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When I was ready to pay for my purchases of gun powder and bullets, the cashier said, “Strip down, facing me.” Making a mental note to complain to the NRA about the gun control wackos running amok, I did just as she had instructed. When the hysterical shrieking and alarms finally subsided, I found out that she was referring to how I should place my credit card in the card reader. I have been asked to shop elsewhere in the future. They need to make their instructions to seniors a little clearer….. Note to Mr VJP ---- It's a joke !

You could be right, but let's not bury the man before he is dead. He is attempting to make good on a campaign promise, right from day-one. That's something you rarely see from a politician these days. He clobbered an incumbent democrat by a substantial margin, so I say let him have at it and see if he can surprise everybody again. And if he needs support for his attempt, there is no reason not to supply it.

2015 HNY party right there!

Very nice picture of a barred owl, Wooly... I have had them follow me around the woods when I was trolling for turkeys...Walking around, stopping and calling, hoping for an answer. They also respond very well to barred owl hoots, even at noon...In fact one of my hunting partners ( former NYS Owl Hooting Champion) claims they are easier to call in at mid day than at dusk and dawn, because in low light hours they are busy hunting, rather than socializing with other owls.

Wooly...I have a photo of a screech owl.. The little bugger was sitting in the road in front of my truck..I got out and walked right up to him...He didn't appear injured, so I took a couple of pictures of him and then gently nudged his butt with the toe of my shoe..He flew away, apparently healthy. If I can find the picture, I'll PM you and send it to you..Perhaps you can reproduce it and post it here.

I couldn't even imagine the hatred running that deep, but I know it does. I remember when I posted pics from the coyote den I found a few years ago the variety of responses I got from NY residents as well as other states on other sites. I guess knowing now how many "haters" are really out there that will stop at nothing to eradicate the yotes on a kill 'em all basis is all the reason I need to be "pro-yote"....... to an extent. 8 pups in this litter which came as a bit of a surprise to me and resulted in me doing my own homework on my new neighbors to reinforce my own beliefs.

good to see you wake up every two weeks and offer up some useless input....keep up the good work.

Lawdwaz- I've been known to exaggerate by a few inches here and there, but in all honesty it's up to my belly button here already..... THE SNOW that is,lol It's gotten so bad that even the coyote population is taking a big hit! They finally dig down to the deer and turkey carcasses from hunting season only to be engulfed by the 13ft avalanche of snow that falls in around them. Some relief would be nice, but it ain't looking good. What a bummer of a winter this has been!

Hey guys I wanted to share my video I made from our time-lapse photos of butchering my brothers moose. We harvested this one right by the river which made life a lot easier for us! Enjoy -JR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skUbY-juYZg&list=PLvFe2vZ-xtpTOz73ZTNfW3O71dMPCG-tH&index=21

I think I need trophy room before my head is up there next. Just waiting to get my bear back. Thank god my father is going to hold onto it for me.

I'm probably in the minority here on this but to me, one of the coolest things you can EVER encounter is a barred owl replying to you and then he/she goes into that monkey type call. You spring turkey hunters know what I mean! Oooo, aw aw aw aw.......or something like that. It starts with (as Dick Kirby used to say) "who cooks for you, who cooks for you all........." Then the monkey call starts. I've had bull elk bugle in my lap (20 yards?), whitetail bucks going NUTS under my treestand and gobblers shaking the entire woods only yards away but the call of the barred owl is just amazing to me. I love it!

yeah, but the colored flames are pretty neat to look at......

Awesome!!!!! Hope it all works out.......

I took a pic of this cool looking owl in Arizona on my Mt. Lion hunt. If I remember correctly, its a horned owl?

Shortears are really cool! Here's some photos a friend took.

Why yes it was...I'm glad your walking a path of self improvement and found this article along the way. Good for you!...

