Doc

Looks like you all had a great time. There's no question that your kids were having a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, I believe you are correct in your prediction. And that poses a sad commentary on the future of hunting. I really don't find that something to celebrate, but it is what hunting is morphing into as people continue to seek out overwhelming advantages that defy the rules of fair chase. It's unfortunate that you find it necessary to be a part of that.

My gosh! 16 years old. I honestly can't remember that age. Now birthdays become just a celebration of having lasted as long as I have....lol.

THINK! ...... No mistakes! .... plan .... execute ...... safety ..... success ..... Go get 'em ..... and Git-er-done!

Filing nocks: I have noticed that arrows that are used a lot wear and the throat of the nock opens up. I have seen differences from brand new nocks to old tired practice arrow nocks that can be huge. You can have the old nocks that nearly fall off the string vs. brand new nocks that grip the string so tight they don't seem to want to let go. And yes, it can make a difference in the point of impact. If you have just recently installed brand new nocks on your hunting arrows but are all sighted in using old heavily used nocks, it definitely is something you want to check before heading out the door to go hunting. Grow- I think you had a tight nock problem for sure, but there my also have been an adhesive issue as well. Lol..... that will definitely screw up arrow flight. I seem to remember having something like that happen during a practice session once, and at 20 yards, I missed the target, and the butt completely.

Wow! that is a lot of horror stories. I'm beginning to see why guys don't invite others to hunt with them on private land that they have cooked up permission on. Invite a buddy and then watch him slit your throat. What he heck makes people act like that? Apparently there's no honor among thieves and hunting buddies....lol.

It kind of looks like signs in general are not allowed in residential areas even on private property. Professional signs for businesses, for sale signs, and directional or safety instructional signs for multifamily buildings are about the only ones allowed in residential districts. As far as the procedures for handling violations, I didn't see any in that particular section. So like I said, we sitting here at our computers are ill-prepared to pass judgment on whether proper channels were followed and whether the right office did the enforcement.

You know, we don't even realize how much noise pollution bombards us on a daily basis. The one time it really stood out for me was back in the 80s when we went on a moose hunt way the heck back into the wilds of Ontario Canada. Maybe for the first time, I was in a spot where you could hear nothing but an occasional loon or beaver tail slapping the water or a moose splashing around in the dark on the other side of the lake. There were no planes, trains, trucks, cars, dirt-bikes, chainsaws, lawnmowers, leaf blowers or anything with a motor. No kids screaming or neighbors arguing or dogs barking. Just deafening silence......lol. It was great!

Well, the fact is that we don't know any of those facts do we? We don't know whether it was on public or private land. We don't know for a fact that his sign was indeed the only one removed. We don't know whether the letter was really written, sent or received. We don't know whether letter writing is even a part of the required town ordinance procedure. We don't know whether any regulations or procedures were not adhered to. We don't know whether a personal contact is required by law. That seems like a lot of ifs and unknowns to base any conclusions about the propriety of the confiscation. I don't know about any one else, but I haven't found a copy of their particular town ordinance regarding signs and the procedures for removal of illegal signs. So I'm not ready to say that anything at all was mis-handled. See, I view the whole thing as their problem to work out locally by those that know their particular laws. And I'm sure that in coming months, all the lawyers and such will have fun deciding that. All I know is that from this computer chair, I am not capable of determining the right and the wrong of it all. And I'll bet there probably is no one on this forum that is in an adequate position to make that determination.

Actually, I'm not sure that the cop was involved in more than one sign removal. Remember that there had been complaints among neighbors. Also, I am not sure how this town has set up its enforcement of this kind of violation. Code enforcement officers do not normally get involved in physically tearing down offending structures or objects. They do set in motion the proper agencies to carry out the law. Regardless of whether we agree with the policy or not, this may have been a legitimate function of the police department. And I guess there will be no argument about the fact that government wastes money, and that there are redundancies, and perhaps there are even selective enforcements at times. What else is new .... lol. But in the greater scheme of things, this 3 minute visit by a cop really doesn't even rank up there as being worthy of comment. At any rate, absolutely none of all that deserves to go under a thread title of "cops may be against your gun rights", which was my original gripe. This incident proves nothing about cops.

Today I swung my front door wide open and placed my Bushmaster AR-15 right in the doorway. I left a full 20 round magazine beside it, then left it alone and went about my business. While I was gone, the mailman delivered my mail, the neighbor boy across the street mowed the yard, a girl walked her dog down the street, and quite a few cars stopped at the stop sign near the front of our house. After about an hour, I checked on the gun. It was still sitting there, right where I had left it. It hadn't moved itself outside. It certainly hadn't killed anyone, even with the numerous opportunities it had been presented to do so. In fact, it hadn't even loaded itself. Well you can imagine my surprise, with all the media hype about how dangerous guns are and how they kill people. Either the media is wrong, or I'm in possession of the laziest gun in the world. Well, I'm off to check on my spoons. I hear they're making people fat.

