Doc

A couple of years ago, I had the property logged. For years I was told that thinning the woods would open up the overstory and result in better browsing conditions and basically improve the habitat for the deer herds and other birds and animals. I still believe that, in the long term. BUT The primary target of loggers is the oaks..... All the acorn bearing trees. What I found was that the deer and turkeys now spend less time on my property and instead primarily do their feeding on the land next door. To the point where the critters seem to have abandoned my property almost entirely during hunting season. I know that eventually when the browse begins to get established with the increased light reaching the ground, the deer will return and flourish. But history has shown me that when fall comes around, the browse becomes less of an attractant and the acorns become the food target for these critters. Yeah.....Fall.....Hunting season. The mature oak trees are now gone and of course so are the acorns and the deer and the turkeys. They are lured off to the unlogged areas next door. It is quite significant. I am wondering if any of you have seen the same thing happen on logged property that you hunt. Just curious.

Do you all have certain personal limits where you say, "This is no longer hunting". I am referring to hunting or technological assists that feel like they go beyond "fair chase". So many things come into my mind. Where do you draw lines when deer hunting?

We call those deer "hillside veal". You cannot beat the flavor and the texture. It is a true delicacy. And yes, there is no better liver than from hillside veal.

Ha-ha-ha.......Yes, a deer at any cost. This is the kind of mentality that seems to dominate today's hunting. No limits. Anything goes. Fair chase be damned. I blame the TV "hero" programs for this attitude of "All is fair in deer hunting". We do find ourselves letting technology do more of the hunting for us, don't we? And then we can brag about what mighty hunters we have become. It's been an interesting evolution, this thing called hunting. I see no end to it. It is starting to remind me of that deal where somebody had a rifle and camera combo set up so you could do your hunting of live animals on your computer. Yeah, we got rid of that notion, but probably only temporarily.

This thread kind of makes one wonder how it is that any deer ever survived before trail cams, food plots, and supplemental winter feeding and careful counting and record keeping and micro management. Deer hunting is now mandated to be an agricultural project. It is not hunting anymore, it is animal husbandry. It is amazing how even back when we had a lot of very eager and active hunters, almost behind every tree, the deer herd still survived without all the assistance from our "expert" private game managers. Thank heavens we have all these "expert" people today that try to shame all hunters into all these deer management schemes. How would the herd ever survive without these people who try to tell others what deer they should shoot and which not to shoot? Of course all of this "expert" arguing and cajoling is probably a big part of the reason that hunting is slowly fading from existence as the common activity it used to be. We need all these self-proclaimed experts.......Don't we?

Thanks guys for the birthday wishes. This old world just can't seem to get rid of me.....lol. 81 years old! Who the heck ever thought I would last this long and still be upright. I know Fast Eddie will always have me beat. He's the one that shows me that more years are possible. Is there anyone here that is older than him?

So, somebody must be watch-dogging this site to keep it running and get it back up when it goes down.

Thanks Greg.

Have fun with all the Christmas family gatherings. And remember there is no open season in NYS for reindeer

You have to wonder if hunting, fishing, and trapping would become more like a job when you have to rely on it for eating. Maybe it becomes more of a job than a hobby. I have to say that the landscape and scenery would be pretty easy to enjoy. The feelings of self-reliance would have to provide a certain amount of satisfaction. But a steady diet of fish and caribou sure seems to leave a lot of other vitamins and minerals lacking. Most of them have no garden, so they either buy vegetables from somewhere or have a supply of wild greens and such to balance their diet. Also, I am surprised at the nice shiny new snowmobiles and ATVs that most of them seem to have at their disposal. Looking at the prices they are getting for those things you have to wonder where they are getting the money to afford them.

I wonder if there are farm raised bucks that have surpassed that score?

I've been watching these TV shows on the people that live in the north country. Shows like " Mountain Men" and "Life Below Zero" where they put our passions, hunting and fishing and trapping, to the test of survival on a daily basis. Did you ever imagine what such a lifestyle would be like? It has it's appeal, but there are some nasty realities to living that way too.

Now it is time to do for our own state what we did for the country. Hochul's busted in the polls. Zeldin almost turned things over last senatorial election. Never too early to start getting the right people registered and primed to vote the right way.

