Doc

I have a story of a deer that I killed years ago that was the result of a deflection off a small unseen raspberry stalk that was almost in front of the deer. The arrow that was directly on its way to a perfect lung shot took a sudden flip just before it got to the deer and passed through it's neck. As luck would have it the arrow deflected into the neck and severed the jugular vein, and proved to be a very devastating shot. So, did I from that day forward always consider archery neck shot to be a viable shot selection just because it was so lethal that one time? Absolutely not. I felt very lucky to not have had a major disaster on my hands. There are certain rump shots that are super lethal if you happen to be so lucky as to hit the femoral. Good shot selection? ..... Not in my estimation. Don't be too impressed with a low percentage shot that happens to get lucky. It doesn't make it a good shot selection.

Well, I'm trying desperately not to twist this thread too far off topic, but in my world, not voting at all is not an option. There is an opportunity to send a pro-2nd Amendment message this fall, and I will not pass up that once in a lifetime opportunity that gun owners have been given. Mr. Theil is a downstate Assemblyman that also needs special attention by the gun owning voters of his district in that he also voted for the Safe Act. And yes, he very well may be a "grandstander" for exactly the same reasons as Andy. Hopefully he too is feeling the heat. Each one of us has our own district election candidates to take care of depending on how they voted on the Safe Act. But staying on point, this thread is about deceitful activity by Cuomo as pointed out in the original post, and I am trying to stay focused on that in spite of your attempts to divert.

Of course I did. But the more important question is, "Do you intend to back up your actions at he polls this November"? The way you are trying to deflect attention away from the real problem and the real solutions here makes me wonder. I am not going to sit back and say, "Gee I did all I could do". We have a much bigger achievement to accomplish. We don't need apologists for political grandstanding, and attempts to buy back the lost favor of voting gun owners with public money. The fact is that unlike you, I can not brush aside the callous and insulting treatment that legislators routinely force on us, and the attitudes of contempt that they hold their constituents in. I am arguing for fanning the flames of disgust into an organized attempt to send a clear message to those that displayed their true colors on that Safe Act vote including their leader, Cuomo. We have an opportunity to use the anger in the gun owners to send that message, and if we don't get too many people trying to deflect that effort by brushing aside such things as grandstanding for political benefit and other abuses by politicians, perhaps we might just have a chance at pulling off the upset. What we don't need are statements like "I really don't care if he is grandstanding". That is not the way to encourage the unified front that we need to unseat this guy and his like-minded friends.

I think that some here need to have an honest discussion with Canadians about the quality of their national healthcare. I have a brother-in-law in Canada that supplies plenty of examples of where national healthcare leads. Bottle-necks that are created by this unlimited unrestricted healthcare with everybody clogging their system with hang-nails and sniffles, causes some very lengthy waits for diagnostic testing procedures for very real symptoms.

First of all, you should care if he is "grandstanding", especially when he is using tax-payer money to finance what amounts to free campaign expenditures on his behalf. Secondly, to use your analogy, Cuomo is both the meat and the potatoes. He is the guy who is buying votes with our money and is displaying a mentality that you can indeed screw gunners (or any voters), as long as you can successfully divert public money to buy back their votes. The assumption is that they are too stupid to even understand it or even care about it. This is only the most recent display of that kind of mentality in most of our elected officials, and hopefully, voters will get a little smarts and understand that it is that mindset that is the problem and the reason that this sort of thing is going on in the first place. I understand what you are trying to say about priorities, but at some point you have to recognize the more fundamental part of what is going on here, and begin to "care" about who and what is really screwing us over and why. Also , hopefully you and others will decide to finally do something about it while the opportunity is here.

As has already been said a few times, there has to be more to this story than what has been reported in this story. Nobody is required to demonstrate that they were in imminent danger by waiting until they or someone in their family is dead or wounded. That's just plain ridiculous and as wacked out as this country's legal system is, I sincerely doubt that people are under that kind of self defense definition. I believe what we have here is either faulty reporting, or reporting before all the facts have been discovered.

So is this where we are heading? Are we supposed to just leave our well-being and the safety of our loved ones to the mercy of the thugs of this world. Well, that won't be happening in my home. I say there is no excuse for a burglar to be inside my house. There is also no way for me to determine if they are armed. There is also no way for me to determine their mental state or whether or not they intend to do harm. So my approach is to level any threat that is within the walls of my home. I have always been of the assumption that that action is within my legal rights. Is there some reason why this guy has been singled out as one to be denied that right to self defense?

