Doc

That's the problem.... when you finally find the perfect boot, they go out of production and you have to start all over. Footwear is kind of an individualized kind of thing, that is why I will never "mail-order" shoes or boots. I have to try them on. There will be a lot of hours spent in them and they had better fit absolutely perfectly. When it comes to hiking or work boots, I always look for real solid leather that can be doped up to be waterproof. I also want real stitching (Not molded rubber that "looks" like stitching). My choices for hiking boots may run considerably heavier than others prefer, but when I pay well over $100 for footwear, durability and longevity are very high on my priorities. I have a pair of hiking/work boots that are going into something like their 10th - 15th year with no sign of breaking down at all. I wear them constantly, and the only sign of their age is that the tread is now about 3/4 of what it was when they were new. They have been broken in now to fit my feet perfectly. That is a level of comfort that can't be bought in a new boot. That's why I won't buy any new ones.

That would be an interesting study. Has anyone done it? ...... Time of day that hunting accidents/fatalities actually happen .... who knows what conclusions might spring out? It is truly amazing how little data is available on causes of hunting accidents in any state (including NYS) relating to any of the specific safety concerns. I'm not even sure if NYS intends to keep stats on weapons used in gun related hunting incidents.

If it wasn't for the danger of eating up all the profits, a Dunkin Donuts store would be perfect ........ Or maybe a subway restaurant. I spend all my time in those two places anyway, might as well make some money off it.

About the only potential safety-negative of opening up counties to rifles that I can see is that rifles do promote longer shots that shotgun shooters would never think of even trying. Longer shots generally can mean reduced clarity of vision, more potential for not recognizing people or objects behind the target and flatter trajectory that extends the reach of ill advised shot-direction. As I look out my dining room window, and look across the 300 yards to the next hedgerow across the field, I am reminded that a shotgunner shooting from that far hedgerow really would have to be aiming yards above any deer to have his slug even make it to the house. It's not really a very realistic shot to even attempt with a shotgun. Many of the rifles being used out there would make a deer near the house a tempting target for hunters posted in that far hedgerow. One thing I know for sure is that for many, maybe even most, of the calibers used out there, the capability for the bullet to reach the house is really not in question. So yes, rifle usage has opened up some additional capability for the house to be hit. So, am I cowering in my basement throughout the season. Not hardly. There is an awful lot of maybes, probablys, possiblys, involved in all of the above, and they all ignore the fact that my house is a huge visible structure even at 300 yards, that someone has to be completely wacked out to be shooting at. Can it happen? ... yes. And I could get killed by a meteor fragment too ..... lol. Let the issue be settled by the stats. Unless we have a sudden influx of crazy people, the stats will mirror other counties that have had the rifle laws for years, and the sky really won't fall just in our county.

Does a string-stop dampen bow noise or increase it?

Well, in my area, we have almost the whole next week of snow-free weather (depending on where you live). Even with the colder temps, there sure is a lot of thigs that can still be done with bare ground. On the other hand, I don't really like yote hunting without a snow background to assist spotting incoming critters. Also, I have some brush pile burning that I would like to do. I never do that without snow.

It's one thing to be concerned, and quite another to be able to do anything about it. We still have the same guy allocating resources that we had before the election. We didn't do our job of booting the idiot out, so now along with many, many other legislative problems our options are eliminated as far as I can see.

Ha-ha-ha... Isn't that the normal story when we go grouse hunting ..... got a shot at a grouse.....lol. Tough little targets. Great fun anyway ...... when you have some around to shoot at.

The "thrill of the chase" is an individual thing. The predatory nature of hunting takes many different forms. It is only one component of why most hunt, but I don't think there is anything very competitive in it except as regards the competition with the prey.

Thanks for the tip. In the past, whenever the temperature/cold wind got to a certain point during bow season I had to start piling on the clothes to the point where shooting form, string clearance, and everything just went to hell. So anything I can do to cut the bulk will help immensely. But yes, there will have to be something over this because it really is just a jacket even though it is heated.

That "thrill of the chase" reason, is all about the true predatory nature of man that we all like to hide and disassociate with. But the fact is that humans are predators and we do like the chase part of the hunt. And yes, there is a lethal component to it all also. We don't do "catch & release". There is a finality to what we do, and it is just as natural to us as it is to any of nature's predators. As much as we try to flee our natural instincts and pretend that we are not part of nature's systems and balances, there are always going to be our little core minority of hunters who choose honesty and refuse to pretend that we are something we are not.

I love these old pictures .... the older - the better.

I am thinking that you are going at it all wrong. Buy a solar electric fencer, and fence off the baited area with several strands of electric fence. That will even keep bears out and any other critters if done right. No need for shooting or having to spend valuable time on site policing what comes into the area. Wild critters and tame ones learn a healthy respect for electricity and they never have any lapses of memory regarding that kind of shocking experience ..... lol. Remember that you are dealing with something that has wings and can come in from above with no contact, but the ground dwellers have no such ability.

