Doc

Have you had a chance to eat any of the pig-meat. I have heard two different opinions on wild hog meat, and was just wondering what your opinion is.

I was just sitting here reading about "Winter Camping" while listening to the wind howling outdoors and knowing that the temperature is -8 degrees. Guess I'll move on to another topic now....lol.

I would think the best way to handle x-bow hunter safety training would be to include the mechanics of crossbow shooting into the existing bowhunter training classes, and require that course to hunt with a crossbow. That way they get familiar with the way broadheads work, where to aim for most effective killing with a broadhead, and other features of killing through hemorrhaging/cutting rather than impact killing. Much of the hunting procedures would apply, and the limitations could be taught. The problem with adding more unique, weapons-specific courses, is that there is a lot of repetition, and huge amounts of time required for each one. When you start stacking up 3 or 4 of these courses, the time required gets darn near prohibitive and no doubt discourages a lot of participation. Think about it ..... firearms courses, bowhunting course, trapping courses, now add in a new x-bow course. Pretty soon somebody will be coming up with a fishing course ..... lol. Enough, already.

Rimfire reloading: http://22lrreloader.com/design-details/

Throwing the baby out with the bath water

Sounds like all the deer season restrictions and other tinkering and bending to public pressure groups is being put off for another year. According to the most recent issue of NYON, the DEC has announced a postponement due to time. So these concessions and allowing the NYS hunters run the deer management programs will have to wait for another year.

Yeah, we have had some heated discussions on this site regarding this subject. I'm not sure what causes people to lose their minds over this, but must say there are a lot of good reasons and logic involved in doubting, since no one over all these decades has produced any tangible evidence (no remains, no provable documented photos, none having ever been killed on the highway or anywhere else, no documented scat, etc.,etc.). So there probably is no reason to believe rumors or doctored photos, or other claims. The only thing that has to be allowed is the possibility of a single wandering cat passing through, or some domesticated mountain lion that has escaped or purposely turned loose. When you ask about mountain lions in NYS, you really have to ask only about a breeding population, since that really is what people are trying to get at. I have to say that logically, it is highly unlikely

I was watching one of those game warden shows yesterday where they live-trapped a problem bear and then released it in a different area. They knew the real problem was the familiarity that the neighborhood bear had with humans and the fact that they were losing their natural cautiousness. So the trick was when the door to the cage was opened, they had a few department employees around, hollering, and a bunch of leashed dogs barking, and a guy with bean-bag rounds in a gun. The bear was ready to get the hell out of there before they even opened the door. As the bear bolted, he got a few swats from the bean bags, and after he got out a ways, the dogs were let loose and they pushed him right up the hill and started him off exactly where they wanted him to go. Apparently the dogs are well trained to come back when they are called. The whole experience was to make his association with humans, and suburbia and dogs as unpleasant as possible and something that he would always remember. However, they did mention that it doesn't always work perfectly and on a couple of occasions, they did have some bears that did a U-turn and came back after the workers. In those cases, the dogs put him back on course.

I suspect some of them will probably take up bowling or squirrel hunting or something ..... lol. Imagine what it would be like to be in an area of low deer population, with little or no chance at an antlerless permit, and then someone comes along and tells you that more than like the chances are pretty good that any buck that comes along will not be legal to shoot. That's kind of like telling someone that you are welcome to spend your money on a license, and go out and sit in the woods, but you can't take anything. Sounds like a real deal to me. I think I would likely find another pastime. A trip to the supermarket will be necessary if they want that freezer filled.

And the best way to eliminate that is to eliminate all special seasons and just have one season that includes all weapons. That's kind of where things are heading these days anyway. Special seasons are simply something to call a segment of the year, not so much a limitation of what weapons should be used. That went out the window decades ago.

Yup!

One of those rare times when I am speechless. She said it all!

The problem is that the "doe option" isn't available to everyone everywhere in NYS. There are WMUs that have no permits, and others where they are severely limited. See that's the problem. Everyone tends to only see what is going on in their backyard and try to dream up restrictions and regulations to spread all over the state.

I would have thought that the Florida Fish & Wildlife Service would already have what they need for handling such problem bears, up to and including live traps for re-locating problem bears. I suspect that this is just a publicity stunt trying to make it appear that the organization does really do something that is useful.

Maybe we should carry copies of the last paragraph of this article and hand them out when asked any of the "WHY" questions ..... lol.

I have no idea of who the guy is that wrote that rambling essay, or why I spent the time reading all of that. It was signed simply MJ, with no info on why his opinion is any more important or credible than any of ours. I will say that the AR lobby is a very dedicated, vocal, and determined group of hunters that have used every thing at their disposal to pressure the DEC to yield to their voice. Good idea? .... Bad idea? .... I have no real predictions. I do believe that passing AR and/or some of these other pop-fad management ideas will likely cost some unknown amount of our dwindling hunter base. That seems to be the current trend, to be regulating our numbers away. Hey, if that's what the majority of hunters want, I am getting a bit too old to be losing sleep over it. The future of hunting will be whatever it will be with or without my concern ..... lol.

Then throw down that crappy old crossbow and stay with modern rifles. The rifle is still the "most effective weapon available". You can't have it both ways. Those of us who take up the limitations of archery hunting do so with it in mind that we want the challenge of a limited weapon. That is the whole point to the "special" archery season. Bow season was initially established as a way of handicapping the hunter with a weapon that requires rigid technique and exceptional hunting skills that require the ability to operate in close proximity to the prey. Since the day of it's inception, people have been working diligently to destroy the intent behind the original season and slowly evolve it back toward some other version of "gun season". Almost all of that evolution has been done in the name of using "the most effective weapon available". If you are serious about that statement, then you must believe that the introduction of bow season was a real bad idea whether you are using a longbow, recurve, compound or crossbow.

I saw some windchill numbers on a map on TV that claimed some areas are going to have windchills down to -31 degrees. I believe them when they say that those kinds of numbers can freeze exposed skin. So unless you have some way of dressing that looks like something that explorers in Antarctica would wear, I would suggest staying inside. I hear the wind blowing out there already, so I am taking these warnings seriously.

I may have missed it, but has there been any county that has had a deer/rifle bill shot down once it was proposed? I know here in Ontario county we had a couple of false starts because of legislative screw-ups, but it was never in doubt that it would eventually go through. I think that as far as Genesee county has gotten things, kind of makes it a done-deal.

It probably depends on what it died of. Is there any kind of ID on the leg bands?

Where did it say anyone in law enforcement was involved? ....Did I miss something?

So, what happened to these guys? Anyone hear? Anyone arrested? .... If so were they charged? .... And if they were, what were they charged with? what was their plea? ..... What was the evidence? ..... Are they scheduled for court? We really don't know a whole hell of a lot about the incident or the case do we? For all we know, it may have been a case of intentional malicious destruction of personal property. Lol .... See I can guess and theorize right along with the best of them ....

Canadice Lake Canadice Lake Powder Mill Park hatchery Adirondacks I can't spell it ....lol. Letchworth Park

Has anybody taken the time to compare state senators and assemblymen who voted for the Safe Act to those to those that got the ax during this last election? I know the political make-up of both houses changed significantly, but I haven't gotten a chance to see just how it all shook out.

There ya go!!! Fishing, gardens, flowers, lakes, green stuff, and such ...... I'm starting to come out of it. I do remember way, way back when I had my old Bolens snowmobile. I did look at winter a lot differently. But the older I get the less tolerant of this stinking white stuff I get. I'd rather be fishing, camping, hiking, and gardening....lol.