Doc

It looks like that guy may have had some experience with traps.

What an opportunity. You will be making your hunting all new again. All new challenges. All new experiences on all new land. I think it's great. Things like that have a way of rejuvenating the whole thing for you. Good luck on your exploring, scouting and new hunting activities.

Sounds like a great idea.

Would that be a moo-deer or a deer-oose?

The big problem is the duration of this cold snap. It's supposed to get up toward the twenties this weekend and then drop right back off again through the rest of the month. My problem is that I plow my 1000' driveway with my ATV. Temperatures like this are tough on the fingers (and I have some very aggressive snowmobile gloves). I can keep everything else warm enough to get the job done, but those fingers get to be a real problem. I can't put it off much longer. I would imagine those deer are burning up the calories and fat reserves like crazy trying to keep warm. Nobody is making any predictions for February that I have heard yet. I hope it doesn't just keep on with this latest version of Global Cooling. My suggestion: everybody get out there with their aerosol cans, and start up all the filthiest internal combustion engines that you've got and lets get some global warming started. Help save the planet!

I wonder how many gun owners simply have only an old rusty .22 or shotgun sitting in a closet. These people really aren't effected by the safe act. They probably already have a lifetime supply of bullets (a couple boxes). Some of them may even agree with getting rid of those scary black "military" rifles. By the way, you would be surprised how many people believe that the AR style rifles are all fully automatic. There may actually be an awful lot for us to learn about our own gun-owning population. Maybe they really aren't all on our side.

You know, one might begin to suspect that some of this is even stretching the limits of you average liberal New York State occupant. This guy is starting to slip out of the liberal camp and plunging into full scale socialism. I have to believe that all this nonsense has got to eventually begin to erode even his own voting base, leaving a lot of voters looking for an alternative. We may find that a lot of voters have developed reasons of their own to help us oust this little weirdo. We just may find some strange and unexpected allies in this next election if a decent opposing candidate should happen along.

I'm thinking that by now, anyone who is living in this state and who owns a gun has heard about the SAFE ACT. It has been an issue that is really hard to hide from. I also think they all know what is at stake too. For the past year, you could hardly turn on the TV or radio, or pick up a newspaper without see something about that law. And if you know another gun owner or two, it is unlikely that the subject has not come up at some point. I think the real problem is simply apathy, and a willingness to duck any kind of controversy or engage in any kind of fight. The thought is that "no matter what, I can hang on to my shotgun and go hunting at least through the remainder of my lifetime and the heck with future generations". It's a selfish attitude, but it is just the way many people approach conflict in their lives. How are you going to get the attention of those with that attitude. And then there are the traditional party-line voters. They don't vote issues, but they vote a straight party line ticket regardless of what is going on around them. How do you crack that nut? And yes, there are those that have simply given up. The attitude that they have is that, "Look, I am only one vote in a very big and liberal state. How can I possibly change anything?" The defeatist gun owner ..... hard to turn around. The lazy gun owner. That's the guy that knows that he should get down there and vote but is so self absorbed in daily life and personal activities, or maybe his favorite TV program is on that night. That guy just simply doesn't want to because it isn't convenient or something he wants to do that day. Is there any way to get him fired up into action? Somehow we are going to have to figure out how to light a fire under these folks in just a few vey short months. I'm afraid that it is going to take a lot of one-on-one jawboning to get these people fired up to actually vote their convictions. It may take some letters to the editor. It may take some joining of pro-gun advocacy organizations. It may take some activism, and yes even those roadside signs may have an impact by keeping the issue before their faces on a daily basis. More individual and group conversations, and maybe some other things that I haven't even thought of yet. But whatever it takes, we have only 9 months to turn these people around and avoid squandering a once in a lifetime opportunity to deliver a very powerful message to our elected representatives who have just recently took a very large and public dump on all gun owners. There's an awful lot of people claiming that we can't do it. A whole pile of gun owners that have simply given up, or can't be bothered. Maybe they are all correct. Time will tell what gun owners are really made of. Are they all talk, or can they be inspired do the right thing?

And of course, that is the question ..... How do we motivate all gun owners to "stand up"? We only have a few months to make it happen, so what do you all think would be the most effective way to get out the vote?

Well see, there you are ....wrong again ....

