Doc

Yesterday, I found two half-hearted scrapes. Looked like they were just starting to get the idea, but hadn't figured out why yet.

The DEC has made their feelings on firearms coincident with the bow season pretty plain haven't they? And I'll bet there is no one in NYS muzzleloading organizations that think it would be a bad idea. I would imagine that if the pistol hunters were numerous enough and organized, they could jump into the middle of this free-for-all season-grab too. The only good news to all this is that now with the crossbow advocates shoe-horning their way into the season, we'll have more selfish and elitist hunters trying to exclude other weapons from the bowseason crossbow season. Or will the new arrivals join in expanding the clutter of other weapons in bowseason? H-m-m-m-m ....... yeah, logically that is actually likely.

I'm not in love with posting "lost deer" threads. I don't believe there is a much to be learned from them that will prevent them from happening in the future. Also publicizing wounding or loss of shot deer really seems unnecessary to me when we don't really know who is monitoring these sites and making use of such examples for anti-hunting purposes. I just don't see the purpose of such stories. Yes, it does happen, but I can't see anything beneficial about advertising those unhappy results to the entire world.

Well, this has been a fun topic, but I don't see any opinions moving one way or another. Bowseason apparently will become the catch-all for whatever anyone wants to shove in there. I'll always be willing to offer my opinions, but I have no expectations of changing the course of where bowhunting is headed. Maybe it is time to open up all of the early season to whatever anyone wants to use. Perhaps the idea of reserving a time for the bowhunting has outlived its era of acceptance in the hunting world. Bowhunting continues to evolve to the point where maybe a separate season isn't even required anymore. It sure is beginning to look like it.

Thanks. Because they are so small, I am going to try leaving them whole with the seeds in just to see how they turn out. Do you anticipate any problem with that? I'm just trying to figure out what to do with all these miniature peppers that I know will never mature. So if they don't turn out, I will have lost nothing but some time. Thanks again for the recipe and procedure.

The size of the bag depends on who's packing it ...... lol. Walmart has some bread that is 11g of carbs with 2g of dietary fiber (which I was told by a dietician can be subtracted from the carbs for a total of 9g of carbs per slice). So the egg has no carbs, the bread has 18g of carbs (both slices). each sandwich is darn near a "freebie" and they are filling. The bread: Walmart's Great Value 100% whole wheat round top bread. It tastes great too. I have been eating it for a couple of years as the only bread that I eat, and haven't gotten sick of it yet. For those who count calories, each slice has 60 calories. I have been known to down 4 sandwiches on an all-day stand. That and my thermos of coffee, and I am one happy hunter all day long.

A bagful of cold fried egg sandwiches on low-carb bread. I know ..... to most normal people that sounds pretty yucky, but I am addicted to the darn things, and always have been.

Try telling that to the DEC who wanted bowhunters to balance the doe population single-handedly in a few of the over populated WMUs (or else!). They even threatened to turn the muzzleloaders loose on us if we failed. Sorry, I know that comment was totally off-topic, but I couldn't help myself.......lol.

Let's be realistic. I think we hooked our hopes to the wrong star. It seems that everyday new revelations come out (true or false) and new ill advised Trump quotes get published that alienates another segment of the population. What we have to be concerned about is whether or not this turns into a total route that Democrats can use as a claim of a mandate for more socialization. We need total solidarity in voting against socialism. I intend to hold my nose and vote AGAINST Hillary and her crooked legions. We let this election get way too far away from us at a time when we could have used this election to spank those that would take us down the road to socialism and beyond. I take no solace in manufactured polls and studies or any of the unlikely predicted results. I can see what's really happening out there. We are watching what should have been an easy victory slip away. All I can do is stay true to my beliefs and vote accordingly, and resolve to do a better job of selecting the next pro-American presidential candidate next time. Perhaps we can find someone who is actually electable next time.

Why have you decided that the rifle shooters do not deserve to have "a short period of time for those who like to experience deer in a more natural state". Maybe they would enjoy hunting in the warmer fall conditions.With a tongue-in-cheek delivery, I am sarcastically suggesting that with all these selfish and elite charges being leveled against bowhunters, how are all the crossbow advocates being any less selfish and elite by keeping firearms people out of "their" season. Drop the special season stuff, and return peace and harmony and the spirit of sharing to the hunting community. Isn't that what the crossbow advocates were saying to bowhunters? "Let us in or you're selfish, exclusionary and elitist" ..... I'm pretty sure that is what I have been hearing from the crossbow advocates. What is going to be the attitude from the crossbow crowd when the muzzleloaders and other firearms people begin that same mantra. I think I already know.

Exclusion is exclusion whether you are trying to keep crossbows out of the season or shotguns or rifles or pistols or spears or whatever. As each new weapon is tossed into the bowhunting catch-all, and the success rates continue to climb, the question has to be occurring to more than just me, "Is there really a valid reason that those using these bundles of new weapons in bow seasons really needing all the disruptive and antagonistic opportunities of special privilege with special seasons and special relaxation of regulations". Every time you create special seasons, you get special envy. Every time this special envy rears it's ugly head, those that are excluded trying to cram their way in. And you start hearing charges of selfishness and elitism. It just seems to be human nature. And it has already been suggested and in some cases accepted, that muzzleloaders should also be included in the same timeframe as bow season. So, why are we being so selfish against shotguns and rifles. You see every time you select one weapon as being eligible, you automatically have to exclude others. And regardless of what weapon you personally favor, you are automatically being selfish with your exclusion of others. And so I repeat if you are so completely sold on not being selfish and exclusionary, when are you going to begin advocating allowing the rifle hunters into "your" new bow season when full inclusion starts? The crossbow advocates are so fond of predicting the future of crossbow inclusion, let me do a bit of predicting of my own. It is just a matter of time before the majority of hunters decide that this special season no longer has any valid reason for remaining separate, and the ultimate in being unselfish will occur. It will be funny listening to those crossbow advocates railing about the intrusions of muzzleloaders and shotguns and rifles.

