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Archers, muzzleloaders against hunting change
Some members of wildlife panel raised proposal for one season for all deer hunters
Journal Graphic by Nicholas Weir
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Published: August 2, 2008
ELKIN - Bowhunters and muzzleloaders who traditionally have early deer season to themselves in the North Carolina woods are annoyed by a proposal to create a uniform season, which would extend the crack of the gun by 10 weeks, from early September through January.
"It would have a detrimental impact on the quality of the herd, the quality of deer and the hunting experience," said Ramon Bell, the president of the N.C. Bowhunters Association. "It would pretty much eliminate bowhunting and muzzleloading hunting."
The idea came out of a meeting last month of the big-game committee of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. It is not a formal proposal, state officials said.
A uniform deer season across North Carolina would allow hunters to hunt with a legal weapon of choice on private properties from early September through January. It would not pertain to gamelands, which would maintain traditional bowhunting and muzzleloading seasons.
"At this point, it is only an idea generated by the wildlife commissioners," said Brad Gunn, an assistant chief in the N.C. Division of Wildlife Management.
"Essentially, some thought that it would help hunter retention and recruitment, bring more opportunity to hunt."
Wildlife commissioners will meet again Aug. 27 in Raleigh and are expected to bring the idea up for further discussion.
The commissioners will vote in October as to whether the proposal goes to public hearing.
The earliest it could be implemented would be 2009.
Talk of the uniform season has set off debate across the state. With North Carolina's population of white-tailed deer at 1.1 million and the number of deer collisions reported last year at 18,000, some people think the proposal is being pushed by insurance companies and cities tired of wrecks and unwelcome foraging in gardens and trash cans.
But the idea came from the public, said David Hoyle Jr., a wildlife commissioner who proposed the uniform season.
"I'm a property-rights individual.… Obviously, the bowhunters, they want bowhunting to themselves. But if you have 500 acres in North Carolina who am I to tell you, you have to wait until the last few weeks of the season to hunt it with a gun?" Hoyle said.
But Bell and other bowhunters say that if guns start going off in early September, deer will change their pattern of movement.
There will be more pressure on the deer, which will move further back into the woods, he said. The result will be hunters seeing fewer deer.
And it could be three months of really hard hunting, no matter what kind of weapon you're using, he said.
"You want to recruit more people? It's going to run people off," Bell said.
"You take a kid out there and sit him in the woods, and he doesn't see a deer all day. How long do you think he's going to hunt?"
The current deer season is already fixed, and begins as early as Sept. 8 in the western part of the state.
State wildlife officials say that more people hunt white-tailed deer than any other game species in North Carolina. And they estimate that 250,000 men and women take as many as 2.9 million trips each year into the woods hunting deer.
In Northwest North Carolina, bowhunting is Sept. 13 to Nov. 14.
Muzzleloading follows from Nov. 15-21. And gun hunting is Nov. 22 to Dec. 20.
Also, there will be an urban season for bowhunting from Jan. 10 to Feb. 14 in Elkin.
Last January and February, Elkin allowed bowhunting within town limits, making it one of the first municipalities in the state to take advantage of a new state law that allowed an urban archery season.
In the coming year, nine other municipalities will join Elkin in the program, which is managed by the wildlife-resources commission.
Elkin approved bowhunting in town after numerous complaints from residents about the overpopulation of deer.
It's estimated that 44 deer were killed in the town last season.
■ Sherry Youngquist can be reached in Mount Airy at 336-789-9338 or at syoungquist@wsjournal.com.
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