Mike Cox's outdoors column

Last week was the first part of my series and I talked to you about my “Ride Along” with Master Officer Randy Grauer from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. We spoke about what it takes to become an officer for VDGIF and the passion with which Master Officer Grauer approaches his job and his passion for hunting.

This week I wanted you to hear his answers to some of our more pressing questions. Being a hunter, I naturally started with the big two questions that are argued in local diners during the season.

The first question was how Master Officer Grauer felt about the Sunday Hunting Ban. We all know this is a hot topic right now. Del. Scott Lingamfelter is working on a bill to be introduced at the Virginia General Assembly this month to repeal the ban. Master Officer Grauer thought that little is going to change in the near future. There is too much opposition in the General Assembly and too much division between the different hunting factions in our state. Man do I know that’s right! Randy did feel that repealing the ban might stretch the manpower a little bit more. I would think that a “Special Sunday Permit” to hunt on private land only was sold; the additional funds could easily pay for a couple more salaries. That is just my thoughts and not an idea of Master Officer Grauer. Although he liked the idea of the additional help and would surely enjoy any additional time off to hunt during the deer season. He and his wife hunt together and they never seem to get enough time in the stands.

My next question was asked about his feelings on the dog hunting argument. The stand hunters feel that they have precious hunting time ruined when the hounds run all the deer off of the property they are hunting. The guys that hunt with dogs have a long heritage of hunting this way, but struggle with the fact that dogs can’t read signs. The two groups are further at odds because the stand hunters want the Sunday Hunting Ban repealed and the Dog Hunters want the ban to stay in place because they retrieve any lost hounds on Sundays. Wow, I am out of breath just explaining it. Master Officer Grauer was very careful on this issue. He refuses to condemn any form of legal hunting, but thought that there was room somewhere in the middle for the groups to come together. It’s a slippery slope trying to have another form of hunting other than the one you enjoy regulated. Your passion may be the type that is regulated next. The Master Officer did feel that change in laws regarding hunting with dogs is inevitable in the future. The change that is most talked about is a minimum acreage requirement to run hounds. I don’t know how I feel about this issue. I am going to try to get out on a hunt that runs dogs next season before I write my opinion. It’s only fair to try it before I hammer that style. Let me know if any of you guys want a partner for the day on a dog hunt.

The three most common infractions that Master Officer Grauer has to deal with are trespassing, baiting and poaching deer at night. This is commonly known as Spotlighting. The best thing about Master Officer Grauers job, the freedom that is inherent in this position to do your job and working in the outdoors. The worst thing about his job is that he doesn’t have a lot of time to hunt during the season. How can you help the Officers of the VDGIF do their jobs? Make sure the land you are hunting is properly posted. Be diligent in keeping posted signs up and make sure all stands and cameras that are left out are engraved with your information and locked up the best they can be.

I have given you answers to just a snapshot of the questions that Master Officer Grauer answered for me on our ride. I just don’t have the room to give them all to you. Maybe I need my teenage son to teach me how to blog or tweet. If there is a question you would like to have answered, please shoot me an email and if I didn’t ask it, I will get the answer for you. In part three, I will talk a little about the technology and one of Master Officer Grauers more dangerous situations. Until next week, stay safe and get a kid outdoors.

Mike Cox covers the outdoor scene for the News & Messenger. He can be reached at outdoorspw@gmail.com.