Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 26, 1990 TAG: 9007260023
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Cochran
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That was the first year of the special hunts at the arsenal, and Porter only had to wait a little while until an even bigger buck approached. He killed a 14-pointer that ranks second in Virginia's all-time bowhunting records.
There have been several other excellent bucks killed on the Pulaski County property, but you might say the hunting has gone downhill since that first hunt five years ago. Last year, it had reached the point that only antlerless deer were legal targets.
Limited hunting for bucks will be reinstated this season, but game officials will be forcing most hunters to kill a doe. In order to produce trophy bucks, about 50 percent of the animals taken must be does, said Mack Walls, a biologist with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Asking hunters to shoot only antlerless deer in an area noted for trophy bucks is a lot like telling a kid to only look and sniff when he goes to the candy store. The year Porter got his trophy, only nine of the 59 deer killed were does.
The sex ratio evened out a little more in subsequent years, reaching 39 percent does in 1987, but hunters simply weren't killing enough female deer until last year when regulations forced them to do so, said Walls.
Last year, 96 deer were killed, 70 percent of them does [the rest antlerless bucks]. That helped put the population back in balance, and already it has improved the quality of the deer herd, said Walls.
"We have some outstanding deer on the plant right now," he said.
There will be two days of either-sex hunting this season, but just the sportsmen who participated in the antlerless-deer only hunts of last year qualify. That's how the system is going to work in the future, Walls said.
"I guess you might say that the people who get to kill a buck are the ones who have paid their dues," he said.
If you are willing to spend one season trying to kill a doe for the betterment of the herd, then you will be given a chance at a buck the next season.
There will be four bowhunting days this time, Oct. 20 and 27 and Nov. 3 and 10. Shotgun hunting will be permitted Nov. 22, 24 and Dec. 8. Either-sex hunts will be conducted Nov. 10 and 24 only.
So if you didn't participate in last year's doe hunts, the only option this season is to hunt one of the antlerless deer dates. If you qualify for that through a lottery system, then next year your name will go into the pot for an either-sex hunt drawing and a chance at a trophy buck.
Sure it is complicated, and some of the enthusiasm for the hunts have waned, said Walls. Last year applications declined by about 50 percent. Even so, there were some 1,500 applications for the just over 300 hunting positions.
Hunters who would like to pick up an application and a set of rules should contact the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, 4010 West Broad Street, Richmond, Va. 23230, (804) 367-1000 or contact Joanne Wills at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant, (703) 639-7480.
The arsenal, which always has been a cooperative partner in the hunts, has a new commander who is interested in expanding the program, said Walls. Being discussed is the potential of holding special hunts on the main plant property, which currently is off limits, he said.
For security reasons, these would be limited to arsenal employees only who would be asked to form a sportsman club that would collect data and manage the hunts.
by CNB