Law....... those tiny little owls are cool...but as you see they are suppose to be a western coast owl???...yet he distinctly told me it was a pygmy owl from my discription?? What ever it was..... just too cool they like hovered for just a second in front of my face then tumbled off through the air feet clutched together...lol Any whoo the next best encounter before that was when I first started turkey hunting and I was hunkered down behind the house in a small brush blind...the night was fairly bright and I sat there waiting for fly down...I had heard him but it sounded farther away..when I re-adjusted my foot and a rather large owl silently glided in and grabbed the end of my boot...needless to say my screech scared us both and he let go...but didn't go far and sounded peturbed a few minutes later....lol

I figured because it was Penn State that it would be about abusing young bucks... sorry I just couldn't resist

Here is an update on my ongoing project to produce online maps that show public land and other recreation information. All of the maps in this project display data that is hosted on GIS servers. Think of these servers as having two kinds of data. One kind of data can display symbols and boundary lines on the map. My first post in this thread talked about that kind of data. The other kind of information a GIS server has is attribute data. This consists of fields of information about the symbols and boundary lines that can be displayed on the map. Gmap4 now has the ability to display all the attribute data when you click on a GIS feature you see on the map. You can try it out on this map which shows different kinds of public land in New York State. Click the "About this map" link in the upper left corner (1) to see the map legends and (2) to learn how to turn other GIS overlay layers on and see their attribute data. http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.php?ll=42.712210,-75.940933&z=7&t=h,State_recreation_land&q=http://www.propertylinemaps.com/p/public_land_map/state/NY/NY_trail_public_land.txt Here is another example using a new map I added to this project. This map shows all the current USA weather watches and warnings. If you click on any of the colored areas then a popup appears that displays the attribute data. The attribute data includes links to weather service pages that have all the details for the spot you clicked. http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.php?ll=37.282795,-97.250977&z=5&t=h,Weather_watch_warning&q=http://www.propertylinemaps.com/p/public_land_map/USA/USA_weather.txt The homepage for this mapping project is: http://www.propertylinemaps.com/p/public_land_map.html As time allows, I will be posting map links for additional states. So if I have not got to your state yet, eventually it will get added. Finally, every attribute popup always has a link titled “GIS server directory”. This link takes you straight to the GIS server that includes the data layer that is presently displaying attribute values on the map. A new Help page (http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/help_files/gmap4_gis_help.html) walks you through (1) understanding the key information the GIS server directory provides and (2) how to use that information to build your own custom Gmap4 links to display the GIS data that *you* want to see. Joseph, the Gmap4 guy

What About 7mm-08 if kick is a problem. You know I never felt the kick of a gun when I killed a deer its the last thing on my mind.

Sometimes (more often than not) I'm a bit slow on the trigger.

Barred Owls have been expanding their range with the return of forests. Screech are common but as with all nocturnal owls, hard to find. You can attract them using the same nest boxes as American Kestrels. You'll find Barred and Great-horned abroad in daylight in late spring. They need to hunt during the long days because their young are quite large at that time. If you are in an area with Short-eared Owls, you can find them hunting before sunset. You need to know where they are. Snowy Owls are back in NY this winter. Not in the numbers seen last year but they are around.

The screech owl is so small they would be easy to miss! Maybe 6" tall?? Seems as though I have heard quite a bit more barred owls also wooly. Seeing them is another thing.........

I don't see much owl variety around here, but the last few years seems like the barred owl population has exploded in this area.....but maybe that's just because I look for them now. I see a ton of them. Always looking for screech owls but still unable to spot one of those camoed creatures anywhere. Pygmy owls I got no love for. I hear they eat mermaids,lol

Good luck to you First-Light. As others have said, I found myself in a similar position a few years ago and was lucky enough that it turned out for the best.

Yeah I understand the ignorance isn't just a NY thing.

I think those that are killing coyotes for the reason of eliminating them from the habitat... are probably not concerned about the pups and would kill them as well if given the chance. You've seen it here and probably heard the cry by some of the deer hunters to "Kill 'em all! The only good coyote is a dead coyote". That is a lot of the mentality we are dealing with in NY.

