Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting VDGIF

You think the state would finally change the law and allow the use of .223 rifles for deer hunting. I shot a low 150 class 8 point in NOVA that dressed at 127lbs most of the does are half that. We’re not shooting big deer here… No doubt the .243/6mm minimum requirement should be changed and more deer will be harvested.

Butch , Louisa is a gold mine of game and some dandy bucks along with good turkey and bear numbers .
Look up some local LG’s and drop in , they would be a good bet for info on hunting clubs looking for members .
My experience is most range 400-500 annual fees .
But do look into what they expect during rifle season as some want everyone to participate in dog hunting .
It does get them up when they hunker down .

The earn a buck thing is something I need to get a handle on .
Don’t quite understand what is required to get the extra tag .
Sounds good though .
Hoping for a cool front , but if not I’ll wait till bow season as I have two pieces of property that seem to produce nothing but scrub bucks and early rifle wouldn’t really hurt anything if weather would corporate.
I know , wish in one hand and shiiit in the other and see which on fills up first .

Got two rifles with new barrels I’m itching to try out .
One 308 and a 243 I have worked.up some decent shooting partition loads for .
I know , I don’t need partitions to get it done , just like experimenting with different bullets .
Good luck to all this season
Kenneth

The Earn-a-Buck rules vary by county as well AFIK. Not even a thing in some. In neighboring Clarke County, I think you need to take two does before taking a second buck, but that may just be on private land. If I ever hunt there again, I’ll read up on it, and it will probably have changed by then.

Good luck to you as well.

You must take one doe between bucks. But you can kill bucks in different counties without the doe requirement.

From VDWR:
"Deer taken in one EAB county, city, or town do not “carry over” to any other EAB county, city, or town. Each county, city, or town is its own separate management unit with regards to EAB.
Private lands in Accomack, Albemarle, Amherst (west of Rt. 29), Bedford, Carroll, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Floyd, Franklin, Frederick, Greene, Grayson, Hanover, Henrico, Madison, Montgomery, Orange, Prince George, Pulaski, Rappahannock, Roanoke, Rockingham (east of Rts. 613 and 731), Shenandoah, Stafford, Warren, and Wythe counties

Within a license year and within each individual county listed above, before you can take a second antlered deer on private lands in that county (your second buck), you must have taken at least one antlerless deer on private lands in that county. Furthermore, in those counties listed above east of the Blue Ridge Mountains where it is legal to harvest a third antlered deer, before you can take a third antlered deer on private lands in that county (your third buck), you must have taken at least two antlerless deer on private lands in that county."

I also agree with the statement further up regarding the .223

Was repeating what someone told me, always dangerous! Thanks for the correction.

We have that in Jefferson County, WV as well, so I always try to whack a baldie right off if possible, having had to pass a very nice one in Clarke six years ago because of it. Two years ago, I shot one with the xbow with that in mind, but in the dim light I failed to see his freakish scraggly rack, so was on the hook again when I saw another buck on the opener of our rifle season. Not a big one, and not much of a shot, but it still gave me pause. Opportunities on public land here can be scarce.

EAB tripped a bunch of people up when it was added in Montgomery County[VA] a couple of years back.
People E checking their 2nd buck without a doe and thinking they were GTG.

Couple of months later they receive a citation via mail.

It's funny how one gets used to their own states ways/regs.

Over the past 2-3 years I've picked up reg booklets for WV & Tenn and couldn't figure out what I'd have needed to hunt either.

Maybe, but you are also talking about northern Virginia. Counties and cities make their own rules. And they have a lot fo sway over the legislature. NOVA counties don't want ARs in them. There was a bill to do just that recently, lower the legal caliber to .22, and i think it died in committee.

I don’t understand your thought that more deer will be harvested if they allow a .223 caliber. The exact opposite would occur, a lot more deer will be wounded due to bad shot placement and inadequate bullet selection.

The .22 centerfires will definitely work but, you need to use good bullets. 60 gr. or more, or premium bullets, in my opinion.

This is very true..the Eastern part of the state is a liberal hell hole.....Hb

No, it isn't. Extreme NOVA is, but eastern Va is not. Some of the eastern cities are liberal. Richmond, Norfolk, Newport News, Portsmouth. But most of the eastern part of the state is conservative to very conservative. Even Virginia Beach and Chesapeake lean very much to the right.

What's truly screwed up, and it's on a state level, is thet county by county and city by city variations in gun and hunting ordinances. The leftist state gov't under the prior Governor and the NOVA politicians ended gun law preemption. And the county-to-county variations in hunting ordinances has always been screwed up. Only west of the Blue Ridge do most of the counties follow state hunting regulations and not impose their own. Only a few counties east of the Blue Ridge do that.

I spent plenty of time in SE VA as a yute[mom & her parents from Suffolk-proper].
Down that way even the blacks that are from the country are conservative.

But everydamnthing is changing these days.

VT is screwing up Montgomery Co and Floyd is quickly becoming a hippie type commune county and nearing 50/50 conservative/liberal.