Can't say that I have heard of a lot of people hopping on a jet the Philippines to access the care of those "decent doctors". Look, nobody wants to see people going without health care because they can't afford it. But any solutions need to keep people incented to at least try to pay or try to get into a position where someday they will be able to pay their way. It appears that everything today is aimed at creating dependency. People are starting to throw their hands up in frustration when they see others having things that used to cost hard work, responsibility and a sense of pride, now being simply given to anyone who asks for it. As the converts grow, we are seeing more people eating from the trough than those that are filling it. How long do you suppose that can keep on going?

I have no problems with lots of deer to hunt. But some of the places where there is still a pile of deer left, are places where the DEC has made a concerted effort with crazy amounts of antlerless permits being issued, to wack on the populations. I know that here in 8N that is the case. I am not complaining. It sure is nice to be guaranteed 2 permits (and even more) while having deer running all over the place. And so far no indications of habitat destruction or negative effects on the herd. Kind of a win-win situation .... eh? But it does raise one big question. My question is, "Is the permit system still viable in controlling the herds"? Are the hunters still doing their job? If they are, why do we continue to see more and more deer in spite of the fact that they seem to be opening the floodgates on permit numbers. If hunters are not doing their job ..... Why not? Is the system still working?

A new Sienna poll states: "Statewide, 54 percent said they would re-elect Cuomo, a Democrat who is expected to run for a second term this fall. In Upstate, 4 out of 10 voters said they were ready to vote for Cuomo; 54 percent said they'd prefer someone else." That is a big slips from just a couple of month's earlier. From a TV news story that I watched last night, a good chunk of the blame for the slip was attributed to the NYS Safe Act. So for those that think we have not gotten Cuomo's attention .... Think again! And anyone who does not see all this sudden interest in hunting and outdoor activity by the Cuomo camp as a blatant attempt to bribe the votes of gun owning outdoors people, simply are demonstrating that the ploy is working. He is simply shoring up a soft spot in his popularity.

We got very close to 50 degrees yesterday, and it seemed like the deer were really loving it. Six at our place and another 12 stopped us on the way to town when they were crossing the road. They all looked in very good rig. Meanwhile, the body count along our local roads continues to mount. It really looks like the population is still very high. I know that here in 8N the number of permits was obscene, but it still doesn't seem to make much difference. I wonder if maybe they have finally reached a point where they are issuing more permits than hunters are willing to fill or capable of filling.

For me this year's state elections are already decided. I am voting a single issue, and that is the Safe Act issue. The voting record on that law is my litmus test. If you voted for it .... you're out of here! I know, that flies in the face of everything that we are told to base our vote on, but for me this is a special election. I have just watched a lot of our legislators trash the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. I watched them employ some of the sneakiest tactics that border on illegal, and should indeed be made illegal. I watched them all fall in line behind this miserable excuse for a Governor and that includes a lot of Republicans as well, showing that their politics is far more important than any independent thought on the issue of gun rights. Every character flaw that a politician can have was bared in that vote. I also picked up on a new philosophy of legislators in that they now hold their constituents in contempt and currently feel beyond the reach of the voters. They make fools of us and feel untouchable. Well, this year it is important to put that "touch" back into public service. It is time to restore that fear of the voter again rather than the contempt and disrespect. I can think of no other issue to express our outrage over and to demonstrate that even a minority can join with others to create an upset, and to show these guys that disrespecting constituents can be risky to their political careers. It may even involve holding my nose and voting for somebody that I would normally not even consider voting for. So this is the year to put the fear back into politicians. We have the issue. We have the gun owner's rage. We have mostly a scene of gun owner solidarity if we can keep this issue alive. For the first time in forever, we have had gun owners demonstrating, and pretty well fired up about this Safe Act. It is a once in a lifetime situation of solidarity that could make the gun owning lobby something that will not be tested again for a very long time. To put it another way, if we do not seize this once in a lifetime opportunity, we will be clearly demonstrating that the gun lobby is a paper tiger to be laughed at and bulldozed over with even more invasive laws to an extent that we can't even imagine. So am I going to worry about issues like fiscal and social responsibility? .... Not this year. That will wait until after I have sent my message this year to these legislators. For me this year is the election to take back our right to hire and fire these guys and let them know exactly why it is being done. To me that is currently the most important issue. At stake is the credibility of the voters. You can't get any more important than that.

