Doc

I would suggest to both of you that you try to find an archery club and join up. Perhaps you will find it fun to get into a bit of competitive shooting (they usually have people of all kinds of abilities to shoot with. It is interesting to see all the different kinds of shooting gear, and have a little tech-talk with other members. And the big benefit is that you come in contact with other bowhunters who can point you in directions toward hunting grounds. Can't find a archery club? .... check with local sporting goods stores.

I'm not sure that any one study ever proves anything. It would be nice to have others do similar studies so that some kind of consensus could be evaluated. And who knows? ..... Maybe there are others that we just aren't aware of.

Pretty simple .....eh? Buy your general big game hunting license. Have one buck tag issued that covers all seasons. go for your antlerless draw(s). And away you go. what could be simpler. And on top of that, look at the paperwork and unique databases you could scrap. Sounds good to me. Not only that, but if you want hunters to be more selective with their harvests, what better way than having them make their one and only buck tag count.

It appears to me that you did a proper job of selection. Good for you. Now you might want to go to a 4 or 5 spot target face with one shot per spot ..... just to save your arrows and a pile of money.

I really am wondering if every buck that we see messing with a doe after normal breeding months really is having any success. I mean it might look like he's doing the job, but is he really? It may be a case of wishful thinking on his part ... lol.

Somehow it seems like we have pretty much come a full circle with the draw length fiasco. I will go back to my original statement that when buying a new bow, a bow-shop pro can do you the best service by taking a bow that is set up with exactly the equipment you will be using (that incudes a D-loop if you intend to use one). Using your best form, or even perhaps some changes that the pro may recommend, pull back the bow to where you have what feels like the most repeatable and consistent anchor. Have that pro measure the resultant draw length (Your personal draw length), and order a bow that has a compatible bow length. That is the recommendation that I initially answered this topic with many pages ago, and I have yet to see any objection to any part of that procedure that has any merit. No one should be modifying anchors or form or accessories to accommodate an ill-fitting bow. Measure properly and order properly.

I'm thinking that part of the home defense system should be a light switch in the bedroom that turns on a hallway light. In fact it might even be useful to have a rather high powered spotlight that shines down the hallway, screwing up the view of any approaching intruder. Such a system would not only blind the intruder, but would also illuminate the hallway for target identification, and target acquisition. Such a system might even be as important as caliber or gauge selection. There might even be other electrical solutions that use motion sensors and such. Things to ponder.

Hi Paul- Welcome aboard. So how do you intend to start? Small game, varmints, deer? Are you looking at beginning with a bow, gun, both? Do you own any guns or archery equipment? Do you have places for target practice? Are you at all familiar or experienced with hunting equipment? Do you have convenient places to hunt? Have you read any books or hunting magazines? Do you have any acquaintances that are into hunting?

Damned moose have no sense of humor!

LOL .... That is something that I have always thought. Imagine hearing that sound of a pump shotgun being racked in the pitch black of the night. I suspect that the next sound you would hear would be the frantic retreat and then someone bailing out through a window, open or not (even if you are on the second story of the house). Likely no shots would ever be fired.

It is amazing how the cost of archery can grow way beyond the price of the bow. So when it comes to accessories, your approach will reflect your own personal buying philosophy. Some guys will simply throw a lot of money at their purchases thinking that if it's expensive it must be the best and necessary. If you can afford that approach, why not? If you can't you have to take a more fundamental approach. When you get past the bow and start getting involved in accessories, it may make sense for a beginner to stay as basic as possible until you experience a need later on. Salesmen have a vested interest in selling you all the bells and whistles possible, and also all the most expensive models of these things. And this is where it gets real difficult because generally there is always some story that goes along with each additional dollar spent, and generally there is some truth and science behind it. The guy may not be lying to you, but what is important to him may never be all that important to you. But at the very beginning, you have no idea what exactly you require. My approach was always to go with the basics and let the other trinkets and gadgets grow on you as you experience a need. Of course that merely reflects my penny-pinching, cheap-skate nature .... ha-ha. But in the end it really winds up to be the choice of the purchaser. Just something to think about before getting bombarded with all the sales pitch.

Well, I have to admit that it is usually me that is super-skeptical about any kinds of surveys and studies, and other types of statistical data that is being sold to the public. There is so much opportunity for skewing inputs to bias outputs toward a specific outcome. However, if the study also fesses up to their short-comings, I tend to view their work with much more credibility that if they were to conceal it. And they were quite forthcoming with the study construction and any potential soft-spots. Also, it helps that there is no real ax to grind here, and the subject matter had no reason for bias. Of course they have to control parameters as best they can, that is not a surprise, and I wouldn't expect any kind of a study not to do that. Overall, it seems like they did as good a job as could be expected. So I am willing to accept some of their conclusions at face value with some of the caveats that they have declared. But yes, you are right, as in any study there are some things that are unaccounted for. I haven't seen a study that didn't. Personal evaluation of the results do have to take flaws into consideration. Nothing new or unique about that.

