Bow Hunting and Muzzleloader Season Maybe a Thing of The Past
Wildlife Commissioners are proposing to revamp the deer hunting season to improve hunter retention as well as increase the annual deer harvest. Under the proposals the deer season would become uniformed across the state of North Carolina rather then the four geographical seasons we currently have. Additionally on private lands hunters could choose any weapon they would like and not be restricted to archery only or a muzzleloader only season.
I had heard a rumor that sweeping changes would be proposed but I thought it was just a rumor. I was caught off guard when I read the list of proposed changes in today’s N&O;
* Create a single deer season for the state. Now, there are four main regional seasons. The new season would be the same as the current Eastern Deer Season, which this year runs Sept. 13 to Jan. 1.
* Allow bow hunting and falconry on Sundays on private land.
* Allow hunters to choose any weapon (bow, muzzleloader or center-fire rifle) from the start of the hunting season when on private land.
* Move the opening of turkey season to the first Saturday of April statewide, which would extend the season by about a week.
* Ask the legislature for the authority to regulate deer hunting with dogs, and possibly fine dog owners when hounds trespass on private land.
* Allow the hunting of coyotes at night with the use of artificial lights.
I’ve been thinking about many of these all day and talking with folks about them. I’ll be curious to hear what the biologists think about this. In the past there has been a huge disconnect between the professionals that have been hired to do the work and the political appointees that develop the rules. Looking at this I think the divide among these two groups has got to be bigger then ever.
You can bet we’ll continue to follow this story and to see the reactions of the different stakeholders like the NWTF & the NCBHA.
Story & photo by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose
Frankly, I think the seasons could use adjustment. Living in Durham County, which is in the Central Season region, I see more deer here than I do on my leases over in the Eastern Season region. Heck, I chased 4 deer out of a front yard in the middle of Hope Valley the other night. I’ve seen deer running down Anderson St (which is almost down town). Deer carcasses from auto collisions regularly pop up on 15-501. And yet we have a limited season.
I have permission to hunt on a farm in Durham County, and over the last few years I’ve seen mostly lots and lots of small does. That’s generally an indicator of over-population. The herd needs some culling.
Finally, with the cost of gas being so high, I think a lot few people will be making the trek to eastern NC for the long season, which means even fewer hunters. And the short Nov-Dec season is interupted with holidays, so there really aren’t that many opportunities to hunt if you have other things going on in your life.
How many hunters do you know that take all six deer on their tags? Most hunters take just a few, and a longer season would just mean more of a chance at a big buck, not more killed. We need to get more people into the sport, and a longer season with more flexibility will help that.
Comment by GrillingGreg — July 11, 2008 @ 10:33 am
Dang!
I’m not sure if this is a good call or not. I know the Eastern Region could use as much harvest as it can get, but how about the mountains? Have the deer really come back that strong up there? From Grilling Greg’s comments (and those of some friends back home), the Central Region seems to be doing pretty well.
I know hunter retention is an important goal, but I just hope it balances with the needs of the resource as well. I’ve been gone a long time now, and when I do get back it’s only to the coastal zones, so I don’t know how things have changed…
Anyway, if the resource has been considered, then I’m all for it. And I’m glad to see the first step toward Sunday hunting in NC as well!
Comment by Phillip — July 11, 2008 @ 11:20 am
Moose, I had the same feelings with the rumors coming through with actual talk and proposals. However, I don’t believe that we’ll see hardly any of those changes taking place for many years to come, especially the universal any-weapons seasons, etc… We can’t even pass a law to let hunters shoot coyotes at night. But who knows, stranger things have happened.
Yea, I know lots of people probably think harvest needs to increase, but the way to solve that issue is to recruit more hunters not lengthen seasons and give more opportunities to rifle hunters. Hunters have no trouble shooting all the deer they care to harvest as it is. Earlier seasons won’t help… they’ll shoot there 2 to 3 deer as usual… it will just be a couple months early, that’s it. Oh, and more mature bucks will be killed, which might be an upside if people don’t ruin a good thing.
