Saturday, February 4, 2023
No Result
View All Result
SUBSCRIBE
The Chimney Rock Chronicle
26 °f
Broadway
40 ° Sun
45 ° Mon
44 ° Tue
54 ° Wed
58 ° Thu
  • Home
    • About Us
    • Pickup Locations
  • Columns
    • All
    • Book Notes
    • Eating Well in the Real World
    • Fishing with Mike
    • From the Potting Shed
    • Fulks Run Follies
    • Gobbler Sports
    • Handy with Randy
    • Headlines from Plains Museum
    • Hiking With Ray
    • Local Business
    • Local Legends
    • Musings from the Woodpile
    • Personal & Professional Development
    • Randy's Ramblings
    • Reflections from a Fuller Life
    • Sarah's Recipes
    • The Gospel Vault
    • The View From Here
    • The Wandering Wilkins
    • When This You See
    Photograph of Ronnie Fulk

    Fulks Run Follies

    Floating in pool

    The Wandering Wilkins

    Dog in woods

    Hiking with Ray

    Spotlight on the Off Broadway Players

    Spotlight on the Off Broadway Players

    Breakfast Pocket

    Sarah’s Recipes

    Bass Fishing with Mike – December 2021

    Bass Fishing With Mike

    Photograph of Wes Dove

    It’s Not You, It’s Me

    Gospel Vault

    Gospel Vault

    Fair and Tender Ladies book cover. By Lee Smith

    Book Notes – Classic Southern Novels

    From the Potting Shed – December 2021

    From the Potting Shed

    Randy image

    Randy’s Ramblings

    Handy With Randy

    Handy With Randy

    The Midnight Ride of Paul Reve …the Moose Hunter

    The Midnight Ride of Paul Reve …the Moose Hunter

    Spotlight on the Off Broadway Players

    Continuity for Off Broadway Players

    Hiking with Ray

    Hiking with Ray

    Trending Tags

    • Entertainment
      • All
      • Festivals
      • Kids Activites
      • Music
      • Off Broadway Players
      • Sports
      • Upcoming Events
      Kansas

      Hunting for the Lesser Prairie Chicken in the Cimarron National Grassland

      Spotlight on the Off Broadway Players

      Spotlight on the Off Broadway Players

      Bass Fishing with Mike – December 2021

      Bass Fishing With Mike

      A Spinning Demonstration

      A Hidden Gem in Plain View

      Rounding the Bases

      Rounding the Bases

      Local Scouts Learn Flag Folding Procedures

      Local Scouts Learn Flag Folding Procedures

      The Midnight Ride of Paul Reve …the Moose Hunter

      The Midnight Ride of Paul Reve …the Moose Hunter

      Spotlight on the Off Broadway Players

      Continuity for Off Broadway Players

      Rounding the Bases

      Rounding the Bases

      • Off Broadway Players
    • History
      • All
      • Bev's Historic Notes
      The Chimney Rock VFW Celebrates 75 Years of Service

      The Chimney Rock VFW Celebrates 75 Years of Service

      HEADLINES From Plains District Memorial Museum

      Highlights from the Plains District Memorial Museum

      Bad Roads

      Revolutionary War Service

      Mattress Shopping

      Retta’s Column

      HEADLINES From Plains District Memorial Museum

      Headlines from PLAINS DISTRICT MEMORIAL MUSEUM

      The Miller Family of the Genoa Area

      The Miller Family of the Genoa Area

      The Lantz Family

      The Lantz Family

      Timberville Historic Notes

      Timberville Historic Notes

      Evaline, Dorcas, and Mae

      Evaline, Dorcas, and Mae

    • Our Sponsors
      • Advertising
    • Home
      • About Us
      • Pickup Locations
    • Columns
      • All
      • Book Notes
      • Eating Well in the Real World
      • Fishing with Mike
      • From the Potting Shed
      • Fulks Run Follies
      • Gobbler Sports
      • Handy with Randy
      • Headlines from Plains Museum
      • Hiking With Ray
      • Local Business
      • Local Legends
      • Musings from the Woodpile
      • Personal & Professional Development
      • Randy's Ramblings
      • Reflections from a Fuller Life
      • Sarah's Recipes
      • The Gospel Vault
      • The View From Here
      • The Wandering Wilkins
      • When This You See
      Photograph of Ronnie Fulk