Good luck to you First Light with your future endeavors!

My last day should of been next Friday the 13th. They are extending it another month for a transition period. My boss is also leaving and the funny thing is the new boss taking over wants to keep me but her hands are tied. Crazy crazy stuff out there. This is good for me because my new venture will not start until June. Pretty much gives me March -May off. Lots of time to Turkey hunt and get two new stands built!

I will have to say that were I stay in the winter for 3 months is a great area, and that is Myrtle Beach SC at Sandy beach resort, we rent by the month and go back on April 1 to most years to brown ground and the hint that warm weather and green is coming. The staff here is great, you look out your window at the Ocean, have all kids of food place and shopping for the wife. At the hotel they have bingo 2 nights and card playing for 3 nights, so there is something to do, they also have fresh coffee free from 7 am to 10 am in the lobby area. I love to shoot my bow so I joined Sand dune archers of MB for $35 year membership, they have a great practice area that is from 10 yards to 80 yards. They hold monthly 3D shoots of 34 targets that is set in the pine woods on flat ground. Cost is $10 to members and $15 to non members. We have 3 guys from here that bring our bows and shoot 3 to 4 times a week. The bow club is 20 minute drive from the hotel on the average based on traffic. Now some would say I just want to buy a place, well that fine, I purchased a place here and had it rented out asa yearly rental, got time to retire fom Big Blue, and my wife said , please write, as I will be staying here with the kids and grand kids. So I sold the condo and here we are now for the 10 year....

Mother nature seems to have the best way and that is the rabbit cycle of from a high to low is about a 5 year cycle, so when the rabbits is on the high side for numbers they get the mange and pass it on to the fox and coyotes...that keeps these population down on both...

I gave my youngest son the K-Bar that I had while in the Marine Corps . It has to be over 56 years old . Great knife .

If you're still watching Belo: A number of people on this forum have been around long enough to see the changes the government has gone through over the past decade or so with regard to regulation, and compare them to the previous 2, 3, 4 or 5 decades of regulatory practice at the federal level. The change in underlying intent is what concerns many of us. The intent has become less benevolent. I admire anyone who speaks with conviction, but that conviction always needs to be tempered with a firm foothold in the reality of the situation. The intent may indeed be honorable, but sometimes it's only on the surface, when the reality of the cause/effect relationship has been completely overlooked. During my post-graduate studies (in architecture BTW) I was often asked to defend my position from several different points of view, often diametrically opposed, and often in the same sitting, and it was mentally and emotionally exhausting and terrifying. But I learned a lot from it because I had to see every position pretty much at the same time.

1st I would like to say, that I do not agree with what the guy in the article did.. I am more than likely naive, but I think most of us know what is right or wrong irregardless of of any given law/rule. My daughter is taught to respect her elders,peers and treat others as she would like to be treated. She is only 11 so we do not have the opportunity to talk about too many laws. I look at laws as necessary for a modern society. Imho sometimes breaking a law or rule is fine as long as it is the "right" thing to do. For example I have always taught her how to respond in a verbal or physical confrontation. 99% of the time a situation can be deescalated .There may come a time when the proper response is to kick them in the $#$% and punch them in the nose. Having raised a good kid, I am confident she will know when it is ok to break the rules. To me it is really that simple ; )

Junk science denial is a good thing

You know, it may actually make some sense to take Funke's web-site address and email it to any hunting buddies or gun club members that you know. Take it to a meeting at the gun clubs. Just generally show it to every pro-gun person that you know and strongly urge them to participate. No point in keeping it a secret. Here is something that everyone can do to help get rid of the Safe Act that is almost no effort or time spent at all. You probably will not again see an effort to legislatively undo this so-called Safe Act. So it is now or never for the legislative attempt. Let's see if we can support this attempt. It's important that we at least show that we care enough to go on record as being pro-gun. Let's let another effort on our behalf fizzle because we don't support it. We're running out of options.

