Doc

Nugent may be a lot of things (some good some not so good), but one thing he is not and that is an idiot. Rough around the edges ..... abrasive ..... a bit prone to making bad decisions in his personal life ..... but there is no one who can beat him when it comes to arguing gun and hunting issues armed with facts. I have seen him make complete babbling idiots out of some people that are supposedly professional debaters who make their living destroying opponents to liberal ideologies. Perhaps he doesn't always conduct his personal life in the positive fashion, but he does know his gun and hunting debate facts better than any other person that I have seen arguing pro-gun positions. Is he a good or bad representative of the gun and hunting community? Well, That is still up for debate. But the guy is not stupid.

Well, yuck! First of all, what are they doing eating donkeys? Second of all how do you stir fox meat in with the donkey meat. Is there another meat line in the processing plant that is preparing dead foxes for human consumption? Strange food preferences around the world. They probably think that roast angus is absolutely disgusting.

I always come off the hill with my pockets stuffed with other people 's trash. One thing that has been getting pretty regular are those stinking mylar party balloons that are filled with helium and set loose to wind up wherever they happen to fall. What the heck are people thinking? Do they think that those things just escape the atmosphere and fly harmlessly out into space? I saw it again on TV, where someone had died and as tribute, relatives, friends and neighbors let go hundreds of balloons into the air. What a wonderful tribute to someone ....... release as much pollution as possible. Thinking of all those mylar balloons that I have policed up in our chunk of state land made me think of that balloon release the other day.

I don't discount the possibility some day. I do know that the DEC is all the time changing things to increase deer take, and it seems that we may be reaching a point where hunters are not capable of taking care of the populations in some areas of the state. Who knows, with more and more land becoming locked up and inadequately harvested, the state may some day entertain such an idea in targeted areas. I doubt that I will ever see it, or even my kids, or even my grandkids. But never say never.

Are those things edible?

Yes, all the replies have got it right. There is nothing that indicates that the DEC has any of these thoughts in their minds. Fear not..... it is only some misguided opinion of one person that most likely is shared by no one .... other than farmers, nurseries, foresters, insurance companies and some home-owners or victims of car/deer collisions and perhaps those that might figure there is a buck in it for themselves ....lol.

Sure, that's like the huge sign strapped on the wall outside of the Henrietta gander Mountain store that says "clearance sale 75% off". well that's not quite right..... there is a little "up to" in front of the 75%....lol. Inside the store I couldn't really finds anything that was 75% off. There probably was a pair of socks hidden somewhere that was 75% off....lol. I'll admit tat that is an old trick used by many different stores, but the intent to mislead is quite plain. Sure I am getting real picky with them because when they first came to town, it was the greatest outdoor store anywhere. And then little by little the prices kept climbing and the stock kept diminishing, and the service kept getting worse and the quality of store associates got worse until now I no longer make a special trip up there for anything because I know they won't have whatever I am needing. The only time I stop there is if I happen to be in the area for other reasons and want to see if anything has changed (which it never does). However hope is on the horizon as other companies are making plans to move into the area. Gander will either shape up or ship out.

We all can slant, spin, or interpret the law however we want to, but the only interpretation that counts is what the encon officer and/or the judge or J.P. establishes. So if you want to push the envelope, do so at your own risk. I will say that there are darn few laws, of any sort that are absolutely bullet-proof and not subject to some level of interpretation. But it seems to me that there are really very few ways that one can interpret a definition of hunting that includes words like: "...and every attempt to take and every act of assistance to any other person in taking or attempting to take wildlife." And for those that want to come up with some sort of special "qualification process", I have to point out that all these "special processes" require some sort of trained personnel to administer them. Of course we already know from the hunter training courses that trying to come up with these people is a lot easier said than done, so I think there might be some logistical problems with throwing in special courses or procedures for every wrinkle in the law. I think using a licensed status is as good qualification process or status as you are likely to find.

You know, as often as I have been up to Henrietta (in fact I even worked there for a bunch of years when Xerox was there), I have yet to know exactly where Market Place Mall starts and ends. Eventually, you get to an area that is just one un-named mall running into another un-named mall. The whole damned area is a mall. So when somebody says that something is "in Market Place Mall", I still have no idea where to look. This country bumpkin simply is lost up there. I know where Gander is, and Wegmans, and Red Lobster, and that Bug-a-boo or boogaloo steak house or whatever. But to me any one of those places could be in Market Place Mall .... lol. I've got to get into the guts of that place and do some exploring next time I'm up that way. I do have a pretty good idea where the Bass pro Shop is going to be. By the way, what the heck takes 2 years to put a store up? Dang, I ain't getting any younger.

That sounds possible. I hadn't thought of that.

Is it just my imagination, or does there seem to be a huge amount of boats for sale on people's yards? What's happening is the cost of gas bugging people, lack of time, launch congestion or are they just simply losing interest. I know here in the Finger Lakes, the water is getting crazy with congestion. I'm wondering if people are getting tired of dodging the drunks and such. But anyway, from the view along the roadside, it sure does look like it is a buyer's market out there.

