NCBA Updates

NCBA Butner Hunt-2011

2011-10-17T16:38:00.005-04:00

NCBA Butner Hunt: October 15 - 23, 2011

The annual NCBA Butner Hunt is underway thru Sunday, October 23rd. Primitive Camping for all at the hunt campground.

NCBA will provide a BBQ dinner on Friday night at the pavillion at Lake Holt nearby. We start eating about 8 pm.

Huntmaster, Wayne Smith, has announced that this year's hunt is dedicated to the memory of Honorary Life Member Carroll D. "C.D." Liverman. "C.D." operated Pungo Campground where many NCBA annual hunts were held for years. Donations can also be made by anyone, anytime, to anyone listed on the Memorial Endowment page, and will be recorded on our webpage.

All donations and proceeds from the "Butner Hunt 3D Shootout" will go in the NCBA's Land Acquisition Fund in "C.D.'s" name.

Hope to see everyone there...

Ramon Bell, President/NCBA
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NOTE: Anyone wishing to establish a NCBA memorial fund for a deceased friend, family member, etc., may do so at any time by simply making a donation to the NCBA Memorial Endowment Fund in the person's name. A special link on our website will be created for that person. A memorial obituary along with photos and testimonials will be published on the website and remain there permanently.

Camp Rules and Regulations:
1- No public display of alcohol.
2- Parking ONLY permitted in the field area. No parking/camping/blocking the flagged emergency access lane.
3- If the gate at the road is closed when you come in or go out, close it behind you.
4- All vehicles camping must display NCBA sign.
5- Please abide by all NCWRC game land regulations. If unsure, ASK!!
6- Campers, ALL GARBAGE MUST BE TAKEN WITH YOU! Leave campsites cleaner than you found it.
Big Buck and Biggest Doe Contest – Thurs thru Sat (Oct 22nd -23rd -24th )
1. CONTEST ELIGIBILITY:
a. REGISTER FOR THE HUNT b.NCBA ACTIVE MEMBER c, DEER MUST BE TAKEN ON GAMELANDS!
2. Bucks must have 6 scorable points by Pope & Young system rules.
3. Does are live weight, do not field dress your doe. If tie, will take “Green’ Skull measurement score.
3. If no entries in either category, all “registered” hunters names will be placed in a drawing for the prizes.

Butner Hunt “Shoot-Out” Contest
Again there is will be bragging rights for best score in COMPOUND and TRADITIONAL.
Rules at registration area.. All proceeds go to NCBA Memorial Endowment Fund in memory of: Roger Duggins.

ANY Questions:contact Huntmaster: Wayne Smith; 336-362-9469.

New I.T. Team Leader

2011-05-22T19:31:00.000-04:00

Lee Matthews has been named as our I.T. Chief Informaion Officer (CIO). Other members of the I.T. Team are: Don Moore, Steve Graf and Ryan Miller.

I want to extend my sincerest "thank you " to our new "Information Technology" (I.T.) team for all the hard work they are doing to get us (NCBA) to the next level, and beyond, in the field of computer and information technology. What you see on our brand new, revamped website is just the beginning of what is in store for NCBA members and volunteer officers. Ahead lies a new data base system that will get all of us into the 21st century in first class style. The new data base will store information and make it possible for our officers to share the information on it. It will simplify, record and store information for every facet of NCBA's programs and services. It will make is easy for those who come along after us to step in and take the reins of the organization and continue on without missing a step.. or a even a heartbeat.

Lee Matthews is primarily responsible for reconfiguring all the data and information from our old website into the form you see it today, and Lee deserves a special "thanks" from all of us for his efforts. If you have any trouble navigating the webpage, please send an email message to us at: NCBA1975@triad.rr.com, and we will get it corrected soon as possible.

Lee and Steve Graf have also been working with Maria Bell, JR Stone, Joey Thompson and other E.C. members in getting our new data base system up and running.

Again, thanks to all who have contributed, and will continue to contribute to this venture. Anyone who has computer skills who wants to join with Lee and others in this effort, let us know.

Ramon Bell, President/NCBA

5th Annual NCBA Bowfishing Tournament Results

2011-05-22T19:17:00.000-04:00

FINAL RESULTS
5th Annual NCBA Bowfishing Tournament
Held at Jordan Lake; Sponsored by: Randolph Bowhunters
May 20-21, 2011

1st place gets a plaque
2nd & 3rd places get certificates

BOWFIN
Place Name: Lg.x Width Weight

1 Phil Elam 28 6/8 x 12 4/8= 7 - 9
2 Scott Kazmierczak 28 6/8 x 12 4/8= 7 - 8
3 Phil Elam 30 0/8 x 12 2/8= 7 - 4
4 Rodney Lynch 26 4/8 x 13 2/8= 6 - 0
5 Andy N. Smith 25 0/8 x 10 2/8= 3 - 12

COMMON CARP

1 Rodney Lynch N/A= 7 - 6
2 Phil Elam N/A= 7 - 3
3 Lynn Boyer N/A= 6 - 2
4 Jonathan Russell N/A= 5 - 15
5 Travis Mabe N/A= 5 - 9
6 Crystal Hughes N/A= 5 - 6
7 Scott Kazmierczak N/A= 5 - 2
8 Cole Carr N/A= 4 -12
9 Jimmy Boyette N/A= 4 - 4
10 Trevor Hayhurst N/A= 4 - 3
10 Andy N. Smith N/A= 3 - 10
12 Alan T. Webb N/A= 3 - 7
13 Dale Curry N/A= 3 - 0

GRASS CARP

1 Travis Mabe 36 0/8 x 23 0/8= 29 - 5
2 Phil Elam 38 0/8 x 21 2/8= 26 - 5
3 Kent Moneymaker 37 2/8 x 22 2/8= 24 - 7
4 Phil Elam 35 4/8 x 19 0/8= 17 - 8

"BIG FIVE"-COMMON CARP TOTAL WT.

1 Jonathan RusseLL Tot. Wt. (5 Fish) = 22 - 10
2 Travis Mabe Total Wt. (5 Fish) = 21 - 7
3 Phil Elam Total Wt. (5 Fish) = 21 - 5
4 Lynn Boyer Total Wt. (5 Fish) = 18 - 11
5 Trevor Hayhurst Total Wt. (5 Fish) = 18 - 5
6 Jimmy Boyette Total Wt. (5 Fish) = 16 - 3
7 Andy N. Smith Total Wt. (5 Fish) = 14 - 0
8 Rodney Lynch Total Wt. (2 Fish) = 11 - 6
9 Alan T. Webb Total Wt. (2 Fish) = 6 - 1
10 Dale Curry Total Wt. (2 Fish) = 5 - 12
11 Crystal Hughes Total Wt. (1 Fish) = 5 - 6
12 Cole Carr Total Wt. (1 Fish) = 4 - 12
13 Hunter Aldridge Total Wt. (1 Fish) = 2 - 7

LONGNOSE GAR

NO ENTRIES THIS YEAR

BULLHEAD CATFISH

N/A Andy N. Smith 23 2/8 x 14 2/8= 6 - 5 Unofficial Category

2011 Dixie Deer Classic 3-D Shoot Results

2011-03-08T11:33:00.000-05:00

DIXIE DEER CLASSIC 3-D SHOOT RESULTS - 2011

Shoot conducted by: Gooch's Mill Archery Club; Tar River Archery Club;
Neuse RiverBowhunters; Falls Lake Archery Club
and other NCBA Members and Volunteers)

