This is so bad, so out dated!!! since Virginia allows to use crossbow by anyone since 2005. I live in Arlington. Anyone lives nearby can tell me where else not too far away is a good place for hunting?so disappointed, crossbow not allowed at Fort Belvoir VA
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fantarain
so disappointed, crossbow not allowed at Fort Belvoir VA
I went to the International bowhunter education class held at Fort Belvoir in Virginia last saturday, since it is required for hunting in that place. However I just noticed today that crossbow is restricted in Fort Belvoir area, doctor paper work is required to use crossbow This is so bad, so out dated!!! since Virginia allows to use crossbow by anyone since 2005. I live in Arlington. Anyone lives nearby can tell me where else not too far away is a good place for hunting?
This is so bad, so out dated!!! since Virginia allows to use crossbow by anyone since 2005. I live in Arlington. Anyone lives nearby can tell me where else not too far away is a good place for hunting?Hello and welcome to the forum Fantarain!
It is a shame about Belvoir. The best place to go would be some private land in Faifax or anywhere else nearby, but if you are like me and don't have anyplace private to go, the next closest place would be Quantico Marine Corps Base. I have been hunting it all my life. It can be a real PITA, but it is close. It is about 20 mins south of belvoir. It is in the worst shape this year that it has ever been in for over 30 years due to horrible management policies, so hunting there will be very tough. Other than that, I would suggest trying one of the many Wildlife Management Areas (WMA's) in the state. They can be found on the VDGIF website. There is a new one that opened this year on the boundary of the marine base called Merrimac farms, I believe. I may try it out since it is new and hasn't had any pressure yet. There is also a army base called Fort AP Hill that is good but it is a bit of a drive, and there is some good national forest land in the mountains, but it is also a long drive. Good Luck.
It is a shame about Belvoir. The best place to go would be some private land in Faifax or anywhere else nearby, but if you are like me and don't have anyplace private to go, the next closest place would be Quantico Marine Corps Base. I have been hunting it all my life. It can be a real PITA, but it is close. It is about 20 mins south of belvoir. It is in the worst shape this year that it has ever been in for over 30 years due to horrible management policies, so hunting there will be very tough. Other than that, I would suggest trying one of the many Wildlife Management Areas (WMA's) in the state. They can be found on the VDGIF website. There is a new one that opened this year on the boundary of the marine base called Merrimac farms, I believe. I may try it out since it is new and hasn't had any pressure yet. There is also a army base called Fort AP Hill that is good but it is a bit of a drive, and there is some good national forest land in the mountains, but it is also a long drive. Good Luck.
A bad day in the woods is better than a good day anywhere else.
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fantarain
Thanks LV2HNT! you gave me a lot of useful information.
Do you hunt in the Mainside of Quantico Marine Corps Base or Guadalcanal side? Can you tell me about the course and archery test for the mainside if you had it before? And is there any requirement for the Guadalcanal side other than a hunting license? Do I need to reserve a spot before the day I go there to hunt?
It will be my first time to hunt. Allow me to have some 'basic' questions
I found the 'Find game' website held by VDGIF http://www.findgame.org I can search for place to hunt near my area. When I dig a little further, I found some questions:
1. I found places such as Mason Neck NWR/state park mentioned lottery/pre reservation for certain area to hunt. But they also mentioned 'open hunting in designated areas', but I can't find any information about when and where is for open hunting. So my question is where can I find any open hunting public land information?
2. Virginia has the urban archery season. Does that mean we can hunt in the woods near the resident area?
Do you hunt in the Mainside of Quantico Marine Corps Base or Guadalcanal side? Can you tell me about the course and archery test for the mainside if you had it before? And is there any requirement for the Guadalcanal side other than a hunting license? Do I need to reserve a spot before the day I go there to hunt?
It will be my first time to hunt. Allow me to have some 'basic' questions
I found the 'Find game' website held by VDGIF http://www.findgame.org I can search for place to hunt near my area. When I dig a little further, I found some questions:1. I found places such as Mason Neck NWR/state park mentioned lottery/pre reservation for certain area to hunt. But they also mentioned 'open hunting in designated areas', but I can't find any information about when and where is for open hunting. So my question is where can I find any open hunting public land information?
2. Virginia has the urban archery season. Does that mean we can hunt in the woods near the resident area?
LV2HNT wrote:Hello and welcome to the forum Fantarain!
