Doc

Your question about deer eating hickory nuts is an interesting one. I would say they do not because I have cracked a few of those things in the past and I can say that they are super hard. I know the jaws on a deer are pretty strong, and they have no problems with acorns, but I think when it comes to cracking hickory nuts they probably have met their match. However, I have never seen anyone actually come out and say that they do not eat them. I have asked the question before and never got an answer. Be careful of hunting a swamp that is something you can't cross. Deer often don't go down right on the spot, and they have no problems swimming or heading out into swamps. I guess what I am saying is don't hunt in areas that you cannot pursue a wounded deer into. As far as the Park Ranger's comments, he may be talking from experiences of having had to go out and find lost hikers/hunters. I'm sure he was warning you to have orienteering equipment and the skill to adequately use them. Probably not bad advice.

Yeah between your $50 and my $50, that's a whole $100 that they could have squandered .... lol.

I'm not sure. It was a long time ago and I just remember a place there that had a jillion mounts of just about every critter up in the rafters and all over the walls. That's my one and only recollection of Old Forge...lol.

I have had a few occasions where I sat against a tree in my head-to-toe blaze orange suit and had does walk right past without ever seeing anything out of place. And this was done right in the middle of a very high pressure gun season when they were all on super high alert. And then there has been times when I have been sneaking up over a ridge and got picked up just as my blaze-orange hat came into view. So, who really knows what is going on. I have assumed that the blaze orange does show up different to the deer, but does not bother them unless there is movement involved. I would be surprised if the reflectivity and intensity of that color doesn't stand out in some fashion. After all, it is almost like a light source. It may not be the color that is noticed, but rather the features of intensity. I don't know, I haven't found a deer that I can discuss all this with so I am just guessing.

There have been adequate hints over the years that most of our decisions have very little to do with what resources wind up in the DEC control. The governor controls directly or indirectly the purse-strings of the DEC and can play any game he wants to in terms of robbing from any fund he wants. If he is forced to give a little here, he has the ability to withhold a little there. So there is a system that you can never win whether you are dealing with annual licenses or lifetime licenses. If the rest of the state wants to steal the funds, you can rest assured that they have their ways of doing it and most likely will. It will not be the first time and will not be the last time.

Absolutely, there are places in this state where you will have no choice. The ones that voted for the so-called Safe Act will be being opposed by others that are also anti-gun. However, if gun owners boot out the ones that voted for the act, just think of the powerful message that will have been sent. I maintain that the new holder of that office will be thinking twice before blatantly slapping the faces of gun owners again regardless of his actual feelings on the issue. It's all about the message and the demonstration that voting against the 2nd Amendment has consequences. Now whether we can actually pull off the unseating of these characters or not still remains to be seen. I already have seen some indications that gun owners don't really have the courage of their convictions, and it is very difficult to get gun owners to unite around any issue. And perhaps we are getting exactly what we deserve. But it occurs to me that we will never have as good an opportunity to galvanize the entire gun owning community for a positive statement as we have with the safe Act incursion on our rights. We have seen the brief outrage that took over the community. And while I have to admit that the issue has nearly faded into oblivion, I am hoping that the anger can once again be rekindled when election time comes around. Consider the message that gets sent if we do not act in a decisive fashion at the polls. We will be publicly declaring, loud and clear, that it is open season on guns and gun owners and that our political will is simply a paper tiger that can be shredded any time a legislator wishes. I'm hoping that is not the message that gets sent.

And I am saying that as long as we cannot be united against those that voted for this unconstitutional travesty, the voting system means nothing. We have taken a slap in the face that emboldens politicians to continue abuses that go even beyond gun issues. They have to be made aware that we set limits on them. If you are unwilling to take this one simple step of unity, then there probably should be no complaining about what has been done to us and what is likely to be done in the future. And yes, anger is exactly my motive and should be. Basically I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it any more. It's time to put away our little pet ideologies and focus on one of the worst affronts to the Constitution that have been handed to the citizens in a long time. If we cannot unite and rally around this major assault on our rights, then I guess what is being said is that we are unwilling to fight back the anti-gun activists and the battle for gun-owner's rights is totally lost and with our consent. You can join this effort to make politicians understand that the citizens still have power, or you can squander the opportunity to send that message by diluting your vote and having it serve absolutely no purpose other than to further convince politicians that they have absolutely nothing to fear from voters. However, the vote is still an individual right that each citizen can implement in a way that they see fit. Some may take this opportunity to make a firm statement about how we are to be governed, and the fact that pro-gun advocacy and political power is still a force to be reckoned with. Perhaps for others that issue is not all that important.

First picture, I haven't a clue. I will say that it likely is not a scrape. It looks like a spot where some critter has been rooting around for grubs or some other kind of bugs or such. The second picture could be bear scat. It's hard to get a good read on what the size is. There is not a lot to set the scale with. To me the third picture looks like a top view of a hickory nut with the hull still on. They are exactly that color, and are segmented like that is.

Does Old forge still have that restaurant that had all the stuffed animals everywhere?

It all depends on the layout of your woodlots. Around us, on properties that have received a lot of logging pressure, what has been left is spotty isolated oak stands. I have seen other areas that are massive and wide-spread where heavy acorn crops can be a problem. In those areas, if I can find some white oaks that are bearing, I can kind of predict that those will be frequented quite heavily at some point in the season. Not only that, but there never is only one source of deer food, and I find that even with heavy acorn production, they still will visit the apple trees and a few grass-lots on their feeding circuit.

