Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 27, 1993 TAG: 9310150358
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
No, he wasn't spotlighting.
That activity - using a bright light to observe deer - was a popular autumn pastime until it was outlawed several seasons ago. The problem was: Some people weren't just looking, they were shooting. They spoiled it for everyone.
Now nighttime observation of deer is back. And it is legal.
Blount was using an ITT Night Mariner, a night-vision device made in the Roanoke Valley and born out of technology proven by U.S. military forces in Operation Desert Storm.
Nothing like a 10-point buck was spotted this night, not even a doe. But Blount was able to scan the woodline, carefully observing the spots where trees marched to the edge of meadowland. He watched in detail as a couple of black horses romped through the blank setting.
As for seeing deer, Blount had too many people with him. Too much noise; too much scent. It's often that way when you bring out a Night Mariner. It draws a crowd.
While that can cause problems when it comes to observing deer, it is absolutely OK with Blount because he and his wife, Carole, are new dealers for the Night Mariner, the only dealers, at this point, in Virginia west of Richmond.
They call their venture Foxsport Night Vision Systems, and they operate out of Foxsport Marina on Smith Mountain Lake, a business in the Blount family since 1972.
As the name Night Mariner indicates, ITT officials have pinpointed boaters as their major recreation customers. That is where the heaviest marketing effort is being directed for the $2,395 device, which was released for sale earlier this month.
``For the marine boating customer, some of the most obvious applications are navigation,'' said Dan Turner, ITT national sales manager.
``With enhanced night vision you will be able to see marker buoys, you will be able to see obstacles in the water, you will be able to pick out terrain features on the shoreline for navigation."
While ITT has labored to open the eyes of coastal boaters to the endless possibilities of the Night Mariner, a strange thing has happened. Some of the most intensive interest has come from inland areas.
``We are getting almost as many calls from the Midwest as we are from Florida,'' said Turner.
Wayne Blount sees Smith Mountain as an ideal place to use the Night Mariner, considering the challenge of the 20,000-acre lake's countless coves and points.
``To me, there would be more application here than in the ocean,'' he said, listing some of the potential uses:
Spotting stripers feeding on the surface after dark.
Helping a nighttime bass tournament fishermen get a jump on the competition by locating bass-hugging brush piles or boat dock, and getting him back to the weigh-in.
Assisting pleasure boaters in safer nighttime enjoyment of the lake.
The Night Mariner looks a good bit like a pair of futuristic yellow-and-black binoculars, weighs just over a pound, is water-resistant and will float, an important consideration in view of its big-ticket price. When you peer through the lens, it brightens the landscape by collecting the available light and amplifying it up to 20,000 times.
While Blount speaks glowingly of the after-dark boating uses of the Night Mariner, his enthusiasm is unbridled when attention turns to a favorite sport, deer hunting. He and his brother, Doug, already have tested the devise in the hills and hollows of Highland County.
``Hunting, I think, is a big application - scouting before the season,'' he said.
Deer like to wander out of the woods to feed in fields, but you aren't likely to see a trophy buck in the open until after dark, Blount said. It is going to pump up your confidence, and perhaps shape your hunting strategy, when you spot such a buck with the Night Mariner.
The device also will be of value in getting to your deer stand prior to daylight, he said. You won't have to expose your presence with a flashlight. And it likely will come in handy for locating a deer shot just before dark. Since you can't shoot a gun while looking through it, illegal use should be minimal, Blount said.
But you don't have to be a hunter to enjoy its wildlife benefits, said Laurel Holder, ITT marketing communications manager. It fits nicely into the growing sport of wildlife-watching.
``We have had people tell us that they spend a lot of money planning their vacations around areas where they can view wildlife,'' she said.
The Night Mariner should enhance opportunities to see shy wildlife species that tend to move only under the shroud of darkness.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***