Bright Idea Outdoors Weblog

A Rough Tick Season Could Be on the Horizon

I'm living proof that Lyme disease is a common problem here in Loudoun County Virginia.  I've been infected with it twice.

Both times, I was lucky, detected the infection early and was successfully treated with antibiotics.  Because I make my living in the outdoors and spend a great deal of my free time outside too, I'm always on the lookout for they tiny blacklegged deer ticks that carry Lyme disease.  So when I came down with symptoms, I knew where the tick bites were and knew I'd better get tested and treated.

But many people overlook these ticks, and some suffer from Lyme for years before they even know what's wrong with them.

With the warm winter we've had, 2012 could be a big year for deer ticks, especially here in Loudoun County, where some have already called Lyme disease an "epidemic."  For more on what the weather means for this year's tick season, please read my post on the Blake Landscapes Horticulture Blog at www.blakelandscapes.net. . .

Ripken Baseball Coaching Clinic Was a Winner

I've been assistant coaching in Little League Baseball the last couple years and this season will be managing (or head coaching) a team for the first time.  So when I had the opportunity to attend a Ripken Baseball coaching clinic at Langley High School last Saturday I figured I should take it.

Boy was I right!

It was a long day but worth every minute of my time.  And what a thrill it was to be in the same auditorium with the legendary Cal Ripken Jr.!  Hall of Famer Ripken, along with former big league players Billy Ripken and John Habyan, put on a great program, and I learned a lot.  I would recommend Ripken Baseball to anyone coaching a team or even if you just have a kid of your own you want to coach up a little bit.

I'll share with you here though, the best advice of the day:

Another Good Column on Sunday Hunting in Virginia

Here's a link to another good opinion piece on Sunday hunting in Virginia.  It is by G. Manoli Loupassi and was published in Sunday's Richmond Times Dispatch.

My sister lives in Richmond and sent me the article.  Thank you.

It's frustrating though; from what I understand, legislators from here in Northern Virginia tend to support and end to the ban on Sunday hunting.  Yet the issue gets no media coverage in this part of the state.  Be sure and read Loupassi's column though.  It spells out just how threatened our sport is, and how proponents of continuing to ban hunting one day a week in Virginia are playing into the hands of those who want hunting outlawed altogether.

Pregame Warmups

The Bright Idea Outdoors team gets ready for the big game:

 

Virginian Pilot: Virginia Sunday Hunting Has "Hit the Brick Wall"

I guess I was overly optimistic that my children and I would have the opportunity to hunt on Sundays on Virginia private lands this year.  Click below to read Lee Toliver's article in the Virginian Pilot:

http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/sunday-hunting-bills-pulled-va-house-vote

Blake Landscapes: Help Us Help Loudoun Interfaith Relief Overcome Cereal Shortage

Please click on over to the Blake Landscapes Horticulture Blog to find out how you can help us help Loudoun Interfaith Relief this week.

NRA: Virginia Sunday Hunting Needs Your Help!

