My son-in-law David Reynolds and I went hunting on one of our family's three Craig County properties today, which was the first day of Virginia's General Firearms seasons for deer. David and I were hoping to see a nice buck, but, realistically, both of our objectives were to kill a doe.
Although both of use saw some 16 deer between us, neither of us ever fired a shot. The only deer that we could have shot were spikes and 2 and 4 pointers, which we both passed on. In fact, I had one 2 pointer broadside and 20 yards away, and David probably could have shot several 1 1/2-year-old bucks.
The most interesting aspect of the hunt was the sea change that has occurred the last 10 to 15 years or so about hunters not shooting 1 1/2-year-old bucks, and many individuals not shooting 2 1/2-year-old ones, either.
When I started deer hunting in 1985, that attitude was not common, either. Again, the metamorphosis of hunters in this area is fascinating.
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