Leaderboard

Today marks my one year anniversary off the stinkin' cigarettes! I can't even seem to keep committed to a wife or girlfriend that long, so this is quite the accomplishment for me! So... to celebrate the occasion, I'll be tooting on some of my newest favorite orange creamcicle e-jooce out of my electro ciggy ! I was puffing on 24mg of nicotine last year to start, but I'm now down to 9mg nicotine level in my juice and have no problem puffing on 3mg The decrease in nic levels was never planned, but I got no problems with the way it's working out. I never imagined in a million years I would be offended by the smell of tobacco smokers, but today, I'm finally disgusted by your stanky butts!

Congrats on your decision to stop cigarettes, it is a tough thing to do but so worth it for your health and money you save. It's a tough thing to beat and just stay focused on your desire to quit and you will be successful. I have been smoke free for 9 years now and lung cancer survivor for 3 years now. Good luck!!

A great example of being fooled by body size is a buck I shot in (IIRC) 2009. At the camp I hunt out of in Ontario County for a period of better than 50 years, hundreds of bucks have been up and down the meat pole and darn near every single buck that was guessed at 2.5 years or better was weighed. ONE buck broke 160lbs and that stud went 162. Dad shot him in the 90's and he stood as the champ for many years until I killed an average looking 8pt with the bow in October of '09. When I walked up on him I was speechless. Hard to believe huh? I approached from the rear and saw this.................. Keep in mind that at the time I was probably 240-250, fresh out of the shower. I walked around him a few times, stunned. I was on the cell phone at the time and I told my buddy we were in trouble.......the thing is a moose! The rack was just a decent 8pt but the body was bigger than anything we'd ever shot. Down the road the guys that I respect as true trophy hunters (local hard working farmers) had killed a couple that went 199lbs but never broke 2 bills. They couldn't believe it when I called that night and requested a scale that went over 200lbs! Body size doesn't always matter when it comes to age since this beast was only a 3.5 year old, according to the fine folks at the DEC and my own personal observations. If I had trail cams of this buck and posted them what would he be "guessed" at? Yes, 217lbs dressed. I've killed fawns that weren't as big as one of his hams..... 3.5 years old. Since then I've killed some other heavy bucks none have been (as far as I know) older than 3.5. One I suspect was 4.5 but can't prove it as I'm not going to pay for an aging. Only a 6pt (heavy horned and fairly wide) but weighed 182lbs IIRC. Here he is........(the buck on the right)........... Sincere apologies to those that have seen these pics.

I have videos of this buck for the last 5 weeks and every one was in the middle of the night. Well he finally showed up during daylight hours. Any guesses on the age of this fella? Sorry for the link, can't upload pictures straight to the forum any longer. http://s952.photobucket.com/user/Chiefbkt/library/Mobile%20Uploads?sort=3&page=1

Just passed 3 years smoke free myself ...... Congrats to anyone whom quits !

18yo and LEGAL in anyones book no matter what the restrictions. If you're questioning him being a "shooter" or not, you nee to have your head examined,lol My Lord, if that buck walks out in front of any of you and you don't pull the trigger don't blame me when I do. That dudes got some serious beam length that would look good over any of our mantels..... or barn rafters.

Not sure if people know if you get a bear in Maine the collect a tooth. Last year my father and I both got bears. My fathers was 16yrs old mine they couldn't age cause the tooth was damage. Someone on the list got one that aged 31 yrs old. If find this to pretty cool that Maine does this.

Since that's the case, i would say to hunt that spot with the lowest impact possible until gun season rolls around and the deer get pushed into that property.