Place: NAME: Score: 12's

BOWHUNTER CLASS

1 Richard Shumaker 178 14
2 Clayton Pittman 168 10
3 Josh Hether 166 8
4 Curtis Pritchett 166
5 Daniel Brinkley 164
5 Glenn Howard 164
5 Buck Tysor 164
6 Randy Bieber 162
6 Hodge Jarden 162
6 Matthew Jones 162
6 Adiano Rocha 162
7 Joey Christian 160
7 Joshua Dougherty 160
7 Mike Ellington 160
7 Joshua Humphrey 160
8 Rolin Good 158
8 Chris Howard 158
8 Danny Kirby 158
8 Carl Payne 158
8 Donie Pencola 158
9 Ryan Barbour 156
9 Edward Forbes 156
9 Troy Gay 156
9 Kiel Gunter 156
9 Jeremy Hemilright 156
9 David Ketchum 156
9 Cy Kirk 156
9 Byron Weber 156
9 Jamie Williams 156
10 Brandon Currin 154
10 Michael Simma 154
10 Ben Thompson 154
10 Buck Tysor 154
11 Scott Deans 153
11 Shannon Inman 153
12 Andrew Stickl 153
12 Carl Beal 152
12 Eddie Eubank 152
12 Henry Hughes 152
12 Ricky Lamm 152
12 Michael Locklear152
12 Scott McCall 152
13 David Misten 150
14 Stephen Bell 148
14 Tate Carroll 148
14 Eddie Eubank 148
14 Randy Green 148
14 Michael Herring 148
14 Mike Swaringen 148
15 Kelvin Horne 147
16 Chris Hensley 146
16 Zach Lennen 146
16 JC Navarro 146
17 Ray Billups 145
18 James McCune 142
18 Jayme Shelburne 142
18 Derek Swanson 142
18 Todd Williams 142
19 Chris Moore 141
20 Stephen Click 140
20 Jeff Drew 140
20 Lynn Ward 140
20 Scott Young 140
21 Noel Corpus 139
22 Douglas Eimbelman 138
23 James Lester 137
23 Jacob Satterfield 137
24 Kelly Faulkner 136
25 Chris Belch 135
25 Kendall Good 135
25 Jake Rouse 135
26 Duffy Harrison 134
27 Duck Clime 133
27 Gary Wert 133
28 Danny Lewis 132
29 Will Smith 131
30 Christopher Woods 126
31 Craig Koefler 125
32 Sheldon McCoy 123
32 Austin Pearce 123
33 Greg Onachilla 122
34 Matt McCain 121
35 Frankliln Fulghum 120
36 Jacob Satterfield 116
37 Kevin Payne 114
38 Jason Craft 103
39 Jeremy O'Connor 74
DNF Steven Wood DNF
DQ Anthony Hall 166 Disqualified: No contact info on back of scorecard; No one to claim award.

MEN'S OPEN

Place: NAME: Score:

1 Chad Hensley 178
2 Jerome Creekmore 174
3 Alex Allinen 172 11
4 Gary Gill 170
4 Danny Stubbs 170
5 Jimmy Ingram 168
5 Allen Williams 168
6 Gary Burney 166
6 Dan Johnson 166
6 Michael Shore 166
7 Zach Burnette 164
7 Brandon Cash 164
7 Glenn Meadows 164
7 Richard Mitchell 164
7 Matt Morris 164
7 Slug Pegram 164
7 Kelly Seate 164
8 Jay Christian 162
8 Bobby Davidson 162
8 David Hawlk 162
8 Joe Parrish 162
8 Chris Wegner 162
9 John Goss 160
9 Mitchell Hawkinson 160
9 Troy Howard 160
10 Justin Avery 159
11 Richard Burkett 158
11 Bobby Clayton 158
11 Andy Goss 158
11 Michael Hall 158
11 Dustin Hayden 158
11 Gene Underwood 158
12 Clark Stephenson 156
12 James Wright 156
13 Brent Mattox 154
14 Cameron Beck 152
14 Brian Yates 152
15 Brent Tharp 149
16 Ed Bowen 147
17 Joey Tingle 146
17 Jeff Pleasants 146
18 Sam McLaughlin 143
19 Nathan Morgan 142
20 James Hansen 138
21 Todd Driver 135
21 Clyde Dougherty 135
22 Jamie Barbour 133

MEN'S PINS

Place: NAME: Score:

1 Brandon Johnson 168
2 Mike Gannon 168
3 Randy Layton 168
4 James Shumaker 162
5 Thomas Taylor 160
5 Allen Williams 160
6 Howie Williams 156
7 Gary Slaughter 153
8 Bob Gibb 152
8 Dwight Harris 152
9 Michael Dixon 150
9 Billy Marsh 150
10 Tim Hardee 149
11 Brian Van Druten 148
12 Rick Johnson 147
13 Richard Hayden 146
13 Jimmy Powell 146
14 Joshua Layton 143
14 Brandon Lutz 143
15 James Wolfe 131
16 Jackie Hardee 111

RECURVE

Place: NAME: Score:

1 Joe McMillan 147
2 John Dill 141
3 Ira Sanders 140 2
4 Don Ward 125
4 Jason Wheatley 125
5 Daniel Liss 120
6 Ian McMillan 110

LONGBOW

Place: NAME: Score:

1 Preston Roberson 154 6
2 Lee Hinton 138 2
3 Mike Harris 131
4 Harry Angel 131
5 Luke McMillan 118
6 James Ortega 97
7 Remigio Devente 75

WOMEN'S OPEN

Place: NAME: Score:

1 Angela Clayton 150
2 Jessi Mitchell 147
3 Casey Thomason 144
4 Amy thomas 141
5 Lisa Layton 140
6 Courtney Whaley 138
7 Shelly Parrish 136
8 Amber Layton 131
9 Leigh Wolfe 129
10 Heather Lutz 125
11 Alyssa Miller 124
12 Taylor Whitmire 120
13 Jessica Merritt 118
14 Shylo Harris 112
15 Nikki Weber 111
16 Shannon Hardee 107
17 Kassy Hohnson 100
18 Emily Jordan 87
19 Alex Hemilright 70

YOUNG ADULT: 15-17

Place: NAME: Score:

1 Phillip Howard 164 7
2 Jeff Elliott 162
3 Michael Long 158 7
4 Craig Bledsoe 156
5 Stephen Carey, Jr. 154
5 Trent York 154
6 Tab Oakley 151
7 Drew Michael 150
8 Chris Culbreth 146
8 Hunter Williams 146
9 Will Pipkin 145
10 Brandon King 142
10 Evans Morgan 142
11 Ethan Byrd 130
12 Ryan Stith 128
13 Jordan Wilson 115
14 Justin Samere 110
15 Cody Griffin 108
16 Cody Adair 92

YOUTH: 12-14

Place: NAME: Score:

1 Hunter Davis 172
2 Trey Williams 166 0
3 Nic Forbes 164 8
4 Chaz Clayton 158
4 Thomas Cowan 158
5 Trei Long 156
6 Jamie Allen 152
6 Bean Stevenson 152
6 Hunter Wall 152
7 Joe Lasher 150
8 Tyler Canady 149
9 Jacob Pierce 147
10 Tyler Hatley 146
11 Brandon MacDonald 145
11 Mitch Turnage 145
12 Nathan Nobles 144
12 Ben Perez 144
13 Christen Belch 138
14 James Green 135
15 Seth Lumbert 130
15 Will Pernell 130
16 Malcom Buchanan 127
17 Zack Howard 123
18 Nick Adair 122
18 nathan Parrish 122
19 Elizabeth Culbreth 115
20 Jimmy Alphin 114
21 Nick Leggett 100
22 Golioth Werdell 74

CUBS: 9-11

Place: NAME: Score:

1 Malik Wellman 168
2 Davidson Winders 162
3 Jake Frye 160 6
4 Howard Wright 156
5 Nathan Creekmore 153
6 Nelson Ricks 152
7 Walker Driver 141
7 Grant Matthews 141
8 Hunter Belch 136
9 Kyle Click 135
9 Noah Herring 135
10 Coye Matthews 130
10 Carson Walker 130
11 Hunter Allgood 124
11 Hart Brooks 124
12 Cassie Gill 123
13 Trip Christian 121
14 George Ricks 118
15 Anna McMillian 95
16 Matthews Blankenship 28

JR CUBS: 8 & UNDER

Place: NAME: Score:

1 Hunter Horne 168
2 Skylar Wegner 162
3 Jace Currin 160 7
4 Hunter Ross 159
5 Tyler Pencola 156
6 Patrick Conley 145
7 Dalton Christian 143
8 Colin Hardee 125
9 Kenneth Stanley, Jr. 90
10 Cole O'Quinn 67
11 Ethan Barbour 60
12 John Davis Dill 43

