Hello from VA

[Jwill]

Howdy folks, new hunt talker here. I just finished processing the last venison for the season and figured I would make an introductory post. I've enjoyed reading the forum the last couple months, especially the live hunts, and just like what this place all about in general. I'm pretty conservation minded, I'm a member and volunteer for TU & RMEF. I've done a few public land/diy hunting and fishing trips out west to CO, WY, & MT (try to do a trip every couple years), here in VA I'm lucky enough to have access to private for deer and turkey, but do a good bit of waterfowl hunting out of my raft on navigable waterways.

Here are a few pics.
RMNP

After a day of cat and mouse with a bull...here is my buddy's 6x6

Some of yall probably recognize this place

VA buck

SNP

VA Gobbler

Backcountry bear hunt

Flat tops ML hunt

WY antelope & dirty stache...

That's enough for now, but in closing VA is open for business for OYOA, 2 million acres of public land and you're allowed 6 deer, 3 turkey, and a bear on a big game license.

 

[Big Fin]

Welcome. Those are some cool pics. Thanks for sharing.

 

[mdunc8]

Jwill, where ya from? I grew up hunting around Roanoke before moving out here a few years ago. Sure do miss those SNP brookies.

 

[fishing4sanity]

Welcome to the site & thanks for sharing those great pics. Did you take your buddy's 6x6 out whole or 'chop' him up first?

 

[spook12]

Cool pics, welcome.

 

[Straight Arrow]

Wonderful photos. Thanx and welcome.

 

[DavidKeenan]

Jwill, Welcome to the site. I enjoyed the pics..I like the 6point bull too lol. the one of the native is cool and the one of you hunting in the area i hunt a lot for dear and bear. Most of my bear hunting is south and across the main highway 39 That is of that picture was taken on the Glades side of the back country. That is some great country to be in. What part of Va are you from?

 

[Jwill]

Thanks guys!

@ mdunc & David - I grew up in Floyd, after college moved to northern VA for a few years for work, found a nice woman there and we got out of the city as fast as we could, been in Blacksburg for about 2 years now, I found a good job here and my wife is working on her masters degree.

@ fishing - man was I frustrated after that one.... Conditions were ideal, 6" of fresh snow and we were the first ones on the trail that morning. We cut several tracks, but this one set looked like that of a lone bull. He was walking into the wind, so the conditions for tracking were perfect. Several hours in we came to some doghair thick dark timber and smelled elk. We devised a quick plan, I would make a big loop around the timber, assuming that the bull would hear or smell me and drop around to get my wind, putting him right in my buddy's lap. The plan came together perfectly and about 20 minutes into my walk I heard my buddy shoot, I was really excited for him since I knew this hunt was probably a once in a lifetime hunt for him. On getting back to where I left him, I started piecing the story together, the bull came out exactly where we expected, and passed within 20 YARDS of my bud at a walk. The bull started out as a 6x6 and somehow shrunk to a 4x4 in the story, hard to tell what it was exactly. I couldn't understand a clean miss on a target that big at 20 paces... As we searched for sign, he suddenly blurted out "I missed", I asked how he knew that and he pointed to the tree. So I made him pose with his trophy 6x6 spruce. We searched a little more then headed on back to the truck... buck fever/bull fever is a ()*&*%%$

@ David - I talked a couple buddies into coming up there when they first opened that area for bear, it was a really fun hunt, especially that day, we got about 8 or 10" of snow that and one of my buddies got a big sow. That picture was taken near the fishermans trail trailhead.

 

[Moosie]

SEE BOYZ... THAT is the way to introduce yourself !!!!

Welcome aboard Matey !

 

[mdunc8]

Thanks guys!

@ mdunc & David - I grew up in Floyd, after college moved to northern VA for a few years for work, found a nice woman there and we got out of the city as fast as we could, been in Blacksburg for about 2 years now, I found a good job here and my wife is working on her masters degree.

Nice!! I grew up playing at Great Oaks and hunting Rt 621 just down the road from where you're at now.

 

[Festus]

Nice!! I grew up playing at Great Oaks and hunting Rt 621 just down the road from where you're at now.

Been in Floyd myself now for about 10 years. Small world.