Cuomo calls NY Common Core ‘broken,’ calls for reform In a stunning reversal, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a staunch advocate of the Common Core curriculum, today said New York State’s Common Core program is “broken” and called for an extensive review and recommendations for change. Cuomo issued a written statement after the New York State Education Department began taking measures to prevent certain funding from going to schools with high numbers of students who opted out of tests given to evaluate teachers. His statement also came after a battle over the Common Core sharpened, as newly named Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia faulted parents of students who opted out for not going along with this testing process, as she seeks to stem a growing opt-out movement. While Cuomo attacked the implementation, he still said he supported the idea of Common Core, a distinction likely to be lost on some critics. “The fact is that the current Common Core program in New York is not working, and must be fixed,” Cuomo said. “To that end, the time has come for a comprehensive review of the implementation of the Common Core dtandards, curriculum, guidance and tests in order to address local concerns.” Cuomo went short of saying that Common Core itself is a failure, saying that he is calling for change, “not because I don’t believe in standards, but because I do.” “I believe the implementation by the State Education Department has been deeply flawed,” he said. “The more time goes on, the more I am convinced of this position.” Critics of Common Core, however, were skeptical of Cuomo’s criticism of the implementation and defense of the concept of Common Core. “All that is left of the vague promise of Common Core is the theory of it,” said Jeanette Deutermann, one of the leaders of the Long Island opt out movement. She said that Governor Cuomo and Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch have “teamed up for the past five years to turn that theory into a living nightmare for our children and their teachers” that should not be reformed, but removed. “Through their leadership, reforms, and laws, our classrooms have turned into unrecognizable test prep factories, sacrificing the joy of both teaching and learning,” Deutermann continued. Deborah Brooks, co-founder of Port Washington Advocates for Public Education, said when John King was commissioner, Cuomo said the state had botched implementation, by rushing it and not doing it properly. “The thing that he has refused to acknowledge is that now we’re at least four years into this,” Brooks said. “After four years, implementation is over. When is the Governor going to understand that it’s about the standards themselves?” Allison White, a parent who opposes the Common Core, believes that education has become politicized with decisions made by government officials. “Common Core can’t be fixed. It’s a lemon and should be scrapped completely,” White said. “The Governor is not interested in what is best for children; he is simply realizing that his own ratings are at an all time low. Teachers, educational professionals and parents should be making educational decisions, not politicians.” Cuomo said that “a growing chorus of experts” questioned the state’s Common Core program and criticized the new commissioner’s own taking to task of parents whose children opted out of tests. “While I understand the issue and (State Education Department’s) valid concern, I sympathize with the frustration of the parents,” Cuomo said. He added that Elia “inherited this problem” and “has been meeting with parents, educators and students, and has heard the same concerns.” Cuomo said in the past he has turned to an Education Commission to make “substantive, unbiased recommendations on reforms to our education system.” He plans to ask “a representative group” from that Commission to recommend changes, including education experts, teachers, parents, the Commissioner of Education and legislative representatives. He said that he would ask them “to review the issues raised above and provide recommendations” in time for his state of the state Address in January. Deutermann, however, called Cuomo’s statements a “political ploy… as the blame game continues,” vowing to “refuse to participate in the mechanisms that are destroying our schools and our children’s education.” “He has the opportunity to really turn this boat around,” Brooks added. “He has a golden opportunity. For practical purposes, he can decouple tests from teacher evaluations.” She said that a committee should include competent people who can figure out what’s appropriate for students in each grade rather than cronies who might rubber stamp what’s in place or make recommendations for slight change. “In the meantime, mitigate the damage being done to children now,” Brooks said. “I would get rid of the assessment test. The test is aligned to the Common Core standards. If you suspend the tests, the teachers can go back to what they know the kids will understand.” New York State already has gotten rid of the company that had been preparing the teacher assessment tests, bringing in another firm to revamp them. The New York State Education Department recently selected Minneapolis, Minn.-based Questar Assessment to develop math and English language arts assessments for grades three to eight, replacing Pearson Education. Questar won a five-year, $44 million contract that includes options for districts to administer tests on computers as well as ending stand-alone tests given to try out new questions. Read more: http://libn.com/2015/09/03/cuomo-calls-ny-common-core-broken-calls-for-reform/#ixzz3kizmsBUq

Hello all my name is Fletch and I have an addiction!

Congrats, Wooly. Take all the money you save and sink it into hunting gear.

I quit 30 years ago but I remember it wasn't easy…So Congrats !!! Sounds like you're home free!!

I used to be hardcore before all the posting and leasing of land knocked a lot of hunters out of the game. I still take a week off for bow season and sit dark to dark trying for a 3 year old and up buck. Weekends I mix my time between bow hunting and going to the races and watching football. Just hasn't been the same since my father died even though it has been several years. The hunters being so selfish has taken a lot out of me too. The most fun I have every year is taking kids and first timers out and putting them on deer, and enjoying their moment with them. I already have a date with two young women for a repeat of last year even though one of them is too old and has to wait to shoot during the regular season. It makes me feel good that young women are comfortable enough around me to call and ask to go again. It is not always easy to reach teenagers in this age of electronics and cell phones.

Mo' money in my pocket, and mo' air in my lungs! 422 days smoke-free.

Wow just saw this thread Congrats to you guys after over 20 years of smoking I just started the Vapor pen @ 3mg Saturday was my last Cigarette even though it has been less then a week I can't believe how easy it has been so far by the means of the Vapor pen I would suggest buying a good setup to begin with. I bought a cheap setup (didn't know any better) crapped out within 2 days then bought a decent one for not much more & works a lot better

Because the only want the population reduced in certain areas, not across the state.

