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Stopped to take a pic of a culvert pipe today when this mink came shooting out like he was on the water slide at Six Flags! I see a bunch of them this time of year while hiking, but this is the first time I got a decent shot of one. Question..... Is it now the "mink rut", or what's the deal with the increase in mink sightings this time of year? I really don't know much about them other than this is a good time to see one. Sure I could Google it, but I'll let one of you be my hero by enlightening me with your infinite wisdom of everything wild! .... plus I just wanted to hang his pic here.

Funny / ironic story. I would think that my fellow shed hunters would agree that finding a matched set is considerably harder than finding just a single side! So, my brother-in-law was in town for the weekend and we decided to do a little shed hunting (30 miles worth). I spot what appears to be a small piece of an antler. I walk over and investigate and see both sides basically laying on each other. I pick them up and shout over to my brother-in-law of my find. As he is walking towards me, and literally 10' from where I find mine, he stops and picks up another matched set....again, basically almost laying on each other. Granted, small deer, but 2 matched sets within 10' of each other. Crazy!

I had a lobster roll and Brussel sprouts at LTK. This is my last night in Boston, we walked from the seaport down to Faneuil hall, did the old taverns, oysters at Union Oyster, a slice and pint here and there, and all the way back to the hotel. Coworkers Fitbit says we walked 10.9 miles.Talk about incongruous, they had karaoke at the green dragon, a 300 year old tavern

No.. it would be horrible to pay employees more than a rate for their job than the market will bare... which will put other employees out of work or replace all employees with automation. The government can not and should not dictate wages for private enterprise.. the employer establishes a wage and you decide whether you can live on that or not... if not, don't take that job! If the wages are too low, nobody will work for that employer and he will go out of business... If the wages are too high he will not be able to afford stay in business. Simple Business!

Cuomo - like a lot of downstaters - seems to have an unrealistic view of the rural economy. I've know at least 2 people who turned down upstate jobs when they were just out of college because the wages were lower than they expected. They stayed in Rockland County and Brooklyn and certainly had a lower standard of living then they would have had upstate making less.

Drove little atv thing with hydraulic rakes in the back in sand traps for slouches who didn't rake their footprints ( golf course ). Also changed hole locations on greens. Man , I put some doozies out there when the greens were running fast My dad was superintendent of golf course I worked at for 43 years. While working there and playing golf there I knew every inch of grass there. Ended up club champion 7 of 10 years and then quit golf entirely. No idea what I got paid , long time ago At the time I'd go pick night crawlers off the tees at night. Good pick was 1000 at 5 cents per. They'd be so easy to grab all stretched out with the short grass and sprinklers on Sold to Dustys bait n tackle in Depew on Transit rd for those who remember of that place. Ha , I may have helped you indirectly catch fish ?!

One could also speculate that this kid was maybe trying to commit suicide by consuming a large quantity of lead, the complete opposite of thinking it was harmless because his Dad said so. Unless the exact facts are known the whole story is open to speculation! Al

I have been paying $30-$40 for boxes of 20 Barnes TSX and Federal Trophy copper. I have bought a lot because I gave every member of our hunting group their first box. Since I shoot no more than a handful of copper bullets each season, I spend more on gas for the UTV so my octogenarian Dad can get in the woods each season then I do for premium ammo. The $4 per year extra cannot be a hardship for any normal hunter. Even those who live in dumps have a ATV. They can spend $4 a year to keep their kids' IQs above average. I know a lot of people who shoot copper in the field. I don't know one who shoots copper at the range, except for that final sighting in before deer season. The cost argument is specious. This photo is of meat from the ND Venison Donation Program put through a CT scanner. The white spots are lead. They were feeding this stuff to poor kids, not so different than Flint letting them drink lead tainted water. Do I have an agenda? Damn straight I do: Safe food. Safe gut piles. Fewer dead eagles. Better terminal performance. Do you have a choice? Yes you do: Buy cheap, toxic ammo. Feed lead to your kids. Poison scavengers. Or, forgo a coffee at Starbucks one day and use the money to buy copper bullets.

I was so impressed ...... Until I saw the choice of beer ????

where'd you go downtown ? and oh boy, Gatorade in fridge ? Excedrin on bedside table ? Mcdonalds greasy steak n cheese bagel sammich in the morning ?

