Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 2, 1995 TAG: 9511020061
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Well, don't count on that last one. There is little chance anyone will die of loneliness Monday when the two-week black-powder season opens.
Local gun shops have been arming hunters by the hundreds to take advantage of the season. And sportsmen who have waited to the last minute - which is now - to purchase guns, scopes, powder and other components may discover that their most challenging hunting isn't for a big buck, but for equipment.
Several gun shops and sporting goods stores are running short of Pyrodex, a synthetic black powder. Scope mounts also are in short supply. The display hooks that hold inline cappers and powder measuring devices often are empty of popular models.
``It is sort of like pit row on a race day,'' is how Gerald Tobey described the turnout at Blue Ridge Sporting Supply in Salem, where he is the general manager.
Scopes have been the big attraction.
``One day I stood in one place for five hours mounting them,'' said Tobey.
This is the first black-powder season that scopes have been legal in Virginia. The rush to buy them started three months ago, and hasn't let up, said John Coleman of Bryansteens Gun Shop at Trebark Outfitters in Roanoke County.
Coleman was on the phone Wednesday ordering an air shipment of scope mounts. Muzzleloading license sales jumped 50 percent in October at Trebark, said Ken Wilkes, the manager.
NO WAY, YOU SAY: One of the toughest creatures for a hunter to deal with in the fall is a mature turkey gobbler. Some accomplished hunters will tell you there's just no way you can sneak up on one or call one to your gun. How about to your bow?
Michael Pauley, 19, of Daleville, flushed a flock of toms during a hunt in Botetourt County and called back a 171/2-pound bird which he killed with his bow.
For some bowhunters, it has been easier to find turkeys than deer this season. It was that way for Jim Fitzgerald, of Roanoke County, who bagged a turkey, bear and a deer. His eight-point buck proved to be the toughest target.
``There are so many turkeys that I'm getting to the point when I hear something coming through the woods I say, `Gee, I hope it is a deer,''' he said.
Since Monday's opening of the turkey season, some big game checking stations in the region have registered more than 25 birds.
EATING LEFTOVERS: This late in the year, who would expect to catch trout in Salem's Spring Lake Park? After all, hundreds of youngsters fished these ``duck ponds'' during the annual kids' rodeos. And there has been considerable construction activity in the park, as Salem refurbishes it.
But Wesley Davis of Salem took his daughters, Ashley, 12, and Mariah, 3, fishing the other day and the youngsters landed 11 trout, including a 16-inch fish.
The winners of the annual Southwest Virginia Boat Dealers Association tournament on Smith Mountain Lake were Robert Vaden of Goodview and Darryl Hall of Roanoke, who weighed a 15.76 catch of bass.
River fishing activity is all but dormant, but Keith White and James Bond of Giles County discovered if you fish deep and work a grub slowly you can hook bass. Lots of bass. The two anglers hooked and released 57 smallmouths during a recent outing.
FOR THE BIRDS: The fledgling Virginia Mountain Chapter of Quail Unlimited has scheduled a meeting with Department of Game and Inland Fisheries biologists to discuss what is being done to improve quail numbers in the state.
``We feel we have to start by first educating ourselves on quail habitat and successful programs to promote quail populations and then to work with area landowners to assist them in getting quail back on their property,'' said Steve Parker, the chapter vice chairman.
The meeting is set for 7 p.m. at the Vinton Library on 800 E. Washington St.
by CNB