      Fulks Run Follies

      Floating in pool

      The Wandering Wilkins

      Dog in woods

      Hiking with Ray

      Spotlight on the Off Broadway Players

      Spotlight on the Off Broadway Players

      Breakfast Pocket

      Sarah’s Recipes

      Bass Fishing with Mike – December 2021

      Bass Fishing With Mike

      Photograph of Wes Dove

      It’s Not You, It’s Me

      Gospel Vault

      Gospel Vault

      Fair and Tender Ladies book cover. By Lee Smith

      Book Notes – Classic Southern Novels

      From the Potting Shed – December 2021

      From the Potting Shed

      Randy image

      Randy’s Ramblings

      Handy With Randy

      Handy With Randy

      The Midnight Ride of Paul Reve …the Moose Hunter

      The Midnight Ride of Paul Reve …the Moose Hunter

      Spotlight on the Off Broadway Players

      Continuity for Off Broadway Players

      Hiking with Ray

      Hiking with Ray

      Trending Tags

      • Entertainment
        • All
        • Festivals
        • Kids Activites
        • Music
        • Off Broadway Players
        • Sports
        • Upcoming Events
        Kansas

        Hunting for the Lesser Prairie Chicken in the Cimarron National Grassland

        Spotlight on the Off Broadway Players

        Spotlight on the Off Broadway Players

        Bass Fishing with Mike – December 2021

        Bass Fishing With Mike

        A Spinning Demonstration

        A Hidden Gem in Plain View

        Rounding the Bases

        Rounding the Bases

        Local Scouts Learn Flag Folding Procedures

        Local Scouts Learn Flag Folding Procedures

        The Midnight Ride of Paul Reve …the Moose Hunter

        The Midnight Ride of Paul Reve …the Moose Hunter

        Spotlight on the Off Broadway Players

        Continuity for Off Broadway Players

        Rounding the Bases

        Rounding the Bases

        • Off Broadway Players
      • History
        • All
        • Bev's Historic Notes
        The Chimney Rock VFW Celebrates 75 Years of Service

        The Chimney Rock VFW Celebrates 75 Years of Service

        HEADLINES From Plains District Memorial Museum

        Highlights from the Plains District Memorial Museum

        Bad Roads

        Revolutionary War Service

        Mattress Shopping

        Retta’s Column

        HEADLINES From Plains District Memorial Museum

        Headlines from PLAINS DISTRICT MEMORIAL MUSEUM

        The Miller Family of the Genoa Area

        The Miller Family of the Genoa Area

        The Lantz Family

        The Lantz Family

        Timberville Historic Notes

        Timberville Historic Notes

        Evaline, Dorcas, and Mae

        Evaline, Dorcas, and Mae

      • Our Sponsors
        • Advertising
      No Result
      View All Result
      The Chimney Rock Chronicle
      Subscribe
      Thank you to our Sponsors! Thank you to our Sponsors! Thank you to our Sponsors!
      Home Columns Musings from the Woodpile

      Musings From the Woodpile

      Tad by Tad
      March 15, 2022
      in Columnists, Columns, Musings from the Woodpile, Tad Williams
      Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
      Tad Williams was born and raised in Broadway, Virginia. Graduate of Eastern Mennonite University. Part-time farmer. Part-time hunter. Nutrient management specialist at Virginia Tech. Father to two sons. Husband to Erin.

      The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources released harvest data for the 2021-22 hunting season last month. The results were that Virginia hunters harvested fewer bears, deer, and turkeys than the previous year and less than the five year average. The news release included several reasons for the possible decline. The fall was warmer and drier than average and acorns were variable across the state. The warm weather may have kept hunters out of woods believing that deer don’t move as much.