Virginia: Sunday Hunting Needs Your Help! After the historic passage of Senate Bill 464 in the Virginia Senate last week by an overwhelming, bipartisan 29 to 11 vote, Sunday hunting legislation now faces a decidedly tougher challenge in the House of Delegates. Assigned to the Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee, House Bill 921 will first be considered by the Natural Recourses Subcommittee on the evening of Wednesday, February 1. Please contact members of this subcommittee as well as members of the full Committee TODAY and urge them to protect Virginia’s hunting heritage by supporting HB 921. The seven members of the subcommittee will, for all intents and purposes, determine the fate of this legislation that will decide the future of hunting in the Commonwealth. Currently, Virginia is one of only six states in the country that strictly bans hunting on Sunday. This prohibition threatens the very future of our hunting heritage by discouraging hunter recruitment and retention. In addition, this antiquated ban harms Virginia’s economy. Due to increasingly demanding work, family and extracurricular schedules, older and younger hunters alike often have only Sundays available to hunt. The ban keeps them from remaining or becoming hooked on hunting. There is a reason that the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), a radical group whose ultimate goal is to end all hunting in America, is one of the most active advocates of maintaining the ban. Hunting license sales in Virginia have decreased from 500,000 to 300,000 in little more than two decades, while the Commonwealth’s population has increased by millions. Our opponents know that the future of hunting is at stake and you should too. At a time when the economy is struggling and too many Virginians are out of work, legislators must not continue to refuse the enormous economic benefits associated with allowing hunting on Sundays. Comprehensive research from the National Shooting Sports Foundation shows that allowing hunting on Sundays would generate a total annual economic impact estimated at $296 million and create 3,927 jobs. All of this would be spurred by simply eliminating words from state statute books (the current prohibition), not spending taxpayer dollars on some pie-in-the-sky scheme. HB 921 is likely to be amended to conform to the Senate-passed SB 464. The Senate bill eliminates the comprehensive ban and allows for Sunday hunting on private lands and public waterways. Additionally, the bill does not allow the hunting of deer with dogs or hunting within 250 yards of a house of worship on Sundays. While the bill does not achieve everything desired by those concerned about our hunting heritage, it is an enormous and necessary step in the right direction. Expanding hunter opportunities is crucial to protecting Virginia’s hunting heritage. If we can’t increase or at least sustain the number of license sales in the state, future generations may miss out on these cherished traditions. After you have contacted the Subcommittee members listed below, please call or e-mail other members of the full Committee as well as your own Delegate and respectfully urge him or her to help guarantee Virginia’s proud hunting traditions for future generations by voting in favor or HB 921. To locate your Delegate and his or her contact information, please click here. Natural Resources Subcommittee: Delegate Tony Wilt (R-26) 804-698-1026 deltwilt@house.virginia.gov Delegate Matt Fariss (R-59) 804-698-1059 delmfariss@house.virginia.gov Delegate Lee Ware (R-65) 804-698-1065 dellware@house.virginia.gov Delegate James Edmunds (R-60) 804-698-1060 deljedmunds@virgina.gov Delegate Lynwood Lewis (D-100) 804-698-1000 delllewis@house.virginia.gov Delegate Ken Plum (D-36) 804-698-1036 delkplum@house.virginia.gov Delegate Tommy Wright (R-61) 804-698-1061 deltwright@house.virginia.gov Remaining Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee Members: Delegate Beverly Sherwood (R-29), Chairman 804-698-1029 DelBSherwood@house.virginia.gov Delegate Ed Scott (R-30) 804-698-1030 DelEScott@house.virginia.gov Delegate Danny Marshall (R-14) 804-698-1014 DelDMarshall@house.virginia.gov Delegate Bobby Orrock (R-54) 804-698-1054 DelBOrrock@house.virginia.gov Delegate Charles Poindexter (R-9) 804-698-1009 DelCPoindexter@house.virginia.gov Delegate Brenda Pogge (R-96) 804-698-1096 DelBPogge@house.virginia.gov Delegate Barry Knight (R-81) 804-698-1096 DelBPogge@house.virginia.gov Delegate Will Morefield (R-3) 804-698-1003 DelJMorefield@house.virginia.gov Delegate Mike Webert (R-18) 804-698-1018 DelMWebert@house.virginia.gov Delegate Margret Ransone(R-99) 804-698-1099 DelMRansone@house.virginia.gov Delegate David Bulova (D-37) 804-698-1037 DelDBulova@house.virginia.gov Delegate Mark Sickles (D-43) 804-698-1043 DelMSickles@house.virginia.gov Delegate David Englin (D-45) 804-698-1045 DelDEnglin@house.virginia.gov Delegate Mathew James (D-90) 804-698-1080 DelMJames@house.virginia.gov Delegate Luke Torian (D-52) 804-698-1052 DelLTorian@house.virginia.gov

 

Sunday Hunting Clears Virginia Senate

The Virginia Senate last week passed a bill that would allow hunting on Sundays on private lands in the Old Dominion.  According to the Virginian Pilot, the approved bill includes an amendment prohibiting Sunday hunting within 250 yards of a church.  Lee Toliver's article also says that the bill will face a tougher battle in the House of Delegates.

