Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Virginia Trip

Well partners, I found out a few things and saw some wonderful sights on this whirlwind trip. First, all you can see from the highways around Manassas and Washington,DC is the trees and underbrush at the roadside. Occasionally there will be a powerline right of way or a cleared field but not many. Traffic backs up for miles three lanes deep going to the coast on week-ends, all the newer houses are huge high dollar stuff around $300,000 to $400,000. The government buildings in Washington are awsome and make you think about our heritage and the guys that made it possable, the Black wall will make you cry, literally. I never saw a gun store and only two sporting goods stores in all the malls. One was for clothing and the other was equipment but was going out of business. To hunt the forest would need a shotgun, for the fields and right-of-ways, flat shooting rifle and permission,(money). I can understand why we are loosing our gun rights in the populated areas along the coasts, no exposure to shooting sports for the majority, except to hear about robbery and killings on the media news. Wish everyone here could see Washingtons place of business from the Capitol Building to the Wall. Like all old large cities, it has it's bad, rundown, dangerous, ugly, dangerous, depressed, dangerous, areas. JMHO, from the short time I was there and the impressions it gave me. The last sentence of my signature, here, came from an inscription in front of the National Archives Records Building in Washington, beautiful building! -- no

NO-<P>please do not judge the east coast by Washington DC. There are lots and lots of land that is not developed and ideal for duck hunting and deer hunting among other things. Some of it is Wildlife Management controlled. I too have been to DC a couple of times (it is kinda close, bout a 5 hour drive) and it is a marvelous city. I do agree that those in the big city do not see the great outdoors and probably are skewed by all the surrounding violence. But there are also many other cities and small towns that are not that way. If you ever head up to Maine, they have more hunting shops and places to purchase sporting goods than you can shake a stick at. Just like in TX there are big cities to marvel at an lots of bad ugly spots you don't want to be caught in at night with out a tank, and in TX there are those magnificant praries where your closest neighbor is 10 miles away.<P>There are pleanty of us here trying to defend our constitution!<P>I humbly ask, please don't judge the east coast by DC.

Bite your tongue, an ugly spot in TEXAS?, you've been reading too much Yankee propaganda. LOL

Blammer, -- ole "no" was just commenting of the area I saw from just South of Manassas over to Kent Island and Chesapeake Bay area around Annapolis. Our flight took us from DFW at Dallas to Atlanta then up the coast to Dulles at Washington. It was interesting to note all the lakes in Texas and how thick the forests got going to Atlanta, that bright red clay soil really stood out and when we turned North the rivers were all mud, looked like you could plow them. Then the backwater from the ocean was clear. Richmond is a little spread out and all the property up through there looked like it was in small plots. We had heavy clouds and some turbulence coming home, couldn't see the ground until the Mississippi River which was mud like the Red River border between Oklahoma and Texas, then everything cleared up pretty and fresh,(cooked). It was raining and cool with nights in the 60s in VA, we landed at Dallas 100 degrees, no wind, no clouds, but plenty of presperation. Dulles Airport looked like a morgue compaired to DFW. Dallas traffic was just like the DC traffic, bumper to bumper. I did get to see the mountains,(hills), in the distance West of DC. Brad was off Sat & Sun, we went to the Bay Sat,(ate 1/2# scallops), came back through Washington, then we played golf Sun, the rest of the time was with wife,daughter,and baby, got to see all the shopping malls from hwy 66 to Manassas. I thought $1.54 was kinda high for a cup of coffee at TGI Friday's until I saw a $4.00 cup at Starbucks. Will take my travel kit next time with DC battery pot and good old Folgers instant. I'm not cheap, just poor and tight. With a $300,000 mortage I couldn't sleep nights. Like you say, I'm sure there are some beautiful places up and down the coasts or there wouldn't be that many people there, I just had a view of a very small area. Was hopeing some of the guys would chime in about their area, Mike, Badger, and all the other Eastern hunters. What is the mind set about guns in your areas for the general public? -- no

Sonnie, here in Georgia (notice I didn't say Atlanta because IMHO it needs to be grouped with most metropolitan areas in that a fair percentage of the populace consists of minorities, yuppies and bleeding heart bedwetting liberals), hunting, fishing, shooting and a love of the outdoors is still very much in fashion. A CCW permit is a formality (assuming you pass the GBI & Fed background check [img]images/icons/shocked.gif" border="0[/img] ), rifles & shotguns are still a common sight in pickup windows and groups like PETA (Yechhh) are not welcomed in general. BTW, got another porker yesterday, walked to within 6 ft of it (sneaky, huh?) & dropped it with the ole Glock [img]images/icons/smile.gif" border="0[/img] [img]images/icons/smile.gif" border="0[/img] badger.

