for tourism dollars, to bring hunters in from out of state, is not enough in my mind to overturn that ban," says Cline.

Some people say put the guns away and spend Sundays with your family. Other people say hunting is one way to do that.

"Children, being able to spend time with their family in the outdoors, are restricted to Saturdays mostly now," says Chad Siever, of Broadway.

Siever says it could boost the economy; hunting license sales might go up.

Plus, he wants to pass his passion on to his daughter.

"A lot of folks, hunting is their way of life, it's a lifestyle," he says.

By: Amanda Crawford

Branch Out From Grunt Calls for Better Deer Hunting

Sure, the grunt call gets all the press, but sometimes it takes a different kind of sound to bring in the big buck. Here are a few deer hunting tips on using doe and fawn sounds, the Snort Wheezer and rattling devices to your greatest advantage.

Doe Bleat and Grunt
Deer are far more vocal than many hunters believe. It's just that the sounds are often so quiet that hunters never hear them unless the deer is directly under the stand. A doe bleat and grunt is most effective from late pre-rut to post-rut. Remember, the secondary rut occurs a month after the peak of the first rut. The reason doe sounds are effective at this time is simple -- bucks are looking for does to breed.
Follow the normal deer calling rules when using doe bleats or grunt calls. A tip-over call or mouth-blown doe bleater should be used sparingly. Produce a couple of bleats every 20 or 30 minutes, and watch down wind for bucks to sneak in and attempt to smell the doe. Use some doe estrous urine set to both sides of your stand, and hunt as scent-free as possible. Anytime you call you can position the deer downwind, and if it smells you instead of the hot doe he heard, that buck is out of there.
When using a mouth-blown doe call, practice at home or in the truck on the way to your deer hunting spot so you can consistently product the proper "baaaawwl." Use it sparingly to avoid letting a buck pinpoint your exact location, and if using in the early morning, wait until good shooting light to produce your first bleat.
Fawn Bleat
Fawn bleats can be effective all season long for one reason – a doe's maternal instinct. The mournful bleats of a lost-fawn will bring any doe within earshot in to investigate. If you're hunting does, have at it. But this does not mean that a fawn bleat will only work on does. During late pre-rut to late post-rut, the doe that investigates may have a buck in tow, so while all of the other hunters are blowing their best grunts at every buck in the woods, a fawn bleat can be your ace in the hole. This is comparable to calling to a gobbler with hens. You can't call the gobbler away, but you may attract the hen and she pulls in the gobbler.
Another way to use a fawn bleat call is to call in a distressed manner. The payoff is that the hunter never knows what will approach the sound of the deer call. It could be a buck or a doe, or it could be one of your local predators looking for a free meal. When using a fawn-in-distress call, begin quietly for a minute or so before cranking up the volume. Remember that fawns have smaller lungs than you do, so keep your breaths into the call short. The fawn-in-distress call is excellent for bringing does in to investigate.
Snort Wheezers
The snort-wheeze is a sound bucks make that is interpreted as aggression. It's a fantastic call to go to when your grunts are being ignored. The snort wheeze is a call that can be effective all season long.
Snort wheeze calls often are used in association with grunt calls and rattling. Use the "fffttt, fffftttt, fshhhhhhhh" of a snort wheeze call to add another component to your rattling/grunting sequence or to top off a grunt to a visible buck. Often the snort wheeze call is more than a buck can take, kinda like talking about someone's Mama. Them's fightin' words.
Rattling Devices
Whether it's a Rattle Bag, real antlers or another rattling device, the act of deer rattling can be effective all season long, but really shines from the late pre-rut to the post-rut. It's the sound of two bucks fighting, and brings in bucks for several reasons. First and foremost, everything loves to see a good brawl. Just like the Fighting Purr system in turkey hunting, rattling for deer brings in young and adult animals alike.
Another reason rattling works is its volume. A good clashing of antlers can be heard much farther away than a grunt or snort-wheeze call. Don't be shy when rattling. Ensure there are no deer in view prior to producing a sound, then really go at it. Buck fights can go on for more than a minute, so don't be afraid to get into it. Quick slams and hard grinding of the antlers or Rattle Bag can reproduce the sound of two bucks really going at it.
Add in a few grunts and maybe a snort wheeze at the end (or even during, if possible) of your rattling sequence provides the realism you need to pull in a buck. Again, watch downwind for bucks sneaking in and trying to get a whiff of the bucks it hears.

