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After years of debate, both chambers of Virginia’s General Assembly have agreed to get rid of a state law prohibiting hunting on public lands in the commonwealth on Sundays, signaling the days are numbered for a ban that can be traced back to the 17th century.
A House subcommittee struck down a series of bills that would have altered Virginia’s hunting laws, with numerous votes deadlocking despite a Republican majority on the six-person panel.
Whatever your interest in or aversion to white-tailed deer, you may eventually see fewer of them sprinting across the road, eating your cabbage or magnified in your rifle scope. The reason: chronic wasting disease, a fatal, incurable affliction that continues to spread in the mid-Atlantic.
Nearly 23 million guns were sold in the US last year, making 2020 the largest single purchasing year on record. The beginning of the coronavirus pandemic caused Americans to fear for the worst and stockpile groceries, toilet paper, medications — and firearm ammunition.
For the second year in a row, hunters in Virginia have harvested a record number of black bears, according to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR). For several decades, the department has tracked annual deer, bear and turkey kills and recorded each animal’s sex, date of kill, weapon used and location.
Foothills Forum and the Rappahannock News look back on 2020 with a focus on COVID-19 as well as several key issues – schools, broadband and cellular, business, housing -- we have reported on throughout the year.
It is hard to pin down exactly why so many women are deciding now is the time to buy their first firearm. Sales first spiked, according to the NSSF, in March when the pandemic began domestically and remained steady over the summer.
Finally, always remember what the late Dale Earnhardt said about hunting: “When I was young, I told Dale Jr. that hunting and racing are a lot alike. Holding that steering wheel and holding that rifle both mean you better be responsible.”
“This is so sad,” writes the Rappahannock County resident. “Over the weekend someone shot this beautiful creature on Battle Run Road and just left him. It was obviously shot from the road.
Firearms deer season got underway this past Saturday throughout the hills and hollows of Rappahannock.
While Virginia’s Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) says a harvest of 17,929 wild turkeys during the 2019 spring gobbler season was 11 percent higher than last year’s harvest, Rappahannock County saw a slight decrease.
Five years ago 57 bears were shot out of season, last year only three
‘CWD may pose a risk to people and . . . it is important to prevent human exposures’
A total of 19 bears and 1687 deer were harvested in Rappahannock County during this just-concluded 2018-19 hunting season, which compares to 24 bears and 1535 deer taken by local hunters during the previous 2017-18 season.
The Piedmont Environmental Council and Virginia Department of Transportation are collaborating to reconnect brook trout habitat and improve flood resiliency and public road-stream crossings in two more locations in Rappahannock County.
2017-18 hunting season bags a few more bears
Rappahannock County’s fall deer-hunting season with firearms is right around the corner, starting Saturday, Nov. 18, through Saturday, Jan. 6.
‘Sunday hunting for crows has been changed to Monday’
Renowned Sperryville photographer Ray Boc delights in capturing the color and life of Rappahannock County, including this past weekend along the Thornton River near Copper Fox Antiques. The title above is his.
Out-of-season bear kills by Rappahannock farmers continues to be high
Virginia legislators are making a fashion statement for the state’s 13,000 female hunters: Blaze pink is the new orange.
I realize, for the perfectionists among us, that we are not yet into mid-winter, but if this past weekend was any indication, we are close enough to it to suit me. Gosh, we have had a few bitter days. I still love living in a place where we get to enjoy all the seasons, but I am beginning to…
Alex Kardis shot this 10-point buck on the farm of his parents, Phil and Penny Kardis, in Flint Hill. It was on the second anniversary of the passing of his grandfather, Lawrence Chadwell, of Huntly. Kardis thought his grandfather would have been very proud.