It is a shame about Belvoir. The best place to go would be some private land in Faifax or anywhere else nearby, but if you are like me and don't have anyplace private to go, the next closest place would be Quantico Marine Corps Base. I have been hunting it all my life. It can be a real PITA, but it is close. It is about 20 mins south of belvoir. It is in the worst shape this year that it has ever been in for over 30 years due to horrible management policies, so hunting there will be very tough. Other than that, I would suggest trying one of the many Wildlife Management Areas (WMA's) in the state. They can be found on the VDGIF website. There is a new one that opened this year on the boundary of the marine base called Merrimac farms, I believe. I may try it out since it is new and hasn't had any pressure yet. There is also a army base called Fort AP Hill that is good but it is a bit of a drive, and there is some good national forest land in the mountains, but it is also a long drive. Good Luck.
New to the site and new to hunting as well. You are in for a blast. The best advice I can give is not to judge your success by what you shoot but by your overall experiences. You will have much to learn and it may be overwhelming/frustrating at times but that is half the fun in the long run. I, as well as the others on here will be happy to help you out with anything, just ask.
1. I don't know a lot about Mason Neck these days, even though I used to work about a mile from there at Pohick Bay Regional Park, right across the river and creek from Belvoir. I even almost got a job with Mason Neck, but got screwed by my aplication and the person in Mass. that stopped it from going through to the guy that would have hired me. Anyhow, there are some real nice deer there and it would be worthwhile to apply for the lottery. It always used to be plagued with antis who would do everything they could to disrupt the hunts but hopefully that doesn't happen any more. Try looking at these pages for info:
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/mas.shtml
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/hunting.shtml
If that doesn't work you may want to try calling them. I would be interested to find out what you learn.
2. In Virginia you can hunt in residential areas as long as you have permision from the land owner and the season is open. There may be a minimum land requirement like 5 or 10 acres but I don't know for sure. Maybe someone else can answer that or you could call a conservation officer to find out. One thing to concider is that a wounded deer has the potential to go a long ways wich usualy means it won't expire on the land that you have permision to hunt so you should be aware of the recovery laws that would come into play and also be sure to give the deer at the very least an hour to expire before you look for it because you don't want to push it through a neighborhood or untill the blood trail dries up.
1. I don't know a lot about Mason Neck these days, even though I used to work about a mile from there at Pohick Bay Regional Park, right across the river and creek from Belvoir. I even almost got a job with Mason Neck, but got screwed by my aplication and the person in Mass. that stopped it from going through to the guy that would have hired me. Anyhow, there are some real nice deer there and it would be worthwhile to apply for the lottery. It always used to be plagued with antis who would do everything they could to disrupt the hunts but hopefully that doesn't happen any more. Try looking at these pages for info:
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/mas.shtml
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/hunting.shtml
If that doesn't work you may want to try calling them. I would be interested to find out what you learn.
2. In Virginia you can hunt in residential areas as long as you have permision from the land owner and the season is open. There may be a minimum land requirement like 5 or 10 acres but I don't know for sure. Maybe someone else can answer that or you could call a conservation officer to find out. One thing to concider is that a wounded deer has the potential to go a long ways wich usualy means it won't expire on the land that you have permision to hunt so you should be aware of the recovery laws that would come into play and also be sure to give the deer at the very least an hour to expire before you look for it because you don't want to push it through a neighborhood or untill the blood trail dries up.
A bad day in the woods is better than a good day anywhere else.
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fantarain
LV2HNT:
You are quite right about the cb game and hunting. I do feel a little frustrated when first find out there is a lot of hassle to find a place to hunt using crossbow. Maybe I'll just focus on target shooting for now. It is a lot of fun to me. I wish I leave in a contry side, so I can shoot when I open my window
Quantico looks like a good place to start hunting with. At least no reservation or lottery needed. But maybe that's why it gets crowded. There is always a trade off. More hassle, less people!
You are quite right about the cb game and hunting. I do feel a little frustrated when first find out there is a lot of hassle to find a place to hunt using crossbow. Maybe I'll just focus on target shooting for now. It is a lot of fun to me. I wish I leave in a contry side, so I can shoot when I open my window
Quantico looks like a good place to start hunting with. At least no reservation or lottery needed. But maybe that's why it gets crowded. There is always a trade off. More hassle, less people!