Ok, so maybe it's time to put this thread back to the context that it started out at. Unless I missed it, this guy never said anything about hunting at that distance. He was not promoting that nor did I see where anyone here ever proposed that as any kind of a reasonable hunting shot. I looked at it all as a shooting exhibition (and a damn impressive one at that). Maybe he should have stated somewhere in the video that the shots he was making were not intended to represent something that can or should be attempted for hunting situations in order to keep impressionable new-comers from thinking otherwise. But when you look at it from the standpoint that was intended, the video is a very entertaining exhibition of crossbow shooting skill. One thing it does highlight is the repeatability of that weapon when placed into the proper hands.

Now, take a normal scope-sighted horizontal crossbow, shot prone, and sporting a bipod, and maybe that shooting might not be quite as impressive. That would be fun to try.

There was a heated jacket that I wanted for archery hunting. Tried to get it at Sears, but they wouldn't let me try it on so I told them to stuff it. So I went to Runnings in Canandaigua and Dewalt makes one and they had them on display so I could actually try one on. The salesman turned it on so I could check out the heat. It works out well, and should allow me to get out with the bow in the colder part of the season without dressing up like the Michelin Man. Stay warm and nothing interfering with my shooting form. Anyway, that became one of my Christmas presents. Oh and that day only they happened to have a 25% off sale. $157 ... coat....charger...battery.

Actually, the deer in our area have developed little short circling escapes late in the hunting season. Unless the pressure is horrendous (which it is not), I have found that the deer tend to not run headlong through the woods anymore than they have to. They figure out that the farther they run, the more hunters they encounter. So I wouldn't worry too much about running the population out of the area by simply walking through and making scouting observations. That kind of light pressure means almost nothing compared with what they encountered during the two opening days of the season. That was traumatic .... lol. By now they have learned a few skills regarding avoiding people without heading for the next county.

Tracking is an age-old hunting method, but you do run the risk of basically putting on a drive for other hunters if you are bumping the deer too often. But then any kind of movement like still hunting runs that risk. However, it is interesting right now at this time of year to get out there and learn what you can. Tracking never gets any easier than when the snows on the ground. And learning what everything you see means, can be a hell of an education in deer patterns, habits and movements.

Ok, so does will walk along dribbling too .... I didn't know that. These dribblers (I came across 4 of them) were dripping straight brown urine, or at least that was the color when I got there. I saw some of the one-spot puddles that were yellow or quite red and those were single spots that were a couple inches in diameter. This kind of stuff is interesting, and that's why I started this thread. We don't spend a lot of time on sign reading and interpretation. These are things that would be good on some of these hunting videos and TV shows if they really were interested in putting on quality shows. Ah, but that's another topic .... lol.

You would think ..... lol. It all just points up the kinds of pressures these TV hunter-heroes are put under to produce. To them apparently it is no longer hunting, but just another job that has to meet the bottom line in terms of productivity. It is a shame that they have bastardized the sport to that extent, but this is not an isolated event and it shows how people react to peer pressure and how peer recognition and acceptance can drive perfectly normal people to do exceptionally bad things to achieve that. When we start measuring hunting success in inches of antler, this is a natural outfall of that mentality. Those participants are at fault, but likely some of the fault lies with the viewers who promote this sort of exploitation in the name of cash and hero-worship.

It's not really the emotional reactions that count. I mean hope and encouragement are great things but it really is a science that has yet to withstand the scrutiny of further research. yes, we do hope that it turns out to be something that can have positive results in the bigger picture as it develops.

This is a pretty good time of year to make your population size assessments. Tracks in the snow don't lie. Take a hike.

Learn to pattern hunters. Guys move from the parking lots into what they consider their favorite areas and they do so with consistently repetitive movements throughout the seasons every year. Certain trails and easier climbs and paths around obstructions (multi-flora rose .... lol) will funnel hunter movements into repetitive annual patterns of movement from parking lots to stands and back. Knowing likely spots where deer will be just before daybreak, and what the likely deer escape routes from those areas when hunters jump them can put you into a very repetitive and predictable annual locations of some very productive spots.

Ok .... Something I noticed the other day while I was wandering the hills. Urine patterns: Several times there was a line of urine drops along the trail. Was that definitely a buck. Do does ever dribble along the trail for yards and yards. I found one that was dribbling (quite heavily) for about 25 or 30 yards. Is it possible that a doe could or would do this? I did find some other urine deposits in the snow that obviously were doe. You could see the tracks along side the urine marks that looked pretty positive that they were squatting. But those long dribblers kind of made me bring the question here.

No question about it, the guy has skills. Ha-ha... I guess it ain't bragging if you can do it ....lol.