Directions to Guiford Bowhunters Clubhouse

2011-02-15T09:41:00.000-05:00

Future NCBA EC Meetings will be held at Guilford Bowhunters Clubhouse ..
Beginning at 10 a.m. (Unless otherwise NOTED)..
Directions below:
DIRECTIONS and MAP to GUILFORD BOWHUNTERS CLUBHOUSE
For those who have "Tom-Tom's" or similar GPS units, the address is: 6053 Rock Quarry Rd.; McLeansville, NC 27301
Take Exit #132 from I-40/I85 at Mt. Hope Church Road.
Go NORTH on Mt. Hope Church Road for 2.4 miles to intersection with Hwy. 70. Go straight across the intersection… Road name changes to McLeansville Road at this intersection.
Follow McLeansville Road approx. 2.5 miles. After you cross the railroad tracks, turn RIGHT on Frieden’s Church Road. McLeansville Shopping Center will be on your left.
Go EAST on Frieden’s Church Road for 1.6 miles.
Turn RIGHT onto Rock Quarry Road. Look for a sign that says, “McLeansville Wildlife Club.”
Guilford Bowhunters clubhouse is one-half mile down on the left at the dead-end of Rock Quarry Road.
Turn LEFT into the driveway.. Look for one big ARROW sticking up in the field on your left. (There was two, but wind blew one down.)
GPS Coordinates are: N36-07.051 ; W079-37.314

Schedule of Events

2011-02-15T09:36:00.004-05:00

Sunday, May 22, 2011

NCBA SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

May 27-29, 2011: NCBA Booth at NCTAC; Catawba Valley Wildlife Club; Contact: Kevin Dancy at: 704-400-4176.

June 26, 2011 (10 a.m.): EC Meeting-Guilford Bowhunters Clubhouse (McLeansville, NC)

July 22-24, 2011: Big Buck Expo; Greensboro Coliseum (Contact: Joey Thompson at: 336-972-1486)

August 6, 2011 (9 a.m - 5 p.m.) Blood Trackers Seminar (McLeansville, NC); (Contact: David Whitmire at: 828-553-0083)

August 7, 2011: NCBA Family Picnic (2 p.m.)-Guilford Bowhunters Clubhouse (McLeansville, NC)

August 27, 2011: NCBA Wildlife Education Day at Bur-Mill Park (Greensboro); Contact Mickey Strader at: 336-339-9095.

September 15-18, 2011: NCBA Early Season Bowhunt in Person County; Contact Mickey Strader at: 336-339-9095.

Sept.25, 2011 (10 a.m.): EC Meeting-Guilford Bowhunters Clubhouse (McLeansville, NC)

October 15 - 23, 2011: Butner Hunt; (Contact: Wayne Smith at: 336-362-9469)

January 21, 2012 (9 a.m.): NCBA Annual Rabbit Hunt in Person County; Contact Mickey Strader at: 336-339-9095.

January 22, 2012 (10 a.m.): EC Meeting-Guilford Bowhunters Clubhouse (McLeansville, NC)

March 3, 2012 (6 p.m.): NCBA Annual Awards Banquet; Raleigh, NC in Kerr-Scott Building at NC State Fairgrounds.

March 2, 3 & 4, 2012: Dixie Deer Classic; Raleigh, NC (NC State Fairgrounds)

Bylaws Revised - ARTICLE XII: BOW POLICY STATEMENT

2011-02-07T11:03:00.000-05:00

NCBA's bylaw referring to it's "Bow Policy" has been revised.
Previously, ARTICLE XII was titled, "Crossbows". This bylaw and policy was initially written 35 years ago when NCBA was first formed. Our policy on crossbows did not change over that period of time. Due to recent legislation that legalized crossbows for everyone, the NCBA Executive Council, and members, expressed the need to revise NCBA's bylaws and policy concerning this issue.

Revising our bylaws is not a simple matter that can be accomplished overnight. NCBA officers and members attending Executive Council meetings over the past year, or more, discussed this issue many times. The final draft of the proposed bylaw was included in our Fall-2010 magazine. All members were afforded the opportunity to voice opinions during this process, and all members were given the opportunity to vote on the proposed bylaw. Votes were counted at the January, 2011 Executive Council meeting, and the proposed bylaw was approved.

It is my hope that all the controversy that surrounded the wording of our previous bylaw can now be put to rest. I will emphasize though, that the NCBA is strictly a "Bowhunting" organization. We keep records of bowkills only. We don't keep records of animals taken with any weapon other than a bow and arrow, as defined by the NCBA, the Pope and Young Club, and all bowhunting organizations in North America. Crossbows are not bows, by our definition. They are a different weapon from a bow and a gun, but more like a gun (firearm)in appearance and operation. Just because they shoot a projectile that closely resembles an arrow, does not make them a bow. Our new bylaw defines in clear and certain terms what a bow is, and what it is not. NCBA will not allow other organizations or individuals to redefine our sport of bowhunting.

On the other hand, the revised bylaw no longer place restrictions on our members as to what other kinds of weapons they may own and/or hunt with. In the opinion of the majority of our E.C. members, officers and members at large who attended our council meetings to discuss this issue, all agreed that this clause should be removed from the bylaws, as we (NCBA) have no interest or business in telling individuals what types weapons they can own or hunt with. Personally, I regret that this issue wasn't addressed and resolved long ago. But, the time, the opportunity and the climate to address the issue wasn't right until this past year. We still do not believe crossbows belong in the "bow only" seasons, other than for legitimately disabled persons. We revised our policy on allowing crossbows during firearms seasons to coincide with that of the Pope and Young Club, the North American Bowhunting Coalition (NABC), and other state bowhunting organizations. Below is the revised bylaw that was approved on January 23, 2011.

ARTICLE XII: BOW POLICY STATEMENT (Formerly: CROSSBOW; Rev.: 1/23/2011)

1- For purposes of defining a “Bow”, the following definition has been adopted by the Pope and Young Club and all major bowhunting organizations in North America, including the North Carolina Bowhunters Association.

Definition of a Bow:
For purposes of the Pope and Young Club, and the North Carolina Bowhunters Association, a bow shall be defined as a longbow, recurve bow or compound bow that is hand-held and hand-drawn, and that has no mechanical device to enable the hunter to lock the bow at full or partial draw. Other than energy stored by the drawn bow, no device to propel the arrow will be permitted. The bow must be drawn by muscle power of the shooter alone in the presence of game, held and the arrow released by the shooter.

2- The NCBA will continue to oppose the 8/1/2010 legalization of Crossbows during the “bow only” deer seasons in North Carolina. The exception is that legitimately physically disabled/handicapped persons, as defined in N.C. General Statute § 113 296, Disabled Sportsman Program, should be allowed to hunt with crossbows during the “bow only” seasons. NCBA does not oppose use of crossbows by all hunters during any firearms deer seasons.

3- Entries into NCBA “All-Time Records System”, or any other contests, shall be taken with a bow only, as defined in section No. 1 in this Article.

4- NCBA will publish only articles, photographs and advertisements of animals taken with bows, as defined in section No. 1 in this Article.

2010 Butner Hunt Report

2010-11-26T10:59:00.001-05:00

Friday, November 26, 2010
2010 NCBA Member Hunt At Butner, NC

The “official” dates for the Butner hunt were October 16-24, 2010. Campers setup Saturday, October 16th and (campsites are 1st come, 1st served) hunted throughout the entire week. The Big Buck, Biggest Doe contest runs Oct.21-23. NCBA provided a free “Pig Pickin” Friday night at the Lake Butner Boat Launch Pavilion. The Butner Hunt ‘Shoot-Out’ was also be held for bragging rights, one-of-kind hat and a plaque for compound and traditional classes. This year’s Memorial was for the late Roger Duggins, long time supporter of the NCBA and NCBA Life Member. All proceeds will go toward the Memorial Fund in his name.

Kevin Dancy won the "Traditional" competition. David "Binky" Soots won the "Compound" competition in the 3rd annual "Butner Shootout".

