This will be a game changer for me this year. Late last year they discovered a buck that was shot in culpeper last year had CWD. It didnt show any outward signs of it, but a mandatory random test from deer turned in to area taxidermists came up positive. Now instead of just checking in our deer on line, we have to take them to a CWD check station for them to do a sample. Culpeper is a big county and they have not yet even stated where these check stations will be located. Cannot remove carcass from the county, meat must be de-boned first.

We all knew something was causing the population to drop as we have been seeing about a third of the deer we normally see. I guess the coyotes have been cleaning up the carcasses as we have not seen many. The thing that is confusing to me is the VDGIF has also made culpeper an "earn a buck" county so now we must kill a doe before we can shoot a second buck and then shoot another doe before we can shoot a third buck if I am reading the regs correctly. We have been trying to leave the does alone since the population has dropped so much, but now we are being forced to shoot does. Doesnt make much sense to me but I dont make the rules.

Will just have to adapt and change the way we go about our business. We have been spoiled the past twenty years with extremely liberal seasons and bag limits, especially for does. You get three doe and buck tags each year and you can buy additional doe tags, two at a time, unlimited. They wanted to knock the population down and with the liberal seasons/bag limits, coyote/bear predations and disease, they have have been very successful. I guess change is inevitable.