Doc

I do have one white-flash camera, in fact I just bought it. It is not used for deer scouting, but for other animals where picture quality is important. Most of these kinds of pictures will be taken at night and the IR cameras will get you only black and white images of not all that great quality. The purpose for my white-flash cam is to get those higher quality critter (foxes, coons, rabbits, mink, muskrats, beavers, etc.) pictures. So, the purpose of the cam is important in the selection.

Not to get the thread side-tracked too far, I have to say that I can't agree with this. We cannot allow the antis to dictate the topics of our discussions. I refuse to let them control our opinions and our right to state them. I am not going to hide my opinions or be muted by this crowd. I believe that nothing bad comes from discussion. We may occasionally have problems with the way we word our discussions, and the thin skins of those who may feel offended that anyone would ever question certain practices. But to stifle dissent and discussion would be a huge capitulation to these people and I for one, refuse to allow them that power over us. No matter what details we may argue about, we are always united in our defense of hunting in general. That never changes no matter how loud our internal disagreements or discussions get.

Is the camo related to hunting, or simply a fashion statement? I see a lot of camo on kids that will likely never step foot in the woods.

This "global cooling". Al better get with it and get both sides of this issue covered immediately.

I believe that device would be illegal in NYS as per the following- From the Environmental Conservation Law of New York, Title 9, figure11-0901 paragraph 3f: No wildlife shall be taken with an arrow with an explosive head ........ That thing likely would fit the definition of an explosive head.

That's the way I am getting. It's worse each year.

You know sometimes self-restraint is a good thing simply because it is my own idea. I used to get funny about free overtime at work. When it was my idea just to get the job done, I was all for it. When it became mandated, my attitude switched around completely. Then it felt like someone stealing from me .... lol. There sure is a lot of that that comes out in me when it comes to AR. When I voluntarily do it, I'm all for it. When somebody tells me it will be mandatory, all of a sudden it doesn't sound so good anymore.

Well, I have always thought that a stronger presence of the DEC in the schools might be a good part of the solution. Some periodic school presentations by DEC personel would be a good start. Not just to push hunting, and maybe not mentioning hunting at all, but just a school level effort to push outdoor activities and an appreciation for the importance of matters of environment and nature. Perhaps a program of public spots on TV that offset the messages of the anti-hunters might help in the battle for the hearts and minds of today's youth, as well as the adults that guide the attitudes of youngsters. A bit of a push that emphasizes camping and hiking might also help reverse some of the techno-lazy craze for both youth and adults. Things have to be implemented to re-establish the cool-factor of outdoor activity. If reversals can be made in those areas, things like hunting and fishing and trapping will just naturally come along for the ride.

Unfortunately, the bounty system has not been demonstrated to be significantly effective. It turns out to be good tax money burnt up without the benefit of results. Do I have some moral issue with it? ..... Not a bit. But I do have an issue with throwing money away.

One of the problems with this recruitment problem is that the general opinion is that if you can just introduce kids to hunting, it will somehow magically stick for life. And so we devise all kinds of special youth seasons, and pat ourselves on the back for having solved the problem. The fact is that the problem is cultural. Times are changing and so is each generation and their wants, needs and aspirations. Techno-gadgets are king now. If it doesn't have a button, a beep, and a display, it simply ain't worth doing. How you fight cultural evolution is beyond me, but that is the front where the battle has to be fought.

I have heard of bucks losing antlers in mid December, and I have personally seen antlered deer as late as March. With a natural span of that length of time, it would have to be very difficult to spot any kinds of new trends in any single year. Has anybody ever read anything on what causes the antler to fall off, and what factors effect that?

This is really getting amazing. In one massive move, the antis have denied us mail order ammo opportunities, driven some of the major gun and ammo suppliers out of state, and harassed some of the larger stores (Dicks and Walmart) from being a source of ammo. In other words they have taken huge steps toward drying up all supplies of ammo. Not to be an alarmist or anything, but I can see a time when NYS gun owners will have nothing to put in their guns. When the time comes that there are no retailers that want to bother with the nonsense involved their plan will be complete. Kill the ammo sources and you can kill the gun use with no 2nd amendment arguments. Pretty slick .... eh?

No I don't personally know any individuals who are actually moving out of state. And if I did know of one or two, I probably couldn't assign any sort of trend or importance or even political motivation to it. I know people are moving out from the news reports about NYS's declining population.

It isn't just individuals that he is driving out of the state with his policies. Whole industries and employers are bailing out. Just the SAFE Act itself has already cost jobs and industry. A company called AR15.com had invested between 2 and 3 million dollars into 3 buildings in Farmington. All that planning and jobs were wiped out in one midnight political maneuver. The empty buildings now display a sign saying, "Gone To Texas". The business, real estate taxes, jobs, and personal income taxes as well as that of their employees ..... Gone! A large distributer of guns, ammo and supplies located on East Rochester has decided to expand into the more gun-friendly state of PA by opening two stores and planning a third rather than expanding into such places as Orange County, NY. How long before the parent store leaves is anybody's guess. Yes there are individuals leaving the state because of the increasing government oppression and the political climate that caters to and promotes the expansion of the welfare state here and penalizes the achievers. But even more telling is the flight of businesses, the backbone of the economy and the future of our very existence. No Cuomo hasn't done all this single handed, he has had lots of willing help from the other pinkos of NY politics. But today he is their ring leader and apparently is prepared to out-do all of his liberal predecessors in the destruction of the state.