Jeff Black won the "Big Doe" award and Scott Kazmierczak won the drawing for the "Big Buck" award, as no one shot a 6 point buck or larger.
******************************************************************
Directions to Campground:

We will be at the same campground as last year. Signs are posted at entrance to campsite. An aerial map is shown below.
GPS Coordinates at GATE entrance off Old Hwy. 75 (Durham/Oxford Hwy.) are: N36-10’-101.4 and W78-45’-327.8

Camp Rules and Regulations:
1- No public display of alcohol.
2- Parking ONLY permitted in the field area. No parking/camping/blocking the flagged emergency access lane.
3- If the gate at the road is closed when you come in or go out, close it behind you.
4- All vehicles camping must display NCBA sign.
5- Please abide by all NCWRC game land regulations. If unsure, ASK!!
6- Campers, ALL GARBAGE MUST BE TAKEN WITH YOU! Leave campsites cleaner than you found it.
Big Buck and Biggest Doe Contest – Thurs thru Sat (Oct 22nd -23rd -24th )
1. CONTEST ELIGIBILITY:
a. REGISTER FOR THE HUNT b.NCBA ACTIVE MEMBER c, DEER MUST BE TAKEN ON GAMELANDS!
2. Bucks must have 6 scorable points by Pope & Young system rules.
3. Does are live weight, do not field dress your doe. If tie, will take “Green’ Skull measurement score.
3. If no entries in either category, all “registered” hunters names will be placed in a drawing for the prizes.

Butner Hunt “Shoot-Out” Contest
Again there is will be bragging rights for best score in COMPOUND and TRADITIONAL.
Rules at registration area.. All proceeds go to NCBA Memorial Endowment Fund in memory of: Roger Duggins.

ANY Questions:contact Huntmaster: Wayne Smith; 336-362-9469.

Role of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission

2010-11-26T10:44:00.001-05:00

What "role" should the members of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission be fulfilling in the operation of our wildlife agency? Is the manner in which commissioners are chosen and appointed best for our wildlife resources?.. for wildlife constituents?.. and even for the overall health and well-being of the agency itself? Do we even need a wildlife resources commission?

These questions arise often, and specially in the past couple years as commissioners, agency staff and "We the People (outdoorsmen and women)" struggled with a number of issues concerning management of primarily deer, bear and wild turkey in N.C.

Currently, we have nineteen (19) politically appointed wildlife commissioners. Is this enough?.. too many?.. or is this number "just about right?" Seven or eight of the positions have been added within the last decade or so. All these new positions are "at large" appointments made by either the Governor, Speaker of the House or President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Politics being as it is, this makes sense to some extent. But, a few things really bother me about all these appointments.

First thing that pops out at me is that almost, if not all of these "at large" appointments are from the eastern area of the state, in and east of Raleigh. This creates a significant imbalance in representation for sportsmen/women in other areas of the state. And, it does make a difference in that the views of outdoorsmen/women in the east vastly differ from those of the central and western areas of the state.

The second thing that comes to mind is that none of our wildlife commissioners are wildlife biologists. Most, if not all are business men. This prepares them well for ruling on fiscal and budgetary issues, but when it comes to setting actual wildlife management rules, regulations and policies, they often seem to make decisions based on unpopular ideas that are often not recommended by the WRC's biological staff, or favored by a significant majority of their constituents. The WRC administration sometimes agrees with them for whatever reasons. Maybe just to keep peace, or rack up "brownie points" with commission leaders who possess the power to discipline them if they disagree too often, or disagree on the wrong issue.

I don't know what the annual payroll of our WRC biologist staff is. My guess is that it is in excess of 2 million dollars. I think that would be a very conservative number. It is public information, so we should be able to find out if we asked. Whatever it is, I'm sure our professional staff of biologists are paid a comfortable living wage. The amount really doesn't matter to me. What does matter is that these people are educated professionals in their field of endeavor, and when they spend a lot of valuable time preparing reports and making recommendations to the commissioners that could drastically effect the future of our wildlife resources, these recommendations sometime are not approved as recommended, or not approved at all. The majority of the time they are approved as submitted, or with minor changes, and that is good for all involved. Other times, it seems they approve, or have submited proposals themselves that conflict with those of the staff, possibly based on feedback they receive from some constituents, their own personal friends, or maybe from people in the business community.

Many sportmen/women feel that something must change. We have to get back to basics in the operation of our wildlife agency. We must pay more attention to what our wildlife professionals have to say about how to best manage our wildlife resources.

Many feel very strongly that we should also move back in the direction of electing our wildlife commissioners to office, rather than allowing the political party in power to appoint people for whatever reasons. It should be non-partisan. There's no place for politics in the management of our wildlife resources, or the agency itself. Possibly having a few former (retired?) wildlife biologists on the commission would be a good thing to consider too?

NCBA officers and members have been attending wildlife commission meetings for years. We hear questions and comments from commissioners time to time that clearly indicate their lack of knowledge about various issues. Some obviously come to meetings unprepared, having not read the material provided to them by the staff. If they don't have time to devote to their appointed duties, they should voluntarily resign and vacate their position on the commission to someone who has time and is willing to put forth the effort to serve.

Commissioners did recently approve a new proposal submitted by the staff that will establish a procedure for evaluating proposals for managing whitetail deer. On it's face, it looks very promising. Time will tell whether or not the commissioners choose to utilize it. There is one thing they removed from the proposal that we think should have been included. There was a three year "waiting period" for making new deer management proposed changes after any major changes were implemented. The staff would have preferred to have a five year period to observe and evaluate major management changes, but opted to reduce this to three years in hopes that the commissioners would agree. They didn't. It appears that some still want complete control over making any and all changes to deer management regulations, whether or not the staff recommends it, or it comes from some other source. This mentality must change to ensure that our wildlife resources and our agency is managed in the best possible manner.

So, what is in store in the immediate future? Politics being what it is, the tides change from time to time. For the first time in over one hundred years, a different political party will be in complete control of our state legislature. We will have a new Speaker of the House and a new President of the Senate. I've been told that these men will be making up to maybe eight new appointments to the wildlife commission in early 2011. Let's hope they choose their appointments wisely and make them in the best interest of the resource and the agency and staff that works so diligently to make it the best it can be.

Ramon Bell, President/NC Bowhunters Association

President's Message. "The Real Losers are.." (July 16, 2010)

2010-07-16T12:17:00.000-04:00

President's Message: "The Real Losers are.." (July 16, 2010)

The Real "Losers" as a result of new WRC Regs are..

This quote was included in an article that was in the Raleigh N&O written by Javier Serna (7-14-2010.)

"Our goal is to provide as much opportunity as we can for our sportsmen and women," said Wes Seegars, a commissioner from Goldsboro.

This statement confirms what many have been saying all along about all the new WRC rules... that they will have a negative effect on the resource. This is because the extended gun (ML) season, as well as the legalization of crossbows, and unlimited daily and annual bag limits will result in an undesired over harvest of buck deer, and all deer in general. Specifically, immature buck deer will be over harvested.

The fact is that the opportunity to hunt already exists, if hunters were willing to put forth the time and effort to become proficient with a bow and arrow.

There are basically only two "opportunities" that we must have in order to satisfy the needs of both the resource and hunters, preferably, in this order:
(1)- ACCESS to lands to hunt.
(2)-A bonafide QUALITY DEER/BUCK MANAGEMENT PROGRAM created by the WRC. The cost would be minimal, and sincere deer hunters would gladly comply with rules designed to accomplish this goal.

REF (1).. ACCESS: Landowners could be enticed and persuaded to open their properties to hunters by offering the right incentives to do so. A tax break would be a good starter. Other states have programs that reach out to landowners to persuade them to provide access to their lands to hunters. This could be managed and monitored through the WRC's "Registered Lands Program." They could make "Trespass Permits" available to individuals on a daily/weekly/seasonal basis for those who couldn't afford to buy/lease their own property, or join an expensive hunt club. I'm sure there are other options that would be attractive for landowners to allow more hunting. NCBA provides $100,000 hunter liability insurance to all its members. This covers them while bow and gun hunting. This perk for our members is a plus when we seek permission to hunt property.

REF (2).. This is where we, NCBA and 80% of licensed hunters, find us in opposition to the goals of our WRC. As they state, they want to " provide as much opportunity as we can for our sportsmen and women." What this really means is that they want to provide as much opportunity "to kill deer" as they can for hunters.

We (NCBA) and the majority of the WRC's licensed hunting constituency, want to take this a step further and maximize the opportunities for all to:
(a)- Have a "quality hunting experience"; and:
(b)- Increase the opportunities to "see more quality bucks while hunting."

