Hunting in America has never been in better shape. The most recent survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows that America’s hunters are wealthier and spending more on their sport now than ever before, an astounding $20.6 billion per year-including a 29 percent increase in the last 10 years alone.
And hunters have no shortage of game.
What is often cited as the greatest wildlife conservation movement in history-funded largely by hunters-has produced overflowing abundance among North America’s game animals, including many species that hovered near extinction at the beginning of the last century. The successful revitalization of whitetail deer, turkeys, elk, black bear and more is the envy of the industrialized world, and the pleasant reality in which American hunters live in the 21st century.
Still there are some cynics who cry that the fat times of the latest bountiful harvests in America may be running thin for future hunters everywhere. Hunters and wildlife biologists in Southern West Virginia, however, just don’t feel their favorite pastime is in jeopardy any time soon.
“We’re in good shape in the Mountain State,” explained retired wildlife biologist Larry Berry, formerly with the DNR in Beckley. “Our whitetail populations are up and so are our wild turkey and Black Bear. Even our small game is proportionately in good shape for year to come.”
Berry added, “We’re losing some habitat to farms and industries like everybody else at this stage of the game, but we’re not hurting as much as we could be hurting. We have some of the most healthy wildlife populations in the nation. We’re proud of that. A lot of people would be glad to trade places with us. The fact is, we have to continue to manage in the future, and manage wisely. We can never let our guard down for a single minute. It’s our job to keep our wildlife biologists on the job, doing what they do best. If we can continue to do that, then we won’t have a problem providing some of the best hunting in the Eastern United States.”
Daniel Carver, a veteran third-generation hunter who makes his home in Shady Spring, is optimistic about the future of hunting in the U.S. “I don’t think that hunting as we know it will ever disappear completely from the scene,” Carver said.
Carver introduced his 14-year-old son David to the sport last fall and the boy is eager to get started again this year. If anything, David is more excited about hunting wildlife than he is about any of his other hobbies, video games, TVs, or iPads.
“I’m ready,” David explained while practicing with his bow in a field near the family’s home. “I’m getting better each day, and I told my dad that he might have to get me a bigger, stronger bow.”
David is one of thousands of youth hunters eager to take to the woods in search of game during the 2021 hunting season in the Mountain State.
The boy’s father, Daniel, is interested in developing his son’s outdoor skills for a number of reasons. He wants him to learn the core values that he learned from his father and his grandfather, both of whom were avid archers and seasoned outdoorsmen who pursued trophy whitetail bucks in the woodlands of Logan and Mingo counties during the 1970s and early ‘80s.
Daniel also wants David to learn the blessings that come with the Good Lord’s provender of wild meat during the fall seasons. “Waste not, want not,” Daniel quotes an old family proverb handed down by past generations of Carvers. “We honor every game animal we take from the woods. We are thankful for the opportunities that arise from our sport of hunting. We hunt with the same traditions that our ancestors hunted with a hundred years ago.”
Daniel also has turned into quite a chef after he started cooking wild cuisine for his family about four years ago.
“We try to make something appetizing out of everything we harvest in the wilderness,” Daniel explained of his basic stratagem for setting the family table during hunting season. “Deer hamburger, chili, roasts, and steaks are part of our menu items. Wild game can be turned into stews, oven dishes, barbecues and casseroles. All you need are some onions, carrots, tomatoes, beans, potatoes, celery, and peppers—and anything else you find growing in your backyard garden in the early fall.”
Hunting the same woodland areas year after year has paid off for Daniel and his clan. They have put venison and wild turkey in the freezer for seasonal feasts that are talked about throughout the community. Still, it doesn’t come easy, not at the beginning of the hunting season anyway.
“Getting ready for buck season is one of the most trying times of the year,” Daniel observed. “It literally takes me weeks to gather up all of my shooting irons, shells, knives, ropes, camouflage, hats, boots, sox, gloves, deer scent, first aid packets, gun cleaning kits, bows, arrows, arrowheads, sights, light and heavy coats, tying strips, bungee cords, flashlights, batteries, phones, and of course gasoline and spare tires for the trucks and 4-wheelers.
“By the time I get all that gathered up and loaded, I’m worn out. I try to spend the last day or two before hunting season opens just taking it easy in my upstairs bedroom. I’m usually too revved up to sleep, but I do try to conserve my energy. After all, the first day of buck season is the greatest adrenaline rush of the year. I’ve heard tell that some people have collapsed on the trail before they ever get into the woods. It’s definitely not worth that.”
And though the hunting odds are good for harvesting an antlered buck during gun season or taking a doe during archery and muzzleloader seasons, Carver says he won’t be let down if he doesn’t score with a prize kill.
“I’d like my son David to get off a shot at something and maybe wind up with his first deer,” the proud papa said with a broad grin. “He’s only 14, but if he does score with an animal, that it would make my entire season. But if he only gets a good close up look at a critter, I know he’ll still be just as happy. Either way, we won’t come out of the woods disappointed. There’s plenty of time for hunting, and we plan to make the most of it. As long as we keep teaching our offspring the habits and the traditions of our forefathers, hunting is going to be around for a long time.”
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Top o’ the morning!