BUCKINGHAM – Responding to an issue brought up during last month's hearing on rifle hunting, the Buckingham County Board of Supervisors, in a unanimous vote, enacted an emergency ordinance on Tuesday night authorizing the use of a .22 caliber rim fire or a .22 caliber centerfire rifle when hunting smaller game, furbearing animals, and nuisance species.

Although September's hearing focused on gathering sentiment on whether the county should change its current Firearms Ordinance, which only authorizes rifle hunting from a stand elevated at least ten feet above the ground, the issue of the .22 caliber rim fire versus .22 caliber centerfire also became a focal point.

During that hearing, several speakers questioned why the current ordinance, after being revised in 2010, reads, “It shall be unlawful to hunt with a rifle larger than .22 caliber rim fire, except any center fire rifle of a large caliber may be used to hunt from a stand elevated at least 10 feet from the ground.”

After closing the September hearing, the board appointed a committee to explore the feasibility of revising the ordinance to include rifle hunting from the ground.

Supervisors also tasked the committee with drafting a proposed MOU, memorandum of understanding, with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, to clarify that the intent of the current Firearms Ordinance was not to restrict the use of .22 caliber centerfire rifles to hunt coyotes and similar species.

During the board's October 9 meeting, E. M. Wright, Jr., county attorney, advised that it was the consensus of the committee to proceed in a two-stage process by first solving the centerfire/rim fire question to enable citizens to hunt certain species with .22 centerfire rifles rather than being restricted to use only .22 caliber rim fire rifles.

“What you have before you is an ordinance that accomplishes that purpose,” stated Wright.

Referencing last month's discussion of entering into the MOU with DGIF so that its officers would know not to enforce the centerfire restriction, Wright explained that adopting the proposed ordinance on an emergency basis would offer a more legitimate solution.

He noted that by adopting the ordinance on an emergency basis, it would be in effect for 60 days.

According to the attorney, if the board wants to enact the same ordinance on a regular basis, then it would need to advertise the ordinance for a public hearing to be held at its next meeting.

Subsequently, the board unanimously voted to hold the public hearing prior to taking action to enact the ordinance on an emergency basis.

Wright concluded, “Then, the committee will continue to work to consider the question of elevated rifle hunting or ground level rifle hunting.” He added that once the committee formulates its recommendation on the elevated versus ground level rifle hunting issue, it would report back to the board of supervisors.

However, as pointed-out during the September meeting, any changes regarding that issue would have to be made by the board, following a duly advertised hearing; and, then be submitted to DGIF for inclusion in next year's hunting season.

Rifle Hunting Ordinance

The emergency ordinance as presented includes a preface stating that the county has a Firearms Ordinance but supervisors “desire to modify the ordinance by re-titling the ordinance to be more consistent with the purpose of the ordinance.”

Continuing, the preface offers that the board desires to modify the ordinance “to make it consistent with what the board believes to be the original intent of the ordinance, namely to allow the hunting of certain species with a .22 caliber centerfire rifle.”

Designated as the Buckingham County Rifle Hunting Ordinance, it reads, “When the season is open on such species or when taking of such species is allowed under the regulations or laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia or the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, it shall be lawful:

A. to hunt the following: 1. game animals, rabbit, fox, squirrel, bobcat and raccoons; 2. furbearing animals; beaver, bobcat, fox, mink, muskrat, opossum, otter, raccoon, skunk, and weasel: and 3. the following nuisance species: blackbirds, coyotes, groundhogs, crows, cowbirds, feral swine, grackles, English sparrows, starlings; with a .22 caliber rim fire or a .22 caliber centerfire rifle;

B. to hunt deer and bear from a stand elevated at least 10 feet from the ground with .23 or larger caliber. However, such rifles can only be loaded while the hunter is in the elevated tree stand or while attempting to recover wounded game within a 300 yard perimeter of the elevated stand from which the game was shot. Any person with a permanently disabling physical handicap as recognized by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries shall be except from the elevated stand provision of this ordinance.

C. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as limiting, in any way, the use of muzzle loading guns as provided in subsequent sections of this ordinance.”

The next few sections of the ordinance mirror the current Firearms Ordinance. However, the last two paragraphs note that the ordinance was revised and adopted by the board as an emergency ordinance and will be in effect for sixty days unless re-adopted.

The document concludes, “Further, upon adoption of the revised ordinance, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries shall be contacted by the County Administrator and asked not to enforce the previous Buckingham County Firearms Ordinance and is further authorized to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries concerning the non-enforcement as she be so advised.”