The Beazor Bunch is a group of volunteers who have agreed to respond each year to a questionnaire about deer harvests and deer hunting. These dedicated people are like those who respond to T.V. Nielsen Ratings. They have been selected from Virginia hunters that hunt regularly. They are volunteers and not paid. This is a private activity, so government "sunshine" laws are not involved. Their privacy is protected .
The work is secret so that they will not be influenced in any way, positively or negatively, by contacts with friends or other hunters. Their responses are secret; after checking only to assure responses have been made, analysts can no longer identify from whom a response comes.
The results from this secret, independent, private, annual survey are published annually. In addition, the actual numbers are used in a variety of computer models to adjust estimates, verify statistics, and gain insights into factors affecting the deer resource.
The annual reports may influence agency reporting, but that is not the intent. The Beazor Bunch participates by their responses, providing information about Virginia's deer resource impossible to get in any other way. Periodic, costly survey are conducted by the state's Department of Game an Inland Fisheries. An alternative source of information of a different type may not be a bad idea.
Prelininary notes for the questionnaire:
From your primary residence (where you spend more than 50% of your time) what is the greatest distance that you drove to do any type of hunting this past season? (If you went to 3 areas to hunt, give the distance in miles to the one farthest away, for example 13.6). Estimate the distance if you do not have a measure:
How many days of "vacation time" did you take? (If self-employed, count days [to the nearest half-day] that you hunted this past season.)
How many misses (shots fired at deer that got away)? (Do not count extra shots needed to take any deer reported above.)
Misses
- Archery:
- Rifle:
- Black powder or other primitives:
- Shotgun:
- Pistol:
- Other (write in):
How many sure "hits" got away or were never found? [We hate to ask, but we need to know.]
Not Found
- Archery:
- Rifle:
- Black powder or other primitives:
- Shotgun:
- Pistol:
- Other (write in):
Sequence of returns
Progressive daily statistics
Paired annual comparisons
- with last year's report
- with last year's report personal report
Drop out rate of members:
How many deer did you take between _____ and ______ with:
---Male---Female---
- Archery:
- Rifle:
- Black powder or other primitives:
- Shotgun:
- Pistol:
- Other (write in):
About how many hours did you hunt (not driving to the area, camping, resting at camp, cooking, etc.)?
Hours------
- Archery:
- Rifle:
- Black powder or other primitives:
- Shotgun:
- Pistol:
- Other (write in):
How many hours (active) did you spend in the field scouting out and walking around ____ and all of your actual or potential deer hunting areas?
harvest/hunter by type
sex harvest/hunter by type
poacher/hunter by type
success harvest hour/hour of driving
harvest hour/hr of holiday
Hunters seen while in the field and while you were hunting (not at cars or in the store)
Recall seeing any gun or hunting safety violations? 0 Yes 0 No
Actually observe a game law violation? ? 0 Yes 0 No
Hear of a game law violation? 0 Yes 0 No
Do you know for certain of a deer not being "checked-in", reported at a checking station?
0 Yes 0 No
If yes, how many:
[Here's the hard one to ask. We hope you'll answer. We'll protect your answer.]
Deer that you took, but did not report as "checked-in."
Number----
- Archery:
- Rifle:
- Black powder or other primitives:
- Shotgun:
- Pistol:
- Other (write in):
What kind of state license do you hold? (mark "X" where appropriate).
National Forest stamp:
County stamp (any county):
Combined:
None (land-owner, etc.)
When did you hunt? Enter dates if remembered or check each week in which you did some type of deer hunting.
Dates (by week):
Have you seen or heard directly from a land owner of deer damage in your area? (check appropriate box)
Area Yes No
to orchards?
to forest growth?
to gardens or yards?
to field crops (e.g., soybeans)?
to hay?
Other Resources:
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This Web site is maintained by R. H.
Giles, Jr.
Last revision January 17, 2000.