      One reason they did not include was the requirement for the 2021-22 season to report all wildlife harvested to be done so electronically. Electronic reporting has been increasing over the last few years and it seems most hunters have been able to adapt to this new requirement. The declines may be due to Virginia increasing hunting opportunities over the last several years. In 2021-22 the bear harvest declined by 16%, deer harvest declined by 8%, and fall turkey harvest by 21%. The decline in fall turkey harvest may also be due to hunters waiting until spring to take a turkey. Surveys indicated that turkey populations were fairly stable last year.

      In recent years there has been an increase in the number of opportunities for hunters to take to the woods. Sunday deer hunting on private land has been in effect since 2014. Turkey hunting increased by one day with adding the day before Thanksgiving as another opportunity. Even with these additional chances to hunt there are fewer Virginians hunting than in years past. Only 3% of Virginians buy hunting licenses. Compare this to South Dakota where 24% of residents buy hunting licenses. In California it is less than 1%.

      Virginia’s General Assembly is considering legislation to allow Sunday hunting on public land beginning in 2022. As of this writing the legislation passed the Virginia Senate but not the House of Delegates. This change would certainly expand opportunities for hunters to take to the woods for an extra day of hunting. Even hunting on Saturday may be a challenge for some who work on Saturdays or are shift workers. This change would also mean that hikers, bird watchers, and others may choose not to take to the woods during hunting season.

      A few additional statistics gleamed from the harvest data were as follows for bears: 61% of bears were harvested using hounds; there were 54 bears harvested in Rockingham compared to 184 in 2019 and 107 in 2020. For deer: 4,233 deer were harvested in Rockingham county compared to 4,775 in 2020; 39% killed in Rockingham were female; 14% of the total deer harvest was with bows while 23% were with muzzleloaders. For turkeys: 17 turkeys were harvested in Rockingham while the 5-year average is 29; 93% of turkeys were harvested on private land; 24% of turkeys are harvested on Thanksgiving Day or the Wednesday before.

      There are also over 6,000 automobile collisions in the state each year involving deer. Over 50% of those take place the last three months of the year. Late winter means deer are bunching up again after last fall’s rut. Passing a harvested corn field at dusk will present plenty of viewing opportunities for groups of deer of all sizes. Bucks have shed their antlers so now might be a good time to take to the woods and look for next year’s hunting spots. I’m what you would call a lazy hunter. I ask family for advice where to hunt and where to sit during hunting season. I have been lucky to kill a few deer over the years. I always say I will be a more active hunter, do more scouting, and read more about hunting but I usually don’t. To be really good at something author Malcolm Gladwell argues in his book Outliers that you need to practice that something for at least 10,000 hours. That is a lot of practice sitting in the woods and waiting. That is a lot of time scouting before and during the season. That is a lot target practice and gun cleaning. There are probably only a few dozen skillful hunters in the entire state of Virginia. My brother is one of them. He has put in the time and honed his skills. And I dare say he enjoys it.

      Tad

      Tad

      Tad Williams was born and raised in Broadway, Virginia. Graduate of Eastern Mennonite University. Part-time farmer. Part-time hunter. Nutrient management specialist at Virginia Tech. Father to two sons. Husband to Erin.

      Next Post
      Photograph of Wes Dove

      Understanding the World Around Us

      Popular Articles

      • Rounding the Bases

        Rounding the Bases

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      • Gone, But Not Forgotten

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      • The Old Inn At Mauzy

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      • Handy With Randy

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      • Continuity for Off Broadway Players

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      • The Blessing of the Pure in Heart

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      • Fulks Run Follies

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      • Eldon Layman: Retired Educator and Book Creator

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      • Unique Retreat on the Creek

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      • Highlights of The Plains District Memorial Museum

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      • About Us
      • Advertising
      • Contact
      • Pick Up Locations

      © 2021 The Chimney Rock Chronicle - Website & E-Commerce by Bare Web Design, Broadway Va.

      No Result
      View All Result
      • Home
      • Columns
      • Entertainment
        • Festivals
        • Kids Activites
        • Music
      • History
      • Sports
        • Thank you to our Sponsors!
        • Advertising

      © 2021 The Chimney Rock Chronicle - Website & E-Commerce by Bare Web Design, Broadway Va.