Not everyone will. Don't forget this only applies to private land. The folks that don't have access to private land and hunt public land, Federal land, Military Bases, WMAs etc... will be left out.

Right now this is only half a victory and in the eyes of this old military man, a half a victory is just another word for a defeat. This needs to be applied to the entire state!

I hear you and understand where you are coming from. Repealing blue laws in a state like VA doesn't happen overnight. This is the first step. It has taken many years of defeat to get this far and it is a good first step and compromise. Many hunters in VA are members of hunt clubs that lease land from paper companies and timber Co's. I have heard that many will allow clubs to hunt these leases on Sun...so again another positive step.

I have heard from 2 different sources that if it gets to the Governor's desk, he will in fact sign the bill into law.

Great points, however in the past few years a bill to amplify hunting to Sundays in any aspect has been shot down. Most years it doesn't even make it out of the house committee. This is a huge step in the right direction. Next will be the addition of WMA's and public land. Changes like this take time. And this is the first year we have actually have taken a very large step in the right direction.

Need to keep up with this momentum.

Some can look at it as a defeat while many others will look at it as a small victory in a larger war. In this old military man's mind if you do not win the small battles you can not win the war. Sorry but knowing the effort that many have put in over the years this is a big win. To say it is a defeat is to not fully know the history and is attempting to get those who got this done to think they failed. Far from it.

So should hunters stop now that you think this is a defeat. Or would you mind if the same group of warriors ignored you and worked to expand it further? Your choice. And while you be hunting on Sunday if private land becomes available in the mean time?

Nope. I retire from the Navy in Apr and will be leaving VA. Even if I stayed in VA, I didn't hunt much private land. I mostly hunted Federal Land and the Military Bases so I'd still be out of luck. I'm headed to AL where I can hunt Sunday in the entire state and I'll also be hunting in my native CO where Sunday hunting is legal.

As I have stated here, this is a good start but it doesn't go far enough. I'm curious why the bill was written just for private property instead of the entire state in the first place. It makes more sense to write the bill to be fully inclusive rather that having to fight the same battle over and over and over.

The hunting community here in Virginia has been trying for years to get Sunday Hunting for ever hunter to hunt everywhere in Virginia...
And it failed every year.....
Now the way the bill is written the public can't complain about not being able to use public land on Sundays...
And that's why it WILL pass.....
And Sunday Hunting on private property is a start......
And a DAMN GOOD ONE......

I like the way a person can comment with no idea of the history of the issue. It is like a person going into battle with the wrong ammo and thinking he has even a chance of winning.

The campaign to remove the ban on Sunday hunting has been going on for years here in Va. Many bills have been submitted and died on a sub committee of the House. This is the first bill that has generated the support of a large group and has bypassed the House kill committee. It is a compromise all can live with and has the best chance of passing both chambers and being signed by the Governor.

Will this be the end of the push? NO. Will it take dedicated people to go further? YES. Will denigrating what has been done so far help? NO. So that is why as a retired Navy Chief I say have a good retirement and have fun in Alabama. I hope things are more to your liking there. I will stay here and continue to fight and win the small battles until the war is won.

IMO, this will be a major battle win if the Governor signs it. Not perfect but a very good start.

Now, I do have a question if the bill passes. The way I read it, as long as you have permission to hunt a particular piece of private land, you can hunt it on Sunday....assuming the landowner specifies different. A good friend believes if you don't own the land, you will need written permission to hunt the land on Sunday. How does everyone else interpret this?

Got a feelin this is directed to me. Fair enough, I'll dance the dance with you. What matter does it make if someone decides to comment? Pretty sure there is no requirement to get your personal approval prior to posting. At least I never saw that requirement when I registered for these forums.

For what it is worth, I've been stationed in VA pretty much continually since 1988 when I came here to pre-comm the USS Abraham Lincoln CVN-72. It isn't like I just got here. So I've got a pretty good background on the history of this topic. I'm aware how many times it has been brought up and I know how hard the battle has been. But that does not discount the fact that there are many people that still will not be allowed to hunt on Sunday and it is for those people I point out the unfairness. You may not care about them, but I do. Especially since so many enlisted personnel are stationed here and most won't have access to public land and have to hunt public land.

This active duty (for now anyway) Navy Chief never had any intention on remaining in VA after retirement. That was never in my plans. To those that are willing to fight this battle again and again and again, year after year, I wish you success. But I'll be hunting every Sunday this fall in one of several states. Life is short and you can never make up a day of hunting lost and right now VA wants to deprive me of 1 out of every 7 days since the areas I hunt are excluded from this law.

As far as "denigrating", I've stated it is a good start but it doesn't go far enough. Pointing out a fact is hardly "denigrating". But, and this is a big but, those of you that hunt private land exclusively and will now be able to hunt Sundays will not be as concerned about getting it passed on public land in the future because you will already have the benefit and few will fight hard for a benefit to others that doesn't pertain to themselves. That's human nature pure and simple.