These can only be accomplished if the WRC takes the initiative to implement rules that will help accomplish these goals for all hunters, not just the few who can afford it. These goals cannot be accomplished on a broad basis by individual landowners. Not everyone has access to thousands of acres that can be individually managed. Most don't have the money or time to do this to begin with. Quality deer management by individuals works for the "haves" in this respect. It doesn't work for the "have-nots", which includes most of us. The majority of hunters must rely on hunting public lands or, if they're lucky, they may have "permission" to hunt a 50 acre tract that is surrounded by other similar size tracts of land that are hunted by other hunters. Quality deer management will not work under these conditions. Such is the case across the state, and especially in piedmont and mountain areas. There's just not that many large tracts of land that are available for the average hunter to access.

For as long as we have been monitoring the activities of the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, their primary goal in managing deer has been to "put the resource first" in the decision making process to manage our wildlife resources. This doesn't appear to be the case now. Increasing the muzzle loader season by one week and legalizing crossbows for everyone, even during the bow only season is not putting the "resource first." It is putting "people first." Many of our own NCWRC biologists fear that these two new rules will result in an undesirable increase in harvest of immature buck deer. This is the primary reason why they opposed these two rules. This, at a time when the WRC wants to attract new hunters and retain old hunters to help pump up revenue the department needs. Any reduction in the numbers of quality buck deer will only serve to reduce interest in deer hunting for both new and existing licensed hunters.

The blanket legalization of crossbows for everyone also eliminates, by default, the provision under N.C. General Statute 113-296 that has provided a special privilege for disabled sportsmen since this law took effect in 1993. There are over 17,000 hunters who possess the "disabled sportsman permit" in N.C. who will no longer be able to enjoy this one privilege reserved for them. The big winners are the manufacturers who will make lots of money selling crossbows, primarily to gun hunters who view this as an opportunity to hunt during bow season and kill a big buck. Again, the resource will be the primary loser, along with bowhunters, disabled hunters and all deer hunters in the long run.

Sunday bowhunting alone, will not have a negative impact on the quality of the buck population. But, now, with the inclusion of crossbows for everyone, we could see another significant increase in the buck harvest. Conventional bowhunting is not a big factor in deer harvest. Less than 10% of all deer harvested in N.C. are taken with bow and arrow, and only about 36% of the archery harvest is antlered bucks vs. "about" 50-55% for firearms hunters. That extra 15-20% by gun hunters is a lot of bucks when comparing real total harvest numbers of bow to gun hunters. You can access these numbers in the back of the WRC's Regulations Digest and compare them yourself.
Another change that could have a significant impact on our overall deer herd is the removal of daily and annual bag limits. We simply could kill too many deer in some areas. Some hunters may not put forth the required effort to retrieve deer because they know they can climb back in their stands and continue to hunt. Were all these factors considered when all these new regulations were adopted?

Stats from other states that have good quality buck programs concentrate on lower buck bag limits and scheduling gun seasons to occur after the whitetail "rut". This is the primary reasons why they have premier trophy buck hunting, and why many hunters from other states, including N.C., go to these states, like Ohio, Illinois, Iowa and Kansas to hunt every year, and spend their money.

Quality bucks are more than just a resource. They are a "treasure" that will attract many hunters into the woods to hunt. This could be the case in North Carolina. But our WRC doesn't seem to view managing our deer herd this way. They just seem to want to "kill more deer".. any deer.. in any way possible.

Time will tell the tale of what impact these new rules will have on our deer herd and hunter numbers. Many hope that if the results are not good, our WRC will seriously look at scaling back some of these rules in the future. And implement new rules more in favor of improving the quality and sustainability of the resource.

We look forward to continuing to try to work with our wildlife professionals and our WRC in achieving workable goals that meet the needs of the resource, and the desires of the hunting constituency in North Carolina, in that order.

Ramon Bell
President, NC Bowhunters Association

President's Message and Legislative UPDATE (July 10, 2010)

2010-07-10T11:18:00.000-04:00

As I write this message (for the 4th time), the short session of the N.C. General Assembly for 2010 is history. All bills that were submitted to disapprove WRC regulations from 2009 died in the House Rules Committee. Thus, all of them will have the effect of becoming law this September when bow season opens. What this means is that come September, Crossbows will be legal for anyone who wants to use them. There will be a second week of muzzle loader (gun) season that was taken from the bow only season, and Sunday Bowhunting will be legal on private lands. NCBA’s official position was that if the WRC approved Sunday Bowhunting, we would support them on this issue, and we have done so. They did approve Sunday Bowhunting in a commission vote in March of 2009. Sunday bowhunting, for the majority of our members and bowhunters, is the one positive thing that came from this process. For those who oppose Sunday hunting in any form, they can refrain from hunting on Sunday, if that is their choice.

In addition to the added week of ML season and legalized crossbows for anyone, the WRC also approved unlimited antlerless deer harvest along with no daily bag limit for them. I think we still must purchase the “Bonus Antlerless Deer Tags” in order to do this. All this added at once is a lot to digest at one time. WRC biologists, including the chief biologist, readily admit that they really don’t know what impact all these new rules will have on deer harvest and the quality of our deer herd. This is of great concern to avid deer hunters who fear that these new rules will result in an overharvest of bucks, espcially immature bucks. All of which are very vulnerable to gun hunting during the new two week muzzle loader season. Any hopes of having a better quality buck herd in N.C. may suffer a great deal. Crossbows during bow season will also contribute to additional buck harvest. Time will tell on this issue. We will be watching closely to see how it all plays out over the next few years.

One thing NCBA members and other fellow sportsmen and women in N.C. need to know is that neither the muzzle loader rule nor the crossbow rule came from the WRC’s professional staff of biologists. Both these proposals originated and were passed by either the commissioners or someone in the administrative offices of the Director. In fact, the field staff of biologists openly and gallantly opposed both rules, but they were overruled by the administration.

The bottom line for me, personally, is that as your president, I believe our executive council did the right thing for all the right reasons in opposing these two regulations. And, the WRC did the wrong thing by approving these rules for NO apparent good, valid reasons. I know that we did do the right thing, and that we put forth our best effort to disapprove these rules. We were bound by our covenant (Constitution & Bylaws) to voice our opinions and opposition to these regulations. We could no longer just sit by and watch unpopular and bad rules be adopted without voicing our opinions and objecting to them. I want to personally thank each and every one of you who responded to the call and made phone calls or wrote letters and emails to legislators. Your voices were heard, and should the need arise again, I know you will arise to the occasion when needed. I believe we did all we could do, it just wasn’t enough to deal with the establishment and the politics that runs it.

There will also be shooting incidents, and other accidents involving crossbows. This is going to happen. We, as Bowhunters, must insist that they are identified as such, and not associated with Bowhunting and Bowhunters, for we know that a crossbow is NOT a bow and arrow. It never will be, and we must constantly remember this and remind those who don’t know, or don’t want to know and admit it. Nevertheless, if new laws are adopted governing crossbows, we must revisit our bylaws and revise them to bring them up to date. They have not been revised since they were first written 35 years ago, and they are antiquated and in need of revision. We do get a lot of criticism of this, and we need to address this issue.

Regardless of the outcome of these new laws, we must not allow anyone to define who and what we are. This goes not just for bowhunters, but hunters of every persuasion; gun hunters, ML hunters, dog hunters, small game hunters, duck hunters, trappers, and yes, even crossbow hunters. We must also try to work together in the future when challenges arise. This wasn’t the case with our current issues. Sad to say, our sportsmen’s alliance failed us. When we needed their support, they were no where to be found. They took the easy way out for the most part... silence. We will be there for them, as always, when the next challenge arises, and I’m afraid it won’t be very long before it does.

The sad part about this entire process is that no one really won anything. The WRC prevailed in the political process and the rules and regulations they passed will go in to effect. The voices of bowhunters and informed deer hunters across the state were heard, not just NCBA and its members. If our bills had reached the floor for a vote, they very well could have been approved. But, as many have said, NCBA is just one, small organization with ONLY 1,500 members.. with a special agenda. Small as we are, we still represent all bowhunters in N.C. , which could be 50 to 100 thousand in number! And, our voice and message was heard by many. Only time will tell who the real winners or losers were in this process. I sincerely hope and pray it is not the resource and all deer hunters who will be the losers. We must continue to voice our opinions when we agree or disagree with what’s going on with the management of our wildlife resources, and how it will affect them and our sport, regardless of the outcome. And, our WRC must know that when issues arise that we disagree with, they should be ready and willing to listen.