I agree with your frustration. But I've had this kind of discussion before with other people, and when you try to pick out a place that is better, you always find the residents of every state whining and complaining about some aspect of life where they live. You know what they say about the greenness of the grass on the other side of the fence .... lol. When I exclude the political landscape here, to me this is one hell of a great place to live. Also, as I look into anywhere in the northeast, I find that the politics of liberalism isn't really all that far behind us. ha-ha .... you can run but you can't hide.

Actually, I proudly proclaim that I am a gun owner and a dedicated believer in the 2nd amendment. But of course the purpose of the signs has nothing to do with any of that. The true purpose is to publicly show that Cuomo is flat out lying when he says that everyone, even the majority of gun owners, are all for his infringements of gun owner's rights. The more of these signs that we have on display, the clearer the point is made. Relative to what law enforcement thinks of the signs, our county sheriff's office (from the top down) publicly stands shoulder to shoulder with the Ontario County gun owning residents on this issue and are on record as being against the SAFE ACT. In fact the deputy up the road has two signs out. I have a feeling that the rank and file troopers also share that same attitude, but are in an awkward political position that forces them to keep their opinions to themselves.

That sucker and his kind will never run me out.

Honestly, looking at that first picture again, it really looks like a coyote taking a dump.

Actually, advertising that you are a gun owner might be some of the best security you could have. I'm sure the bad guys feel a lot more safe doing their dirty deeds to those that they believe can't fight back....... especially out here in the country where people tend to be just a little more crazy than city-folks ..... lol.

No, it's not a question of right or wrong. You just have a different opinion.

These IR cameras can really distort images, and I suspect that a lot of what you see is just the smeared imagery of the slow speed of the infra-red. If I had to make a guess, I would say that it is either a very large coyote, or a dog. Whatever it is, it is obviously in motion. But it certainly is no house cat .... lol. Much too big for that.

Votes cast only on an anti-incumbent basis punish those who voted against the SAFE ACT equally with those who voted for it, sending a very badly confused message on future gun control issues and votes. If legislators get no benefits from being in our corner, I have no doubt that they will head for the side that does reward their loyalty. Focus people! keep that anti-SAFE ACT passion working for us.

They have "watch-dog" organizations that supposedly monitor the truth-in-advertising of campaigns. Most of them are totally ignored by the public. So it's not like this is a new and novel idea. The basic problem is simply voter apathy and dis-interest. However, this trait of voters perhaps can make a minority percentage of the population come up with a majority result in the polls, if we can figure out how to martial our forces as a unified voting block. While the main part of the population stays mired in their usual apathy, we have an issue that has touched the passions of the gun owning community. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity dropped into our laps if we can only muster up the energy and creativity to use it to our advantage.

Lol ..... Excellent!

Of course, so far we have only heard one side of the story. I do wonder what kinds of job-related activities are sacrificed if the area becomes some sort of park. We don't really see that side of the argument being presented, but you do have to wonder. I also wonder if there really are any self-sustaining state parks that do not wind up costing state tax money to maintain. I know that whenever they threaten belt-tightening budget cuts, the state parks are always the ones that seem to get targeted, so there must be some significant costs involved in those operations. Anyway, let's just say that I remain skeptical, and I don't see enough detail on the financials and logistics of all of this.

So on the two pictures in the original post, what is that reflection above the coyote? It looks like an eye reflection from some one-eyed creature (cyclops?)...... lol.

Actually, I don't believe there is an anti-hunter anywhere that really believes that we are in anyway "self-destructing". We are a very diverse community that has very diverse opinions, back-grounds, and viewpoints. And where this notion ever came from that we have to tip-toe around issues that we don't agree on, I'll never figure out. Is there something about hunters that uniquely requires that we shut down debate and that we all must march along in lock-step just to survive? I don't think we are that fragile, and I intend to continue to express opinions, and even vigorously when they are issues that I feel passionate about. The anti-hunting groups and individuals are not going to dictate my behavior or opinions or my conversation. Don't let them scare you away from expressing your opinions either. Lol .... Apparently from your reply, you have no problems expressing your opinions regardless of who they may piss-off and that is the way it should remain.

I think the deal is that the state is not charging for the background checks, but the retailers may charge for their inconvenience.

I too want to wish you a happy birthday and to say that I miss your regular posting and replies.