Doc

I could live with another posting system that made use of paint, but I would also like to have the sign option. I use aluminum signs which are basically a one time effort. I have seen paint fade because of weather such that it would have to be replenished every few years..... especially a dull passive color like purple. My signs are bright yellow and are now going on 42 years and still stand out like a beacon. In fact the original bright yellow blazing painted marks from the original survey are long gone now. I have no problem having my name and address inked on the signs, since that info is available to anyone who wants to take a short drive down to the Town Hall and look on the huge aerial photo. It is public information available to anyone. Also, while I cant remember the web address, I have seen that Aerial photo/owner's address information on the internet also.

There have been a whole rash of counties recently that have gone from shotgun only to allowing rifles. Time will tell if that was a smart decision in all of those counties. I believe that there is no clear-cut answer as to whether it is an improvement in safety or just the opposite. My opinion now is that the long term safety record will answer that question. Ontario County had rifles used for the first time last year. I bought a great deer rifle and immediately christened it with two deer. I love it. No shoulder-mangling 12 gauge to fight with every year. This year another couple of counties got added. I think when it all gets settled out, almost all of the counties will eventually allow rifles unless safety records start slipping. I'm not sure how you go about getting the ball rolling. In our case, it was a few individual town supervisors (one in particular) that took up the challenge of talking the rest of the board of county supervisors in proposing a resolution. Maybe the first thing is to find a receptive town supervisor that has some clout with the county board.

And so, I have to ask again as the campaign time keeps on ticking.....Has anyone even seen an Astorino advertisement yet?

Just for some educational value, exactly how do you do a reverse look-up on a posted picture. I didn't even know you could do that.

I think I answered my own question. According to the map : http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/28605.html#Black There are only 10 WMUs that have the new early bear season in the southern zone. That may explain why there is not a huge flurry of participation ..... lol.

Are processors open for business yet? You might be completely on your own as far as getting that thing into a cooler. And your point about tracking a wounded bear into the next day is a valid one. We keep pushing big-game seasons earlier and earlier toward the hot summer months without a single thought about recovery problems and what the temperatures can do to the meat. I think at this time of the year I would have game bags in my pack to stop the fly infestations.

I am still waiting to hear that people are enjoying this early bear season. So far there's only been one (maybe two) who stated that they have participated in this new season. Why is that? By the way, how many actual WMUs does this new season actually involve?

As I said, most people after they have gotten 1/4 or 1/2 mile in couldn't even trace their own property line if it isn't marked in some way. How on earth can you expect someone else to know where an unmarked line is located. Like I said above, a clearly posted line is as much benefit to the landowner as it is to those wishing not to trespass. It is roughly similar to that old saying that "good fences make good neighbors"....... roughly ... lol.

An accidental dryfire can be just as devastating on a recurve or longbow as a compound. Delamination or lamination splits and splinters are often the result. And there is no putting those back together unless it is a take-down. As far as the havoc an arrow can cause when accidentally released, there is no doubt things can go seriously wrong generally resulting in a wrecked or lost arrow. I will say that while I have had mis-triggers while using releases, I can't recall ever having that happen when I was using my fingers for release. But anyway, in this particular case, there was no arrow in the bow, and the cost could have been (and often is) the bow and not just an arrow.

If I had not insisted (and paid dearly for) a paint marked entire property line from a survey that I had done, it would have been almost impossible to follow my own property line. So, I have no idea how anyone else would have a chance of defining my property if I hadn't kept it marked with posted signs all these years. Seriously, when you are out in the hills and valleys, it is absolutely impossible to walk a straight line from corner marker to corner marker. And if there are bends in property lines, and nothing marking where the line really is, a hunter would have to do a full survey in order to stay off the property. This idea of staying off unposted property is another one of those things that sound a lot better than actually being practical or even possible at times. My posted lines are as much for my own benefit as they are for those trying to stay off my property. The original survey painted blaze marks are now long gone, and if I didn't keep that survey marked on the land with posted signs, the whole usefulness of the survey would be gone.

I have had a couple of catastrophic failures like that before, and each time, I had limbs and bow parts flying past my head. I swear that a path of a couple of inches different by all that stuff could have resulted in fatal or life-changing consequences. I recall back in the late 60s, that loud "whirring" sound as a very heavy solid epoxy bow limb from an old Bear Whitetail flew past my ear. Pretty scary stuff! So, as bad as you feel right now, and as expensive as it might get, be thankful that you survived it without serious personal injury.

Back in our much younger days, Mrs. Doc used to run the trapline during the week while I was working some very heavy overtime. The line was a few miles long, so it was no small feat. Strangely enough, she never got into hunting but certainly has no problem preparing whatever I get for our meals, and absolutely understands why I am into it. Fishing is another thing ...... She is into that far more than I am.

