Doc

Anybody here remember back when posted signs were relatively rare? I recall that back in the early 60's you could walk miles before running into any posted signs. Much of the land was still farmed, and the farmers didn't have a lot of time or resources to be walking their perimeter nailing up posted signs.....So they didn't.

Yesterday, I saw 3 degrees as the lowest. The wind was absolutely absurd. I expected to see trees going down. Just had the hill logged so I don't expect any problems up there. Snow looks to be something less than 1", but most of that blew away into the woods somewhere. Next spring there will be massive twig and branch pick-up in the yard. Location: northern 8N

It would probably be amusing to ask that question of the DEC and then call the local state police barracks, and see how the answers vary. Most likely if you called two different DEC offices you would probably get two different answers. NYS has scrambled up gun laws so bad I doubt if there is a single point source that understands them.

If I am trying to check out the gun or the scope, I use a bench, sand bags and take as much of my personal inaccuracies out of things as I can. If I want to see how shaky and wobbly I can be, I shoot off-hand.

I hunt from the ground 100% now (fear of heights). But one thing I do remember is how slick tree steps and stand platforms can get with just a little snow. Be sure to harness up snow or no-snow.

Interesting that there was no response to this reply. Musk is the messenger that all the libs want to shoot.

Or it might be that you are trying to draw a connection where none exists.

Check with your local County Extension Office, and they should have a lot of info on these kinds of infestation and the expected results that they may have on your forests. There may be some temporary bad news, but the long-term results may not be as scary as what you might imagine.

This has been a very depressing topic. So many of you putting into words the thoughts that have been running through my mind for quite a while. I'll be 79 in less than a month. Just about 63 years of hunting. Damn, I have seen all kinds of changes in hunting. I have also seen hunting partners leaving the ranks with the few that back-fill lasting only a few years. I have watched a time when opening day of deer season was an excused absence from high school to today where we rely on special youth seasons to try to pry their fingers of the electronic gadgets, and even that has limited or very temporary success. It is a losing battle. The sport is constantly under attack and our adversaries are winning. I am still hanging on to an activity and attitudes that have had top priority almost all my life, but I too have seen so many of my friends and acquaintances drop out without replacements. This core activity that so much of my life has been defined by is losing all significance in what this world is becoming. That is a sad thing, and this topic merely adds credence to the thoughts that have run through my mind in recent years. But as has already been mentioned, change happens. That is just a fact of life.

I believe that there are areas where hunters can no longer control deer populations. And if hunting continues to decline, that situation may eventually spread across the state.

Maybe it has more to do with people taking a more in-depth look at the shortcomings of electric vehicles than anything happening over at Twitter.

I had stick-built treestands even back in the 60's, eventually "graduating" to the old Baker climbing treestands. But somewhere along the line (about the mid 80's), I started getting a fear of heights, and have been a ground hunter ever since. Yeah, when I started (early 60's) there were no videos or TV programs telling you how you HAD to hunt. We all learned from our elders or one of the hunting magazines. A lot of the methods were by trial and error. And of course there were the B.S. sessions around the coffee pot at work. It all seemed so much more exciting before we all became educated and scientific about it all. Heck, it was years before I even knew what "scoring a buck" was all about. Didn't know.....didn't care. Counted points and that was good enough.

We went through an infestation too several years ago. It lasted about three consecutive years of defoliation. There was some trees that died, but almost all of them survived eventually. I have never heard of any major devastation of large areas that were permanently wiped out, but when you see it, it is hard to believe that the woods could ever survive that kind of damage. Usually the population of the caterpillars implodes. I don't know whether they starve themselves, or whether some disease of some sort wipes them out. But they will come to an end.

Yeah.......Here comes the Monday morning quarterback. But perhaps others who might have similar encounters might handle it with the DEC. They have access to rehabilitators who may be able to render some medical assistance to the critter with a minimum amount of risk to the people involved. If he died so quickly, there probably was nothing anyone could do that would have had any different end-result. I suspect that the leg symptoms were the least of his problems. I'll bet your theory about the car hitting him was probably right.

There is a strong connection between my hunting and our American culture and heritage. Yes, among all the categories of people, even we have such things as heritage and culture. We began this nation as a land of hunters, and it was the thoughts of that sort of thing that first interested me in all the outdoor activities that I have been into all through my life. There is also an element of independence even though if we had to count on my game harvests for our food, we likely would starve to death.....lol. Hunting also teaches the participants that meat does not come from trees or originate in cellophane wrapped Styrofoam packages.

Ha-ha-ha....It is man-killer kind of brush that will tear you up. Also there is no such thing as "Sneaking" through it. I have seen this stuff taking over the whole valley bottom. And yet the deer move through it with no problem. If a deer wants to spend the day in there, there is no one who's going to kick them out of there.