Worked on my grandparent's farm. If I did good they fed me. If I did really good they gave me some toilet paper in the morning.

I don't think that anyone is saying that lead bullets are a good thing. What we need is a good alternative. yes copper rounds can be that alternative. But you start laying out 30 tons of copper and farmers are going to stop farming and start mining. You are not going to get everyone with an older gun to go out and buy a new one so they can shoot steel shot. That's like telling everyone you have to go buy a new car because they're going to outlaw oil. It's not going to happen. Also remember we're talking about shotguns not high precision rifles. When I go out to shoot squirrels I just grab whatever I have laying around that was cheap. Consumers will drive some change but we need manufactures to be innovative and drive the change in a way consumers accept it. Not through regulation. If lead was that much of a problem we'd have a bigger problem. Lead has been used so much for so long and we're not finding it getting picked up in our food that's being grown in the fields. I'm not saying lead is a good thing but I think the problem is blown out of proportion.

I thought I saw a squirrel die in front of me this winter. A big grey came hopping through the woods with an acorn in his mouth. He finally stopped about 10 feet away from me but he didn't seem to notice me there for some reason. Then he stood straight up on his back legs with the nut in his mouth and just froze in that pose for probably 10 seconds straight. Then like in slow motion, he fell flat on his back and just layed there for another 10 seconds or so before popping back up again. I started laughing out loud.... funniest damn thing I've ever seen. When he heard me he shot up the closest tree at 90mph and started barking like mad! The pictures didn't convey the story of what had happened or I'd have posted them.

It could very well be THE cut up meat that was intended to be discarded, but was recovered to support an agenda. Nah, that could never happen.... X-Calibur Lighting Systems http://facebook.com/XCaliburLightingSystems

Dog wanted to sun on the deck so her and I on red squirrel watch. Mine as well drink one of these on this glorious day. DFH Romantic chemistry. IPA brewed with ginger , mango and apricots

When is the NYHunting Beer Meetup? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I got 5 gallons of the good stuff yesterday, if I keep this up I'll be all set in about two weeks. Several of the newly tapped trees are running great. I'll need more storage buckets at this rate!

Collect them. Admire them. Every single one tells a story. Big or small, old or new, they are equally treasured.

Well like red meat, booze, sugar, butter, eggs, etc. etc, consuming just about anything in excess is going to be bad for you. The fact of the matter is the results would probably been the same had this kid swallowed a handful of bismuth, IXT or steel shot. Al

Short-eared owls - beautiful birds - are in trouble in the east. There used to be areas where we could find 6-10 where there are now none. There is one spot in southern Montgomery County where 1 or 2 have been present this winter. I may join DEC for their last survey of that area this week. It depends on how I feel. For those who have never seen a short-eared owl, you are missing a spectacular sight. You can find them hunting in sunlight late in the day. They are crepuscular and hunt low above the grass like harriers. During the summer - when days are long - they spend a lot of time hunting in daylight, especially those in the far north. I have watched them from the western states to Iceland. One of my most memorable wildlife experiences was watching a short-eared owl hunting in the Missouri Breaks. The bird lit up with the warm colors of the low summer sun. They roost in groups so you can have a handful hunting in one area before they disperse. I have seen them chase harriers, which are also crepuscular. I have seen harriers steal mice from them. A friend sent me this shot -

The pledge does not require allegiance to God, or even acknowledgement of "a God". The reference to God in the pledge has to do with the rights that are presumed to be 'unalienable', rather than "granted by government". Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are rights that we are born with, and that no government can take away. The allegiance being pledged is to the country that recognizes and supports those 'unalienable' rights.

I grow Christmas trees. Would someone please pay me $15/hour? You want me to pay the hired help more than I get?

im on Waze, it's saved me more than a few times

That's an excellent photo..................National Geography quality.

Man law doesn't state that you must waste your liver on poor drinking choices. Always have a better backup to the backup! We don't live that long ya know.

