Doc

Yes, I have seen some pretty scruffy looking deer when this time of year rolls around. Going from the winter coat to the summer coat is not a very pretty thing.

I guess the thing that stands out to me on this issue is that deer do not just stay on any one land-owner's land unless he has it high-fenced. So what you do on your private property does impact the hunting on neighboring lands. So with that in mind, wild game is indeed public even when on private property...........right?

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha........If you think this is a "lather" wait until the next elections. Even the Dems are beginning to get buyer's remorse.

I am seeing deer all over the place. It doesn't look like hunters are doing the job very well anymore.

Yes we all have our attention drawn to the cost of a fill-up these days, and rightly so. But what nobody talks about is the fact that the asphalt that we drive on is a petro-product. And even more of an effect is that everything that you pick up that is PLASTIC, is a petroleum product. And there are so many other items that we seldom even think of as being related to petroleum. This war on fossil fuel goes a whole lot farther than just our gas tank.

Do these things move around when you see them? That would be extra gross.

However, beware of unscrupulous logging companies that can truly leave a disgusting mess behind. I can think of an example of a woods that is now almost impossible to walk across. They left skidder ruts that are almost 2' deep that went across a significant amount of forested acreage and tore up a huge ag field. The logging was done during a very wet time of the year, and so they decided to take a different path with each load leaving behind a network of skidder ruts that make just walking an exhausting chore. I have seen others that have left serious erosion problems. Still others that were sloppy about how they dropped trees, destroying future potential lumber trees in kind of an indiscriminate fashion. There are others that strayed across property lines to get some good trees. I would suggest getting some good reliable references before even considering signing on the dotted line. The other side of the coin we see deer browse improving and deer numbers increasing because wood shave been thinned. There are other critters also that benefit from a well managed wood-lot. Just be warned that there are some dangers in randomly signing on with a logging company. They are not all reputable, and what they leave behind is not always in the landowner's interest.

Anybody fishing Honeoye Lake? Used to be great for pickerel when I was a kid

I am getting to the age where I figure I deserve a trophy for just climbing that "killer hill" behind the house. I'm not looking for the biggest deer in the valley anymore. I don't have to prove anything to myself or anyone else other than the fact that I still can get out there and hunt.

It's pretty hard to come up with the criteria isn't it? Most deer?.....biggest deer?......rack scores? I have never been able to come up with any all-inclusive criteria for judging hunters. Frankly, the question has never come up. The only competition that I am concerned about is between me and whatever critter I happen to be hunting. That competition has kept me busy for all of my 62 years of hunting. Often enough, the critters wind up winning, so I guess I'm probably pretty far down the list of all-time great hunters.

So what is the theory of operation? What makes these eye drops work? Does it change the shape of the lens of the eye? It's all a function of focus...right? It seems to me that the explanation that I heard was that with age comes the inability to make the lens function properly. muscles do not pull the lens all the way into the proper focus position anymore. I can't say for sure where I saw that, but I suspect it was some reading material at the eye doctor's office. Any way, if that is correct, it is hard to see how eye drops could ever correct that situation. But that is why I ask what the theory of operation is with these miracle eye drops. Just curious.

I seem to always hear people equating wind chill effects on inanimate objects. Statements like, "I wonder if my shrubs will die. The wind-chill is supposed to be -10 degrees". According to the Google definition of wind-chill, the answer to that question really has nothing to do with "wind-chill".......right? Google definition: The wind chill temperature is how cold people and animals feel when outside. Wind chill is based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by wind and cold. As the wind increases, it draws heat from the body, driving down skin temperature and eventually the internal body temperature. I take it from this definition that wind chill only is important as an effect on critters, not cars or trees of any other non-feeling things. I do understand that correctly, don't I?

The bet wildlife pictures that I have are of fawns and foxes and coyotes and a whole bunch of critters that I don't hunt. Oh sure I have one-time pictures of some nice bucks that were just passing through. Most of those were during rut when the next day they probably were miles away never again to return. I frankly see game camera pictures as a wildlife photography project and can't really point to any harvest that was a result of a game camera picture. I guess I just really don't know how to use them.

He did not mention the challenge of hunting with primitive equipment and how that fits in with the act of hunting. There is the requirements of extra dedication when using historical designs of hunting equipment. Generally speaking it does require extra woodsmanship and understanding of game to be able to get within effective range of these kinds of low-tech weapons. And of course that extra hunting ability and lore is something a hunter has to receive an additional level of pride on the more rare occasions of success. It is pretty satisfying to watch someone's eyes widen when they see the crudeness of an old self-bow that brought down a deer (buck or doe, it doesn't matter). Using these weapons to put food on the table is a feat that adds fulfillment and greater satisfaction to the hunt. There is also the additional feeling of personal achievement when you take the role of the manufacturer, and some remote engineer working at some office in the city, out of your hunting success and understand that your achievement was based more on your individual efforts. My first bow kill was done at the age of 11. I went up on the hill and cut a hickory stave, and shaved it down to shape with an old draw-shave that I found in my Dad's shop. A baling twine string and some old fletchless willow arrows and I was ready for hunting. I raised Hell on the pigeon population up in the hay mow of our barn and brought home three pigeons for my mother to cook up. Yeah that was the beginning of a life-long activity of hunting. And I believe the crudeness of the equipment added to the value of the success. There are other pluses to using historical equipment that regard our culture and heritage that this fellow only touched on, but I certainly did enjoy his video. It is a subject that we hunters often ignore and overlook. Thank you OldBrian for the link.

