Smyrna times., 1955-12-22
DEER SEASON
DATES LISTED
Archery Season December 26
Through December 80;
Shotgun Jan. 6 and z
PUBLIC LANDS OPEN

Delaware's archery season for
deer opens December 26 and
continues through December 80;
shotgun season is January 6 and
z with the legal bag limit one
deer of either sex by either
method. Those public lands which
are under Game and Fish Com
mission administration are open
to deer hunting without permit
other than a regular hunting lic-
ense. These lands include 5000
acres along the Chesapeake and
Delaware Canal, Petersburg Wild
life Area Ia miles south of Dover
and Assawoman Wildlife Area 16
miles southeast of Millsboro. In
addition to these state-controlled
lands, the Fish and Wildlife Ser
vice has opened a portion of the
Bombay Hook Refuge 8 miles
east of Smyrna for deer hunting
by permit only. 1t is necessary
to apply at the Bombay Hook
Refuge for either bow and arrow
hunting or shotgun. Application
for and receipt of bow-hunting
permits may be done entirely by
mail. If any applications are re-
ceived at refuge headquarters too
late for the permit to be returned
to the applicant he may pick up
his permit in person at the refuge.
Because of the Annual Christmas
Bird Census being conducted by
the Audubon Society the opening
date for archery hunting at Bonn
bay Hook Refuge will be Decem-
ber 81 instead of December 26.
Contrary to current rumor, the
season on the refuge will NOT be
extended an extra day to make
up for the day being lost. All
signs seem to indicate that this
years deer season should be a.
successful one. Observations of
live deer, highway kill and the
number of deer being killed illeg-
ally show that our deer popula-
ton is about normal for this time
of the year. While it is true that
certain areas that had large num-
bers of deer before the first open
season in 1858 do not have many
deer at present this is probably a
good thing. Present populations
are more in line with the number
of deer such areas can support
without eating themselves out of |
house and home. Where heavy |
concentrations of deer exist over
long periods of time the final re-
suit is always malnutrition stunt
ed growth, lowered reproduction
rate. poor antler development and,
in extreme cases, starvation. Now
for word about safety. Archery
is not particularly dangerous
sport, but any weapon that will
kill a deer will also kill man.
1t is expected that there will be
more archers afield this year than
last and that in certain areas they
will be very close together This
means that each one must, as in
any form of hunting, be sure that
his target is not another hunter.
A naise in the brush is just as
likely to be man as it is deer.
So-be sure, dead sure, before you
shoot. The checking stations
will not be in operation during
the archery deer season. How
ever, all successful archers should
contact the Office of the Game
and Fish Commission to get their
deer weighed and tagged. Also,
Chief Warden Virgil Hearn advis-
es all hunters to curD their arlx-
iety and wait for the legal OPEN
ing of the season before attempt
ing to kill deer. The recent cold
weather has given Delawareans
an opportunity for an unusual
type of fishing. Ice fishing has
1onc heen faVorite sport in
many northern states. The few
fishermen who have tried it dur
ing Delaware's brief freezes have
been very successful. Using live
bullhead minnows they have been
catching pickerel and perch about
as fast as they can pull them in
and the fish are really good eat
ing this time of the year.