Here are my thoughts on this issue. It all boils down to trust. A lot of these claims of poisoning come from groups that have an obvious agenda. The real effects of these proposals on average people usually show up after they are forcefully implemented, much like most government mandated edicts. I think that is where the resistance comes from. And it's not a few dollars more. For most shooters, it's quite a few dollars more. In an age where the cost of ammo has already soared, with the government threatening to add high taxes and fees on top of that, and taking it to who knows what end, people have reached the point of anger. It's seen as an insidious incremental oppression, and people are becoming more and more aware of it. You don't need to ban firearms if you can make ammo unattainable, whether it be through cost or supply. And that might not be judged an unconstitutional infringement on 2nd Amendment rights. If only non-lead ammo was legal, could the producers meet the demand? Could they do it without very high prices? I think not. As far as a ban goes, outlawing lead ammo could be done on the state level as was done in California, but the steel shot mandate for waterfowl was done at the federal level. The more you hear about non-lead ammo, the more you have to think lead ammo is eventually going to be banned. As long as people are free to make their own choices there is no problem. The lead free crusade has a PR problem, because it doesn't have the answers to real questions and concerns.

The wife and I put in some miles over the past few days...only one shed and one small deadhead to show for it.

Not everyone Phil, I was rocking to Stevie Ray and his brother in the Fabulous Thunderbirds back then as well. Also had George Thorogood on 8 track way before any of my friends heard of him . James Cotton was my favorite blues player though . Damn wish my speakers weren't blown ......

Most of the hunters I know who use monolithic bullets do so because of superior performance. One friend shot an elk 5 times in the shoulder with CoreLoks before killing it. He is a believer. Anyone using copper or copper alloy monolithic bullets is using a premium bullet with better terminal performance, and is protecting scavenging wildlife and their family's health. Standard copper jacketed bullets lose about 30-35% of their mass on contact with flesh. Lead fragments travel over 15" from the wound channel. Why would anyone who cares about wildlife and their family's health, and wants superior performance, not spend a couple of dollars more each year for all those benefits? There is no effort in NYS to outlaw lead bullets for hunting. Given the outrage over the Safe Act, it would be impossible even if someone wanted to try.

This is why people are wary of this type of proposal. Considering these issues, it isn't wrong to want more research to be done first. "Passage of AB 711 was as slime-filled and as politically greasy as any anti-hunting or anti-fishing legislation we’ve ever seen in California, a state with a history of corrupt and dishonest fish and game law-making that is emotion-based and lacking science. There was no real science to prove that banning lead in all hunting ammunition would save more birds, particularly condors. In fact, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the sponsor of the SHOT Show, has filed a conflict of interest complaint against California Fish and Game Commission president Michael Sutton. NSSF contends that Sutton’s professional affiliation with Audubon California as its executive director, is a direct conflict. Audubon California co-sponsored Assembly Bill 711, the anti-lead bill. Sutton squirmed out of the same charges during the Marine Life Protection Act that closed off large sections of the California coastal waters to fishing. He was working for the Packard Foundation then as a honcho with the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. He was an unregistered lobbyist then, just as he is now for Audubon. He’s no less fishy as the state’s top bird man."

There is a counter point to this issue too. “When my father (Randy Brooks) went to all-copper, it had nothing to do with the environment,” Jessica Brooks-Stevens, daughter of X Bullet inventor Randy Brooks, said Monday at the 36th Annual SHOT Show in Las Vegas. “His reasons were so far from that it’s not even funny. It was more about performance. It only happened to work for the condor issue in California. “We don’t support the legislation. We think this type of legislation is bad for hunting, bad for the base. People shoot lead-core ammunition because it’s cheaper to shoot. I know some hunters in California who have put their guns up over this. That’s not good for our sport. Bans like this hurt the future of the sport for everyone.” Brooks-Stevens said Barnes copper bullets will cost hunters 50 to 75 percent more to purchase." http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2014/jan/14/california-lead-ban-copper-/

and there weren't skyscrapers that were run into by the mayflower and the Pilgrims didn't wear exploding vests.

Like Rick Santorum said not all Muslims are jihadists however all jihadists are Muslim. So if protecting the country from Muslim extremist is your goal Muslims are a good place to start. The sad reality is that this has been brought on by them and left to us to deal with. Our current administration has done nothing but exacerbate the treat. Thankfully Trump has the balls to first identify the problem and secondly to offer a start on a solution.

