If procrastination was an Olympic sport, I would have been in Paris collecting my gold medal.

Here it is the first part of September, and I am just getting around to reporting on Spring gobbler harvest numbers. I, myself, did not have a very good season. Although I didn’t hunt very many days, I was unable to hear a single gobbler during the season. Also, I really didn’t see very much sign in the areas I usually hunt. Some other hunters must have run into the same difficulty as 11,650 bearded turkeys were harvested down from the 12,217 that were taken in the 2023 Spring season. Youth hunters took 607 turkeys on the two youth days. Which was approximately 5 percent of the total turkey harvest.

The top five counties were Mason (501), Preston (441), Jackson (400), Marshall (337) and Harrison (336). My home county of Randolph came in at 275 birds which was 14 more then the 2023 Spring season.

During the summer this year, there seemed to be over abundant reports of rattlesnake encounters. Some people thought it was because it was unusually dry in our area. I’m not sure if that was a factor or not. I hate to say it, but I believe some of these encounters did not end favorably for the snake. It should be stated that a new law that was passed on March 23, 2021, makes it illegal to take or possess many types of reptiles or amphibians. These rules include the timber rattlesnake.

There is a certain exception that allows you to destroy a snake that is in a dwelling, building, gardens, etc., but these are well defined. For a comprehensive reading of this law, just look it up by the law number which is 58CSR73. All my life I’ve heard the old saying “the only good snake is a dead snake.” But even before these laws I had become more willing to let them be.

Yes, I realize that some people are very terrified about being bitten, but with all things considered if you leave them alone the odds are super low that you will get bit. I think if most people would think about it, they would be hard pressed to remember someone who had been bitten, unless they were trying to stuff it in a sack or disturbing it some other way. So, I would suggest staying clear of them and abiding by the new laws.

Now, to turn to the upcoming archery season which opens on Sept. 28 and continues until Dec. 31.. During my travels the last few months, I have seen an abundance of deer with many does having multiple fawns. I have also seen many bucks. More fawns and bucks then I have seen for the last several years. So, this should make for a good season at least in our areas.

Youth Gun season for 2024 will be Oct. 19 – 20 and Dec. 26 – 27. Youth hunters must be at least 8 and less than 18 years old. Hunters from 15-17 must comply with all licensing requirements, but class N or NN stamps are not required. Please look over the DNR Regulation booklet to familiarize yourself with these and other regulations.

In a previous column, I had mentioned the DNR was changing the 3 antlered deer limit to 2 antlered for the 2024 fall season. That is the limit for all seasons combined.

So, it was no surprise when it was listed in the summary of changes in the front of the regulation’s summary, but I was a bit disappointed that partway through the paragraph there was an “EXCEPT”.

The change states: “The annual antlered deer bag limit for all regular deer seasons combined is two, EXCEPT that three antlered deer may be taken in a West Virginia CWD Containment area or by a Class XS license holder.”

Now, as I have said before I don’t claim to be a biologist and I’m sure there is probably a good reason for this exception, but with the general public already complaining about the over complexity of the regulations, couldn’t this one have been a straight forward 2 buck limit across the state? With NO EXCEPTIONS?

Also, please check out summary change #1 which states that season dates and open counties for antlerless deer, fall wild turkey and black bear hunting seasons have changed.

Make sure you are familiar with the areas you hunt.

So, good luck with your upcoming seasons and as always, take a youth or first timer hunting if you can!

Stay safe and stay outdoors.

Don Thomason