Dues Increase: Beginning January 1, 2011, NCBA dues will increase from $20 a year to $30 a year. This amounts to a mere 83 cents a month increase. Subsequently, NCBA Lifetime memberships will also increase from $300 to $450. It has been almost ten years since we have increased dues. We do so with reluctance, because we know some of our members may choose not to maintain their membership. But, if we review what all comes with NCBA membership and consider the increase in cost of providing basic services; it is still the best deal around. Five dollars of this dues increase will be dispersed to various funds as deemed most necessary by the executive council each year. Emphasis for this will most likely be placed on the “Bowhunter Defense Fund” and the “Land Acquisition Fund”.

New Guidelines for the “Youth Achievement Award”, “Bowhunter of the Year” awards, and “Local Chapter Club of the Year” have been approved also. The “Youth Achievement Award” guidelines go into effect immediately. Guidelines for other awards go into effect January 1, 2011. We will publish and make available all the new, upcoming guidelines so everyone will be informed of them way ahead of time. Any youth wishing to compete for these awards should request a copy of the guidelines and nomination form now. All these awards are based on a number of activities.. Not just hunting or harvesting game. It will be very beneficial for anyone who is serious about competing for any of these awards keep a journal of all hunting, volunteer, etc., activities. We also voted to go to four separate “Divisions” in our annual contests for all official animal and fish categories. The four “Divisions” will be: Male, Female, Youth Male and Youth Female Bowhunter. Be sure to read messages from Joey Thompson (Records Chairman) and Jamie Brady (Membership Chairman) for more information and details on these changes.

New data base for NCBA: Our “Information Technology” (I.T.) team and CIO advise that we about to embark on a new venture for NCBA. All our records and data will be stored in one common data base that will allow access by key officers in the association. We will be going back to past officers to gather copies of their records, photos, etc., for our archives, to preserve the history of NCBA for future generations to come. If you have any items that you feel would be of interest to our members, please contact me about getting this information copied, scanned and stored for future entry into the data base.

Website upgrade: Lee Matthews and a couple others have put forth a lot of work to convert our old website to a newer one over the past year or so. We continue to work to improve it. Since our last magazine, we now have the ability to accept donations on our website to the “Bowhunter Defense Fund”. In the near future, features will be added to allow donations to other NCBA funds, and to join NCBA and renew memberships, and to purchase NCBA logo items. Watch for it soon.

5th Annual NCBA Picnic: This will be held at Guilford Bowhunters clubhouse on Sunday, August 1st beginning at 2 pm. Bring your bows and a hearty appetite. Everyone is asked to bring either a veggie dish and/or a dessert. Please RSVP if you plan to attend, and include the number of people in your group. Email confirmations to: NCBA1975@triad.rr.com ; Phone confirmations to: 336-643-4455.

Again, my sincerest thanks to all… for everything you do to help make NCBA the best it can be.

For Bowhunting, “Let’em Grow!”… Ramon Bell, President

IBEP Classes for 2011

2010-02-18T18:16:00.005-05:00

Following is a list of IBEP classes we know about for 2011.

Statement from NCBA on 2009 WRC Regulations (April 2009)

2009-12-30T07:28:00.000-05:00

Statement from NCBA on 2009 WRC Regulations (April 2009)

The N.C. Bowhunters Association has been criticized because some of our members, along with other hunters, non-NCBA members, sportsmen and women, wrote letters to the 'Rules Review Commission' (RRC) objecting to some of the proposed wildlife regulations for 2009-10 that were approved by the N.C. Wildlife Commissioners. This resulted in many deer proposals being placed on “HOLD” temporarily for legislative review beginning next year.

It should be known that the WRC knew that letters would most likely be written to the RRC objecting to a number of the new proposals, as this procedure was a topic of discussion with us (NCBA) and some of them (WRC) over a year ago. In fact, we (NCBA) were informed of this (Rules Review) option by WRC officials to begin with.

We (NCBA) also were aware that if these TEN letters were received by the RRC that all the WRC had to do was request that the new regulations be enacted as a temporary rule. We fully anticipated that this is what they would do, but that didn't happen.

So.. why didn't the WRC asked for a temporary rule to enact these proposals this year? Possibly so that this inaction by the WRC may be intended to place the burden (or blame) primarily on NCBA for the delay in enacting these proposals.

NCBA has only taken issue with two of the proposals that were approved. The fact that other proposals were also included is beyond our control, as multiple proposals were included in one "omnibus" regulation that encompassed them all. The one that is most important to NCBA is the opening of gun (muzzle loader) season one week earlier statewide. Not so much that it encroaches on the 'bow only' seasons statewide by another week, it does. But because we feel this is not in the best interests of the quality of the buck deer population and the quality of deer hunting in general for all of North Carolina. This is echoed by reports and opinions from professional biologists from both within the WRC and also biologists in the private sector. In a report from the WRC's 'Deer Committee, a majority of their biological staff did not recommend opening gun seasons up any earlier, including the muzzleloader season. In fact, some have gone on record stating gun seasons should be opened later, especially in the Eastern Deer Season. Dr. David Cobb, the WRC's chief biologist, told them that this is not an option, and since Dr. Cobb sets the official policy for the agency.. that's the way it will be. Apparently, it doesn't really matter what the opinions of his field staff of biologists believe to be best for the resource and for the stakeholders.

So, where did this proposal originate? The 2008-09 Proposed Regulation Change (#16) was originated by a man named Grady Barnes. It was submitted by a man named Daron Barnes. (NOTE: Daron Barnes works for the WRC at the main office in Raleigh. He is in charge of issuing permits. He is not a field biologist. We have been told, confidentially, that Mr. Barnes was asked, or recruited to submit this proposal by one of his superiors.) It states, in part, "Hunters who are interested in utilizing a hunting opportunity outside the regular gun season currently have two options: a muzzle-loading season that is limited to 7 days (really 6 days), or an archery season that ranges from 24 up to 54 days. This means that hunters who are capable and interested in bowhunting have, depending on their geographical location, from 17 to 47 additional hunting days (opportunities) than hunters who are not interested or incapable of bow hunting.... This bias towards bowhunting reduces the opportunity of hunters who are interested in pursuing muzzle-loading style hunting. It goes on to say, "In a time of concern of hunter recruitment and retention, this rule change will increase the hunting opportunities for hunters who are not able to take advantage of current bow hunting opportunities."

Mr. Evin Stanford (Deer Biologist's) comments were that he was "OPPOSED to this proposal. He stated, "The NCWRC recently completed a human dimensions study of NC deer hunters, and a question concerning this exact season change was included on the survey. Survey results indicated that deer hunters were equally divided on this season change at 40% in favor and 40% opposed, and the other 20% had no opinion regarding this issue. The Deer Committee also has discussed this type of regulation proposal, and the consensus of the committee is that such a regulation change is NOT desirable at this time. While muzzle-loader season is much shorter than archery season (6 days vs. 24-54 days, muzzleloader hunters reported harvesting 53% more deer than archery hunters during the '06 season. However, does made up 51% of the reported archery season harvest, while does only made up 33% of the reported muzzleloader season harvest. Muzzleloader season hunters actually harvested slightly fewer does than archery season hunters, but the muzzleloader season buck harvest was 112% higher than the archery season buck harvest. While increasing the length of the muzzleloader season may provide more opportunity, the selectivity of muzzleloader hunters may result in an unwanted increase in antlered buck harvest with little corresponding increase in doe harvest. Results of the human dimensions survey indicated that 80% of deer hunters indicated that a lack of mature deer is a barrier to deer hunting. If the rule proposal does go forward, the proposed rule text should be clarified to more clearly define the season dates.”

Let me take a moment to clarify the "dates" that Mr. Stanford refers to. I have included a chart below that breaks down the number of days actually allocated to archery season and to firearms seasons, muzzleloader season included. NOTE that in the Eastern Deer Season area, where the deer population is most prolific, the current season includes 24 days for archery only season and 70 days for firearms season. In the Central Deer Season, it is about even with 48 archery only days and 46 firearms days. The Northwestern Season has 54 archery days versus 31 firearms days, and the Western Deer Season has 60 archery days compared to 24 firearms day. Keep in mind that the deer season currently ends about two weeks earlier in the Northwestern and Western Deer Seasons. Also keep in mind that deer population densities are much thinner in the Western and Northwestern areas, thus, the shorter firearms seasons.

