Obviously it is not a scientific estimate, but it makes sense that if you see more dead deer along the side of a highway than in years past that there are more deer around.
Tuesday morning, after voting at the Danville Community Church, I counted three dead deer between that house of worship and state Route 956, where you turn off U.S. Route 220 to head toward ABL or Short Gap in West Virginia.
It used to be that there were a lot of deer along that highway that were killed by Detroit bullets. Then it got to be that fewer and fewer whitetails were biting the dust after run ins with grills or fenders.
Interestingly, the fewer highway strikes came at a time when hunters were bagging fewer deer.
So, with all this in mind, young Maryland hunters who will take advantage of the one-day deer hunt set aside for them on Nov. 15, have something to which they can look forward with great anticipation. They will be eager, not anxious, for that day to arrive.
The junior hunt is for hunters age 16 or younger. A junior hunter must be accompanied by a licensed, unarmed adult who is at least 21.
In Region A — that’s us — the young hunter may take one deer on this special day and it may be either a deer with antlers or one without the headdress.
If the youthful hunter will be in Region B — that’s not us — he or she may whack up to three deer on that day, but no more than one may have antlers.
My son, Ryan, always joked about starting Ryan’s Gutting and Dragging Service, where he would charge folks for those two procedures. He had an elaborate plan, including having a way to mark the site of downed deer and tired hunters via the global positioning system. With as many deer as a hunter can smack down in Region B, I’m thinking maybe his idea is not far fetched. Pulling the trigger numerous times in one day is not a tiring job, but what comes after certainly is.
On the day of the 2007 Maryland junior deer hunt, 136 deer were checked in from Allegany County. Racked bucks accounted for 74 of those animals and there were 62 antlerless deer.
Up in Garrett County, 240 deer were killed; 141 bucks and 99 antlerless.
I know from experience that I will begin to receive photographs of young hunters with their deer once Nov. 15 has come and gone. Please read the Times-News Deer Photo Policy elsewhere on this page so that your photo has a better chance of being used and I have to make as few follow up phone calls as possible. If you don’t follow the policy, there is a chance your photo will not be published.
Contact Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com
or (301) 784-2523. Special note to whomever has started a letter writing campaign about hunting in Maryland. You are wasting your time sending me unsigned letters. Those letters have already been thrown away. I am happy to use letters that have signatures (not just names) and telephone numbers for confirmation.
Michael A Sawyers - Outdoors
Junior hunt nears
- Michael A Sawyers - Outdoors
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They have their ways
“Brrrrrrrt! Brrrrrrrt!” my phone vibrates in my shirt pocket. Sometimes when that happens I think that I just burped.“Hello?” -
Md. hunt rules being formed
The Maryland Wildlife & Heritage Service, currently in the early stages of setting hunting regulations for the next two years, envisions no changes to the deer bag limits in Region A (Garrett, Allegany and western Washington counties).On the other hand, substantial changes are being eyeballed for Region B, which is all of Maryland from Clear Spring eastward to the Atlantic Ocean. -
Officers allowed to enter
Is it legal for Maryland Natural Resources Police officers to walk onto your private land?
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Wapiti survey begins
What’s up with this elk stuff anyway?
I’m speaking, of course, about the news announced this past August that some folks are going to look around Garrett and Allegany counties to see if it would be feasible to reintroduce Rocky Mountain elk. Elk used to live here, you know. -
Jury still out on Marcellus shale drilling
Mother Earth, having been around as long as she has, should be given the right to choose elective surgery when needed rather than have exploratory surgery forced upon her.
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Gobblers hunted on Sundays; sun still rises
See. It wasn’t the end of the world.
Well, wait a minute. I better check before I speak too quickly.
Getting on the Internet, hmmmm, hmm! Yahoo now. Hmmmm! Nope, nothing there. Checking Bing. OK. Now MSN. -
2011 was a very (insert adjective) year
As January started, grumbling could be heard on both sides of the North Branch of the Potomac River.
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Progress in eye of beholder
Folks in the state-run hunting and fishing industry are always looking for ways to attract new license buyers.
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W.Va. buck kill up
I have always thought that the wildlife biologists for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources were brave. Each year, about the middle of November, they predict the buck kill for the upcoming firearms season.
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And then there were...
I want to start this column by assuring you that I don’t begrudge anybody a buck that is taken by legal means.
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