Doc

Yeah, I guess I'll be doing some Christmas shopping for myself too this year. I'll head out town one of these days and see what Tractor supply has got on their shelves. I know exactly what I'm looking for (but I'll be looking close at the tread. That's one step ahead already. I should look into those snow/ice grippers. They just might save me from winding up in a snow drift, head down with feet sticking out....lol.

I hope these guys know what they are doing and are not issuing this hog protection law based on some goofy un-proven theory. I have to also wonder if in this age of tight budgets, the DEC will ever really spend the time and resources to actually try to trap them. Because if they don't, and don't do it vigorously, with this new hog protection law, nothing will be being done to stem the spread of these critters.

To be honest, I really haven't see that kind of boot in any of the stores since I bought those. They come up to just below my knees, They have rubber bottoms up to just above the ankles and then some kind of a water-resistant canvas top. Inside is a full length felt liner that has never broken down like other felt liners I have had in the past. They lace up at the bottom, and have a draw-string tie at the top. Weirdest looking things that I've ever seen. I got them at Central Tractor (Tractor Supply). And they had tags on them indicating they were designed as a "snowmobile boot". The only problem is that they were a bit skimpy on the aggressiveness of the tread, and they have worn down so far that they're getting a bit treacherous for these steep snow-covered hills. My concern is that I will never be able to find replacements that will be as good. But I'm afraid that I'm going to have to try, or risk breaking my neck now that the old ones have turned into "skis".

Too late! Wife already bought my present. However it just occurred to me the other day when I was up on the hill tap-dancing around trying to get a foot-hold in the snow, that my boots are just plain wore out. The tread is shot. They were some great felt lined snowmobile boots that have always kept my feet warm, but were also pretty short on aggressive tread. These things are over 20 years old, and what little tread that they had ain't there anymore. So I guess I am going to have to foot the bill myself. I like that felt liner. That and 1 pair of wool socks and I'm good for all day (at least as far as feet go).

Actually a quick Google search shows that it definitely is a pelvic bone. It is the small size of it that has me fooled. I don't think that it is a deer. I'm guessing that it is a fox or coyote.

I always check out "inside corners". and it doesn't always have to be a wide open field either. Inside corners of changes from brush to mature woods are also deer magnets. I don't understand the attraction, but those configurations have turned out to be a great spot more times than not.

It really looks more like a sternum. I can't get an idea of size so I wouldn't try to guess what kind of animal. Ha-ha, let me edit this to include the possibility of it being a pelvic bone. It is either one end or the other of an animal ... lol..... not a skull. Still can make a guess as to what kind of animal it is. Not really knowing the scale of the thing, it could be a deer.

And just when you think you have it all figured out, be prepared for that little "back-draft" that occurs just when the deer is coming into sight. Also, just because the weatherman calls for a certain wind direction, and you consult your topo map and confirm that conditions are perfect for a certain area, be aware that thermals can have the wind blowing exactly opposite from the local flat airport where weatherman is basing his forecasts .... lol. Natural temperature changes throughout the day can drive breezes up or down the hill in complete opposition to prevailing winds (usually uphill in the morning as air warms and downhill in the evening as air cools). Also, be aware that natural contours (ravines, outcroppings, and other prominent land features) can curl wind in ways that don't agree with the weatherman's forecast. Some times it just boils down to on-the-ground experience to really know what the wind does with certain prevailing forecasted wind directions. There is something that I have seen the wind do in our north-south valley when the prevailing west wind is blowing. On the west hill of the valley, at the very top, a west wind will come over the crest and set up a curling turbulence such that the top 100 yards or so, the west wind will be blowing exactly opposite (east). Also I have some otherwise great spots that I simply cannot hunt because the wind never does have any consistent direction. Humps and bumps and hummocks and gullies work to have the winds always circling in those spots. And the ugly part of that is that deer love those spots. Hunting new ground can be a frustrating experience because without a lot of time on the land, there can always be some ugly surprises when you first go to a stand.

For gun season, I have a stand halfway up the hill on a little bench. I have no idea why they travel this area, but I can guarantee that at some point opening day, I will shoot at least one deer there. It is not an escape route as such because all the deer that I have shot there are moving quite casually thru, but they are always confined to a 50 yard radius of my stand (ground stand) and can always be counted on to show up. The deer are a mixed bag of bucks, does, and occasionally a nice buck will show up there.

The only reliable way of aging a deer is a process called Cementum Annuli Method. This is a forensic laboratory method that is absolutely 100% accurate. What they do is to take a root of a tooth and prepare a very thin, stained, slice and looking at that under a microscope, they count the rings of cementum just like aging a tree. Check out this link: http://www.deerage.com/

I think what people were afraid of was the dogs developing a "taste" for deer and then going after them when they had the chance. It sounds like a good theory, but it does impart a level of reasoning and association that dogs just don't have. If that were all true, then feeding your dog beef products would have them chasing cows .... lol. When dogs chase deer, it is usually because they just naturally chase things. That's their nature. Anything that runs will get chased. Those that are concerned about their dogs chasing deer should be more concerned about allowing the opportunity rather than worrying about what the dog eats.

I'm not familiar with that WMU, but with winter snow on the ground, a little scouting and looking for tracks will give you an idea of whether hunting them there will be worthwhile. So far, I haven't run into anyone claiming that they live in an area of NYS that doesn't have any. Even the cities seem to have some.