Need one. <BR>Sorry that your impressions were so bad but it's obviously partly your own fault. <BR>You didn't look very deeply below the surface and so you got it wrong big time! Do you think it would be fair to visit Dallas and typify Texas hunting prospects there and in the West by what is seen?<BR>There is an important front line in VA and you missed it entirely. Just across the Potomac in Maryland and in DC, the "Liberals" have it all their way. But it just ain't so here. Next time, check some of the facts before sounding off. <BR>Did you learn that VA has had a liberal concealed carry law here for several years? That, last year, VA passed a constitutional ammendment guaranteeing the right to hunt and fish? That the Democrat running for Governor has asked for a meeting with NRA because he knows that being known to be anti-gun is political suicide? Did you follow any advice from hunters in the area who tried to help you see beyond the urban clutter in northern VA? NO!<BR>The East is no bed of roses but you do us a big disservice with your observations from a closed mind! You came, you "saw", you returned -- ignorant, and wallowing in it. And they say travel is broadening... 1B

Need one. <BR>Sorry that your impressions were so bad but it's obviously partly your own fault. <BR>You didn't look very deeply below the surface and so you got it wrong big time! Do you think it would be fair to visit Dallas and typify Texas hunting prospects there and in the West by what is seen?<BR>There is an important front line in VA and you missed it entirely. Just across the Potomac in Maryland and in DC, the "Liberals" have it all their way. But it just ain't so here. Next time, check some of the facts before sounding off. <BR>Did you learn that VA has had a liberal concealed carry law here for several years? That, last year, VA passed a constitutional ammendment guaranteeing the right to hunt and fish? That the Democrat running for Governor has asked for a meeting with NRA because he knows that being known to be anti-gun is political suicide? Did you follow any advice from hunters in the area who tried to help you see beyond the urban clutter in northern VA? NO!<BR>The East is no bed of roses but you do us a big disservice with your observations from a closed mind! You came, you "saw", you returned -- ignorant, and wallowing in it. And they say travel is broadening... 1B

Woah 1B, -- hey don't get me wrong, read the post again, I said I saw only a small area and what that area was. If you need some help picking on Dallas, I'm your man, I don't beat around the bush and tell it like "I" see it. I'm sure the people that live around DC love it, when this old hunter makes several malls and don't see any place that sells guns of any type the hair starts to stand up on the back of my neck. Very pretty country and the golf course was fantastic, with a snack cart that drove around from hole to hole with drinks and sandwitches. Water along several holes with one wide pond in front of a tee. I reported what I saw just as any tourist would see depending on their route. Come to Texas and I will show you the good and bad with no reservations. Every state has good and bad and I thought I made it clear just what I saw. Why don't you give us a report about your area as you see it. I was a guest in your state with no transportation, distance to places was measured in minutes, not miles and the kids bought Southeast of Manassas about 30 minutes and about 12 miles from I-95 in Prince William County. Was great squirrel country but high dollar homes behind every tree. I notice blammer and badger didn't take offence of my post. -- no

Badger, -- there you go making some of these guys look bad, killing hogs with your pistol when they are wanting magnums. You must have had your tennis shoes on with plenty of deodorant and playing Indian. [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img] The couple of times I have hunted them down at Boggys it would be impossible to sneak up on them in the brush, you would bleed to death from the briars, mosquitoes and chiggers. [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] <BR>-- no

Sonnie, lotsa bugspray (unscented Repel) & non snaggy clothes. [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] badger.<P>PS: Had the 270 over my shoulder & thought I would use the Glock. The 9mm +P+ Hydra Shocks will not exit the head when shooting into the ear, but makes quite a mess of the cranial area. Pig was down immediately.

Totally out of line, I suppose. But how do you other folks who think you're from "The Land of the Free" react when you hit the state lines of ILLinoise and these other repressive states.<P>For me, I normally add hundreds of miles to my cross country trips to avoid these states.<P>Sad part is, I've got a daughter and grandbabies in kalifornia but I won't go to that state.<P>I guess I'll just close without editorializing, but, I think this whole situation of sucking the votes in to where the handouts are is disgusting.<P>And, selecting the cities with historical significance to promote social reform and a "welfare state" is abominable.<P>2D