Dang, Curmudgeon beat me to it.

I haven't been asked, but I can tell you how not to handle that dilemma, and I don't even have to be the head of the DEC whitetail management team. The antlerless season is actually a good idea, but to waste that activity by assigning it to the least effective hunting weapons/season sure does bring into question the sincerity and credibility of the effort.

I've seen the progression from longbows/recurves to predominantly compounds in a special season, the bow season, originally established during the longbow/recurve era. I see no reason why either the season goes back to stick bows (longbows/recurves) or progresses to include all mechanically assisted bow "MAC"'s (compounds/cross-bows). However, as one who holds lifetime bowhunting privlege, and has and hunts with longbows, recurves, a compound and a cross-bow, I do believe that us cross-bow hunters should have to take the proper full bowhunter safety course. Being able to hunt with a cross bow with nothing more than reading a few paragraphs in the regs book or site and buying a muzzleloader tags does not seem correct to me. It still shoots a broadhead, and that makes the entire hunt and recovery much closer to bow hunting than rifle/shotgun/muzzleloader hunting. Just my humble opinion. Jaeger

Looks like a dingleberry [emoji90] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You guys gotta get the secret handshake down with photobucket. Geez.....................

Does the farmer who owns 1,000 acres have his property right next to the one you are looking to hunt? If so you may have an awesome spot once gun season rolls around as well because of the pressure that might come from the gun club.

I'll only guess on bucks that are between 1.5 and 2.5.... I won't even pretend to know anything I don't beyond that unless I got their horns in my hand. (sheds or dead)... and a LOT of in person history with them before that point!

You may be satisfied by taking it like the DEC dealt this out, but many are taking exception to it. Your desire to just toss up your hands and do nothing is just what the government counts on.

The kind that decides to go to breakfast in freezing rain 15 min before a monster buck walks by the scrape I was hunting and poses for a camera.

Soy beans are 3 1/2 ---- 4 feet high .

WNY buck hunter, If I shoot a buck in 1C I would be done with bucks for the season. And Since there is no doe harvest allowed in 3a, and never will be, I will not be able to hunt deer there. With the low amount of hunters, let alone successful hunters in 3a, the one buck rule will do virtually nothing in that area. So basically i will be giving up opportunity, in my case in the area that I grew to love the hunting tradition in, for no reason at all. Explain how that makes sense. Maybe I am slow on the uptake? I gun hunt on tens of thousands of acres in areas where virtually no one goes, yet somehow I'm supposed to start going somewhere else in another part of the state to look for a doe? That's what my gun season is reduced to? I realize I could save my buck tag by not using it for bow. But we have a 4 month bow season on Long Island. That is something that is unreasonable to ask me to do.

He teaches conspiracy theories 101 in pre-K.

It's hard to believe at $10 a pack that anyone could possibly be that addicted. For $50 I get enough joooce to last me 2 months.... and I'm a vapoholic,lol A regular/heavy ciggy smoker can burn through that in 2 1/2 days! I don't even think about them anymore, and I've dropped down to 3mg nicotine myself. My next step is 0% nicotine, just vaping for the flavor.... then I may just quit completely, but I doubt it because the flavors are SOOOOOO good!

Fantastic gfdep! Those cheesy pens make it feel like you're missing out on something most others are gloating about. The transition from tobaccy to an e-cigg is much easier once you find a good set up you get the most flavor and satisfaction out of. Now the constant search for good jooce begins! Vape Wild is my favorite by far, and very affordable so you might want to look them up! Congrats, and good luck moving forward past the stinkies!

The dense ferns - which look like hay-scented to me - suggest a heavy deer population - probably too many.

So far, only 35% would hunt at the same frequency and intensity or higher. 65% will hunt other units, not hunt at all, or reduce their time in the stand for that period.

You are overblowing this out of proportion. People shoot lots of does overall as a hunter group. Just not as many as the DEC wants, despite us not knowing that number should be. Everyone that I know in-person in this thread being vocal about OBR or taking a look at the way we manage buck tags, took does last year IN THE WMUS affected. That's not broken. What's broken is the system and the DEC and that's what people have a vested interest in resolving. People in large have the right mindset (meaning intent), but its butting heads with an agency that isn't willing to dance.

So tax payers are going to get bent over yet again on this, to undo what Cuomo had planned to be a shinning star for his resume' to the wht house....is that what I'm reading?

