Doc

Fear not! It is still on. But any day now it will be coming off.....lol.

So here we are almost done with April, and I have to figure out exactly when I can pull the snowplow off the ATV. It's not a real fun thing to put back on if snow decides to give us one last dump. But I do have springtime chores where the plow limits where I can drive. I think I'm about ready to take a chance. Hopefully any snow that we get from here on I can drive through or wait for it to melt. I think the odds are pretty small that we will get any more significant accumulation. I say that remembering that we have gotten 6" storms leaving some pretty sloppy-gloppy snow behind in May (but that is rare).

Cigar smoke will hold them off, but how many continuous hours can you keep a cigar going without winding up with a thunderous head-ache? ..... lol. Also, I spent decades stopping the tobacco addiction. I'm not ready to begin it again. But I mention it only because I recall a Canadian fishing trip where cigars provided the only periodic relief from those nasty little blood-suckers. Does a thermo-cell handle them?

I think the problem I have with spring turkey season is that this is the time I am going nuts trying to clean up leaves and lawn and pick up branches and sticks that are everywhere, and make repairs and do maintenance on buildings and equipment. Frankly, I don't have a minute to spare right now. When you add all that to the fact that turkeys have become pretty scarce in my area for the past decade or so, there's not a whole lot of time or motivation. And of course in the fall, I am bowhunting for deer which is priority #1. So I have almost zero turkey hunting experience. I must say that given the fact that a turkey harvest here would be a rare event, I probably would not be all that picky. But, I was just curious what the significance of turkey age is in hunting.

My first reaction was, "Why not"? But the more I think about some of the conversations we have had on here about all the nuances of the law, and all the little hidden rules and regulations that we may not even be aware of, maybe my answer is softening a bit. Recognizing that we are likely breaking all kinds of laws that we misunderstand or simply are not aware of, perhaps you might be placing yourself in some jeopardy. I have seen thread after thread where guys are arguing back and forth about the fine print or the meanings or the details of some of the conservation laws. It kind of tells me that some rather well meaning individuals can quite innocently run afoul of the law and not even realize it. You know ignorance of the law is no excuse and that is fine until it is your ignorance that you are being ticketed for.....lol. That question posed on the initial post isn't really all that easy to answer anymore.

It's kind of comical to hear somebody start shooting here in the valley, and pretty soon somebody else starts up at the other end of the valley. It's kind of like one guy gets reminded by the other. I know I have started both of them going when I go out to do some shooting. It's kind of like, "Damn that sounds like fun. I guess I'll go out and shoot for a while". For us it's kind of like the sound of rural life. It's exactly the same as hearing a chainsaw or a skidder heading through the woods. Sure, it's nicer when it is absolutely dead quiet, and actually, most of the time that's exactly how it is. The short period that I lived in the city, I came in contact with people who obviously lived to whine and complain and had way too much concern with what the neighbors were doing. It is amazing how sensitive neighbors can get, especially when they are intent on being that way.

I think it's an escape ploy used to confuse predators by pretending insanity.

I am not much of a turkey hunter, in fact in all these years I have only been out a couple of times. So if I seem to be a bit ignorant on the subject, it is only because I am. So this whole question of shooting jakes is a total mystery to me. What exactly is behind the controversy in shooting jakes? Does it relate to just holding off for a bird with more meat? Or does it relate to challenge with the assumption that older birds are wiser birds? Or is there some biological reason that makes shooting older birds a better choice for flock health or something? For some reason, I never really had an interest in turkey hunting, and I'm sure my questions are kind of dumb. But I have always wondered about this controversy and thought I would ask.

I don't really think there is anything wrong with the deer's front left leg other than along with the rest of it's body, it has absolutely no control. Notice that when the deer falls over it is mostly falling toward its right side. If the left leg was broke, it would be going down toward the left side. I noticed that when the ATV comes up on the deer in the very first seconds of the video, it is standing quite still looking away..... on its feet and looking quite stable. No sign of imbalance or seizure at that point.

Yeah, that's where my comment about waiting for the town by town reports came from. It is very difficult for the DEC to come out with all-encompassing statewide reports with statewide comments. There are always some places that just don't hang with the average situations. You obviously hunt in one of those. The real thing to pay attention to is the permit allocations prior to next season. That's really what all this finally means to each individual hunter.

Wrong thread for sure and more likely the wrong forum. However, like a good little forum member I tried to read it and wound up wondering if it was even the right language ..... lol. Pretty strange stuff and a bit of a crappy subject ..... pun intended.

I have never seen that sort of thing before. At first I thought the deer was standing in what I thought was a normal condition. Certainly it wasn't in the out-of-control unstable condition that it became after the guy got up to it. But actually that isn't real typical behavior for the deer to be just standing there while someone drives right up to it either. So I really don't think it was some kind of seizure reaction to getting scared. I'm not sure that it is some kind of disease either since there was nothing lethargic about its actions. We'll probably never know.

Call it whatever you want, but it still comes down to running in the face of adversity.

When the County by County and Town by Town reports are tallied and published, I will have more interest in results. I simply cannot relate to a Northern Zone and Southern Zone tally, or especially a total statewide report. It doesn't mean anything to me or actually to anyone. These things really only have local impacts.