Actually, opinions are like certain features of human anatomy. Everybody has one. But everyone is entitled to theirs and this being a forum, I am guessing they have a right to express their opinion. And my opinion is that nothing I have read or seen in anyway indicates whether they are or are not, "legitimate hunters". I see a lot of opinions on shot selection, and I am happy that people concern themselves with that. I worry when they don't. I also recognize that not all are going to have the same opinions on that subject. I can live with that, and I still consider all to be legitimate hunters.

I see these kids curled up on the couch poking buttons and doing their little finger scrolling, and I can see that they don't have a damn bit of interest in doing anything that has to do with the outdoors. We have family holiday get-togethers and you can see all these kids hanging out talking and at the same time, they each have their various gadgets and are texting or playing games while they are trying to converse. It really does look kind of weird. Not only that, but now I see the adults starting to do the same thing. There is a culture change going on out there that doesn't have any room for camping, hiking, trapping, hunting, and fishing in any part of it. It's not a new thing, but is accelerating in my view. We are becoming a society of techno-worshippers. Where does hunting fit into all that? ....... It doesn't. We can hold all the youth hunts and activities that we want, but I'm afraid that in most cases, we have already lost them. It just isn't cool.

If I was going to do anything on skis, it would be cross-country skiing. I often wondered what it would be like moving through the woods with a rifle, not making a single sound as I went. What an interesting hunt that would be. Probably a bit beyond my physical ability now.

It sounds like just roasting a goose like a turkey may not be something that people do. So is it fair to say that you have to dope them up with some kind of cover-up stuff in order to be able to eat them or is that putting it a little to strongly? Regarding those lease prices, I have to say that no matter how good those geese may taste, those prices are way, way, out of my league. Their really is no way of hunting those critters if you don't get involved with some commercial hunting access, isn't that right? Or have some of you figured out a way to do this "on-the-cheap"?

So tell me.... What is our legal standing if we should happen to blow those things out of the sky? Are we in big trouble?

It is not necessary to elect "true Conservatives", although that would be nice. But this year I am aiming to oust those who voted for the SAFE act. It's a single issue election for me. It's all about who voted for or against that law. I don't care what the politics and ideologies of the opposition are, I will be voting AGAINST those that voted FOR that law. The sole purpose of my vote this year is to send a message that voting for anti-gun legislation is hazardous to your political career. For me that is the only NYS issue .... "how did you vote on the SAFE act? You voted for it? ..... You're outta here". I'm not making this election anymore complicated than that. And then I am following up the vote with an email to these people explaining my vote. If most of the gun owners would do the same, there would never be another legislator that would ever dare vote anti-gun again.....EVER! One vote.... one issue, and the end of the NYS anti-gun bias in the legislature. If we don't do something like that, politicians be further emboldened and will take that spineless apathy as meaning that the gun owners are simply a paper tiger that can be laughed at and walked on at will. If we don't punish these people, you can look to an unlimited amount of new gun legislation that will make gun ownership an unaffordable luxury full of so much harassment that no one will want to be a part of it.

So it looks like we have lost Miller Nurseries as a supplier of bare-root fruit trees. Does anyone have an alternate supplier within a reasonable drive from Canandaigua? I am not sure about the reliability of mail-order houses when it comes to bare-root trees Anybody have any experience or recommendations for mail order sources. Personally I would rather have some place that I could drive to and look at the product and then come home with them. But I'm not sure that I have that option anymore. I know that places like Lowes have them but they usually don't look all that good. And then there's Bristol Nurseries out on Rte 96 but they want your right arm and your first born for each tree. But I keep getting the feeling that I'm overlooking or forgetting someplace good. So anyways, next spring I will be looking for a couple of pear trees to add to my orchard. I just have no idea where to go since Millers bit the dust. Any help???

I realize that we haven't had this kind of cold in quite a few years, but I am curious as to whether I am doing a smart thing sticking my cameras back out in this sub-zero weather. I understand that next week we are going to have another bout of crazy-cold weather that will be even colder than this one that we have just gotten by. I don't want to get into a position of throwing batteries away by putting them out in battery-killing temperatures. On the other hand, I just bought a new Cuddeback Attack, white-flash (replaces the one I had stolen), and I would like to test it out as soon as possible. So chances are good that I will have that one out there very soon. So, what is your experiences with battery life in these super cold temperatures?

I have to agree on a couple of points: First you are absolutely right. It really is no trick to recognize the rut when you see it. Second, I really don't require any advanced notice. I'll be there when it happens. I guess that is why I never invested a whole lot of study into some of the predictive theories. Even when I was a working stiff, I was always able to set my own hours and always had a pile of vacation. Now..... what the heck. I'm out there all the time. I'm sure that I will not miss the rut ....ha-ha.

I kind of prefer not to call it slowing down, but rather, hunting smarter. That sounds a whole lot better ..... lol.

What size bird-shot is recommended for them things. I'm not real good at wing-shooting with my rifle.