The 77th Western Regional & State Big Game Contest

The first meeting of the Virginia Peninsula Sportsmen’s Association was on March 13, 1940.  It was held to put together an organization that would be involved with outdoor sports.

Thomas Barclay was elected the first president at this meeting.  The first Big Game Contest was held on October 23, 1940 in Wythe Hall, Kecoughtan Road, Hampton, Virginia and was open to any whitetail deer legally bagged anywhere by a VPSA member prior to 1940.  Future contests were restricted to whitetail deer killed in Virginia the previous hunting season.  This contest is the oldest State Big Game Contest still in existence in the nation.

George B. Johnson became the next president in 1941.  Johnson felt that there should be a better way to judge the contest entries rather than a visual decision as had been used in the previous contest.  He went to work on developing the Virginia Scoring System for deer and black bear which was adopted by the membership of the VPSA and is still used today having never been altered in any way.  The Second Contest was held May 13, 1942, in Newport News, Virginia.

VPSA worked directly with The Virginia Commission of Game & Inland Fisheries in the early years with restocking deer and turkey in Virginia.  VPSA had a holding pen for deer in Newport News, this location is now called Deer Park.  Many deer passed through the holding pen for restocking Virginia’s herd.  VPSA had its first turkey release in early 1941 at Lee Hall. Twenty one of the twenty four turkey’s that VPSA had attempted to raise were successfully released.  The VPSA and its membership have given freely of their time and efforts and have made a great impact on the sport of hunting in the State of Virginia.

In 1948, The Virginia Game Commission decided that it would better serve the sportsmen of Virginia by dividing the contest into two regional Championships, Eastern Regional (East of the Blue Ridge) and Western Regional Championships (West of the Blue Ridge).  The top winners from each would then compete for the State Championship.  The VPSA would sponsor the Eastern Regional Championship and the Staunton Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America would sponsor the Western Regional Championship.  In 1950, the Rockingham-Harrisonburg Chapter of the Izaak Walton League took over the Western Regional Contest and this contest continued until 2014.

On Friday, December 16, 1983, The Virginia Commission of Game & Inland Fisheries met in Richmond with the VPSA, represented by Charles A. Rogers, president, and the Rockingham-Harrisonburg Chapter of the IWLA, represented by Boyd (Gene) E. Skelton, president, upon the proposal by the VPSA to create a Big Game Trophy Citation Program.  The proposal was approved and continues to this day with the VPSA (Eastern Regional)  and the WVSA (Western Regional).  The first Big Game Citations for Deer and Bear were awarded at the 1984 Contest.  The Citation for Wild Turkeys was delayed until the 1985 Contest because turkeys would need a certified weight.  The Citation Program was a great boost to the regional contests and gives hunters the recognition they deserve for bagging a trophy deer, bear, or turkey.

The VPSA presents the George B. Johnson Whitetail Deer Trophy, which was created in December of 1984, to an individual that enters the largest scoring deer in the annual State Championship Contest.

In 2015 the Western Virginia Sportsmen’s Association (WVSA) was formed and the WVSA joined together with the VPSA  to jointly sponsor all future contests after the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) dropped its sponsorship of the contest.  The WVSA held the 76th Western Regional Contest in Salem, Virginia.  The State Contest is alternated between the two regions every year.  The WVSA sponsors the State Contest on even number years, while the VPSA sponsors it on odd-number years.

This year promises to be a good year for the 77th Western Regional & State Big Game Contest.  The event will be held at the Augusta Expo Event Center in Fishersville, Virginia, and it will have more mounted deer, bear, and turkey, than ever before.  The VDGIF has reported 209,197 deer were harvested (including does) and 2331 bear were harvested, which is the second-highest number ever recorded, and 3,283 turkeys were harvested.

There will be a full house of vendors with bows, guns, knives, ATVs, campers, trucks, woodcrafters, hunting gear, fishing gear, T-shirts, turkey calls, Canyon coolers, wildlife photography, featured artist  Bruce Dellinger, search & rescue dogs and more. The Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, celebrating 100 years, Quality Deer Management, Hunters for the Hungry, Hunters Helping Kids, Outdoor Dreams, and so much more.  There will be taxidermists with lots of mounts entered into competition.  Food and beverages will be available.

Deer, bear and turkey can be entered in the show on Friday, September 23, 2016 from 9am – 9pm, and on Saturday, September 24, 2016 from 9am – 2:00 pm Deadline.  Each deer, bear and turkey entry will be entered into special prize drawings.  New members are encouraged to join, vendors interested in showing at the show, or anyone needing more information can call 540-414-4641.