100 fps don't mean s**t in a shot load...Probably 200 fps doesn't mean much either... Anything from around 1000 fps UP is fine, and the load that gives the densest, most evenly dispersed pattern is the best. My 21 " bbl on my 11-87 kills them just as well as the 30" bbl on my Browning A-5 3" mag did, and it's a lot easier to haul around the woods.

So lead was found in donated meat, where the butchers probably didn't pay much attention to what meat goes where. This article is also 9 years old. Has there been anymore cases of this? So if we have an oil spill, are we to permanently stop the importation or drilling of oil? No, you take precautions to prevent oil spills, because oil is a basic everyday necessity. Ask hunters and shooters to give up their lead, and you're taking a huge risk of ending the sport all together. I process my own meat, cut away areas of suspect, and consume the rest. I don't worry about what little lead, if any, are in my meat that I shot. I'll probably die from a million other things before lead is a factor. Do you eat Salmon? How about Striped Bass, Tuna, Swordfish, Bluefish, Seabass? How about clams? Might want to look into the contaminants in those food too. [emoji6] X-Calibur Lighting Systems http://facebook.com/XCaliburLightingSystems

13 or 14 picking strawberrys in Gorham don't remember the pay but paid for paintballs....15 I got first real job landscaping for a lady on Canandaigua lake doing all her yard work....was a sweet gig for 8 a hr....she fed me let me swim took me home in her Beemer....spent 2 or 3 summers working for her Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk Edit...also worked for my grandmother's bed and breakfast in cohocton from 8 until it burnt down....everything from cook carpenter landscaper....any other odd job you can think of

$3.00 per week. Dude , even if you are 200 years old I think you got shafted Was Abe Lincoln a cool dude ????

Bailed straw for a summer when I was 13 ,it paid about 3 dollars a week I think.

Underwear model Got fired for sock stuffed in the front

no pounding involved A good beer here and there. Life's too short to drink crappy beer

I tapped my trees Sunday evening. All of the buckets were full this morning. The temps up here are going to be in the upper 50s and 60s this coming week, but are still dropping into the low 40s and upper 30s at night. They will be running.

Since 911 there have been over 100 people killed on U.S. soil, by Islamic terrorists. But don't tell anyone..LOL!!!

Ranched mink are twice the size of wild mink or more than twice the size. But I would guess Lawdaz is about right around 65 wild mink, because it takes about 50 large muskrats for a short jacket, and muskrats are much wider then mink. Mink is no longer the expensive fur of the past. The demand is low, and the threat this year was muskrat pelts would bring more or about the same ; 10 for a rat, 5 for a female mink, 8 for a male mink. I think the prices on mink were a little better, but not much, like 12 for a male. This is unprecedented to trappers that have been around since the seventies. Mink taken incendenly in muskrat traps might get skinned, because they are about as quick and easy to process as a muskrat. Coon caught in rat traps are a different matter, much harder to process and not bringing much anymore either, 5 to 12 dollars, not worth it. Beaver trapping is the biggest joke if you are motivated by money, becuase pelt prices are depressed, traps are expensive, and processing beavers takes a long time and is difficult - more money in raising earthworms than trapping beavers. Coyotes - I wont even go there.... .

Jimmy Lee Vaughan was on stage for the encore jam that night, along with Buddy Guy. Jimmie and Stevie had just released "Family Style". Stevie Ray was sitting on his amp, off to the side, while everyone else was trading licks during 'Sweet Home Chicago'. Clapton finally walked over to him and said something. Stevie Ray stood up and tore the place apart one last time. Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Lee, Robert Cray, and a half dozen other guitarists just stood there nodding and/or shaking their heads. Stevie Ray was actually that good that night.

What ?! Nobody has mentioned Jim Kelly as a great QB !! but he took us to 4 Superbowls you know

You dont quite have a good handle on economics 101 do you?

I've already said John Wayne, and Clint Eastwood is a given. Kurt Russell. He can be funny and he can be mean. And he's been sleeping with Goldie Hawn for almost forty years. I give credit where credit is due.

Trump is somebody I'd invite into my shop to share a box of beer with while we chew the fat. I can't say that about any other candidate.

X-Calibur Lighting Systems http://facebook.com/XCaliburLightingSystems

Sweet. Cancel the omelets & oatmeal, Flap Jacks and French Toast are up again ......WOOT!