I received a turkey survey that wasn't quite as involved as the one you describe. On mine there was a check-box for "I did not hunt turkeys this year" or something of the sort. I checked that off and sent it back. Does your survey have a place for comments? If you don't have the check-box that I had, that may be the best place to let them know you didn't hunt this year.

That's a decent question and I hear different answers every so many years. Bucks have scent glands that deposit their scent on these rubs so a logical answer may be that they are scent-marking their territory. I have also read that they are visual sign posts. Again a territorial kind of marking. Then there are some who claim that some early rubs are attempts at removing the velvet (and I have heard that contradicted by some biologists too). I think everybody knows what they are, but can't always agree on why they do it. The truth probably is one of those "all of the above" kinds of answers.

Hey, I had one of those trotting across my lawn a couple years back (WMU 8N). maybe they're not as rare as I thought.

Hey, it's Mr. Personality again. Good to hear from you ..... NOT! I have no clue if you really have a useful point or are just engaging in another mindless random attack. You know.... out there trying to make friends....lol. But anyway, thank you for the comedic relief. Your rare (thankfully) comments are once again up to your usual standards. Judging from your irrational outburst, I have to guess that you are one of those Bambi-loving property owners that I was referring to, that refuse permission to hunters (and then whine about deer damage). Well, I don't know what to tell you. As I said, you get what you deserve.

Well first of all, hunting is a method of population control that I and several relatives personally take part in. Oh, and by the way, I can see two of my stands from my living room window ...lol. It doesn't bother me a bit. If I didn't want hunting on my property, I wouldn't be whining about deer damage as they ate the place down around me. I find it absolutely stupid that people cry about deer damage and then wring their hands and whine about killing the poor little fuzzy creatures. In my opinion, they get whatever they deserve from their stupidity. Instead these mental midgets would rather pay good tax money so that instead of seeing a hunter out there doing the job for free with a bow, they can see some government employee in the same spot in the middle of the night, holding a rifle. Yup!.... That makes a lot of sense.

People are great procrastinators. If they put it off too long and it gets past the allotted time they are afraid to turn it in late. Also, there obviously is not a serious enforcement effort going on. It is very rare that you hear of a ticket being written for failure to report a kill. Also, the DEC has done such a great job of selling their statistical methods of calculating reporting rates that hunters don't take the requirement seriously. After all if the DEC doesn't place any value on full cooperation, it makes the hunters feel better about not complying. There's probably more reasons but those the three that come to mind immediately.

As one single data point, let me say that I just looked out in the yard and saw deer tracks criss-crossing all over the place. It is 10 degrees out here right now. I think cold weather sends them on a food shopping mission trying to fortify their calorie supply. That's just a guess, because when its that damned cold out there, I am hunkered down trying to conserve.

I know a lot of people see check-in stations as being a necessary thing, but looking at the starvation rations of resources tat the DEC gets these days, it is hard to imagine where personnel would be coming from to man these stations or who would be doing their jobs while they are out there. Another problem with check stations is that a lot of guys never have to load a deer on to their car. Some guys have their deer butchered up and in little packages in the car before they go home. Others live where they hunt and they do their own butchering. Now if you can't get people to make a simple phone call or fill out an easy on-line form, I wouldn't expect them to load a deer or two on their cars and drive to a check-station to do their reporting. Seriously, I think the DEC has gone about as far as they can go to make harvest reporting as convenient and easy as possible. There is only one other system that would be nearly fool-proof. That being a mandatory reporting system that requires one tag issued, one mandatory report (successful or not) with a computer verification to ensure compliance. That would get you to as near 100% reporting as possible and it would be real numbers, not guestimated numbers.

Here's my feeling about landowners that do not allow hunting. Let the suckers rot in their own situations of their own doing. Let the critters eat all of their expensive shrubs. Let all of those plantings look stupid with half of one side of them being eaten away and the other half rubbed to death. Let the bucks rub on their pricey ornamental trees until they kill them. laugh in their faces when they cry and complain about the damage, or their wrecked Lexus that's got deer hair, blood and feces smeared into the bent folds of impact. I don't have a single bit of sympathy for any one of them, and they should get exactly what they deserve until they come crawling to hunters begging us to hunt their property. And you know what? .... even at that point I will laugh in their faces and tell them no.

It sounds like if you are in a county that allows only shotguns for deer hunting, you had better not be out afield hunting with center-fire rifles that are .22 caliber or larger for anything while any legal deer season is in progress. However, this does bring up a question about target practice with such rifles. How do they distinguish between hunting and target shooting?

I have absolutely no knowledge of feral pigs, how to hunt them, or how much problems individual hunting may pose for organized eradication efforts. So, I guess I have to defer to the "experts" on this issue. All I can say is that they had better be right. Right now they have a free and willing source of population control volunteers that don't cost a cent, and they are everywhere. Comparing that force to a small group of paid state and federal employees to handle a statewide problem, logic would seem to favor the idea of using the free force of hunters to do the job. But then, what the heck do I know? Maybe they can do a more effective job on an undisturbed, unsuspecting, population. These guys are going to look awful goofy if they don't get the job done.

There is a sixth stage.....The Last Stage. That's the one where you go out hoping that you don't actually shoot anything that you will have to gut and drag. The 6th stage includes the phase of hunting where you get all dressed up and out the door and then turn around and go back to bed because it's too cold outside.

Hey ..... Here's a great idea. How about chemical contraceptives in deer food. I've heard of that as an idea from some of those brilliant animal rights people. Sorry, I couldn't help myself .... lol.