You may remember that I complained annually that it took the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service too long to let us know how many deer had been killed.

It did. Take too long that is.

Used to be that we wouldn’t know until early March how many deer had been killed as far back as mid-September. I often wondered how the agency had time to digest the numbers enough to make reasonable management decisions that would be put before the public 10 days later at regulation hearings.

Well, things have changed.

Now, with the checking of deer via telephone or computer, the agency can keep a running tabluation of the kill. Just a few days after the season is completed, they put out a news release letting everybody know just how many backstraps have been taken. Actually, they just report the number of deer. To determine the number of backstraps, you must multiply by 2.

The speed at which West Virginia has reported the deer kill always amazed me. Checking in a deer in the Mountain State still requires a hunter to tote the deer to a checking station. Obviously, it also requires agency personnel to go to those same locations to gather the possession tag information.

In spite of the intensity of labor that is associated with such an undertaking from Weirton to Welch and from Martinsburg to Matewan the numbers are made public quite quickly.



Did you ever think?

Did you ever think you would hear something like this? A friend of mine told me an avid deer hunter asked him about finding a new place to hunt. Seems this guy had always hunted for deer during the firearms season on the Green Ridge State Forest, but had finally had enough of it.

His complaint?

There aren’t enough hunters on that piece of state land. He told my buddy that he wanted to hunt in a place where there were more hunters so the deer would move and he would have a chance to bag a buck. He said there were no hunters to speak of on the state forest and thus the deer did not move.

Wow.



Just a thought

Right now, the bag limit for deer in Garrett and Allegany counties is one buck and one doe in each of the firearms, bow and muzzleloader seasons.

What would you think about keeping the bag limit of bucks at three, the way it is now, but allowing some flexibility in the way they are taken.

Let’s say that only one buck could be taken during the firearms season. But let’s also say that hunters would be allowed to take the other two bucks in either the bow or muzzleloader seasons. Take both with a bow. Take both with a blackpowder gun. Or take one in each.



Deer photos

Great job (for the most part) on the photos of successful deer hunters that you have been sending the Times-News.

Most of those photos will run in the Rod & Gun publication to be published and inserted into a newspaper sometime in January. A date has not yet been selected.

You may have noticed that for the past three weeks I have been using a photo of a hunter with his or her deer.

Let’s talk about that.

These photos are getting a larger play than those that will run in Rod & Gun, where space will require us to use the images in smaller proportions. The photos that have been making it onto the Outdoors page have some things in common.

They were taken in the woods at or near the site of the kill. They were taken before the deer was field dressed. The photos are composed well and have good exposures. The photos are not backgrounded by the beds of pickup trucks or an old washing machine in your garage.

Perhaps most importantly, the photos (which I already mentioned were taken in the woods during rifle season) show the hunters still wearing the legal amount of blaze orange, though you may not be able to discern that in the black and white format.

The deadline to submit your deer photos is Dec. 30. Send them via e-mail to the address below, by mail to Cumberland Times-News, P.O. Box 1662, Cumberland, MD 21501-1662 or walk them up the steps to the newsroom.

Enjoy your wild food

We are now in the time of year when we enjoy with our taste buds the fruits of our hunts. New Year’s Day might be a great time to whip up some Hillbilly Surf and Turf, whether it is bluegill and squirrel or rainbow trout and wild turkey breast, and watch WVU win the Gator Bowl.

Contact Outdoor Editor Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com.