There is a forum for everything ..... lol. "Broadhead Talk.com" http://www.broadheadtalk.com/broadhead-collectors/691-little-mechanical-history.html had a topic asking about the oldest mechanical broadheads. Following is one of the posts: "So when do you think the first mechanical broadhead was patented and when was the first one manufactured? I am not including a couple of fishheads with movable barbs that preceded the broadhead by a couple of years. Well the first patent was 2,568,417 which was applied for in 1948 and was issued to Beryl Steinbacher on September 18, 1951." Credibility??? well I have no reason to believe that his guy is making this up, so I'll accept it as authentic info. I also found other references to something called the "Hinged Fang", circa 1960...... and others. The point is that apparently mechanical broadheads have been around a long time. But your point is well taken. For a lot of years they were not generally accepted. This study that was started in 1989 probably did not have mechanical broadheads used at the same rate as fixed blades (likely it was not even close), so there is a bias entered into the study because of that when they talk about anything relating to mechanical broadheads vs. fixed blade.

The required stopping power is exactly the same, or at least should be. Law enforcement agencies have the research to show what is required to effectively put down someone intent on doing them harm, and I would assume they are armed accordingly. The home owner should take that kind of defense activity no less seriously than a cop. And I would say whatever their research and guidelines tell them they need, a homeowner would be wise to duplicate. I worry about those who might consider under powering their defenses with .22s. For the same reasons that I do not hunt deer with a .22, I think something much more powerful might be required for a charging crack-crazed wacko and perhaps several of them.

Hopefully, Cuomo's little slight of hand (along with the help of his slimy accomplices) has perhaps caused a lot of gun owners to join some of the various gun advocacy organizations. Hopefully, all of this dishonest anti-gun legislation has caused some discussion that is spreading outside of the normal channels. And hopefully the anger over the activities of the safe act supporters have galvanized some of the solidarity that will translate into voting out these scoundrels. What else needs to be done? Well, there needs to be a huge gun-owner registration drive and an effort to see that gun-owner get to the polls. That is a grass-roots activity that we can all get in on as a one-on-one activity. I think we all know some gun-owners that are known to be totally politically inactive. We need these people to be properly inspired through discussion, and hand led to become active voters . Those who have talent for writing can also get involved in "letters to the editor" newspaper campaigns. There are little things as well as the larger things that can have impacts on this upcoming election. And you are absolutely right, we only have 8 very short months to accomplish the task of the underdog. That sounds like a lot of time, but there is an awful lot of work to do. And by the way to refresh your memory of who the legislators were that stabbed us all in the back, refer to the following thread: http://huntingny.com/forums/topic/17272-lest-we-forget/

There has been some great stuff discussed on this thread that should be of interest to a lot of people as well as the OP. I don't think the thread got as much "derailed" as it simply evolved.

Best home defense weapon??? ...... Why not ask the guys whose profession is to take out bad guys inside buildings and elsewhere...... the cops. Are they armed with .22s. I think not. Why not? I think it has to do with putting down potential crazy people and drug frenzied wackos before they take the cop out. Sounds a lot like a home defense situation to me. Same rules and thoughts apply.

Look, if we are going to break out the loin cloths there may be some protests based on visual pollution. Also, the season is going to have to occur at a much warmer part of the year. Also, if done at Letchworth, somebody other than myself is going to have to go down in there to retrieve the deer.

The 1-3/4" is an arbitrary number used by the AMO to account for the distance from the contact point of the hand to the opposite side of the riser. Why didn't they simply use the grip point of the bow handle? ...... Good question. I haven't got a clue, but that is the industry standard, and the way the draw length of a bow is specified when you measure it up and order the bow. Edit Note: Sorry Ncountry beat me to it and already explained this.

What amazes me is all the people who think archery and the compound bow theory began the day they first bought their first bow. My bow, a Matthews, has an 80% let-off and has no draw stops and I know there were a lot of bows of all kinds of makes and models after that bow that had no draw stops. I will not even get into the number of decades worth of bows that I have rebuilt, and modified because frankly, none of that has a thing to do with the answer that I provided and I am not interested in impressing anyone. There was nothing in my explanation that I have invented or concocted, so I am not certain as to why you are getting so huffy that I included such things as force-draw curves, valleys and the wall of the curve. It is not my science. Try not to be so sensitive when you ask a question and then get an answer. I understand it is not necessary to know compound history or the physics of compound bows to work on them, but if I can't use proper terminology and illustrations to provide an answer without you getting all insulted and offended, then please don't ask the question in the first place.

You asked, I answered. I have no knowledge of what you do or do not know about compound bows. Your question indicated that you have limited experience because there is a whole crap-load of bows out there that don't have draw stops. So I answered your question as exactly as possible. I can assure you that my bow and the millions out there like it will not "lock up" no matter how far you draw them back.

But it does satisfy the title of the thread as being the most versatile caliber for NY hunting ..... that is if you were to ignore the word "caliber" .... lol. There's no question that almost any shotgun can effectively take any legally huntable species of bird or animal in the state, and in fact has.

Limited AND inclusive????? In what ways?

The most versatile gun for all species in New York State really isn't a caliber at all. More likely it is specified with a gauge number. It is the shotgun that is the most versatile for killing everything from bunnys to birdies to bears. Hands down, if you want one gun for all occasions, the shotgun is it.

Sorry Bunkie, but I haven't engaged in any of the silly re-runs of arguments for or against crossbows in quite a while. So your comment as usual makes absolutely no sense. As far as I'm concerned it is a done deal and all this endless back and forth arguing has no real point any more, especially that stuff that is on its 23rd go around. The hunting community has decided for the bow hunters what their bow season is going to be turned into, and now it is just a case of sitting back and seeing how it all turns out. Besides, at my stage of life, who the heck cares ..... lol.