Yes, the instructions would be greatly appreciated. I don't have very many of them and because of the small batch size, it would be strictly an experiment. I am thinking I have about a dozen of them to work with and they are about the size of a half-dollar. I was thinking of pickling them whole seeds and all.

I'm not really sure what all this full inclusion of crossbow is really all about. Why don't we just do what everyone is working there way toward and do away with all special seasons. It seems that special seasons by their very nature are "exclusionary", selfish on some level, and based on challenges that we are all working so hard to eliminate. So, can anyone explain to me why it is necessary to have a special bow season? No, I am not trying to be sarcastic. It is obvious that such divisions or advantageous special treatments only cause strife within the hunting community. They are inherently exclusionary. They were developed for challenge that today everyone is frantically trying to erase in as many ways as possible. They are unfair to physically challenged individuals. All these divisive traits have to make a person wonder why we are maintaining such a disruption within the hunter ranks. Why don't we just change things to be all-inclusive and allow hunters to use the weapon of their choice. It is obvious as heck that we are heading in that direction anyway. Why continue the pretense? Is there anyone here that can answer that question for me?

So, can I now assume that you will be campaigning to share the bowseasons with the rifle hunters to "allow more hunters in the woods to enjoy the season".

All the bullet manufacturers publish books that have unbelievable amounts of data for a pile of different loads and calibers. You don't have to have shot all the different rounds to know all kinds of info about energies, ballistics, speeds, and other performance data. It's all out there in just a handful of reloading books.

Can you pickle the sweet green bell peppers? Would they be any good? Maybe that's what I can do with all those tiny peppers that are starting to show up. There's a bunch of them that are half-dollar size that are just going to eventually freeze and rot. I mean there are not even going to be enough to fill a pint jar but it might make a good experiment.

What is the consistency of them when you try to cut them? Are they hard like a nut? Are they even nuts at all? I have seen oak galls that look similar to some of them.

Yeah, so what is with those stupid peppers. I did get a lot of nice sized green peppers ....... eventually. But now with the threat of frost constantly in the forecast, they are starting to go crazy with those baby peppers that we know will never mature to picking size. AND ..... they are still putting on new blossoms. And, we got a huge crop of carrots and they were all monsters. So do they need severe drought to grow big and plentiful? Potatoes came out small and stunted as expected, but the butternut squash and acorn squash filled out just great in spite of no water. Beets ..... great. Next year I'll be hoping for another drought!

I'll bet there are some biologists down in PA that could answer your question with real credibility. They have done considerable radio transmitter work down there with deer. As far as anecdotal guesses, probably wouldn't put a whole lot of credibility in those.

I think there is an awful lot about deer behavior during the bedding (or hiding) times that is not commonly known about deer behavior. We have a tendency to view these things simply as things that deer always do under certain conditions and at defined times of day. I think a lot of it is far more random than we think. It would be interesting to see a lot more study of the bedding behaviors, timing and purposes and locations.

Tenderloins, rib meat, and internal organs (heart, liver etc.) are the only meat items that are at risk. Rinse all that internal stuff off thoroughly and it should be alright unless the arrow has driven stomach contents and acids into and through any of these items.

What I am seeing is that the number of bowhunters are increasing, and the number of gun hunters are decreasing. And the changes are significant. Not only are gun hunter numbers diminishing but their dedication and endurance is diminishing. We have a lot of 1/2 day hunters, and a lot of 1 or 2 day hunters that tire of the activity real quick. At least that is the way it is in my Ontario County hunting area.

Well folks, I am on the back side of my hunting life and physical abilities, and all this talk about challenge and such takes on a little different meaning for me now. Right now, any deer that will get close enough during the limited hours and my diminishing abilities to climb these hills, has made itself a target (one point, a dozen points or no points at all). I am no longer out there to impress anybody but myself, and the only challenge that I am accepting anymore is to be able to continue to participate.....lol. It is no longer necessary for me to measure my worth by inches of antler. I'll just see how many more years I can still get to the deer, and I'll let the selections and harvests come out to be whatever opportunities I am lucky enough to encounter.

No shortage of acorns there. The only thing that would be better from a deer hunting standpoint would be if they were white oak acorns and they were within shooting range of your hunting stand (The leaves on the ground indicate they are red oaks). In my hunting area, this this year's acorn crop is just right. Not every oak is producing this year, and if you find one that is dropping a good localized concentration of acorns like you are showing in your picture, it is a good deer, turkey, and squirrel magnet. Make that white oaks, and you have a super-magnet.

I hunt in one of those areas where the DEC doesn't want you to be picky. We've got too many deer, and anyone who holds out for a trophy is considered scum. The word is, "shoot every antlerless deer that you see". They are to be considered vermin and if you are a trophy hunter, you are some kind of anti-conservation creep that refuses to do your part for the environment. Of course that is only their attitude if you are a bowhunter. Lol .... I am over-exaggerating, of course. But I do get the impression that they don't want to hear about this waiting for the "big one" stuff. Not in this WMU anyway.