by Knight & Hale Game Calls

Revolutionary Approach to Blood Trailing Deer

John Jeanneney tracks more wounded deer in a season than most bowhunters do in a lifetime. He is widely respected within the hunting community as one of the top trackers and blood trailing dog breeders. That’s why his recently released deer tracking book Dead On! raised more than a few eyebrows.
The book covers blood trailing and tracking from top to bottom, but one of Jeanneney’s most interesting points is that he encourages bowhunters to re-think the conventional wisdom of waiting (at least a half hour) after the shot to follow up on a deer. No more automatically sneaking out of the woods to let bowshot whitetails “lie down and stiffen up.” No more coming back after supper to pick him up.
Jeanneney admits that his “don’t wait” advice flies in the face of conventional bowhunting wisdom. Wisdom that is still taught in bowhunting education classes. But he has solid reasons for his recommendations.

Wait or Don’t Wait?
Dead On! posits hunters are wasting valuable time by waiting before searching. As a minimum they should quietly go to the hit site and search for evidence (provided the deer has left the area). This includes blood and hair analysis, looking for ground sign and arrow recovery if possible. If conditions are right, hunters should then immediately move forward with the tracking and recovery process. Here’s Jeanneney”s rationale for immediately moving forward.
Only Dead Deer Stiffen Up
Jeanneney argues that he has jumped hundreds of deer from their wound beds and has yet to observe any evidence of stiffness. Weakness, yes, but unless the deer is risen from the dead (as rigor mortis sets in after death) there will be no stiffness.
Initial Shock Favors the Hunter
Jeanneney then moves on to discuss shock theory stating: “shock (in humans) sets in within minutes of a traumatic injury.” Humans in shock are often drowsy and weak but often feel no pain. Medics treat shock by lying down the injured individual and helping him stay calm.
Transfer the above condition to a wounded deer and:   “we can see that the time immediately following a traumatic injury is the time when a deer’s survival instincts are most likely to be most muddled …this is the time to approach carefully for a finishing shot rather than stay in the stand and hope for the best … it doesn’t make much sense to do what combat medics recommend for survival”.
Moving Deer Bleed More Than Bedded Deer
In defense of getting on the blood and pushing the deer, the author points out correctly that most if not all archery killed deer die through blood loss. A running deer’s heart rate is 3 times greater than that of a resting deer. It stands to reason that a heart pumping 3 times faster than a resting heart will bring on accelerated blood loss (and accompanying pressure loss and death) a lot quicker than a resting heart.  A moving deer will be easier to track and flush out clots quicker than a resting deer. This argument applies to both chest and leg and shoulder hits. Hard to argue with that.
The Coyotes Will Get There First
If that’s not enough, Jeanneney’s argument against waiting is bolstered by the proliferation of coyotes in many areas. Coyote populations are rising rapidly in whitetail country and there is ample evidence to suggest that they are learning to key off of hunters, eagerly and easily following the scent trails of wounded or already dead game. This year I was beaten to my first bow kill of the season by a pack of hungry coyotes intent on eating supper the same time I was eating mine (while waiting for my deer to stiffen up and die). Numerous hunter anecdotes from around the country report “race to the carcass” conditions in coyote infested areas. Certainly it is very risky these days to follow traditional wisdom and wait until the next morning to find your deer.
When to Wait
With the caution of a true scholar Jeanneney is quick to state that a rapid follow-up is not always called for.  Such is the case with shots to the stomach liver and intestines. Here he states there is much less external bleeding (easy tracking) and deer are prone to bed in the first few hundred yards. Sadly, many of these hits result in a slow and lingering death so it is best to try to keep them bedded in a small an area as possible.
Food for Thought
According to Jeanneney deciding on the appropriate waiting period is one of the toughest calls in deer hunting. After one of the worst (shooting) seasons our hunting gang has had in years I painfully must concur. Among the hunting fraternity nothing is worse than not recovering a wounded animal and recovery strategies must be thought out carefully.
If nothing else, Dead On! forces us to think more carefully our recovery strategies. With deer hunting season winding down, this is a good time to look back on our recovery rate. Did we lose more than we should have?  Did we employ the right recovery strategies?
John would be the first to tell you that answers to these questions are never absolute and the only definitive answer is a recovered deer. But I can assure you that Dead On! can make your tracking decision a whole lot easier.
About the Book and the Author
Jeanneney’s tracking knowledge was accumulated over a 36-year career of tracking deer and responding to calls from hunters needing the assistance. Jeanneney has tracked over 1,000 wounded whitetails. He gets the call when the hunter gives up. He sometimes takes 2 or even 3 calls per night at his upstate NY location.