As far as the NOtVA/.223 debate goes those opposed are truly clueless and programmed to think by the leftist media that '.223' is interchangeable with 'assault rifle'
They've no clue how many calibers the AR platform comes in and can be and is used for deer/bear etc
If I choose to carry a AR into the deer woods I just slap the 6.5GR upper and go.
If .223 were allowed I would most likely carry my AXIS bolt.

To repeat: truly clueless

I had 125 acres of mountain land in Floyd. sold it to a Philosophy professor from Radford. Last I heard they grew organic vegetables naked. Don't know how they grow anything on the side of that steep mountain.

It's crazy what the VT/RU transplant professors are willing to pay for land around here.

Speaking of the VDGIF (i.e. DWR nowadays)...

I drove over to Amelia WMA this past Saturday with my .308 rifle (it's September - the outdoor WMA rifle & skeet ranges are now fully open). I don't want to get into too much detail, as you'll soon read... BUT - the whole place was deserted except for a plain clothed person, examining the range. I was wondering "W"hiskey "T"ango "F"oxtrot, you know? Where is everyone? It's Saturday. These outdoor ranges (Amelia, Chickahominy, CF Phelps, etc...) were always PACKED to capacity! You had to pack a lunch and make a day of it, casually waiting your turn.

...not anymore...

Check my photos that I took! Amelia WMA outdoor range is all shot to hell, vandalized, but thankfully the huge kiosk or whatever pavilion with the 6 or 7 bench rests was still intact. Now... getting serious and as God as my witness, the plain clothed person at the WMA range? Yup... you guessed it... An actual "undercover" DWR Game Warden! He checked my Savage .308 rifle, asked me what I planned on shooting, etc... and we made small talk. Once I revealed that I was retired US Coast Guard, he seemed to relax. I even opened my wallet and showed him my retired military ID card. He kind of personally "opened up" to me about Amelia WMA. It has been going downhill over the last couple of years. COVID.... The "great American ammo shortage & scarcity".... Nobody wanted to waste precious ammo.... etc... etc... But yet, somebody, somewhere, possibly "thugs" who knows... But somebody has been going to Amelia WMA with an AR-15 without any firearm training at all, and shooting the place all to hell! The undercover DWR officer, told me he was there inspecting the place, surveying the damage and trying to catch the idiots who did it.

All those big Rebar metal frames (to hold targets)??? GONE!
All those big 6x6 railroad ties in the ground with holes in them (to mount the rebar frames)??? GONE!
The only target (resurrected and/or repaired by the DWR officer) was setup at 50 yards.
He told me to use it with my 3-9x40 Bushnell scope on "3", and try to sight in as best I could.
He was pi$$ed!!! You could see it...

Long story short -- I darn near shot into the same bullet hole on my target at 50 yards with a bench rest with my Savage .308 LOL....

Some people have no respect.
No telling what was going on when they lit the place up.
The local Merk gun club and massunutten bear club used to allow people to use their range .
It was only 100 yds , but all you needed around here for the most part .
Nice shooting benches and could drive right up to the benches along with picnic tables to lay your gear out on .
Then as times change , some azz hats had to start shooting beer bottles , shooting holes in roof over benches and eventually breaking into their building which housed their stove , refrigerator, and tables and chairs for their family or club gatherings.
And of course shot the hell out of the appliances and insides of buildings .
Now both places has a locked gate and no trespassing signs .
These changes in gun owners personalities has ruined it for many of us and gotten private land owners very stand offish about giving hunting permission.
Same azz hats have butchered good public land by riding four wheelers all hours of the night thrill killing game and sien netting the stocked streams .
I am fortunate enough to have long standing friends that have tracks of land they let me hunt .
Kenneth

The local NF range in Montgomery County gets totally destroyed/trashed weekly.

It is closed at least once weekly to get cleaned up from all of the trash idiots bring, shoot and destroy and leave laying when done.

I remember when the DGIF built the roof at the range at Chickahominy WMA. Within days someone shot a shotgun through the roof. I try to stay away from WMA ranges.

I remember when Chickahominy WMA was the only outdoor WMA range that allowed handguns! 25 yards max. But they quickly shut it down, as fools shot the area all to hell. The DGIF bulldozed it all down and extended it, equally out to be 100 yards, to match the other side.

The only range I know of that is still really cool is, Hite Hollow Range out in Augusta County in the National Forest. From here in Richmond, it is a good 2-2½ hour drive out there. Bring a lunch and make a day of it, you know? You are "out there", if you know what I mean... Good luck finding a WiFi signal! You are basically on your own out there. Bring your own targets, whatever guns you want, and sight in at 25 (handgun) or 50, 100, and 150 yards (rifle).

Also, don't EVEN think of acting all stupid... Just sayin'... Those ol' mountain boys know how to take care of things in their own way. Coyotes, black bears, will feast on your carcass, come nightfall.

Butch, if you don't mind driving an hour or so, Lafayette Gun Club is accepting new member applications I believe. I'm a member there. It's in York County. Lots of 50 yard and 100 yard lanes, shotgun clays course, indoor rnmage open 24/7. Might be worth looking into. https://www.lafayettegunclub.org/