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Old 01-01-2022, 06:55 AM
  #1  
Rmp
Spike
 
Join Date: Aug 2021
Posts: 2
Default Hunt clubs destroying Chickahominy WMA

Hi. 1st post. Been a lurker for a long time.

I've been hunting east of Richmond since the mid 70s. Particularly in Charles City and New Kent Counties. Dealing with hunt clubs and their dogs, and lack of respect for other hunters and private property rights, is nothing new. I've hunted Chickahominy WMA since the 80s and have had modest success with deer and turkey. It's a great place for small game, particularly before and after deer season. Even during deer season, on WEEKDAYS, it's easy to be one of only 2 or 3 people on the whole WMA. But weekends and holidays it can get busy, with mulytiple vehicle in many of the parking areas.

I made the mistake of hunting there yesterday. New Years Eve. I guess far too many business were closed because the place was crowded like I've never seen it before. And it was almost all hunt clubs.

I got into the woods an hour before daylight and set up my blind on a hill overlooking a ravine. 2 other hunters appeared on the other side of the ravine and set up right across from me, together. One of their cell phones kept ringing. They were talking in normal tones, peppered with F bombs about every other word. All that while they were using a bleat call. I think they may have been with one of the several hunt clubs on the WMA. They were approached a little later by two other hunters and they appeared to start arguing with one yelling "I'll kill you" to one of the others. Then the two new comers left leaving the other two guys, neither of whom could sit still, speak softly, or resist repeatedly tipping over a bleat call. After an hour I had a enough and decided to leave. But not before one of these guys decided to chop down a tree about 8 inches in diameter, for reasons unknown.

As I was leaving, there were hounds running all over. I got out to the parking area and a hunt club truck was blocking vehicles properly parked. I asked the driver to move and I got the eye like he owned the place. There was a gut pile laying beside the kiosk. Driving out, there were hunt clubbers lining the roads. I saw two shoot from the road (not from a vehicle) at something, but didn't appear to be anything.

In 40+ years of hunting Charles City County, and 30+ years of hunting Chickahominy, I've never seen the disgusting spectacle I saw yesterday.

In years past, I never really minded the dogs, as on more than one occassion they would push deer past me. But I am now firmly against hound hunting for deer, and organized drives on public land. These hunt clubs are filled with slob hunters with zero respect for anyone else. They've destroyed hunt quality on public lands.

I'm not sure what laws were actually broken, but the chopping of the tree was a crime so when I started driving out I called DWR to report it and was told a wildlife officer would call me. I got that call two hours later and was told he was the only DWR officer between Hampton and Charles City County.
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