And then there are those that I see running along the highway or pedaling their ass on the highway on bikes so that they can "live forever". I have to wonder how good it is for your longevity to be sucking in those exhaust fumes of each passing car, truck, or bus deep into your lungs.

Is there anyone here that is out in this frigid late season that is actually using a vertical bow?

Here's the facts: Lee Zeldin came within 6 percentage points of taking the governorship in the last election. Meanwhile, the latest Sienna poll shows that 57 percent of the voters prefer someone else other than Hochul for the upcoming election in 2026. Only 33% would vote for her again. And she does intend to run again in 2026. If the polls are even close, the time is coming to get things right here in NYS. Do you know gun owners who are not registered? Do you know gun owners who do not vote? A little activism doesn't hurt. It may be a bit uncomfortable, but we have got to stop treating politics like a dirty word and stop avoiding all political discussions. This thread shows how intertwined our hunting and shooting are with politics. Yes, politics is a hunting related discussion. We have to stop whining amongst ourselves and start pushing people to use the voting power we already have accessible to us. There is a pretty good article that lays out all the numbers for you. Take a scan of what the numbers are saying instead of just throwing in the towel and living with whatever the government decides to do with our guns and ammo. We have a chance to make a difference. Take a look: https://nypost.com/2024/12/10/us-news/majority-of-new-yorkers-want-someone-other-than-kathy-hochul-for-governor-in-2026-poll/

They had better hurry up. I am heading for 81 years old. They probably don't have that much time to start knocking on my door.......lol.

Look at the mass on that rack. It makes his head look small.

I guess I missed it too. I don't own a crossbow, but I was just curious.

Are crossbows legal hunting weapons during the late season in the southern zone?

My old Nikon archery rangefinder has some small magnification as a monocular. It is accurate as proven out with my 200' tape measure. So why wouldn't binocular range finders be accurate too. Are you looking for archery range-finding or rifle range-finding? That may make a difference in your choice.

Yeah, now that all is well in the world with the Donald back at the helm, politics has taken a back seat in the world of conversation. Too bad, it has been an exciting time in politics with old sleepy Joe stumbling around and crazy, giggling Kamala campaigning like a blithering idiot. Oh well, now we can see how a real President functions. I like the start to Trump's term even though he is not even sworn in yet.

I have used trail cams for wildlife photography. At one time I used to use them for assessing the deer population and quality on my property. But I don't really do any of that anymore. It was fun back then, but now I do my deer herd assessments the old way (Actual boots on the ground scouting). That is more fun and it gives me a reason to get out in the woods to snoop around. Studying trails and tracks, rubs, scrapes and all the other things involved with scouting are all part of the hunt. I don't want any shortcuts anymore. I'm actually adding more challenge back into the hunt by selectively limiting the technology involved. I don't get involved in the agriculture of food plots. I have stopped looking for more hi-tech archery equipment. I haven't bought any new archery equipment since 1999, and I'm still killing deer. The cameras are just one more piece of technology that I have thrown aside.

There is a phenomenon that I have noted with my archery when the weather mandates that you start piling on the clothing to keep warm. It may be true only for me, I don't know. But as soon as the heavy coats and other garments have to go on, I have to adjust my sight pins (significantly). Something about the bulk changes my form, or follow-through, or stance, or something that violates the form that I had in the warmer months. For me there is a need to continue practice during the season to account for these clothing changes when cold weather sets in like we are going into this late season with. Like I say, I don't know whether this is just something to do with the way I shoot, but it may not be right to assume that because you were zeroed-in during the more moderate weather, that you are automatically zeroed-in when you are all bundled up. Are there others here that have seen this happen when cold weather hits?

There may also be a correlation regarding all the land that is being locked up with leases, and the fact that there are fewer hunters per acre because of that. Another thing that I have noticed is the number of part-time hunters. There are many who only hunt opening day. There are also a lot of 1/2-day hunters......Those who go out for lunch and don't come back. This sort of thing is what makes the numbers seem not so bad as far as the number of licenses sold. But there is a participation factor among those that buy the licenses. So many reasons for the "silence phenomenon" during the season.