DWR officers to Northampton Board: Deer hunting with rifles is safer and leads to a better harvest

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources Conservation Police Officers Brian Bratton and Tony Pennino told the Northampton Supervisors that DWR data indicate rifle hunting for deer is safer than shotguns, which are currently allowed in Northampton, and leads to a better harvest, which state scientists say is needed on the Eastern Shore.

The officers addressed the Northampton Board Tuesday night after the Supervisors opened the discussion of the County’s prohibition against use of rifles for harvesting deer at the regular September meeting.

According to figures presented by the officers, hunters harvested 1,256 deer in Northampton last season, with females accounting for 49 percent. Bratton said wildlife managers would prefer the doe harvest to reach at least 52 percent and ideally about 55 percent.

In Accomack County, where rifles are permitted for deer hunting, 3,192 deer were harvested, with females accounting for 55.2 percent. Rifles accounted for about 52.5 percent of Accomack’s total harvest.

Bratton said allowing rifles could bring more hunters into Northampton and help farmers dealing with deer damage.

“It opens up deer hunting to such a larger audience,” he said.

Safety, however, dominated much of the discussion.

The officers presented DWR statistics covering approximately 20 years showing 88 percent of 221 qualifying firearm-related hunting injuries statewide involved shotguns, which are currently permitted in the County, compared with 9 percent involving rifles and 3 percent involving muzzleloaders. The officers said all of the shotgun incidents involved buckshot.

The officers also presented statistics specifically for 18 counties in Virginia’s relatively flat Coastal Plain, where concerns about how far a projectile can travel are particularly relevant. Over the same 20-year period, they said there were 26 qualifying hunting firearm incidents in those counties. Twenty-five involved shotguns and just one involved a rifle. The officers said the shotgun incidents involved buckshot, with no incidents attributed to shotgun slugs.

“The statistics clearly show that the most dangerous thing that hunters do across the state is shooting at running deer with buckshot,” Bratton said.

Supervisors nevertheless expressed concern about the considerably greater distance rifle bullets can travel.

“That’s my concern,” Supervisor Ernest Smith said after Bratton acknowledged rifles can shoot much farther than shotguns.

However, the officers also noted that rifles are already legally used in Northampton for certain other types of hunting. It is currently legal in Northampton to use a rifle to hunt turkeys, and predators, which generally are hunted from ground level. The only prohibition for use of rifles is on deer hunting.

Bratton said DWR already requires hunters using rifles on certain state-owned Eastern Shore property to be at least 10 feet above the ground, helping direct shots downward.

“Any elevation,” Pennino said, “is going to make that trajectory downward and lower the risk of the projectile going too far.”

Pennino also said there have been only a couple of safety incidents involving deer hunters on the Shore since he began as an officer here.

One possible compromise discussed was allowing only rifles using straight-wall cartridges, which generally have a shorter effective range than many traditional rifle cartridges. Supervisors also discussed requiring hunters to shoot from an elevated position.

The discussion left supervisors considering whether Northampton should maintain its current restrictions or develop a more limited rifle option, potentially combining straight-wall ammunition with an elevated hunting requirement.