I have seen people tapping trees in their front yards. a half dozen big maples can produce an awful lot of sap in a decent season. I think the rule of thumb is 40 gallons of sap to 1 gallon of syrup. 1 gallon of syrup goes a long way. I'll bet the average family could easily get by on just a quart per year. That's only 10 gallons of sap. Also, remember for home use, it doesn't have to meet any kinds of industry standards. And I'll guarantee that if you make it yourself, it will be the best syrup you ever tasted even if you really mess it up bad.

For the hobbyist, it is not exactly rocket science. If you can boil water, you can make some version of maple syrup. It may not be the best quality, and might be slightly sprinkled with wood ashes, and you might overshoot the first time or two and make maple rock candy, but it is a lot of fun to play around with. We started out 30 years ago with an old wash-tub and an open wood fire. However even fooling around as an armature doe require some significant time. It's a great thing to involve the whole family in so you can take shifts in feeding the fire and watching the sap. Finishing it off on the kitchen stove is a great idea. We used to use the very scientific method of boiling it until it looked thick enough .... lol. But I will say that even the crappiest syrup that we ever made was sought after by every relative and even a few that claimed to be relatives that I never even met before. Give it a shot. It's fun!

Could it be that the comment wasn't really an anti-hunting remark, but simply a suggestion that there might be less offensive public ways of stating that you're using the gun for hunting? We don't always have to present ourselves with maximum shock value and confrontation. As far as the original question, that may have simply been a way to start a conversation. Without hearing the tone or seeing the facial expressions and body language, it is hard to tell from the described scenario, just what the remarks really meant. Could have been all quite innocent. Lacking in person observation, I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt.

Ha-ha .... Bribing people to go to church? Seems kind of strange no matter what you are giving away.

Kind of difficult for him to argue "ignorance of the law" since he was lobbying for it ..... lol. Hang him!!!!

Just to present the other side of the coin..... Those of us who use the power of the editorial page can also do quite a bit of harm when presenting the gun owner's side of the Safe Act if not done carefully, thoughtfully and properly. An article that is written in any way that can be construed as extreme or written with poor grammar, spelling and word choices can really help the anti-gunners more than gun owners. It really is as much about perception as it is about the facts and the arguments. I think it would be a good idea to get a second opinion on whatever you compose from somebody that would not pull any punches about what they thought of your letter. Better yet, post it here and ask for a critique. We know that nobody pulls any punches here ..... lol.

I just read a headline in the Rochester paper that claims that 90% of the Great Lakes are frozen. I had no idea as to the extent of the ice. Who knows, maybe there is some starvation going on. They said something about the amount of Great Lakes frozen water is the greatest in 20 some years. They had some other neat stats about records and other features of the freezing.

I can't tell you how much pleasure I get from this story, but as ants said, I'm afraid this turkey will likely skate on this one, simply because of the political correctness of his public attitudes on guns.

Well, I suppose we have to keep in mind that it is entertainment. I suspect that if you followed someone around that lived a fairly primitive life, it would be very difficult to make a weekly show out of such boredom. So there has to be some fabrication involved. The trick is to simply enjoy these kinds of programs for what they are intended to be .... simply entertainment. However, it is entertainment to make fun of some of the drama that has been manufactured. I remember the Alaskan that ran the fly-in trapline had a snowmobile breakdown miles and miles from his cabin and was supposedly in potential grave danger as he was forced to walk all night to get back to camp. Forced to walk out??? Why not grab a ride with the guy running the camera .... ha-ha. And then there are the occasions where supposedly he is making a first trip out after a big storm, and yet he is riding on a well tracked-up snowmobile trail. But I guess we are not supposed to notice that .... lol. Ok, I can play along with that. I still enjoy some of these programs because I believe there is some truth in how these guys live, and I try not to dwell too hard on how much of that stuff is real.

Anybody involved in grafting limbs onto other trees? I have a Bartlett pear that never really took off (not enough light), and I have a seckel pear that is in great shape. The Bartlett will be coming out this year, so I want to try grafting several branches onto the seckel just to see what happens. I guess I'll be getting the scions soon. I was just wondering if anyone else here messes around with that sort of thing.

Sounds like a not too good idea.

Ok, here we are in March again this year. Anybody getting any antler pictures now. I am curious as to whether the weather has any effect. It isn't supposed to, but who knows? Perhaps as a evolved energy savings during a cold or long winter they March antlers might come off a bit earlier than usual. It would be interesting to see if that turns out to be the case.

But this is not the first time that Erie has frozen over, and Ontario isn't frozen over yet. So why all of a sudden?