Ha-ha ..... Life is good!!! Sounds like a great time.

Lol .... Finally someone who admits to using their plots directly for hunting and doesn't apologize for it. Great believable response on all counts.

If the situation is as dire as they claim, getting permission should not be all that difficult.

NO! See above reply.

Not true! replacing anyone who voted "Aye" on that bill will send a message that such anti-gun voting will not be tolerated by gun owners. It will send a message that these guys serve at the pleasure of their constituents. It will send a message that gun owner's rights cannot be trampled on without consequences. I don't care if the opposition is even more anti-gun than the one being booted out. That message has to be sent. And like I said before, there needs to be follow up e-mails that explain that trampling on the rights of gun owners is a problem for them. Also, there should be emails to the new legislator explaining that they have just witnessed what happens to those that vote against gun owners. So in case they are anti gun people, they have been put on notice that their fate is in the hands of their gun owning constituents. That is a very powerful message that ripples into all kinds of different issues, and a message that no one has been sending these guys. I can't be anymore serious about all of this. If we don't use this so-called Safe Act as a rallying point for gun policy voting, we are indeed squandering the last chance to make a stand. Right now gun owners are quite united in their hatred for this law. We have not really been united on anything to this extent in any of my memory. It is up to us to keep that hatred alive and to push other gun owners to act accordingly at the polls. Stay focused people and don't be side-tracked by other issues. This is a one-issue election if voting is ever to really mean anything in this state.

You need some on-the-ground scouting to figure out the patterns of the deer and the reactions to the craziness that may be occurring across the lake. My guess would be that they are accustomed to the hub-bub, but you never know. Up on our hill, there is a lot of intense hiking and mountain biking going on, and it does keep the deer from feeling at ease. If you get too close to the area where all those bike-trails criss-cross, you will find damn few deer that haven't gone (and stayed) nocturnal. So the best way to figure out how all that ruckus is affecting the herd is to take up a good vantage area with a good pair of binoculars and check it all out first hand. Also, some used of trail cams may be useful in that circumstance too. We can sit here and guess, but I'll bet you can do just as good a job at that than we can. Nothing beats an actual eye-balling of the action .... in person or on cam.

Ever so often, a guy just has to go out and do it. I used to trade up bows almost every year. Not so much anymore. My old Matthews is probably considered an antique these days, but it is still killing deer and may be the last bow I will ever buy ...... assuming it doesn't blow up in my face from old age....lol. But I can remember the thrill of the "upgrade". It kind of makes you feel invincible and the excitement level for bow hunting increases almost two-fold. Believe me, I have a wall full of old bows and each one of them was a complete time of excitement when they were added to the rack. I'm not psychic, but I know I can successfully predict that you will completely enjoy your new purchase and it will add to your enjoyment of the sport.

I have seen several sources try to depict exactly what deer see, and I am surprised at how each one seems a bit different. Since no one has better credentials than the other, you have to wonder just how literal you should take any of these pictures.

I haven't figured out who the culprit was, but one of my peach trees had peach pits laying all over the ground underneath. Deer? .... Could have been. the branches where bent down so much that they could have reached them. Could have been coons, squirrels, and possums too. It does point up the fact that every year it is going to be a race with the critters to get to them first....lol.

We never did make it to the Sportsmen's center, or somehow missed it. The thing is so huge that it was pretty easy to miss specific targets. Unfortunately, we ran out if poop before we were able to cover the whole thing, and to tell the truth, I had forgotten about the sportsman's exhibits tent. Well, maybe next year .... lol. I have to say that if that was done anywhere near as well as the rest of it, we probably missed a good display.

Wow! .... What's this all about. Strange way to reply.

Doesn't anyone wonder why they weren't hearing any shots? Is that really good news?

Equally important is that follow-up letter or e-mail to explain to them what just happened. Focus people .... Part of my ballot might as well be already filled out right now. I know how the state legislature part of it will look already.

we as gun owners have just one criteria that we should use as a litmus test for the next election. That is a litmus test that is well documented as the voting record on the safe act. It's all very simple. Those that voted for the Safe Act lose your vote to their opposition. That should be followed up by an e-mail or letter that carefully explains why he didn't get your vote. Those that voted against the Safe Act, should get the gun-owner's vote followed immediately by a letter or e-mail explaining exactly why they got your vote. As far as I am concerned, nothing else matters this year. Party affiliation doesn't matter. Ideology doesn't matter. We have just one chance to let these guys know that gun owners are a force to be reckoned with. We need to react to this Safe Act in the only way that they understand. They have to be taught that their votes on gun issues have consequences if we are to be taken seriously as a political force. If we don't react strongly on this, we will just continue the downhill slide of gun owner's rights as legislators begin to learn that they can do as they damn well please without any concern about reactions of their constituents.

I think some thought should be given as to what stage of the rut is really the best for hunting. For me, while the chase phase may be the most visible and frantic part of rut, I find getting within bow range of bucks or does that are flat out running through areas that are not even parts of their normal patterns is not really all that useful. For me, I have a lot better success during the more calm phase where bucks are scent checking trails and trying to find receptive does. They are very busy at doing this and are generally on familiar doe trails and patterns. That's a lot easier to get set up on.