Doc

Well, I have heard of people stealing treestands, trail cams, and all kinds of things, but today I encountered a sign thief. I put one of those "Repeal The Safe Act" signs out by the road. It lasted 3 days, and then I guess somebody felt that they needed it more than I do. It's gone. Living completely cut off from the highway has a lot of advantages, but security for items placed along the roadside isn't one o them.

Interesting choice of words. I looked the word "promiscuous" up in the dictionary, and was surprised by the non-sexual meanings of the word. Indiscriminant Casual irregular without particular plan or reason What I take from all that is that they don't want someone just randomly shooting through the woods. I don't really think it has anything to do with target shooting or sighting in guns. Since they chose to use that particular word to describe prohibited shooting, I guess I wouldn't hesitate to set up targets in a well-backstopped area and do all the shooting I wanted to do.

That's where I draw the line. When they ask for money, I start getting all nervous and jerky and start demanding credentials, references, and public acceptance. In other words, he had better be a bonafide financial advisor that wants to put that money into a commonly recognized legitimate investment. And even then I will be putting him through the wringer in terms of intense interrogation and watching him like a hawk.

With all the surveillance mechanisms and practices out there, there is very little of the state that is not being observed annually. Trail cams are just one of the means of detecting critters. Every year we have an army of hunters out there parading around in the woods. Right now there are all kinds of people scouting for bow season. There are mountain bikers in areas where years ago there weren't even people. Hikers blanket the state. Highways slice and dice all of the state with thousands of potential "cougar viewers". More and more vacation cabins are popping up in the NYS badlands. Campers ... everywhere. There are livestock farmers in every corner of the state which would act as a magnet for a hungry mountain lion. Even bird-watchers have invaded the deepest darkest regions of the state. And then too, consider that mountain lions do not find a single spot in the woods and simply stay there. They are wandering animals that have a huge range. Considering all that, I think the odds of somebody, somewhere, getting some pretty solid pictorial evidence is really quite high. That is, assuming there actually is something out there to provide leave that evidence.

Actually it's not really all that unusual for some trees to start color change in August. Generally it is those trees that are stressed a bit that change first. With this wacko cool and sloppy weather that we had this year, nothing would surprise me. Not only do we have some color change, but there are also some that are dropping. I think those that are saying that they have noticed color change are not saying that all trees are changing. Just as I have noticed, there is enough leaf-color change so that it catches your attention ..... if you are paying attention.

Try typing in "rod and gun clubs in Rochester New York area" into your browser address area and hit return. Most of the clubs local to the Rochester area have web sites.

I hear it all the time on state land. There's lots of "promiscuous" shooting going on ..... lol. It may be just one of those unenforced regulations. I'm sure what they are trying to avoid is messy areas with disposed targets and shot up cans laying all over the place. I would guess that no one would bother you if you were to keep your shooting area picked up and returned to a natural state. Also, choosing a well back-stopped area would give fewer reasons to be harassed. Having said that, I personally prefer regulated, and specially designed shooting facilities that are designed for safety, and where shooting is regulated and "expected". Nothing could be worse than being out squirrel hunting and innocently walking into the back side of a target shooting session. That could get real exciting real quick. Membership in a Rod & Gun club might be your best bet.

If that is it's tail (and it looks like it is), that cannot be a bobcat. Their tail would not hang down that far. One thing that might help with the ID is some indication as to what state your friend lives in.

Unfortunately, none of these sightings or claims come with any sort of tangible evidence. Is it even likely that with all the game cameras out there monitoring the woods these days that no one comes up with verifiable pictures? No bones, track photos or casts, road-kill, confirmed cat-style livestock losses, deer season sightings by hunters ..... nothing. The one documented wandering lion in NYS did eventually turn up as road-kill. So if people are skeptical, who can blame them. At some point, if a population of any significance ever shows up, there won't be any argument. Confirmation will be common knowledge. On the other hand never say never. Anything is possible. There were never any coyotes back when I was a kid ..... none. It sure didn't take long for them to become more than just common here now. Bear sightings were almost unheard of. A couple years ago I spent two consecutive days cleaning up garbage strewn up through the woods with the garbage can 100 yards into the woods. Not to mention the iron pole that was bent to the ground that used to hold the bird feeder. So nothing is impossible.

Sounds like a Ponzi scheme ...... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme Remember the old saying, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is".

Yeah, we all eventually reach the age where the ATV helps avoid cardiac arrest climbing those killer hills and dragging deer a lot farther than our doctors would really like to see us do. During bow season, I often drive up to a spot that is just about 50 yards under the rim of the hill and go the rest of the way on foot. During gun season I like to still-hunt up the hill, and always seem to get my deer when I don't have the ATV and have to drag it off the hill by hand. At some point if I live long enough, there will come a time when all my hunting is accessed by ATV. It's either that or stop going out completely. ATVs do have their place.