His secret? Years of experience and a kennel full of superbly trained tracking dogs. His dogs are worked on leash and are capable of following wounded deer for miles. Run out of blood sign, no problem, they will key on body scent. Rain, snow or a day old trail no problem, John and his dogs can generally work it through. Like the Energizer Bunny they just keep going and going until the deer is recovered or John decides the deer was not mortally wounded and reluctantly calls a halt to the search.
 And this is what makes Dead On!  truly unique. It is written from the point of view of a person who can stay on a wounded deer with no visual sign present. He can advance the line well beyond where a normal sight tracker must quit. Because of this he has been able to figure out what hundreds of wounded deer have done after being wounded. It’s this extra knowledge of following deer with no visual sign, (along with a lifetime of study and experience) which qualifies Jeanneney to write books, present papers (across the U.S. and abroad) and challenge conventional wisdom on recovering wounded deer with unparalleled authority.

by Craig Dougherty

How to Age a Whitetail Buck

My mind rattled as my eyes bugged out: Is the buck mature or just a youngster with potential? The buck stopped. I had one window through trees to the buck’s vitals and I’d had just one glance at its face and rack. As adrenaline rattled me, I shot.

Minutes later I wasn’t disappointed with the buck’s rack, but I was disenchanted with my age-judging abilities. The buck was 2½ years old. It was well on its way to becoming a heavy-racked buck and, as I was on a managed property, I should have let it walk.

Hunting can be like that. If you’re managing a whitetail property, one of the quickest ways to get more trophy bucks on your land is to pass on younger bucks. In fact, Grant Woods, a consulting biologist and owner of Woods and Associates, says, “Age is the strongest correlation of antler size for a buck. If the object is bigger racks, food won’t do much without age to back it up."

So how can you tell the difference between a 2½-year-old buck and a mature 5½-year-old deer in those few tense seconds before you shoot or don’t shoot? For answers, you need to familiarize yourself with the ever-changing body features of the whitetail buck.

“Most animals change body shape as they age. I’m 48 and getting a bit of a pot-belly. Whitetails are similar. When they reach midlife they acquire a sagging belly. The older they get, the more that belly sags,” says Woods. “Any individual human or animal can defy that trend, but by looking at body shape you should be able to age deer to at least within a year either way.”

1½-Year-Old Bucks

The easiest bucks to judge are youngsters. Bucks at 1½ years of age may have spikes or even small racks sporting 4x4 or more points, but few racks will exceed the width of their ears. They’ll also appear to be all legs. Look for a slim torso leading up to a slender neck to confirm their yearling status. During the rut their neck won’t bulge. They’ll rarely have stained tarsal glands like an older buck. Woods also says, “When you’re looking at a buck, ignore its antlers. If, without its antlers, it looks like just an average-sized doe, then it’s a yearling. This trick works from Florida to Canada.”

2½-Year-Old Bucks

Think of 2½-year-olds as yearling bucks on steroids. These bucks still portray a leggy look with a slender overall appearance. The main body difference between a yearling and a 2½-year-old is a slight appearance of muscle structure. During the rut you can detect some swell in the neck and even some staining in the tarsal glands of a 2½-year-old.

Woods again suggests ignoring the antlers. When you do, if it looks like a super-dominant doe, you’re likely sighting a 2½-year-old.

Since you’ll only have seconds to determine the age of a buck in the field, Woods has come up with this quick, mental imagery test: Imagine a 2x4 wooden board placed horizontally behind the front legs of a buck. Now imagine you and a friend lifting up on that board from either side as the buck stands on all fours. If the buck tips backwards, it’s a 2½-year-old.

3½-Year-Old Bucks

Determining buck age over the next two years is as challenging as raising a hormone-rattled teenager. Not only do 3½-year-olds have more muscling and features common to a mature buck, they also can have tempting racks. Three-year-olds have finally bulked up with muscle, so look to see if the rump and chest are bulging and in equal proportion. Also, look at where the neck and shoulder meet since there still will be a noticeable separation. Its gut will seem lean and flat.