Being forced to pass on a buck of a lifetime is a good thing with OBR imo. Next year, they might think a little harder on shooting bucky jr. when its the firat buck that walks by. Tons of other states have done this, most recently IN and KY, and their hunters are still living and participating just fine. Compare that to even the crummy poll I created where more than half of the people are reducing or majorly changing their hunting habits due to the two week rule.If they do shoot bucky jr. and they are happy with it, then I am as well. Remember only 5k hunters shoot a second buck out of how many hundreds of thousands of hunters.

Yeah, that's a bit of a youngster. I kind of like to wait until their back sways down enough so the belly is dragging on the ground. And if they still have any teeth left, they have been taken way before their time. Also, that one still has way too much antler. They are not ready for harvest until they have begun to lose mass and points. I kind of like to see the legs starting to bow and buckle significantly too. But I guess that's only because I am such a great hunter that I only take the super-mature ones. There .... how does that sound? ..... Anyone impressed yet .... ha-ha-ha.

QDM co-ops in the harvest bucks that old. have trail camera pictures, history, harvest them, and then send the teeth out for confirmation. I'm not as good at aging as some of the others in the group. we (mostly they) are constantly gathering this info and putting together "Aging On the Hoof" seminars. hooks and pins are terms more associated with livestock and say dairy farmers. not really deer. basically I'm referring to his whole hind quarters. hooks are the hip bones on the top and pins are the bones pointing straight back off the top of the hams as you'd call them. they're more visible in a dairy cow. 3.5 yr old grows more in the front as he needs that bulk there first. at 4.5 a deer reached full skeletal maturity and fills out a bit more in the hams area.

Some of the better bucks to die in NY get hit. Know of multiple road kills over 150" Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Other than the lawless Amish in Ohio - their dnr is intolerant of cheaters... One buck rule here would still have guys carrying 3 buck tags and shooting as many dinks and fawns as they could fling lead at. We have a culture problem here- not regulations. If your hopes are the dec improving hunting, let alone mature buck numbers, please wake up Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Go make me a sandwhich.

Wooly, I thought I told you about those long distance relationships? J/k Voted. Good luck

Core, Boots are very important, depending where and what you hunt you may want or need a couple pairs of boots. At least should have a pair of insulated water-proof boots for deer gun season in cold damp weather (or wading across a shallow stream). If also hunt early season, may want something lighter-weight to not have your feet sweat to death in your boots - perhaps a pair of light-weight hikers. That should be a later add-on to your gear. I use an Energizer headlight that has the red-light beams on it - they are not expensive. After having mine for 6-7 years the padding is starting wear off, so I picked one from Amazon when the price dropped recently. You can also find them at Walmart & Target. Sometimes you can find some gear at yard sales from others who have stop hunting, or those reducing their abundance of hunting gear. Being first year hunting, don't go crazy on equipping yourself. Start simple with some basics. If you enjoy hunting, put items on Christmas wish list and watch for the after Christmas hunting gear sales. Sometimes score items for 70% off that way.

I'm a hard core prep-er... Just because I hunt nearly every day...get up at 4am and out the door by 5...will go out if need be and track at midnight...doesn't make me an addict!

Have you ever heard of flogging a dead horse? This horse is not only dead it is decomposed. the maggots have ate the whole thing.

This weekend is the second time they're offering the sportsman tax free weekend in Mississippi. They started it last year and people love it. This state I live in is far from perfect, but they do at least listen to their citizens. So all labor day weekend long anything to do with hunting, fishing and all guns and ammo is tax free. win.

OK. In true DEC fashion, the current sample size is fine. Close the poll, draw your conclusions and make your decisions...lol

If it was me, I'd have told her I'm going to conduct an interview with her next. Then I'd whip that big microphone out of my pocket and ask some tough questions... #1 question would be- "who's your daddy",lol

Somebody PLEASE post a picture of a 4 year old buck. Then toss in a 3 year old. Bet ya' don't have a picture of a 5 year old........................................... Looking forward to the pics! (JHC the DEC can't tell from the damned jaws half the time)

I live in 9X and Hunt 9P a lot. There are not that many DMPs because the population is low. 9X is completley wooded with the exception of a few old farm fields. Agriculture is dead in 9X. 9P is dying with the exception of a few farmers and the Amish that are moving in. If you want deer to hunt you need agriculture (another reason to buy local when it comes to food / produce). Its not a coincidence that all the WMUs that have high DMP numbers are also in the most productive agricultural areas (with the exception of the suburbs). Farms provide a large, very nutritious food source with lots of edge cover for wildlife. Same reason there are not millions of deer in the ADKs and Catskills. Same reason midwest has so many deer. I cant figure out why every one form the Buffalo - Rochester area drives down to hunt 20 acres around my house. I pass them on the way north to hunt ag land.