Governor Bob McDonnell (R) has said he will sign legislation allowing Sunday hunting on private property.

 

Show Your Support for an End to the Sunday Hunting Ban in Virginia

Something really big is afoot in the Virginia General Assembly: this could be the year Virginia's long-standing prohibition against hunting on Sunday ends!

A lot has gotten by me on this one;  I didn't even know the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries had passed a resolution of support for an end to the ban until my sister sent me this article:

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/sports/2012/jan/15/tdsport10-is-sunday-hunting-gaining-traction-ar-1612360/

A friend of hers had also written a great editorial on the subject:

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/rtd-opinion/2011/dec/29/tdopin02-environmentalists-should-help-repeal-sund-ar-1573467/

And that was followed by this Roanoke Times article, which was published after the Sunday hunting bill cleared the Virginia Senate Agriculture, Conversation and Natural Resources Committee:

http://www.roanoke.com/politics/wb/303764

I'm a little embarrassed to be joining this process at such a late hour, but it certainly can't hurt to add my voice to the chorus of support for Sunday hunting.  Here are just a few of the many reasons I support it:

• It would help guides and other hunting-related businesses.  Right now, there's not much point in travelling to hunt in Virginia unless you can take at least part of the day off from work on Friday
• It would boost hunting license sales.  A lot of busy people who haven't had time to hunt under the current regulations will have a whole extra day that they could hunt and will therefore be more likely to invest in a (very expensive) Virginia hunting license.
• Kids are busy too, and especially if they play sports, it's hard to take them hunting on Saturday.  More families will be able to hunt together if Sunday hunting is allowed, and more kids will be introduced to Virginia's great hunting tradition.
• Sunday hunting does not have to have an adverse impact on religious observances.  Some will worship before they hunt; others will worship after they hunt; and some will worship while they hunt!

If you have a blog or website, please post the links to the three articles posted here.  Let me know via an email or comment and I'll do another post linking back to your site.

If you don't have your own blog, get one; just joking!  But you could post the links on your facebook page.  The more of us who voice our support, the greater the chance is we'll get another day to hunt each week next fall!

Whitetail Hunting: It Pays to Stay on Stand

The following deer hunting tip will be old news to anyone who has been hunting awhile.  But if you're new to the sport--or if you're like me and often ignore what you know to be true--it is one of the best pieces of advice you'll ever read:

STAY IN YOUR STAND!

Roughly 75% of the deer I've harvested have been taken in the afternoon.  The reason for that is that I stay in my stand until dark.  In the morning though, I have a tendency to go home way too early.  I get cold; I get bored; I get frustrated; I think about all the things I need to get done that day.

Since most of the properties I hunt are within a mile of my house, I'm often home empty-handed by 8:30.

But this past Saturday--the final day of Virginia's statewide deer hunting season--I had a different atttitude.  It was cold but not bone chilling; I was relaxed and taking in the scenery.  

"I can stay out here as long as I want," I told myself.

It helped that I'd seen a herd of about 20 deer just after daybreak.  They'd disappeared into the woods a couple hundred yards away, but they kept coming out in pairs all morning--even after the hunter on the property behind me fired a shot at 7:30.

By 9:00 I was getting antsy.  I looked over my shoulder and caught a glimpse of that same hunter.  I'm not sure if he'd been in his stand all that time, if he was looking for his deer or what.

My next instinct was to get out of the stand.

"With him out there moving around the hunt is definitely over," I thought.  "But then again, maybe he'll push something out of the wooods."

When I looked back again he was gone, and within 10 minutes two deer from the herd I'd seen earlier bounded across the field at a distance.  I thought about leaving again.

I looked down to my right.  A doe ran past at top speed.  I looked up.  The rest of the herd was running now.  Right to my stand!

The next two seconds or so were a blur of brown and white.  As I thumbed back the hammer a doe stopped at about eight yards.  The Thompson Center Impact roared.

Another blur of brown and white, this  one shrouded in smoke.  When it cleared I saw that the doe was down.

My decision to wait had been a good one.  Hunters for the Hungry got another deer. . .