Doc

So, what has happened to the grouse population? When I was a kid, they used to be very common everywhere. Now they have all but disappeared. Has the habitat really changed all that much? Is there some kind of predator problem? ..... disease? I see the DEC conducts special studies, as though they recognize some kind of problem exists in NYS, but I have never heard any real explanations or theories from them.

Great pictures Dave. What kind of lens and camera do you use for these pictures? Two off-topic questions: How come birds of prey always look so pissed-off? How can a bird that tears apart all kinds of bloody critters for food, always be so absolutely, perfectly white?

All my life I have pondered that age-old question of exactly what does the fox say. And finally this same question that has haunted me for decades is being asked by the best minds of the music industry. I for one am very thankful that it is finally getting the attention that it deserves.

I use a bag target as a backstop, with a "Block" foam target in front of the bag to provide a flat surface for targets. Nothing gets through that. I have an 8-1/2 x 11 target face with 5 little 3/4" diameter bulls-eyes on them, pinned onto the face of the Block.

No, I don't even take head shots with a gun. That brain cavity is exceptionally tiny. There also is a lot of non-vital area on a deer's head. I have seen the results of a failed head shot, and it's not a pretty sight. One gun season, I saw a deer running through the woods with its lower jaw swinging like a slab of meat. I was unable to get a shot at it, but I guarantee that if somebody else didn't get that animal, it definitely died one ugly death through slow starvation and lack of water. No wounded animal is something that we want to see, but there are some shots that are simply a recipe for ensuring the slowest, most agonizing death that we can inflict on an animal. By the way, I have the same feelings about neck shots. That's another one that has a whole lot of area that is not "quick and humane kill areas. These kinds of tricky areas are ugly choices for guns, which makes them 10 times uglier for an arrow.

Well, it is now time to start using my indoor range in the basement. Yes, it is a mere 15 yards, but that only means that he bulls-eyes get smaller ..... lol. I love to shoot, and the winter practice keeps the muscles toned and the form in tact. Anybody else starting to get their indoor shooting going (at home or in the commercial indoor ranges)?

Great!!!! I'm dreaming of a brown Christmas!

You're right, there has been a heck of a change in attitudes over the years. back when I went to high school, opening day of deer season was an acceptable excuse for absence.

Every time someone uploads this link, I can't help myself ..... I have to click on it. great tune & video!!!

Unfortunately, among a whole list of recent problems with this site. I find that I can no longer upload pictures. I can get through every part of the process until it comes to the last part where it wants me to hit the "attach" button. It just ignores me on that part .... lol.

Today's Whine: What is with people that will be waiting at a stop sign .... wait until you are almost at the intersection and then come flying out turning into the same direction that you're going and then slow down so you have to slam on your brakes. I swear it is another version of a kamikaze attack, or suicide by motorist. It happened twice today.

If you want to throw away a busted one, just hang it anywhere on state land and watch it disappear.

I used a scarecrow to mess with trespassers. ....... lol. Well, it wasn't exactly a scarecrow as such. It was more like an old worn-out red hunting jacket that was headed for the dump. I figured that if it were hung on a branch far enough inside my property line that they could only make out the red color, that would turn them back.

PA may be able to establish a bounty, but it will never happen here in NYS per section11-0531 of the Environmental Conservation law of New York. All bounties were prohibited by law after July 1,1971. The only potential exceptions are when the Department of Health or local health authorities determine that a given type or class of animals constitute a health hazard as carriers or potential carriers of disease.

Why does that white dog look like he about to rip somebody's face off?

Yee-hah!!!! ............Anybody ready to crank up the crossbow threads again for the 12th time .... lol. How about some good-ol' AR stuff or maybe a baiting/feeding thread or two?

Nope. They'll just repeat their policy of, "You hunters get out of our way and let the professionals take care of the situation ..... someday".

Oh my ..... Good ol' Early has been taking a whuppin. But then, that's what he/she/it comes here for, isn't it? ..... ha-ha. Stir the pot and get thumped .... lol. I'm sorry, but I really can't get into this discussion too easily since I have never really watched a complete episode of that program. And if it weren't for this thread, I would have never even known this guys name. Also, I don't see this as a free-speech issue, since obviously when you work for somebody else, they do have the right to monitor and control how you represent them and to take punitive measures if they feel you are not following their corporate policies. Having worked for a major corporation, I was constantly made aware of that fact (through actual training) as I'm sure a lot of you have. But anyway, carry on. Reality shows have nothing on some of these threads .... lol. And this one is about as entertaining as they come.

Ha-ha ..... This topic is swirling down the bowl. Is everybody having fun yet? You all getting your daily ration of insults and hate ..... lol. Hey, I guess this site serves everyone in different ways. What ever you need out of life, we aim to please.

I honestly have all kinds of mixed feelings on "zones". It seems like we've got the old "belt and suspenders" kind of thing going on in this state. We have both the zone system and the WMU system. We see some crazy things like one zone requires back tags, displayed in a very distinct way while the other doesn't need back tags at all. For years we had one zone using rifles, and the other relegated to shotguns for deer hunting. Each zone has their own seasons even though it is hard to see why the individual WMU requirements wouldn't do that even more precisely. So should we add more areas for that kind of arbitrary rule-making? I don't know. What would be the criteria for new zones? My thoughts are, leave it all alone and let the WMU system handle population and climate and habitat variations. Seasons, rules, regulations are already complex enough without adding more.

The purpose of this thread was not to provide a forum for animal rights activists. I was soliciting info about the Sea World controversy.

d-bone - Don't be trying to make up my thoughts to suit your animal rights accusations. You have no idea whether I believe there is such a thing as animal cruelty or not, do you? You just kind of make it up as you go along. As a matter of fact if you were actually interested in anything truthful, and actually took the time to read any of the thread, you would have seen my statement just a couple of replies ago where I said that I do not support animal cruelty. But I will say that your reply sounds just like the wild mindless accusations that are common among animal rights activists. Your friends at PETA would be proud of you.

Well, here's a thought. Supposing a guy gets a buck during bow season. Is he likely to pass on gun season completely because he has no chance of getting a gun buck? Might he not harvest does that might have otherwise been taken during his gun season had he been lured out there with a possibility of taking a buck? I don't know, I'm just posing questions of potential unintended consequences of a one buck rule. personally I am in favor of it, but it does raise a few questions.

Interesting article. So I guess my original synopsis of the situation was pretty close. It all sounds very similar to the attempts to close down the Ringling Brother's Circus every time it comes to town....lol. The most telling sentence came right at the end of the article: "If you are not already an animal rights activist, this film may well convince you to become one". Thanks for the link.

What the heck ..... is that some kind of foreign country or something? No weekend hunting? That's un-American!! I know that is the excuse that the DEC always uses for being so late getting the harvest data out. They always claim they are waiting for the L.I. season to conclude. I never understood that as an excuse. After all, all they have to do is survey 25 hunters and adding in their statistical formulas and factors and guesstimates and a few constants and poof! .... out comes a perfect harvest tally....lol. Anywho, thanks for indulging my off-topic question with the answer.