Hunting knife sharpened up. Back tag in the holder and pinned to the back of the jacket. Thermo-cell loaded and packed (for those that use it) Pack loaded up: Toilet Paper Hand nippers folding stool Latex gloves Grunt tube Compass Can (deer bleat thingy) Rangefinder Monocular Drag rope Bottle of water FOOD Quiver loaded up & on the bow

I have no idea just how big a town this Somers is, but maybe the guy was happy just to have something to do that day....lol. I wouldn't get too upset about the cost of the guy taking 3 minutes to remove a sign. Particularly if he was in the neighborhood anyway. Sometimes we actually get downright silly in our attempts to bash law enforcement. I have no idea just who is charged with the responsibility of illegal sign removal. But a cop enforcing a law doesn't really rank way up there on my scale of wasted tax money......lol. Ha-ha..... if the sign had said something about abolishing the death penalty, or "save the whales", it wouldn't even have been a reported story.

Opening day of bow season isn't as vital as the gun season opener. Its a whole different way of hunting. You don't need all those guys out there moving deer. If you miss the archery opener, you miss it. It's not that much of a loss.

My encounters with wardens are very, very rare. But there was one time when the encounter turned out to be kind of funny. My Brother-in-law and I were coming into a state boat launch after a night of spearing. It was dark and we were in a row boat. I have to admit that I am the worlds worst rower, and in the dark I couldn't keep a straight line if I had to. While we were still on the other side of the lake, I could see a flashlight over in the parking lot. Naturally, I was tracking off to one side so I made a big course correction, and I saw the flashlight move to the other end of the parking lot. I'd get screwed up again and make a severe correction in the other direction and the light moved back to the other end of the parking lot. Back and forth we went about 4 times until finally we pulled up on the shore. It turns out it was a game cop trying to figure out exactly where we intended to land. Gladly, everything was in order and nothing speared was illegal. But the poor guy got a bit of a work-out.

Talk about misleading titles to a thread....lol. Check out any of the links below and you will see that indicating that "Cops May Be Against Your Gun Rights" is just a flat out lie. It's just not right to malign those that are publicly standing staunchly on our side, in favor of gun owner's rights. The following links will show you the truth about where the cops really are on this issue: http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2013/04/16/ny-troopers-safe-act-will-significantly-increase-the-hazards-of-an-already-dangerous-job/ http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/04/nys_troopers_have_widely_share.html http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/185401/albany-police-union-blasts-safe-act-as-foolish-unconstitutional/ http://www.humanevents.com/2013/05/24/empire-state-sheriffs-cuomo-showdown/ http://www.oneidadispatch.com/articles/2013/05/18/news/doc51980d8aa59e1663335523.txt http://gunssavelives.net/blog/gun-laws/breaking-ny-sheriffs-association-joins-lawsuit-fighting-ny-safe-act-laws/# http://www.nysheriffs.org/articles/sheriffs%E2%80%99-response-ny-safe-act Etc., Etc., Etc.

Hey .... another early-bird! Kind of nice here early in the day.

Oh my gosh! A battle of self-anointed experts has broken out ...... lol. It is getting a bit funny to watch the competition of conceit. "My credentials are better than your credentials" .... ha-ha. Yeah, I'm not too impressed .... sorry. But it is entertaining.

I've got to say that looking at the times on my trail-cam pictures I see lots of daytime activity even during the hotter days. Sure most activity is at night (as is the case anytime of the year), but if I had been at these locations during afternoon legal hunting hours, on every day, there would have been plenty of shooting opportunities.

Oh man! That just isn't right!

I think the deer will continue to move, or at least that's the way my summer cams seem to indicate. The question is how much heat can we stand. With sweat trickling down the middle of your back, and mosquitos whining in your ears and banging into your eyeballs, are you going to be able to sit still enough to keep from being spotted. I have tried to hunt in 80 degree temps before and it really isn't a whole lot of fun. And if you do make a shot on a deer make darn sure it is a super hit. You really don't want to be getting in the position where you have to leave the deer overnight when the temperature never goes below 50 or 60. No gut shots!

It is getting harder and harder to pattern deer during bow season with all the other people wandering around the woods. Of course, I am primarily talking about hunting state land. Between the hikers and bikers and small-game hunters, and birdwatchers and some others that I don't have a clue what they're doing, it is getting pretty tough to get deer to do the same thing twice. So maybe there are some places where bowhunting is reliant on luck as well. Gun hunters are always subject to the activities of other hunters keeping the deer moving. And while luck plays a big part in successful gun hunting, there is some skill in understanding hunter patterns and escape routes.

Sure ..... I am sitting there quietly listening for that telltale pattern of deer hooves in the leaves, or that distance snap of a twig under foot of an approaching deer. ...Trying desperately to have my ears give me an instant "heads-up" so I can spot that incoming deer before he spots me. That's when somebody up the valley starts up their bulldozer or farm tractor that continues to drone on for the rest of the afternoon. Or maybe its a chainsaw off in the distance. At any rate, if you want to hear that rustling in the leaves or that telltale twig-snap, it had better be happening 10' in front of you because you will never hear it over all the racket from any farther distance.

The way that guy is holding that knife, all that blood will be his own.

Generally I plunge my face into the opened up body cavity and bite out the liver and then standing over the deer, I have my picture taken with the liver dangling out of both sides of my mouth and blood from the body cavity covering my face. While the picture is being taken, I give out a primal yell. It's just a statement of conquest. ......Well, maybe that was just something I imagined doing.... lol.