Predator Season in Virginia

VAFoxhunter

VAFoxhunter

New member
Virginia hunters, it is time to go work. The VDGIF is about to start their public game regulation review meetings. I have only heard back from two people that say they are going to attend one of the up-coming meetings. Sadly, I don't think this going to get our fox and bobcat season extended to run along with the trapping season. If we don't speak up the department won't know that we want to use electronic calls on bobcat and coons. They also won't know that we want to use our e-callers on public land in our state. Now is the time to act. Below are the meeting dates and places. All meetings start at 6:30 PM. The hunting regulations will be discussed at 7:30 PM.

http://www.dgif.state.va.us/regulations/regulation_review_public_meeting_schedule.html

May 23 Suffolk Holiday INN
May 25 Halifax County High School
May 26 Augusta County Government Center
May 31 Fairfax County Izaak Walton League
June 2 Virginia Highlands Community College
June 6 Richmond VDGIF Headquarters’
June 7 Northside High School

I know that a lot of the VA members have not been active on here in the last month. Please let other hunters know what's going on so that they can help out and have an input. If you plan to and attend please post the meeting you are going to attend. This is good way to meet members and gain new hunting partners. If you need me to I will send you a copy of the proposal that myself and other PM members presented to the board. All we have to do is let them know that we are serious about these changes.

Thanks,
Matt
 
I am planning on being at the Halifax meeting on the 25th of May, and then again at the Richmond VDGIF Headquarters meeting in June. Meet you there!
 
Good luck guys. I hope things can be changed for the better. Cant make it to any of the meetings. Im on the other end of the state.
 
I'm marking my calendar for the meeting at Northside. If you will send me the info you're talking about using I'll sure check it out. Do you think they'll give us any time or will that dang crossbow referendum take up the whole meeting?
Where are all yall Va hunters at? It's our time to get a little say so at these meetings. The more people the better chance of some kind of change.

va-hunter
 
VA-hunter
Pruson and myself hunt around Hanover County just north of Richmond. We don't have many coyote around here so we hunt fox and bobcat mainly. The yotes are moving closer to this area. Thanks for representing us at the Northside meeting. We have not been getting much help from others in the past few months. I guess everyone is fishing. I will email you a copy of the info. Please keep in touch and let me know how it goes at the meeting.
 
Hey Guys,

Been busy working, seems like 24/7 but that's why I get all of the fall and winter hunting seasons off. Everything in this world is a trade off. Hope things are going well for you in the pursuit. I did get a chance to read/look over the Trapper and Predator Caller magazine, looked in the VTA section and saw a few letters about the fur sale and meeting we went to in Farmville but no mention of us being there was included. Keep me posted. Thanks
 
ponymon

Good to hear from you. I have possession of the guantlet and am heading south for Halifax in just a few minutes for tonight's meeting. Called in a bobcat a couple weeks ago after having been told of its whereabouts, it was indeed there. Using the Foxpro and AP-6 combined to get him in close enough to look at. When we locked eyeballs he was sitting there staring at me about forty yards away. Would have been an easy pop had it been his time. Finally got that 204 shooting the way it should after Browning replaced it for me.

Stay in touch.
 
Pruson and halifaxtrapper attended the meeting in Halifax on the 23rd. From their reports things went well. We still need people to get out to the other meetings. Who is ready to help us out?

Thursday 26-Augusta
Tuesday 31-Fairfax
 
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Matt I e-mailed sonny about his forms because I couldn't get it to download. I thought if we can get it down to where we can get as many of our friends to sign one and send them in it might help with the push to get these changes. What do you think?
 
Cooper,

I had planned on getting some of the forms from Sonny and having some friends to fill them out. I figure it couldn't hurt. Do you think you could make it to the June 6th Richmond meeting? I cannot go due to a school function. We need some new to speak at this meeting.
 
bowhuntr09

I think the idea was recieved well enough. There was alot of discussion. Some of the Agency folks acknowledged it was indeed a legitimate request, unlike some of the others they had heard. The big thing was that we had the support of the Virginia Trappers Association, that was a biggy. Alot of those guys are callers as well, and supplement their fur sales with foxes and such, that were called, as well as trapped. Mike Fies the VDGIF Program Manager for Furbearers has promised us his assistance in this matter. He stated he would serve as a conduit to present and pursue this effort.

All we can do now is wait and see what happens in the season regs for 2006, it will take that long.
 
Got a report from one of the VA Trapper Association Officers that they had held their annual Membership meeting down at Farmville VA this past weekend. They discussed the VA Predatormasters initiative to lenghten calling seasons for fox, bobcat and raccoons. They voted to give it their full support. Mike Fies, of the VDGIF, Furbearer Project Manager was there and spoke positive of this issue.

Their article in the Trapper&Predator Caller Magazine that is a report from the VA Trappers Association mentioned it as well. Although the e-mail address listed there for more information was incorrect. Matt Crowder can be contacted at Vapredatorhunter@aol.com.
 
I am happy to report that yesterday the proposal to extend the fox and bobcat season has passed by VDGIF board vote. The board also passed the use of electronic callers on bobcat and on WMAs. The use of archery equipment for bobcat gained approval as well. Thanks to everyone who help in this effort. Special thanks to Pruson and Halifaxtrapper for their help at the meetings. Feels good to have this baby finally passed. The new laws will be in effect for the 2006 hunting season.
 
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