So right in one area there will be (possibly) a bass Pro-shop, a Gander Mountain, this Field and Stream store and a Dicks. It sounds like great news for us, but it may turn out to be a "survival of the fittest" situation for the stores involved. Poor Gander Mountain. I don't believe anyone is getting rich off that store right now without the additional competition.....lol. But, I wonder if there is enough demand to support all those stores. Well, who knows, but it should be a great situation for hunters, fishermen, trappers, and other outdoor folks. I love competition.

So, has anyone heard anything more about the new hunting store that's supposed to be going into Rochester area? I think it was called a "Field and Stream" store or something like that? That whole item has gone silent, and I can't remember the timeframe for the opening. Looking for an update.

Yeah, if you can just get close, the wind from the bullet shout knock him flat.

Yeah, this is about the time of year when we used to be busy as heck picking black berries for ten cents a quart when I was a kid. I remember the hours out in the hot sun, and the occasional grass snake that would be laying up in the bushes .... lol. Actually even at 10 cents a quart, I used to make quite a bit of money. It bought me some of the cool clothes that I wanted and added traps to my collection and paid for my subscription to Fur-fish-&Game. And I always seemed to have that dark blue stain around my mouth. between the berries, grapes and bagging wheat on the combine and other farm chores, I always seemed to have enough money.

Ha-ha .... What a great way to break into the sport.

Lol.... I am sitting here wondering how the DEC should at least attempt to ensure that a junior hunter is being accompanied, supervised, or mentored short of holding face to face interviews with the attending adult (not exactly practical. So what is practical? Well, if you are qualified to be licensed, at least they know that you have been exposed to the hunter training safety course. Let's face it, that is the only way that they can at least put the odds in favor of the mentor knowing safe from unsafe. And I am aware that hunter safety training didn't necessarily take with all hunters. I didn't say that it is an iron-clad guarantee. I think they forced to play the odds on that one simply because there are no guarantees. And of course the other half of the story is that the DEC definitions do not specify requiring a weapon to be hunting or participating in hunting. They have words in there that include "disturbing, harrying, worrying whether they result in taking or not, and every attempt to take and every act of assistance to any other person in taking or attempting to take wildlife." Whether we like it or not, those are the words that are written in Environmental Conservation law, and the DEC and we are bound by that law. We may not like the law, but that's not a requirement.

Interesting picture. Knowing that bears are run by dogs, it makes you wonder why this bear seems to be going out of his way for a confrontation.

That is because we have the forum whose title includes politics. My point was that perhaps it should not. As a moderator, I do not feel that I have the power to change the layout or structure of the forum. I see that as the site owner's area of power and decision. The fact is that as long as it is entitled a political forum, I should have no grounds or rightful power to delete those posts in that forum. That doesn't mean that I don't have an opinion (which is what you are referring to).

7 pages have been wasted on this non-topic that basically has only moved 17 people to care about it enough to vote for a change (and I suspect nearly all of those were just expressing disgust with recent direction of the political forum). As a percentage of the membership is concerned, this is a non-issue. 7 pages about nothing but nonsense. And the funniest part of it all is that it has clogged up the most recent list more than the political topics ever did. This is starting to get more and more goofy as time goes on. I'll tell you what, keep adding in the posts. Keep clogging up your "most recent" list. I don't use it anyway for reasons I already stated. And when you get tired of burning band width, maybe you will do what any other member would have done who has a requested change, and that would be to contact the site owner.

Hey, I have one of those pygmy panthers. Looks just like that one. By the way is there any bad luck associated with having your path crossed by a pygmy panther?

Fascinating! That article was great. I'll be keeping my eyes open for it. Who knows, maybe someday it will become an annual activity for me too. The combination of scouting, walking (exercise), and looking for a cash crop is an intriguing thought.

One thing comes to mind as I read this thread. It seems to me that there are a lot of people who cannot control their urges to enter a forum that pisses them off. Why is that? Is it like a car wreck.... you really don't want to see anything gory but you just can't make yourself not look .....lol. There are a few forums here that I have absolutely no interest in and by golly, I don't go into them. It really seems so simple. Also I don't rely on the 5 latest items to indicate what I will read, because I know darned well that I am going to miss more topics than I catch. Apparently we are looking for automated and mechanized systems to pick the topics for us. I guess I don't really have a lot of interest in that. I go to the forums that interest me and actually see all of what's new. If I don't have time for that, then I probably don't have time for the site.

I caught one or two of those programs. It was kind of interesting even though like you said everything was scripted. So, of course the big question is, "is there any of that stuff in NYS"? I'm not looking for the location of anyone's secret spot or anything. Just an idea of whether it grows in NYS or not.

Ha-ha That comment on it feeling like something illegal cracked me up. I know the exact feeling. I had it when I had an opportunity at wiping out maybe the last pheasant in our town. It would have been legal, but somehow it didn't feel like it should be. I'll be honest, there is no way that I would loose and arrow or fire a shot at a bear in our area even in a perfectly legal situation. Couldn't do it.