This topic is related to what has been happening with me. I am officially of the category of being, "older than dirt". Also I hunt primarily by myself. So what I have found is that my hunting is evolving into is a more local style of hunting (closer to the house). I used to measure my hunting in terms of miles up the hill and down the valley, never really considering what I would do if I ever got something. Hey, what the heck, I was young and eager and full of energy. Now my hunting area involves where I can get my ATV to get the deer out. So it is not a question of not going out, but rather how far I go to hunt.

So, it sounds like the majority so far feel that the drop in the number of shots is significant. So what does that mean? Fewer hunters?.......I have seen a lot of near empty state parking lots where years back they would be filled and cars parked along the road from over-flow. Different hunter habits?.......I seem to remember a lot more still-hunters who were quick to get walking. It does seem to me that with today's clothing and foot-gear, it is easy to stay on stand for hours and hours. So perhaps it is a situation where everyone is sitting tight, and so are the deer. Less huntable land?.....So much of my former hunting areas now have houses built there and posted signs. I remember when posted signs were a rare sight. Farmers didn't have the time to be doing such things. That's not the case anymore. Less actual hunting?.......To me it looks like deer season has become a 1/2 day event for a lot of hunters, and after the first opening weekend. everything goes dead. So there may be a lot of people buying licenses and never using them, or using them in a very limited way. So I am not so sure that a license count is telling the whole story. Is there a migration of hunters from gun to bow/crossbow?..... This is one that is hard to pin down, but I do know a lot of people who have been scared out of the gun season by all the (unfounded) fears of hunting accidents and fatalities. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Any other possible reasons?

I know that no one runs through the woods counting hunters, but I am curious what your impressions are of the deer hunting action that you have noted in shooting activity in recent years compared to older deer seasons that you have participated in in the past. Have you noticed any significant changes in opening day shooting activity?

I have to agree that the media and the FBI and the Democrats long list of dirty tricks have done a very thorough hatchet job on Trump. I hate to see their foul tactics rewarded by turning on Trump now. But we do still have a very popular potential candidate in DeSantis that so far has not been worked over by the leftist forces. But here is the problem. Trump is not a politician. As a total outsider he still wound up with an amazing amount of almost genius moves that brought the country back to it's prime. Economic perfection. Foreign affairs perfection. Things were pretty darn good and all this from a complete outsider. He definitely "made America great again". I believe that history will show that he was probably the best president we have seen in years with what appears to be a natural instinct to handle running the country. But he had a popularity problem because of his personality. Definitely a lot of it self-inflicted with a lot of help from the lefties who have perfected a talent for playing the dirty game of politics. Unfortunately the voters treat elections like popularity contests without a care abut a talent for running a country (example: Joe Biden). DeSantis has shown some of the same kind of talent for correct decisions on a state level, but will this translate into the kind of instincts that were natural to Trump? I don't know, but we will be needing the best team that we can nominate if we are to dig ourselves out of the total wreck that Biden has buried us under. And are we certain that the same kind of dirty tricks from the media and the Dems will not bury DeSantis as was done with Trump? They are damned good at it. Well the jury is still out We have to choose the best nominee, but we have to get him elected too. Choose well, or risk an additional 4 years of Biden. That's a terrifying thought.

We have large parcels of thick multiflora rose that will eat a hunter up if you go in there. Also, there is no quiet way in and around these huge patches of the invasive species. The thorns will tear at your clothing and skin if you try to move through these areas. It has been that way for a few decades now, and the deer have taken note that they can spend their daylight hours hunkered in these areas and never see a hunter trying to hunt these areas. You can try doing drives in these areas, and maybe, if you are lucky, you might make it out the other side with most of your hide. And the deer will merely walk circles around you and then hunker down again. I have not figured a way to hunt these areas, and I don't think anyone else has either.

Years ago, I decided that land was way more important to me than the home itself. So the first thing I did was buy acreage and live on it. I have to live somewhere, so I might as well live where I hunt. So today, the house and property have long-ago been payed off. Dad was right when he told me they aren't making any more of it. The price was ridiculously low by today's standards. Yes, taxes have gone up over the years, but they have gone up for the city and suburban folks too, and a whole lot faster. And yes, there was always the 45 minute commute each way every day. But it always served as relaxing quiet time. It never seemed to be any problem except on those ridiculous snow storms. I love the peace and quiet out here and the extreme privacy. It always worked for me, and my hunting land is mine to hunt and manage as I please.

American Ruger, .270 caliber

It is interesting to sit back and read the reminiscing of people who really have bothered to stop at least once to take note of how the human condition and attitudes have eroded over time. Seems like the older we get, the clearer it all becomes. I appreciate the thoughts offered by Mr. Hartman from his tractor seat, and I also appreciate Grouse for forwarding that article on to us. It seems like a collection of good thoughts to ponder once in a while.

Looks good to me!