Virginia’s hunting opportunities are vast and varied

By Mark Taylor

Before Brian Lytton headed out for a bow hunt on the opening day of Virginia’s 2005 archery season, he whispered a quiet prayer.

“I said, ‘Lord, I don’t have to kill a big buck, just let me see a few deer,’” recalled Lytton, a 35-year-old who lives in the small community of Fairlawn, Va., near the New River.

About an hour later, just after first light, Lytton heard a twig snap. Moments later he sent an arrow through the boiler room of Virginia’s state record bow kill, a massive 16-point whitetail that scores just under 200 in the Boone and Crockett system.

Lytton wasn’t the only Virginia hunter to kill a monster buck in 2005. Thousands of hunters tagged bucks that could be considered trophies, with a number of those deer large enough to qualify for the national record books.

While whitetails are Virginia’s most sought-after game animal, the state offers something for every type of hunter, from those who like to chase black bears through some of the most rugged terrain in the East to hunters who live for fast September dove action over a freshly cut cornfield.

A growing number of outfitters caters to visiting hunters, providing access to prime private hunting grounds along with healthy doses of Southern hospitality.

Virginia is also a do-it-yourselfer’s hunting paradise, with more than 1.5 million acres of U.S. Forest Service land, including a number of wilderness and roadless areas. Public hunting also is allowed on dozens of wildlife management areas overseen by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

White-tailed deer are Virginia’s most sought-after game animal, and for good reason. The state produces not only plenty of trophy deer but also incredible numbers of whitetails. In 2005, the state’s hunters tagged nearly 215,000 whitetails, making for a success rate of about 50 percent. Liberal regulations allow a hunter to take either two or three bucks a season, depending on the region. Antlerless deer tags are unlimited on private land. The big game tag also includes a bear tag and three turkey tags.

The deer season stretches more than three months, beginning the first weekend in October with early archery season. Early muzzleloader season comes next, arriving in early November as the whitetail rut is really taking off. (Virginia hunters are allowed to use in-line muzzleloaders, with scopes.) General firearms season starts in mid-November, lasting anywhere from two to seven weeks, depending on the region. Late archery and muzzleloader seasons also are offered in most counties.

The state’s varied terrain allows for an interesting mix of firearms laws. Rifles are allowed in many counties, but shotguns are required in some of the flatter counties in central and eastern Virginia. The centuries-old tradition of using dogs to hunt deer also is allowed in some counties.

Virginia’s bear population continues to grow, resulting in expanding hunting opportunities. Many bear hunters remain enamored with the rich tradition of hunting bears with hounds. But each fall, about half of the bears killed in the state are taken by gun and archery deer hunters.

Eastern wild turkeys have their fanatic followers, too. Virginia’s spring gobbler season attracts about 60,000 hunters each year. The annual kill averages more than 15,000 birds. Turkey hunting is excellent on both private and public land.

A smaller group of turkey fanatics chases the big birds during Virginia’s fall turkey season, which covers a total of seven weeks in many counties. Using specially trained dogs to find and scatter gangs of birds is a popular tactic for some fall turkey specialists, who claim that calling in a big gobbler in the autumn is one of hunting’s biggest challenges.

Waterfowl and small game? Virginia’s got them, too, offering excellent hunting for everything from squirrels to rabbits, from wood ducks to resident Canada geese.

In fact, a small game season will be underway during the 2007 OWAA conference in Roanoke. For the first time, the state is offering a June squirrel season, which will be open on selected wildlife management areas (WMA), including the Havens WMA just north of Roanoke.

Summer also marks the season when some hunters keep their skills sharp by pursuing varmints such as groundhogs and coyotes, which the state’s farmers will be quick to point out are plenty abundant, too.

For OWAA members who would like to come back to Virginia during more traditional hunting seasons, Virginia tourism officials can arrange customized visits to serve any hunter’s desires. For more information on hunting in Virginia, including season dates and fees, visit www.dgif.virginia.gov.

Taylor is co-chair of OWAA’s 2007 conference, which will convene in Roanoke June 16-19, 2007. Learn more about OWAA’s 80th annual conference at www.owaa.org.