Secondly, NOTE the days during the "Peak of the Rut" that “archery only” seasons occur versus “firearms seasons.” In order to be fair, equitable and not show any "bias" toward any method of hunting, this is, or should be, the most important factor in determining WHEN the transition from archery to muzzleloader to regular modern firearms should be occurring. NOTE that in the Eastern Deer Season area, archery hunters have "0" days that occur during the "Pre-Rut or entire Rutting Season." We consider the "Rut" to encompass dates between November 1st and December 13th, or about the end of the deer seasons in the Western and Northwestern areas. In the "Central Deer Season" area, archery hunters currently have "6" (SIX) days during the "Pre-Rut" for “Bow Only” days. Firearms seasons cover the remainder of the "Rutting" season, which is 31 days. Northwestern bowhunters have 12 days that occur during the "Pre-Rut and Rut" versus 25 days for firearms hunters, and Western bowhunters have 19 days compared to 18 days for firearms hunters. These season dates were established and agreed upon by our staff of field biologists based scientific data and their knowledge of what is best for the resource. It does not appear that there is any basis of scientific data or fact that supports Mr. Barnes proposal. And, his comment that there is a "bias" toward bowhunting seems to be an exaggeration on his part to place blame on the bowhunting community for the current hunting season date structure.

DEER SEASON DAYS BY WEAPON

BOW GUN

NOTE: GUN INCLUDES 6 Day Muzzle Loader Season

EASTERN

24 70

CENTRAL

48 46

NORTHWESTERN

54 31

WESTERN

60 24

IF ONE WEEK Muzzle Loader SEASON IS ADDED……

EASTERN

18 76

CENTRAL

BOW GUN

42 52

NORTHWESTERN

48 37

WESTERN

54 30

*DAYS DURING PEAK OF THE "RUT"..PRIME DEER SEASON - (NOV. 1 - DEC. 13)

BOW GUN

EASTERN

0 37

CENTRAL

6 31

NORTHWESTERN

12 25

WESTERN

19 18

Statewide TOTALS:

BOW GUN

37 111

Additional Comments:

* The whitetail "RUT" normally begins on/about the first of November and continues until what is commonly called the "Second rut", which begins about the first week of December. This is the "prime" time to hunt whitetail deer in N.C.

NOTE that "bow only" seasons include only a total of 37 days statewide during this period, and that the EASTERN Deer Season has NONE., while a TOTAL of 111 (one-hundred eleven) days are currently assigned to firearms seasons statewide. Where is this "bias" toward bowhunting that Mr. Barnes refers to?

The CENTRAL Deer Season has only 6 "Prime" hunting days for "Bow Only" season while 31 days are open for gun hunting. The EASTERN Deer Season already has "0" days of prime deer hunting for "Bow Only" season, and if the muzzle-loader season, is opened one week earlier, it will push bowhunters even further back away from the peak season.

The traditional transition between "Bow season, Muzzle Loader Season and the regular Gun seasons that all hunters have become accustomed to should continue to occur near when the "Rut" begins, as it has been for many years. Gun season hunters already have a disproportionate number of "prime" days to deer hunt, except in the WESTERN Deer Season, where deer populations are less and a longer gun season is not justified.

If the gun season is opened up one week (6 days) earlier, to provide for two weeks of Muzzle Loader season statewide, the CENTRAL Deer Season will have "0" days of "Bow Only" days during the "Pre-Rut", which is still not after the "Rut" really kicks in about mid-November. Statewide totals will change from 37 to 31 days for the bow only season and from 111 to 117 days for the firearms season. Again, where is the "bias" toward bowhunting? It seems from the “Human Dimensions Surveys” that there was no overwhelming majority of hunters that favor this proposal, so there was no "mandate" to approve it to begin with. And, again, there was no biological data to support this change. So, why did the commissioners vote to approve it? This is why we (NCBA) oppose this change.

We (NCBA) also believe there are other 'Safety' and 'Social' factors for why any gun season for deer should not be opened earlier. From a 'Safety' standpoint, we feel it will be dangerous, not only for hunters and bowhunters in particular! It will be dangerous to others who will be using the woods at this time of year.. late October.. when leaves are still on trees and in full fall colors to boot. This foliage will not only restrict vision and line of sight for hunters and make for dangerous shooting situations, our 'blaze orange' hats and vests will blend in with the fall colors complicating already dangerous situations. From a 'Social' standpoint, there could be many more unwanted and unnecessary confrontations and conflicts between hunters and others who will be in the outdoors during this time engaging in a variety of other outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, biking, horseback riding, animal/bird watching.. and just sightseeing in general to take in the fall colors.

NCBA firmly believes gun seasons should not open earlier for these reasons, not only in the Central and Western Deer season areas, but in the Eastern seasons as well.

The other proposal NCBA opposes is the legalization of crossbows across the board for anyone who wants to use them. We specially oppose them being legalized during 'Bow Only' seasons for anyone other than those who qualify for the handicapped hunting permit to use them. This is why this state law was enacted some 12-15 years ago.. to give the handicapped and physically challenged hunters a "special" privilege and the opportunity and advantage to hunt during bow seasons. Adoption of this proposal will eliminate the need for the special handicapped license/permits, and it will also eliminate the only advantage and privilege handicapped hunters currently have during the hunting season. We also feel this new rule that legalizes crossbows for everyone will contribute to overcrowding on public game lands during bow only seasons and detract from the quality of the hunting experience for those who have no other hunting opportunities available to them. It is also our position that crossbows simply do not fit or fultil the widely accepted definition of what a bow and arrow is. It is more akin to a firearm in it appearance, construction and how it is aimed and fired. Primarily, it can be fired without the continual exertion of any muscle power to draw and hold until released. A crossbow is cocked, loaded and ready to fire, like a firearm. The obvious solution to this is to restrict crossbows to gun seasons only.

As for Sunday hunting, NCBA has always taken a neutral stance, but stated that we would support whatever position the Wildlife Resources Commission chose to take on this issue. Since the commissioners did vote to approve Sunday bowhunting, we now voice our support of this proposal.

As President of the N.C. Bowhunters Association, I cannot lose sight of the fact that it is my sworn duty to work to preserve the heritage and tradition of the sport of bowhunting, and to support and enforce our Constitution and Bylaws. It is my intent to continue to do this. It is also our intent to continue to work with our wildlife agency and its professional staff to do what is best for our wildlife resources.

Ramon Bell, President/NCBA (August 21, 2009)

The following "Comments" were posted on the NC Sportsman Website on May 27, 2009. These comments are in response to an article in the Raleigh News & Observer titled, "Change Needs to Occur".. by Mike Zlotnicki.
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NCBA at odds with WRC over public meetings and comments from commissioners to NCBA officers

The article below appears in the April 12th issue of the Raleigh News & Observer. It outlines some continuing issues we (NCBA) have with the leadership of the NCWRC. Sometime after the March 4 commission meeting, NCBA (and others) questioned the legality of not being informed or allowed to attend committee meetings as had been the case in the past. It appears that this issue has been resolved at this time, as we received an email from the WRC today explaining the new policy.

There is also an article on the North Carolina Sportsman Magazine website that allures to an official grievance that has been filed with the office of the Governor pertaining to pressure brought upon us (NCBA) by the chairman and other leaders from the commissioners group meant to discourage future opposition to proposals we (or anyone) may be in disagreement with. Several of us have met personally, and also received phone calls from a couple of the commissioners who, in the course of conversation, mentioned their close political ties with the Governor and other legislators. And they insinuated that they could deny us consideration in the future on many issues, and even eliminate our bow seasons if they chose to do so. We interpreted this as being very intimidating to us personally, and even threatening to the existence of bowhunting itself. We (NCBA) also view this as abuse of the power vested in them by their appointment and a violation of their oath of office as a wildlife commissioner.