Comment by outdoorsmorgasbord — July 11, 2008 @ 11:21 pm
I know I’m in the minority for sure but I’d kind of like to see September set aside as small game month or at least squirrel. The current season is long but it gets lost in the deer season. What a better way to introduce a kid to the sport then a good old squirrel hunt? In my perfect world it be Oct Bow Season, First two weeks Nov Muzzleloader, then rifle till Jan1. Then the rest of the month privative weapon season bow or muzzleloader.
Comment by Moose — July 11, 2008 @ 11:39 pm
I have said for years the the NCWRC is FUBAR due to politics, and this proves it. I can see a rash or hunting “accidents” coming when bowhunters, muzzleloaders, and rifle hunters are all in the woods together. Will all be required to wear hunter orange? What about enforcement issues? The impact on the deer populations? Dog hunting with no still hunting only time? I rest my case.
Comment by Ridgerunner — July 12, 2008 @ 7:39 pm
I live in the eastern region and we have the enjoyment of a long hunting season. I do think they should give the guys to the west longer seasons. I just don’t think they should open up with weapon of choice in any of the regions. I like the current setup, start off with archery, blackpowder and then rifle.
Comment by chesson — July 12, 2008 @ 10:27 pm
[...] The recent tentative proposals have sparked an uproar from groups such as the NCBA (North Carolina Bowhunters Association) and much press has been devoted to the issue, just check out another Skinny Mooser’s blog post at Moose Droppings. [...]
Pingback by North Carolina’s Proposed Deer Season Changes - The Outdoor Smorgasbord - Everything Outdoors — July 16, 2008 @ 4:43 pm
North Carolina has too many deer. I am all for opening up the season. All wepons be allowed to be used everywhere, not just private land.
Comment by Dale — July 17, 2008 @ 9:10 am
My 2 cents:
I am fed up with fat cat politicians and their fat cat priviliged buddies making wildlife law. Our hunting license dollars and taxes we pay on equipment pays for professionals to manage OUR wildlife (It belongs to all of us after all). Yet we are ignored by political appointed comissioners who care little for the average hunter. I have heard that some commissioners have made comments that because they are appointed they don’t have to listen to hunters. Moose already pointed out that they don’t listen to the professionals! Just look at the turkey proposal that is coming up one more time. Vice-chairman Windham has tried a number of times to change the season to suit himself and even tried a couple of underhanded tricks that Moose reported on. He is on the big game committee and apparently a college buddy of the Govenor and a buddy of Hoyle’s (who is big game chairman AND whoose daddy is a state senator). So here comes the early season thing again after hunters AND the professional biologists have said repeatedly that it is a bad idea.