Shenandoah National Park Superintendent Jim Northup announced this week that portions of Skyline Drive will be closed at night during hunting season. He noted that this is the 36th year that this closure has been undertaken and stressed its importance in reducing illegal hunting activity wit…
I’m sure you remember the old commercial for Morton Salt, which said, “When it rains, it pours.” Well, we finally got the long-needed rain, and I must say our fervent prayers were answered. Truth is, the way the rain spread itself out over several days and nights was another blessing. I meas…
Some of you are aware that I like to go fishing every once in awhile. Last year, 2015, was the first year in many that I didn’t make my trek to the wilds of Canada’s Ontario province to take on that old sharp-toothed fish some call the northern pike. Things just didn’t fall into place. Then …
For the benefit of those of you out there who still like to poke around in the woods and fields in hopes of getting a deer for the freezer, I thought I might bring you up to date on what you can and can’t do in the coming deer season.
Virginia State Parks, managed by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, offer the outdoorsman a variety of hunting opportunities, including reservation-only hunts and open hunting, throughout the season. Hunters can reserve stands or zones on a first come, first served basis…
I have been told by many of the old timers that, before I came along, and even before the Shenandoah National Park was in existence, people used to turn their hogs loose in the mountains to forage for themselves, mostly on the wild chestnuts that were so abundant. The animals had cut marks i…
On a cool Saturday morning in late April, Wakefield Country Day School students, faculty members and a parent volunteer helped with a Wounded Warriors project in Madison County, helping set up a Healing Waters Project. Veterans, assisted by guides, are able to fish local rivers and streams, …
Young Rappahannock hunter Bradley Settle, son of Lee and Ashley Settle of Castleton and Renee Settle of Chester Gap, harvested his first turkey on Youth Day for spring turkey season last month. With two beards, the bird was considered an atypical wild turkey.
Lewis Foster of Flint Hill was happy enough when he caught a 6½-pound trout in early March, but less than two weeks later, he reeled in this nine-pounder on Passage Creek, in the Elizabeth Furnace Recreation Area of GW National Forest. If the trend continues, Lewis might need a find a larger truck.
Lewis Foster of Flint Hill came by the other day to show off a big one that didn’t get away — the 6½-pound trout he caught in Front Royal’s Happy Creek last Sunday.
In the Feb. 12 edition of the Rappahannock News, Richard Brady makes a case that Rappahannock County should not participate in the “Earn A Buck” (EAB) program of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF), which manages the deer population in Virginia. In this program a hun…
Rise in bear, decrease in turkey taken by hunters reported by VDGIF
Every once in awhile I feel the need to explain myself to the readers of this column; this is such a time. It used to be that when I would see my column had been placed on the editorial page, I would cringe a bit, and think, why did they do that? I have to remember that the editorial page is…
It is no secret that the American people are losing faith in their government. This is true at the federal and state level. But, what about our local government? Do most county residents feel they are getting a fair shake from our county leaders? I have been inclined to think that we are bet…
There has been a fair amount of newsprint lately … some of it mine … that speculated on what seems to some of us untrained naturalists to be a decline in the whitetail deer population. My observations come directly from spending time afield hunting and scouting and observing. Further, I have…
If you had to divide the calendar into food groups, summer would be about vegetables. Especially, if you tend a vegetable garden or just like the fresh veggies that come with the season. When fall of the year comes, and the garden has been put to bed, and the balance of vegetables have been …
With hunters getting ready to hit Rappahannock’s fields and forests in pursuit of deer, I wanted to encourage everyone to consider replacing their lead bullets with copper ones. Getting the lead out of gasoline and paint are universally considered milestone achievements with clear, demonstra…
I am an Amissville resident of 20 years living on Hinsons Ford Road. Our family members hunt, target shoot and have always supported responsible gun ownership, use and safety. From time to time I have heard target practice and shooting near my property. However, the Sunday of Memorial weeken…
In a letter published in The Washington Post last week, Realtor and longtime Rappahannock County resident Butch Zindel objected to a fox-preserve proponent’s comments in an earlier Post story about Virginia’s decision to restrict and eventually ban fox-penning operations in the state.
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