I like to avoid any controversy. I have made it a standing rule to always be able to see at least 3 signs at all times when approaching my property line. That is a lot closer than any requirement I have ever seen and avoids the comment, "Well I didn't see any sign". It is impossible to cross the line without having seen at least 3 signs. Posted signs are cheap (relatively speaking), even the metal ones. And hopefully you very seldom have to ever replace them. The backer-boards that I use are pressure treated plywood and seems to last nearly forever. Between adequate posting and the fact that I spend a lot of time out there, I have really had very little problems with hunter trespassers. I have had occasional problems with some neighbors that think I bought the property for their use with their horses and ATVs, dirt bikes, and camping. But hunters don't seem to be any problem.

Actually, there are a whole lot of differences between plotting and baiting. Hard though it may be to believe, some plotting is being done strictly as a habitat improvement. Also, there is a big difference in difficulty between hunting over a 6' diameter pile of bait, vs. a 1/4 to 3 acre or larger field with dozens of entry and exit spots. This is a real important distinction particularly with bowhunting. Also, baiting allows the chemist to get into the act, with unlimited inventions of more and more effective concoctions. Also, I have read about some of these timed bait broadcasting feeders acting like a dinner bell to the point where you even get a sense of "When" the deer will be getting on the scene. Another big difference regards the practicality of enforcement. Imagine the legal quagmire that would result trying to differentiate between legitimate ag activity and that special small field back in the woods. On the other hand, a bait pile is a bait pile. very easy to define, identify and with very little question as to intent. So the bottom line is that food plots and baiting are very different things.

That looks like quite a jungle. How do you even get a look at a deer from there? Is that going to be for gun, bow, or both? Would have been good to get a picture from inside the blind looking toward where you expect the shot. Edit: Ok, I just spotted the shooting lane that you cut. Is there a well-used trail that goes by there?

Ok, I just did some quick Google-work, and forget about the turkeys having any serious sense of smell. Right off the bat, I ran into a whole pile of places that just flat-out said they have no specially developed sense of smell. So that thought is out the window. Good thing too. That sense of sight is a pretty good defense against hunters. If they had a developed sense of smell, you probably would never get one ..... lol.

From what I've read, they really aren't the smartest critters. protected with natural instinctive senses and reactions, but probably not really great for remembering places and things. The idea of random scratching makes a lot of sense. I have seen some super large areas torn up, but also, I have come across some smaller turfed up areas that looked rather targeted. I am wondering of perhaps they might be able to feel them through the leaves with their feet. I don't know. It's just one of those questions that come on me while I am wandering around and see different things.

Sure is an awful lot of confusion regarding how to properly post property.

Was this guy enjoying his love of outdoors or was he an anti-social mental deficient that simply snapped one day. I think there is a real sad story here of a very unfortunate individual. It is too bad that no one took a look at his pre-hermit life events to learn more about what makes this guy the social misfit that he obviously turned out to be.

The ones that survive do ..... lol. But sometimes they just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when they figure out what's happening. They still have to get to their sanctuaries. That first couple of hours is when they are the most vulnerable.

Yeah, if that really is a potential outcome of legal baiting, or food plotting, this would be the point where a hunting technique or activity could have negative effects on someone other than those practicing it. Doesn't that all kind of smack of selfishness or something? It doesn't really sound like a neighborly or friendly hunter interaction. It's one thing to want to use bait for your own hunting but when motives turn to attempts at depriving other hunters for your own gain that becomes something entirely different. I don't really want to see any of that going on.

Has anyone even been out for bears yet? Has anyone heard of anyone else getting one? Any news articles or anything?

Yup, There are all kinds of big deer that have been taken in our area that had never been seen before. Some of that might be that they never were here before and got driven into the area by the orange army, or perhaps rut has pulled them into the area temporarily. Or maybe they simply are far better at avoiding us than we ever could imagine. Even with the advent of cameras everywhere, the big guys are pretty good at staying out of the picture. Those that I have seen, are seldom seen more than once.

This idea of forced "bait wars" is the one thing that might move me from being only mildly opposed to baiting into a position of more activism in any fight for legalization. The practice of baiting is one of those things where I could are less as long as it doesn't affect my hunting. But when I feel that a neighbor is actively trying to draw deer from my property onto his, I see that as a bit of an aggressive act. I don't want to see that sort of thing get started in hunting.

My first bow that accounted for my first kill (pigeons in the hay mow) was a hickory longbow that I built at age 11 with a draw-shave and hours of work. Crossbows (legal or otherwise) weren't even in the picture, and certainly not something that I could come up with by myself. So the legality of crossbow hunting wasn't even an issue back then. Another influence was the advent of archery competition in my 20's and 30's. We owned a commercial archery range when I was 21. I think by that time, I was totally committed to bows, and all the intricacies and challenges of archery skills. By that point, the crossbow (legal or not) wouldn't have had a chance to sneak into my life. But who knows. If I had found an old crossbow up in the attic at age 11, maybe it all would have taken a different turn. No real way of knowing.