West Virginia WILD



December 2010 - Observations of this fall’s hunting seasons so far


By Frank Jezioro – Director, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources

As we enter into the month of December I can’t help but make some comments based on my own field experiences. In a way, it was sort of a strange hunting season.

We opened the hunting season on September 1st with a dove hunt in the northern panhandle near Chester. The wildlife manager had done an excellent job of preparing the fields. The crops were abundant and the fields had been brush-hogged to provide both food and pare ground, which attracts the doves.

There were several hunters in the area and they came from as far away as Morgantown and even some towns across the river in Ohio, confirming the popularity of the early dove shooting season. The birds flew well and some hunters shot their limits or near their limits. But the important thing was that everyone had fun and everyone left safe. In addition, there were several young people in the field and they were enjoying the action. A dove field is a great place to introduce young people to gun safety and hunting.

Next on the season agenda was the early archery antlerless deer season. As luck would have it, the archers were met with 90 degree weather. The hot weather put a damper on the season and the kill was down from last year. Maybe this was a good thing (more on this later).

Deer season is a story in itself.