Yes, the last two paragraphs sound like a Cuomo campaign ad.....lol.

Yes, it sounds like you have developed a pattern of running away from challenge. eventually, you will be running out of places to hide. Frankly, I would never have let Florio drive me from N.J., and I refuse to let Cuomo and his kind drive me from N.Y. I'm just not the type to run. And I'm not the type to discourage pro-gun forces from working what ever resources they can muster to create change. I see nothing positive in any of that.

There has been controversy in every aspect of hunting, and the sky hasn't fallen yet. The fact is that hunters are people and as such have opinions. Why anyone thinks that we must all keep our mouths shut, not have opinions on ethics, not allow the courage of our convictions, and just become mind-numbed robots all walking in lockstep repeating over and over identical mantras, I cannot imagine. What is supposed to be so unique about hunters that we cannot converse and discuss like any other group of people. No, fear not. We do not need to stifle our brain waves to save hunting. I hear that stuff all the time, and am so glad that nobody really takes that thought seriously. I hate to think where hunting would be today if centuries ago, we all agreed to allow anything and not discuss consequences, ethics, or the right and wrong of what we do. Lol .... We would still be running buffalo over cliffs.

Great question. Is it possible that we might be forced into voting for a candidate that has an even worse attitude on guns than the signers of the Safe Act that we vote out? My answer to that is that it may very well happen. But that then becomes a battle for the following election. Here's the story on my focus on the Safe Act vote. I would like to keep things real simple. And by simple, I mean that my vote is a warning to all those that would propose or support gun-unfriendly legislation. I want it to be understood by all politicians that if they dabble in anti-gun legislative activity, it can be assumed that it will be their last term. Their successor may be worse than the one we replace, but on the day that he is elected, he will have been warned in the strongest of ways that if he tries to put his agenda into legislation, he will be enjoying his last term in that office. It's a hell of a motivator that may actually create some pro-gun converts. If it doesn't then we will have to show him the door during the next election. At some point we have to take a hard, clear stand that cannot be dismissed by politicians. We have emotional momentum with this Safe Act. We have it for just one year. We had better use it wisely and send a message that lasts for decades to come. No need to overthink any of it. Keep it simple for the incensed gun owners and keep it simple for the signers of the Safe Act, and keep it simple for future generations of politicians. Restore the fear of the gun lobby that used to exist before 1968. It's our one chance. You all know what is coming if we fail and these people are emboldened by our failure.

It's not really a case of sticking together or not sticking together. It is more an individual opinion of what constitutes hunting and what does not. Frankly, the whole quality of the hunt thing is a big reason of why I hunt. I guess I have some pretty firm guidelines as to what I will do in the name of hunting. There is a certain atmosphere that I insist on in my hunts, and there are certain conditions of the game that I hunt. These are all personal opinions and requirements. I may very well consider some hunting methods and manipulations to be outside of what I want to call hunting. That is my right, and frankly if I wasn't a bit discriminating in how and why I hunt, I think that would be a lot worse than if I occasionally express opinions on the subject. I really don't get too excited that every hunter doesn't walk in lock-step with every other hunter on every issue. I don't see that as a real big deal. We all agree on the general defense of hunting, and the nits and details should be able to be discussed openly and freely. Which is pretty much what we do here.

All you have to know about any of these guys is shown here: http://huntingny.com/forums/topic/17272-lest-we-forget/ For me that is the litmus test for my vote this fall. If they voted for the Safe Act, they signed on as an enemy of gun owners. It doesn't get any more simple than that. For me, this years election is all about sending a message that we have enough gun control and anything more will be viewed as an aggressive act that will cause their loss of employment as a state legislator. Other issues will be dealt with in other election years, but this year I am focused, as I hope we will all be.

I have mixed feelings about bear baiting. Generally speaking, I am not in favor of conditioning wildlife to make themselves easier prey. I hunt wild game in a natural and un-trained state. And I will admit that that attitude is a personal limitation that I choose to put on my hunting. The attitude is not for everyone. Also, I do realize how difficult bear hunting without bait or dogs would be and the fact that without bait, hunting as an effective population control is certainly compromised. So I guess this is just a long way around saying that it is not for me personally, but if it were legalized in NYS, I would understand it. I probably will never consider it to be hunting, but sometimes compromise has to be accepted in the name of animal management.

No, actually you are doing quite a bit more damage than simply "putting a damper on folk's hopes". You are actively working along side the anti gun forces in trying to discourage any organized voter drives, registration drives, and the efforts of all gun advocacy organizations to actually make a difference. You are basically telling people not to bother voting because it will do no good. While you are attempting to make yourself feel good with your "I told you so" attitude, you are doing a real good a job of making it all a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Checked my serial number and apparently my 700 is ok. Thanks for the heads-up.

No, I'm not a M.D., dentist, or a paramedic or anything of that sort .... lol. Doesn't refer to any kind of PHD either. Just simply a chunk of my name.

Ok, that's pretty much what I thought I had heard (read). So, is it possible that the dog tick can carry lyme disease at all? In other words, is any cause for concern if you find one of those gnawing on you?