Need one. <BR>The hunting situation in Va is pretty good and could stay that way if current efforts to stem urban blight succeed. As things stand now, anyone can find public land to hunt, and those with the slightest common courtesy and persistance can find private access too. <BR>I can be on two different private properties to hunt deer -- free, no leases or high fences -- within an hour of leaving my home. (Getting initial permission to hunt can be tough, but most land owners are sick of over-browzing deer. If you are courteous and respect their property and groundrules, they invite you back.) Licenses are generous -- four deer on the basic license, and add two more at $5 a pop. (I never fill all of them. One a year for me, and one for the Hunters for the Hungry on average.) The two biggest deer harvest counties in the state are Loudon and Fauquier -- both, a stone's throw from Manassass. And while most are small Eastern Whitetails, there are some big deer. I've got a sixteen pointer hanging on my wall that may well qualify for a Safari Club gold award. It came from one of the private farms I mentioned.<BR>Bird hunting can be harder. Throughout the region, quail populations -- the only native game birds in most of the area -- have nosedived; largely due to predation by snakes, skunks, possums, racoons and, increasingly, 'yotes in the Northwest. Grouse are available in the foothills to the mountains -- some, on state lands. We get a surprising number of woodcock on migration. Resident Canadas are everywhere and a real pest. Ducks and migratory geese can be had in established watersheds. Turkeys are on the rebound everywhere -- I see them all the time in the deer woods but I have never hunted them. I train my bird dog at gun preserves within a half hour of the house. <BR>All of this is located in Northern VA but not in the urban/heavy suburban areas you visited. <BR>The rest of the state is much less populated. <BR>There is public -- state and federal -- hunting land available too, but it is overcrowded on opening day/weekend. (Afterward, you can go days w/o seeing another hunter.)<BR>I count five and a half shooting ranges within an hour's drive of my home: there 's the NRA range -- indoors, short, and not open at night; three Izaak Walton's; another is a "free" range as long as you shoot expensive ammo purchased at the store; and the half is a private shooting club open to the public for nominal fees on weekends. (I belong to Izaak Walton and shoot there for about $125.00 a year.)<BR>This certainly isn't Alaska or even North Dakota, but it'll more than do, for the East. 1B

Hey NO, yeah you just saw the sprawl of Northern VA. Which by the way is one of the richest regions of the country. I live 15 miles from Manassas, 25 miles from Reston, and about 40 miles from DC in Loudon Co. Deer and farms are all over the place. That mountain (hill) you saw from say rt. 66 is where my house is ;-) I hope if you ever get out this way again, give us a heads up, we'll point you to some sweet places in the state, just as you could do for us in TX.

1B, -- now that was a post! Thank you for taking the time to enlighten us all about your area. I meant no disrespect in my post, just reporting what I saw with the means I had to get around. The Dallas, Ft Worth metroplex and the many small towns in between and around have the same problems I observed in Washington, and the surrounding area is going crazy with building, especially to the North out to 50 miles. The homes are in the high dollar range, close together, and the developments cover miles. I wonder what all these people do to make that kind of money and so many of them. House payments over $2,000 a month for years, add on upkeep, insurance, car payments, living expenses, kids, it's mind boggling for me. Everyone in the world is rich except me. Sure would take a lot of Boggys cows to live like that.<BR>Texas is a large state from arid country in the West to rich Pine forest in the East. We boast the largest deer herd in the nation but most are behind private fence. The ranchers began leasing many years ago and now is a major income for many. Some of the larger ranches lease to corporations for over $100,000 a year and most of the smaller ranches lease to x-guns a year depending on acreage. There is some day hunting but usually not too productive. The Texas Parks and Wildlife, sells a "special" Resident hunting permit for $40, this gives you a book of maps and regulations for property they own or have leased, open to permit holders to hunt, some you must sign up to hunt, only a certain amount of hunters allowed per day. Each county has it's own regulations which can be very confusing same way trying to fish, each lake has it's own laws as to size and amount for different species. I don't try to keep up with regulations here since I hunt Colorado almost every year. This year Boggy and I are going to Wyoming. -- no

Lovenlife, -- story of my life, always late. Anytime you get to Texas I will be glad to help anyway I can. I live 80 miles East of Dallas but go in about twice a month, still have grass growing up there and if I don't cut it regular they send the grass guard after me. [img]images/icons/frown.gif" border="0[/img] A few years back two detectives were sent out and arrested a 80 year old woman because her grass was over 10". Had a big write up in the Dallas paper about it. To live in Dallas is like BAD!!! The beauty part of Texas is, if you don't like the weather it will change in a couple of days, except for July and August and they should just name them HOT. My outdoor thermometer in the shade is reading 100 degrees and it's 5PM. Come see us when it cools off. [img]images/icons/smile.gif" border="0[/img] -- no

NO- in response to my reply. I understand exactly where you are coming from. You put eloquent words that paint a virtual picuture when I read them.<P>Around here, NC, winston-salem, a ccw is relatively easy to get and there are lots of farm country around here. So there is a lot of dove shooting in the fall and deer hunting as well. Yes we have our big cities but they aint too big yet. Don't let the others bug you bout visiting the capital, it is definitely a fun place to VISIT!