Right now, hunters probably are acting like kids in a candy store. There are so many choices.
Take deer, for example, with the muzzleloading season starting tomorrow in Regions A and B. That?s right after the bow season ends temporarily tonight in both regions but starts again Oct. 22 (through Nov. 23).
For muzzleloaders, you can take antlered or antlerless deer in Region B, with antlered-only allowed in Region A and only one deer allowed in both areas during the Oct. 18?20 split season.
“We have good populations [of deer] all across the state,” said Department of Natural Resources deer project leader Brian Eyler.
DNR figures the top counties to hunt during muzzleloader season are ? in order ? Washington, Frederick, Dorchester, Baltimore, Garrett, Worcester, Carroll, Harford, Allegany and Charles.
After this three-day muzzleloader season for Region B, muzzleloader deer hunting starts again Oct. 22 (through Oct. 27) for antlerless deer only. In Region A, wait until Dec. 15 for the second part of the muzzleloader season (antlered only) on both DNR and all other lands.
This Region A hunting ends Dec. 28 for DNR public lands and Dec. 26 for all other lands. Both Region A land areas allow antlered deeronly during this second of three split seasons.
If you like the smaller sika deer on the lower Eastern Shore, the muzzleloader season for both sexes also starts tomorrow (through Oct. 20 ) and then again Dec. 15?29.
Some of this deer hunting overlaps with waterfowling. Ducks (except black ducks) are still open (through Oct. 20), opening again Nov. 10 for all legal ducks.
Fall turkey season opens next week (Oct. 27) in Allegany, Garrett and Washington counties only. While not as popular as the longer spring hunt, it still attracts about 2,000 hunters, according to DNR turkey project leader Bob Long. Spring gobbler hunters number from 10,000 to 12,000 with hunting possible in all counties.
For fall turkey this season, the numbers are both up and down.
“Surveys show us a slightly lower-than-average number of poults produced per hen,” said Long. But he is quick to add that the same surveys show that numbers of adult birds are high, bringing the total to about the same as last year. Thus, chances for turkey success are about the same as fall 2006, although adult birds should be a little more wary than poults.
As if this is not enough, we also have rabbit and quail ? even pheasant, if you can find them ? opening Nov. 3 in all counties (no quail hunting in Allegany and Garrett counties). And in the furbearer section of hunting regs there is a long list of critters open to hunting with most starting around Nov. 1 or later.
Take your pick. Choices, choices ? there?s a plethora of hunting possibilities out there.
C. Boyd Pfeiffer is an internationally known sportsman and award-winning writer on fishing, hunting and the outdoors. He can be reached at [email protected].