A lot of aging hippies from the Woodstock generation are about to find out the EPA is NOT their friend.

As much as I hate doing business with Time Warner... I still haven't found anything better than their high speed internet.

Cuomo says you only need 7 rounds. Can I sue him if I needed more?

This group is awesome!! Thank you all and yes Plan"B" will keep me close to home and offer more time to be with my girls!!

Here are some knives I put together as groomsman gifts for my brothers and friend. The blades are Western USA L66 blanks that I found on ebay. I crafted the handles myself and fitted/finished the sheaths as well. The acid etching was a fun process; battery charger on 200 amps, a little finger nail polish, a q-tip, and some heavy duty acid... The next step will be to make the blades by hand as well, but this was a fun intro into knife making. This is what they looked like before I started: The top one is an original L66 that has seen years of use. The next one down is the 1st one I made using antler and mahogany. There are some mistakes (2 different antlers used, so 2 different colors, etc.), so I kept this one for myself. The bottom one was the 2nd one I put together. I used antler and buckthorn. The buckthorn is an interesting wood to work with, but doesn't contrast as nicely with the antler. The one that is 2nd from bottom was the 4th one I put together. I'm not normally a big fan of handles made out of one piece of antler, but the piece I used was pretty straight, so I gave it a go. This was the 3rd one I did, using antler and Ipe, a very dense South American wood. I like the contrast a lot. This particular antler was one my younger brother found when he was 10 years old or so. I regrettably broke tines off it using it for rattling, so I used what was left of it for my brother's knife. I figured it was the least I could do.. Not a really good picture of one of the sheaths, but high quality full-grain cowhide. It's a process to get them fitted properly to the knife, but well worth it. It was tempting to get carried away with the acid etching... I ended up putting a silhouette image on each side of the knives. My best man is a bird hunter first and foremost and he always has a pointer riding shotgun, so this was what I did for him: Some of the other etchings:

It is definitely good reading. So far what I have read is not only interesting biologically but also has made mention of things I can relate to from a hunting perspective. The buck bedding article was really interesting. I have a spot that I hunt that mirrors what was written about, where deer bed high with the wind at their back looking down a steep side hill. Deer are in this area so consistently because it is so hard to beat their senses there. I look forward to reading a lot more.

and I'm willing to bet that everything you mentioned was carried out under the watchful eye of intelligent parents like probably 98% of us....... I don't remember my parents ever putting my shady "accomplishments" out for the entire State to read about. Those moral/ethical things you mentioned earlier are situations you're put into, you don't wake up in the morning and plan on having to make those calls.......that's a lot different than intentionally setting out to break two or three different laws, or maybe not in your book.

Disturbing? I don't find it disturbing. Do I agree with the actions? Not at all. I do think his commentary sucks. What I see is an ethical/moral diversion from the law based on their belief system. Does it make it OK? No, but its also not disturbing. I find the terrorist attacks in Paris disturbing (which ironically is a diversion on law, too, based on their belief system). I find the father in florida who threw his girl over a bridge disturbing. I find this to be filed in the same category as crossing a property line at 2:00 a.m. to retrieve a deer you shot because the landowner has denied permission to retrieve after you've exhausted efforts pre and post hunt. I find this to be similar to shooting a deer hit by a car that is suffering and choosing to not wait for the authorities. Against the law? Yes. Disturbing? No. NY's hunting age regs suck. This is someone acting out against it.

Wooly needs the Nikon/22mag combo

Those are AMAZING pics!

Beautiful pictures !

Great pics !! When ever I bring a camera out in the woods, I don't see squat !!

Great pictures, Wooly... I wonder if Ma will move the pups to another den site now ? Surely your presence for that long so close to the den would give her a sense of being "discovered"...

You never cease to amaze me with your photos, awesome awesome awesome!