During the rut, 3½-year-olds definitely sport a swelled neck and have staining on their tarsals. Keep your eye off the rack and scrutinize body parts to avoid shooting an up-and-coming giant. If you use Woods’ 2x4 test, a 3½-year-old will actually balance when the beam is lifted.

4½-Year-Old Bucks

At 4½ bucks often have the frame and character of the rack they’ll display later in life. According to research, Woods confirms that they will have 90 percent of their antler growth at this age. They may add an extra point here or there, and of course mass, but you’re seeing their future frame.

It’s at this age when a buck literally looks like his neck and chest are seamless, particularly during the rut. Legs now have a short, stocky appearance and the chest and stomach definitely have a common line. Many classify 4½-year-olds as mature bucks. As for the board test, 4½-year-olds and older tip backwards as they have a heavier rear end.

5½-Year-Old Bucks and Older

If you’re lucky enough to see a 5½-year-old or older buck in the woods, you’re experiencing something special. From here on out determining the age of a buck is as difficult as believing the sincerity of politicians. Use everything at your disposal including preseason, firsthand scouting and trail-camera photos. Bucks that hit this golden mark are all chest with a head sitting atop.

Their nose becomes bulbous or “Roman,” as some call it.

In addition to a large muscular structure 5½-year-old and older bucks portray a sagging gut and back line. Lastly, racks are definitely near 100 percent of their potential. If you think a buck is really old, use a tip from my good friend professional hunter and biologist Larry Weishuhn: Look for loose skin in its face, especially the skin below the jaw, which becomes flabby on 7½-year-olds or older bucks. At 8½ years or older, bucks start to nosedive in both antler size and body character. Most of us won’t have the pleasure to view such a senior citizen in the wild, but you never know.

By Mark Kayser

Pork Choppering completely legal in Texas

They are destructive, elusive, and they're taking over Texas. Feral hogs are spreading so rapidly, wildlife officials are searching for ways to control them. A law that just took effect this fall has hunters paying big money to shoot hogs from the air, also known as "pork choppering."

I am particularly interested in efforts to control feral hogs in Texas, because of what they do to my lawn several times a year. Maybe you've seen the damage hogs can do in your neighborhood, as they root around for food, but where they've really taken a toll is out on farms and ranches where they ruin fields and kill livestock. So now, land owners are calling in air support.

Hunters from all over Texas, and other states, are paying about $500 an hour to take aim at feral hogs from a helicopter.

Stephan Charles flew in from Tennessee just to do this. He says you can't beat the rush of flying up to 80 miles an hour, while trying to hit a 300 pound hog that's running at 35 miles an hour. He doesn't consider it sport hunting. He thinks of himself as an exterminator.

"Hogs are not indigenous to the United States, and they're spreading and they're causing damage to agriculture and so they need to be controlled in some fashion, you know," said Charles.

Prior to September, it was legal for landowners to hire helicopter companies to shoot hogs for them, but many couldn't afford it. So, this year the legislature passed a law allowing hunters to pay for the chance to ride along and be the gunner.

Mike Morgan says hundreds of hunters have called his company, Vertex Helicopters of Houston, asking to take a mandatory safety course, then head out on hog hunting missions. Morgan supplies the specially modified semi-automatic assault rifles. The hunter pays for ammunition and air time, and the landowner gets free hog control.

"The private hunters, which there are no shortage of, are basically subsidizing the program now," said Morgan.

Within a half hour, Stephan Charles gets what he paid for -- taking out five hogs. The last one is a boar that is so big, he wants to land and take a closer look. The thrill of aerial hunting leaves this experienced outdoorsman almost giddy.

No doubt some will disagree, but Morgan argues this is humane.

"We don't just shoot a hog once and leave him there squirming around. We go back and put a number of rounds into it to make sure it's dead, so we don't have any problems with PETA."

With an estimated three million feral hogs in the state and the number growing by twenty percent a year, the aerial hunting industry may be on the verge of going hog wild.

by Jaie Avila

Michigan Hunter Kills Full Drop Rack Buck

A Michigan hunter has taken what is probably one of the most unique racks of all time.