Mr. Seegars (Chairman) stated, "Anytime we had a disagreement with them, they would take it personally. "They have been incensed over this stuff, and I don't know why." I will comment that. In reference to the proposals, we do not take it personally. We objected because we didn't agree with the proposals, and we will continue to object to proposals that we disagree with and feel are not in the best interest of the resource, or of the sport of hunting, and bowhunting in particular. The WRC continues to whittle away the "Bow Only" seasons and Mr. Seegars says he doesn't know why hunters are not happy with that! No one, including the NCBA is seeking to convert gun seasons to "Bow Only" seasons. On the contrary, it is quite the opposite. We are in a continuing struggle to try to preserve the existing "Bow Only" seasons from being converted to gun seasons for reasons not supported by any biological basis or fact. The WRC's position has been simply stated that, "we want to increase gun seasons so more people can have the opportunity to gun hunt earlier." This sort of approach to management of deer has wreaked havoc on deer populations in other states like Pennsylvania and Georgia and ruined deer hunting in general for the average hunter. It is our opinion that this sort of wildlife/deer management mentality here in North Carolina would be devastating to the deer herd and to the sport of deer hunting itself, and surely to any hopes of enhancing the quality of deer hunting and the quality of our buck deer population.

We will refrain from making further comment at this time about these issues in hopes that they will soon be resolved.

The N&O article is shown below along with comments.

For Bowhunting,
Ramon Bell, President/NCBA
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Bowhunters Aim for Public Wildlife Meetings
From the Raleigh N&O (April 12, 2009)

The N.C. Bowhunters Association and members of the state Wildlife Resources Commission have been in a feud about access to meetings.

The bowhunters group, which has about 1,400 members, wants to be assured of access to the commission's committee meetings. Commission members and staff have previously said that those committee meetings are not covered by the state open meetings law and that committee chairmen have the discretion to invite visitors.

But the commission has apparently reversed itself. A person who has submitted public comments to the commission forwarded an e-mail message sent Thursday to "Wildlife Stakeholders," in which commission chairman Wes Seegars said all committee meetings will be announced publicly.

DOME-041209.IMG broadhead.jpg

It's at those committee meetings where the decisions are really made, said Ramon Bell, president of the bowhunters association.

"When they have these committee of the whole meetings and commission meetings, generally, they just have a show of hands. It's not really a meeting," Bell said. "It's already pretty much engraved in stone at that point."

Seegars could not be reached for comment but recently told The Insider, a state government news service, that he only tried to make association members understand that some of their tactics damaged their credibility. "Anytime we had a disagreement with them, they would take it personally," Seegars told The Insider. "They have been incensed over this stuff, and I don't know why."

The commission sets the rules that govern hunting and fishing in the state. Bell said the flap began in July when a subcommittee of the commission began considering changes to the three deer hunting seasons -- bow, gun and muzzleloader. The proposal at the time was to extend gun season to overlap with bow season statewide.

The association's members got wind of the preliminary proposal and flooded the commission with letters and messages.

In March, Betsy Foard, a commission staff member, told Bell in an e-mail exchange that only full commission meetings would be announced to the public. Foard could not be reached.

COMMENTS to the "DOME":
Submitted by Isaac136 on April 11, 2009 - 10:33am.
What the Dome doesn't mention is the "rest of the story" carried by North Carolina Sportsman magazine online, which reports the allegations made by three witnesses to Wes Seegars' referring to his political influence with the governor to try to discourage the Bowhunters' opposition. The magazine also referred to statements by one of the bowhunters that another of the commissioners, the son of a senator, called him to point out his political pull with his "daddy" and the governor by way of indicating the power the commission had to thwart any opposition mounted by the bowhunters.

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NOTE to NCBA Members: Use the information below to contact ALL our wildlife commissioners via either email or by U.S. Mail. PLEASE take time to do this. Write up a brief, polite but meaningful message and send it as soon as possible to ALL commissioners.

NOTE: Here is a "copy and paste" list of email addresses for all the commissioners. This will save you some time in preparing and sending your messages to them..

slwindham@msn.com, martin@lewisrealestatenc.com, dwhj@bellsouth.net, druffin@triad.rr.com, ramanagement@alltel.net, ntharris@hclsm.com, joe@enceechemical.com, rwhite@mindspring.com, wes@seegarsfence.com, BSkinner3@aol.com, dmurphy@murfam.com, G2price@earthlink.net, bobby.purcell@wolfpackclub.com, mitchstclair1@embarqmail.com, dslaughi@aol.com, johnc@sboil.com, cbennett@wbbatty.com, governor.office@ncmail.net, joeh@ncleg.net, marcb@ncleg.net , ltgovernor@ncmail.net

Also...

Send letters to the NC WRC Director at this address:
Gordon Myers, Executive Director, NCWRC
1701 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1701
Email: gordon.myers@ncwildlife.org

Send letters to the Governor at this address:
Governor Beverly Perdue
20401 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0401
Email: gov.perdue@lists.nc.gov
District Contact Governor At Large Appointee

Steve Windham, Chairman
2688 River Road SE
Winnabow, NC 28479
slwindham@msn.com

House Speaker At Large Appointee Charles Bennett, Vice-Chairman
P.O. Box 2570
Matthews, NC 28106
cbennett@wbbatty.com

District 1 W. Ray White
P.O. Box 922
Manteo, NC 27954
rwhite@mindspring.com District 2

Joe C. Barker III
P.O. Box 39
New Bern, NC 28563
joe@enceechemical.com
District 3 Wes Seegars
P.O. Box 1756
Goldsboro, NC 27533
wes@seegarsfence.com

District 4 W. Douglas Parsons
P.O. Box 1049
Clinton, NC 28329

District 5 Nat T. Harris Jr.
P.O. Box 2000
Whitsett, NC 27377
ntharris@hclsm.com

District 6 Randy Allen
R.A. Management, Inc.
3129 Springbank Lane, Suite 200
Charlotte, NC 28226
ramanagement@alltel.net

District 7 Dalton D. Ruffin
2841 Galsworthy Drive
Winston-Salem, NC 27106
druffin@triad.rr.com

District 8 David W. Hoyle, Jr.
P.O. Box 708
Dallas, NC 28034
dwhj@bellsouth.net

District 9 R. Martin Lewis
1091 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
martin@lewisrealestatenc.com

Governor Appointee At Large

Berkley C. Skinner, III
P.O. Box 7593
Rocky Mount, NC 27804
BSkinner3@aol.com

President Pro Tempore of the Senate Appointee At Large
Maughan Hull, Jr.
1000 Rivershore Road
Elizabeth City, NC 27909

President Pro Tempore of the Senate Appointee At Large

Wendell (Dell) Murphy
P. O. Box 1113
Wallace, NC 28466
(910)285-1350
dmurphy@murfam.com

President Pro Tempore of the Senate Appointee At Large
Eugene Price
130 Quail Drive
Dudley, NC 28333
G2price@earthlink.net

President Pro Tempore of the Senate Appointee At Large

Bobby Purcell
209 Kilmorack Drive
Cary, NC 27511
bobby.purcell@wolfpackclub.com

House Speaker Appointee At Large

Mitch St. Clair, Sr.
P. O. Box 372
Washington, NC 27889
mitchstclair1@embarqmail.com

House Speaker Appointee At Large
John Litton Clark
P. O. Box 469
Clinton, NC 28329
johnc@sboil.com

House Speaker Appointee At Large
Durwood S. Laughinghouse
P. O. Box 17945
Raleigh, NC 27619
dslaughi@aol.com

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If you are not a member of the NCBA, please consider joining our ranks to help us in our efforts to support and preserve your bowhunting privileges in N.C.

New: INSURANCE FOR ALL NCBA MEMBERS

2009-11-25T11:03:00.000-05:00

I am pleased to announce that the insurance coverage for all NCBA members has been re-negotiated and upgraded. Next time you see our Treasurer, JR Stone, thank him for his efforts in getting this done. Basically, every individual NCBA member is now covered everywhere they hunt (and fish) by a $100,000 liability insurance policy. (NOTE: Family members are NOT covered by this policy.) There's two new parts to this policy. It covers fishing AND it covers ALL hunting, including gun hunting. This is a BIG bonus for most of our members, as we are fully aware that many of you also gun hunt. Of course, as a bowhunting organization, we will continue to encourage every member to enjoy bowhunting at it's fullest by becoming a "full-time" bowhunter. This member insurance coverage is simply another benefit you get for your very reasonable $20 a year NCBA membership dues. How can anyone not afford to join and support NCBA? It's absolutely the BEST deal going for the sportsmen and women of North Carolina and anywhere, for that matter. You don't have to live in N.C. to join NCBA! So, JOIN NCBA TODAY, and be sure to RENEW your dues when they come due. Also, the insurance policy is not in effect if your NCBA dues are not currently ACTIVE.
For Bowhunting,
Ramon Bell, President/NCBA