Happy deer hunting

Deer gun season will be here soon. In West Virginia, hunters can hunt deer with gun beginning the week of Thanksgiving. In Ohio, gun season begins the following week.

West Virginia wildlife officials say hunters should have a good harvest this year, according to The Associated Press. More people are buying stamps to take extra deer during the bow season now in progress, and the number of deer is up.

This time of year, deer are common along West Virginia’s roads. Deer graze along roadways as though they have lost their fear of vehicle traffic. That leads to the increasing number of deer carcasses that people see along back roads and along main roads such as West Virginia 2.

I was up on Route 2 last week, and I can't tell you how many carcasses my boys and I saw. It was a bunch, I can tell you that.

Deer hunting is part of the Appalachian culture. It’s a necessary took in conservation efforts, as deer have few natural predators. An overabundance of deer leads to a variety of problems, the main one being car-deer collisions. If deer weren't so comfortable around cars now on the back roads that I drive, there would probably be a lot more carcasses in people's front yards.

For the sake of all concerned — drivers; hunters; people who like venison — here’s to a successful harvest this fall.

I'm not a hunter, but my oldest son will be in a year or so when he gets accustomed to his new compound bow. If he can kill one and field dress it, more power to him.