Scott Maddox, 42, of Wellston, Mich., shot this whitetail that possibly could have scored at least 120 inches.

So why didn’t it? It’s all in the rack. Rather than pointing upward, the buck’s antlers wrapped around its head.

“I’ve been hunting since I was 12 years old, this buck is unbelievable,” Maddox told Woods-N-Water News. “… I talked with a retired DNR Officer and he told me he has never seen anything like it before in all his years.”

Maddox first spotted the buck last fall, at first believing it to be just a doe with something hanging off the side of its head. Instead, he watched as the deer developed into an eight-point buck.

After setting up a stand near the trail camera on public land that had first spotted the buck.

It didn’t take long for the bizarre trophy to show up. On the opening day of bow season, Maddox waited in his stand until the buck predictably showed up in late afternoon. At about 15 yards, the buck was an easy target for Maddox, who fired his crossbow with solid placement on the animal, which ran for about 35 yards before collapsing.

Maddox isn’t sure what could have caused the abnormal antlers — which can be caused by injuries, genetics or age — and although the buck appeared to be in good health, he doesn’t think the deer could have made it past winter — the bizarre pattern almost certainly made eating a challenge.

“It made me feel good to take him out of the herd. It’s not the kind of rack you think of when you set out to go hunting,” Maddox said.

by Dylan Polk

Kansas rancher proud of his daughters!

Although days removed from the crisp Dec. 2 evening, my husband's good friend, Steve Gerlach, tells me the story with the same initial amazement.

This, after all, is the kind of hunting experience that brings tears to any father's eyes.
The Lindsborg-area rancher has four children — specifically four daughters: Makayla, 12; Lindsey, 11; Cassidy, 8 and Laney, 4. All have an interest in the outdoors.

But this story is about Lindsey and her first deer on her first hunt on the first day dad could take one of his daughters to the blind.

His three older girls wanted to go deer hunting this season. He considered drawing straws to see who would go first.

It came down to the two oldest. Older sister Makayla went rifle hunting for the first time last year and shot a doe. She told Lindsey she could go first this time.

Thus, just a few days into the Kansas rifle season, Steve trekked to his McPherson County deer spot with Lindsey beside him. They got into the blind about 2 p.m. and began to watch as a few does and small bucks wandered by.

With it being just the first day, he told her they would wait for a while and see if anything bigger would come into the area.

Then, for a while, nothing came into view. Lindsey wondered aloud that maybe she should have shot one of the smaller deer. However, as the father and daughter watched a raccoon and a possum walk out of the trees, she told her dad, "Even if we don't get a deer today, it's been the greatest day of my life," It was a sentimental moment, Steve said.
 
Lindsey wasn't going to be skunked on this afternoon. About an hour before dusk, a 130-inch 8-point walked into range. He told her to take a breath and concentrate before pulling the trigger.

"Dad," Lindsey said. "There's a bigger one coming."
Steve, however, couldn't see it from where he was sitting in the blind.
"I asked her how big it was and she said 'Dad, it's as big as your mule deer.'"
"I thought to myself, whatever," he said, noting his mule deer scored 185. "That would be huge. That would be a world-class deer."

Turns out, Lindsey wasn't too far off. Steve, however, kept as quiet as he could until he could finally see what she was talking about. He didn't want Lindsey to get all excited about what would most likely be the buck of her lifetime. Moreover, he said, Lindsey probably didn't comprehend just how big of a deer she was about to shoot — a trophy 8-point buck that unofficially scored 180.

His daughter stayed calmer and more collected than dad.
"I was so excited that I had a hard time finding the zipper," Steve laughed, adding that Lindsey had to point it out to him.

After all, this buck is much bigger than Steve's biggest whitetail, which scored 174. The bow hunter's deer this year was a 154-inch 8 pointer.

Finding big bucks runs in the family. A few years ago, her grandfather took a non-typical buck that scored 220.

"It's one of those deals you really wish you had a video camera," Steve said. "It was a cool father/daughter experience I'll never forget.

Steve's work wasn't done, however. After successfully guiding Lindsey to a deer, two other girls in the family were jumping at the bit to get into the blind. He recently helped Makayla get her first buck, a nine-pointer that scores 140.

And, of course, he's equally as proud.
"It is a great, great experience introducing youth to the outdoors," he said.

Information from: The Hutchinson News