So what is an Ambit or an MLM?

Poopin'

On three different occasions, I have had bucks come in while I was clearing out leaves from my ground stand. I suppose they were thinking that it was a buck making a scrape. In both cases my bow was leaning up against a tree and I didn't even have my arm-guard on. They got me. The first I saw of them, they were already staring at me trying to figure out what the heck I was. But these experiences kind of proved to me that bucks can be called, and maybe rattling deserves more of a try than I have ever given it.

I've been mooned!!!

Wouldn't you think that the best way to strengthen bow-shooting muscles would be to shoot the bow? Also, regarding a dead steady aim, I really don't know anybody who can do that off-hand with a gun or a bow. Most successful archery target shooters use a controlled motion type of aiming. Somebody above basically said that already, and I believe they are absolutely correct.

It doesn't even take "texting" to result in mindless driving on the road. There's been a few times when I have had to take defensive maneuvers to avoid somebody that was just talking on their phone and were drifting into my lane, working on a head-on collision. What the heck is the matter with people. Are they that much in need of social acceptance and validation that they have to be constantly wired up? I mean, I don't really have a problem with people risking their own lives on the road, but when they start risking mine, that is a whole lot different story. All this multi-tasking on the road is so dangerous. They claim that distracted driving is as hazardous as drunk driving. Normally, I would have doubts about that statement, except for actual witnessed wacky driving by people with a phone stuffed in their ear. And I'm not even sure that hands-free phone activity is really all that much better.

Basically they are trying to create an environment in NYS where gun and ammo dealers and suppliers will refuse to sell guns and ammo in this state. They are going at it piece by piece, but it all is starting to be pretty darn effective. It's a bunch of incremental steps to smash the 2nd Amendment ..... and they are getting away with it.

Bow torque upsets the flight of the arrow. Misses due to erratic flight can be quite significant even at shorter distances. Bow torque is a form (grip) problem. You need to fix it.

I've been pretty specific about the situations that I am talking about. If that isn't your situation, then I guess I am not talking about what you are doing.

No. I guess you can't appreciate the situation until you have driven for about 6 miles or more, at whatever slow speed a bicycle goes, without any opportunity to pass. And unfortunately it happens several times each summer. They have these huge races where they basically take over the road and bring traffic to a crawl. I have watched people kind of lose it with frustration and try to pass where they really had no chance of doing so in a safe manner. Some of those have seen near misses. Also, it seems that every year I read about a few of these guys that get wiped out. As far as side by side riding, I'm sure you are correct about the single file thing. Unfortunately many ignore that and apparently nobody is ever enforcing it. Also, almost as bad is the way these guys string themselves out such that there are no breaks in between. So even when there is a short passing area, they have the whole thing closed off with a constant string of bikes. I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but really there should be limits as to how consecutive miles these bikes should be allowed to slow 55 MPH traffic down to 20-30 MPH or whatever it is that they are going. Nobody has a problem with a bike here and there, but when you come to one of these orchestrated "rolling road blocks", it certainly can try one's patience and create some gosh-awful hazardous driving conditions. And then, as per the way this thread was going, there is a real question in my mind as to just how healthy the activity really is. I have my doubts.

Lol .... don't get me started on those. They're starting to get just as goofy (maybe even worse).

I have to admit that hunting should not really become a spectator sport in some urban neighborhood. Even the most careful of us occasionally mess up and that is not a real great situation when dealing with something that is as emotionally charged as these things can become to non-hunters.

I have to wonder just how "fresh the air is as the diesel fumes from the trucks cloud around the bikers. Even the fumes from a passenger vehicle has some mighty peculiar smells to it. I hope it is something relatively harmless like maybe the ethanol additives, but who the heck knows exactly what they are putting in gasoline these days. As far as gear is concerned, you need to head down toward Canandaigua Lake several weekends during summer and watch the peacocks doing their races. They are a "pretty" lot ....lol. Mobs of them in clusters so big that you can't get around them all of them riding two and three abreast. And believe me, these guys don't look right or left, just straight ahead staring down at the pavement and breathing the fumes of anyone who happens to find a straight-away that is long enough to get by. Really, I'm just being honest ..... I don't see the point. As I said, they are getting no better work-out than if they were on a stationary bike in their living room or the YMCA. The one big difference is that in the YMCA, you're not sucking down vehicle emissions or running the risk of being thumped out into a ditch by some frustrated motorist trying to get past the mob. Now the mountain bikers are in a different category. They are still a pain in the neck when I'm trying to hunt, but at least they really are getting fresh air and other than a hunter here and there, they are bothering nobody or causing any unsafe traffic conditions. Anyway, everybody has to do what they have to do, but I'm just saying that it doesn't make a bit of sense to me.

Are these bow companies really starting to run out of names? It sounds like it .....lol. Heli-m ..... that sounds like another off-the-wall attempt at naming a bow model. That stuff makes no sense.