A few years ago I had heard a rumor that Windham was a wildlife law breaker but thought it was just a story. A buddy of mine and I were talking about it this turkey season and he thought we could find out for sure. You can find out a lot of things on the internet or through the local county clerks office. We looked it up Mr. Windham’s address on the wildlife site and was able to pull him up on 123nc.com. It cost us a few bucks but it was worth it! It turns out that he got a tcket for failure to tag/report a turkey in 2003. You would think that he would have been canned as a commissioner but the Govenor reappointed him instead! I reckon that type of thing don’t matter to his buddy the Govenor! A copy of the report should be below. As an honest hunter I am offended that it is ok for someone to break wildlife law and still make wildlife law. It seems to me that if wildlife commissioners who are politician’s buddies can break the wildlife laws and still serve on the commission then how can they expect hunters to have any respect for them? This state really needs to get a handle on corrupt politicians and political appointees. Look at Jim Black (who appointed a bunch of commissioners) and Thomas Wright who used to “serve” the Wilmington area. Oh and the Govenor’s wife just got an eighty-eight percent raise from NCSU to ~$171,000 a year (turns out she was only working part time before for about $90,000/year!). My understanding is that no one checks the backgrounds of these commissioners. I wonder if Mr. Windham is the only commissioner with a wildlife law breaking in their background? Also, someone who knows about this said that the Govenor knew when he got the ticket. Somehow that don’t seem right. I suppose he “forgot” to tag the bird. Oh wait, the commission passed the law about reporting and tagging! Hmmmm? Wouldn’t you think that a commissioner who was on the big game committee AND the vice-chairman AND someone who makes wildlife law should know the game laws AND obey them? I think honest hunters and others that care about wildlife should know about this. It makes you wonder if someone should run a background check on all of the commissioners! Maybe we should all call OUR elected officials and tell them that WE want them to appoint honest commissioners that will work with the professionals AND hunters to manage wildlife! Whew - sorry to rant but this kind of thing upsets me! It is easy to see that if we don’t take responsibility for wildlife then it will run down the political drain forever! Thanks to all. JS
Record Detail
Defendant Name WINDHAM,STEPHEN,LEE
Case Number 03CR002206
Case Data
County Code: 230 County Name: COLUMBUS
Case Sequence: 002206 Case Number: 03CR002206 Case Year: 2003
Case Type (Court currently having jurisdiction): CR
CR = Criminal District Court CRS = Criminal Superior Court
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Defendant Name: WINDHAM,STEPHEN,LEE Race: White
Defendant Address: 2688 RIVER RD SE Sex: Male
Defendant Address: Date of birth: 05/09/1950
City: WINNABOW , State: NC Zip Code: 284795242
——————————————————————————–
SSN: *****7277 Driver’s License Number and State: NC 2686427
——————————————————————————–
Citation Number: W0125738 Trial Date: 05/06/2003
District Court Case Process Type: C
Superior Court Case Process Type: C
Defendant State Identifier: Defendant In Jail Indicator:
Date Case Served on Defendant: 04/12/2003
Check Digit Number: Case Office Location Code:
Local Identification Number: Originating Agency Routing Identifier:
——————————————————————————–
——————————————————————————–
Defendant Name WINDHAM,STEPHEN,LEE
Case Number 03CR002206
Offense Data
Offense Sequence Number: 01 01 - 49 District Court Case Offense
51 - 99 Superior Court Case Offense
——————————————————————————–
Charged Offense Code: 6246
Charged Offense Type: M F = Felony M=Misdemeanor T=Traffic Misdemeanor I = Infractions
Charged Offense Description: FAIL REPORT/TAG BIG GAME
Charged Offense Statute Number: 113-270.3(C)
——————————————————————————–
Arraigned Offense Code: 6246
Arraigned Offense Type: M F = Felony M=Misdemeanor T=Traffic Misdemeanor I = Infractions
Arraigned Offense Description: FAIL REPORT/TAG BIG GAME
Arraigned Offense Statute Number: 113-270.3(C)
——————————————————————————–
Convicted Offense Code:
Convicted Offense Type: F = Felony M=Misdemeanor T=Traffic Misdemeanor I = Infractions
Convicted Offense Description: FAIL REPORT/TAG BIG GAME
Convicted Offense Statute Number: 113-270.3(C)
——————————————————————————–
Called and Failed Date: Convicted Offense Class: 3
Failure to Appear Date: Plea Code: GUILTY
Order for Arrest Date: Verdict Code: GUILTY
Method of Disposition Code: WAIVED BY CLERK Offense Disposition Date: 04/14/2003
Fine Amount ($00): 00025 Court Costs Amount ($00): 0100
Restitution Amount ($00.00): Monies Paid Indicator: Y
Monies to-be-paid Date:
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Non-Motor Vehicle Fail-To-Comply Date: Show-Cause Order Date:
Probation Violation Date: Motor Vehicle Failure-To-Comply Date:
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Special Condition:
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Comment by Jim — July 23, 2008 @ 7:04 pm