city fried hunter

I live and hunt in Central Kentucky. My parents live in Hampshire Co. WV.. While my true passion is bow hunting I do make the annual trek to WV for their gun season. Every year I leave disappointed. This year was no different. Not to brag on Kentucky but at least their mentality on conserving bucks (1 buck only)and increasing doe harvest has visibly paid off. Throughout the week of gun hunting WV I passed on spikes and small 6 pointers only to find out from locals that they shoot one, two, and three bucks a piece! One neighbor shot 3 deer, all bucks! None were greater than a fork horn.
Yes, I know that WV holds a lot of deer capacity, but for the specimens I see on hoof their racks are sub-par and their body weight pales to KY.
This doesn' t even get into the mindlessness of numb nut gun hunters walking onto property they have no permission to hunt on (3 times in 4 days of hunting) and wandering around.
The older I get the more I respect and admire those who bowhunt. We seem vastly different in our approach to deer hunting. Please do not take it the wrong way native WVers. I love the state and it' s beautiful. I just think there needs to be an adjustment to the taking of so many immature bucks.

wvvet

You will find that many native West Virginians agree with you. Its not surprising that 90-95% of the bucks taken in WV are 1 1/2 years old or less. There are bigger bucks in WV, but you have to know where to look.

If you like bowhunting, try one of the four bow-only counties in West Virginia (Logan, Wyoming, Mingo, and McDowell). There has been no gun hunting in these counties for 25 years. Furthermore, you are only allowed 1 buck total in any of these counties. Now the population of deer is not like will see in the central and northern part of the state, but what you will see will be bigger. On the other hand, these four counties produce more P&Y bucks than all the other counties in WV together.

bubbamoose

Think of it this way, most locals are not hunting for trophies, they are hunting to put meat on the table for the families. Just food for thought. I was raised in Wayne and am going to settlement on property in Hampshire this coming Sat.

5 shot

I grew up in Wva. When I was a kid a deer was a deer. If it was legal you shot it. Spike, doe, small buck, big buck. With the game laws and herd managment the numbers are their, they protect the does, but the larger bucks are fewer, especialy up north. If you go up to hunt WVa in the northern counties your wasting your time holding out for a big one. This statement from my friend pretty much sums up alot of how hunters up there think. I asked him if he had a doe and a spike standing in front of him, 20 yards broadside, which would he shoot. He said the spike. I asked why and he say becuase it' s a buck and they are harder to come by.

HANKFAN

Yeah if you are hunting in any of the counties in West Virginia that has a rifle season finding a trophy buck will be difficult. That is true in just about any state that has a 2 week rifle season. However you can still get on some good deer if you find some private land to hunt or if you hunt some really steep or remote public land. With that said if you like to bow hunt West Virginia has a 4 county gold mine that I would bet rivals any state in the US for trophy public land bow hunting. The (4) bow hunting only counties here in West Virginia is a bow hunters heaven. Thousands and thousands of acres of public land and virtually no hunting pressure. I know the last 5 years that I have hunted these counties I have not see 1 other hunter. To say I love it would be an under statement. The buck to doe ratio is almost perfect 3:1. I am hooked on this place so much I have given up rifle hunting. Below is a pic of the biggest deer we have harvest from the (4) bow hunting only counties here in WV. And deer like this are not uncommon.

DougMD

I agree with city fried hunter 100%. I own 120 acres in Grant County, and for 5 years now have let anything smaller than 6 points walk, along with my buddies who hunt on me. We have seen zero benefit from doing this, as we hear many shots from my neighbors who shoot anything. In fact, this year I heard rifle shots during bow season on several neighbors. Therefore, next year I am going to remove this 6 point restriction, while hoping that WV adopts Pennsylvania's restrictions and vigorously enforces them.

RacHunter

I hunt the bow only counties in WV. I do not gun hunt anymore and I spend alot of time driving....240 miles round trip from where I live to where I hunt.

I cannot speak for the other 3 bow only counties but Wyoming County is full of poachers. It is not uncommon to hear 8 or 10 rifle shots on a average weekend. Between the road hunters, rifle hunters and 4-wheeler hunters its getting tougher and tougher to get excited about hunting there.

I grew up there and people always say it did not use to be like that that,
they are right. The reason is there did not use to be the quality or quantity of deer there that they are now.

I sure wish someone would come up with some kind of test to see if a deer has been shot with a gun and checked with a bow. That way every check in station could do this test and weed out most of the idiots who choose to get their trophy deer the easy way.

Sorry guys just venting a little...........

Good luck and be careful

Deleted User

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WV Hunter

I can pretty much ditto what Jim said.
Our situation is a little different, but it's still the same general problems. On our property we shoot the heck out of the does...and let the small bucks walk. But all the surrounding hunters can't wait to shoot the first spike (and second spike, and third forkhorn, etc). And in Hampshire Co, 2 game wardens can't even come close to keeping up with just the daytime road hunting alone. It's pathetic. Heck they hardly come when we call them. As far as the game laws go...they finally opened up the seasons to allow you to shoot more does, however....you can still kill 5 bucks total (plus does) if you have the tags. Most guys have ego problems and shoot bucks only. I wish they would adopt some sort of antler restrictions, although it probably wouldn't matter. I can't tell you how many hi-power rifle shots I heard at the break of day during bow season. Big hunters. [:'(] Hopefully it will get better, someday.

farmcntry

here is a WVA buck my buddy killed last week. He had to pass on some smaller bucks to get this one.