I have shot deer for members of my family that would not be able to eat venison if I hadn't have gotten it for them. Personally, I am not really all that fond of venison. I enjoy a good black angus steak or roast far more, or a nice grain-fed, greasy old cow-burger....lol. But the predator in me still enjoys the hunt. Regarding the original topic of "hunting social media", I have to note that before all that we had piles of hunting magazines that served pretty much of the same purpose. All those bowhunting magazines that I subscribed to all those years all had the latest and greatest equipment and go-fasters, and secret hunting methods and techniques. I remember that there was a lot of B.S. peddled in those mags. But when I started bow hunting, there was not hardly anyone else doing it. This was back in the early 60's. So I devoured all the info that I could find. I can't say that any of it really did any harm, and most of it was interesting. I think the hunting social media fills that same purpose today. It's all fun as long as most of it is taken with a grain of salt and a ton of reason and logic.

Could you imagine what the actual cost really is per pound. If you start factoring in the amortized cost of all the hunting weapons, and the ammo, and the transportation costs.......Oh my the cost quickly becomes staggering. What did I leave out? I wouldn't add in my time because it is recreational time. But how about out-of-state hunts with guides or outfitters and such. No, I don't think it is a very good idea to try to work out an all-inclusive dollar per pound amount. That could get to be a bit discouraging. It is just a very expensive hobby.....lol.

Those are some pretty attractive looking dishes that you have been posting here. I do have one question though......What is quinoa. it looks like a form of rice....but not quite.

I did some deer drives when I first started hunting. It was fun. Then I started getting the idea that I wanted the deer that I get to be a little more "one-on-one". I wanted the success or failure to be mine alone, based on only my actions and efforts and skills instead of a gang-thing. I guess we all have our little quirks about how we approach hunting and what we need to have satisfied in our hunting results. But anyway, deer drives became a thing of the past for me, but I'll bet they are still fun for those that do them.

I think another contributor to the condition of stationary hunters is the evolution of outdoor hunting clothing efficiency. I remember when I started hunting, it wasn't too long before the threat of frostbite to my fingers and toes had me on my feet still-hunting through the woods.

I often wonder if all this season extending and increasing bag limits aren't really having a negative effect on hunter numbers. In our locality, opening day does not draw the crowds it used to. The number of shots heard are significantly less. We now have empty or near empty public land parking lots where they used to be filled and overflowing out on th the main road. Could it be that now with all the extensions of hunting seasons, the hunters keep putting off going out thinking that they have plenty of time to get their deer? Somehow the physical evidence of the number of hunters is not aligning with any claims of a higher hunter population. I will admit that my observations are extremely localized and not really any adequate scientific sampling.

I once saw a hunter standing about 100' from our house. I went over to remind him that he was too close to the house to be shooting. When I got there, I saw that he was wobbling around. His eyes were the worse shade of blood-shot that I have ever seen. His speech was so slurred I could hardly understand him, and he was resting the barrel of his shotgun on top of his boot. He was totally bombed out of his mind and was a clear danger to himself and anyone around him. He mentioned that he had a son hunting with him and pointed to another hunter at the far end of the field. I walked him over to the guy and we agreed that this guy should be home instead of out with a gun. They both headed out to the road where their car was parked. This idea that the woods is a good place to be drinking is really no joke. I know that this guy could easily shoot someone or himself. He figured he was fine. fortunately his son agreed with me and took his gun and him back to their car. That was the worst case that I had ever seen, but pink-faced, red-eyed hunters are not really all that scarce. Scares me to death to be out there hunting in the same woods with them.

I have watched quite a few deer rubbing their antlers over the years, and in each case the bucks were on the move from somewhere, to somewhere only pausing along the way to make a rub. They did not seem to be feeding at all.

And one of the details is that you used the term, "you guys" indicating you were intentionally excluding yourself from that gang of polluters that use gasoline to powered transportation. As far as your condemnation of cars as being "stupid invention", I must say that this would certainly be a pretty backward world without them.

Wait a minute.......When you say "you guys" am I to believe that you do not drive cars. Knock off the hypocrisy. Do you put your money and actions where your mouth is, or just blow off blather about..."you guys" while puffing out all the hydrocarbons that everyone else does? When are you going to start bicycling back and forth to work. Or do you intend to get a horse and buggy? Climate control talk makes you feel real good but really means absolutely nothing unless you start doing things that you demand of all the others that you rail against. In the meantime, you might start trying to pay a little attention to details of what you are proposing.

I think one other big factor is the proliferation of ammo hoarding. When a little ammo manages to land on the shelves, people grab it up by the arm-full. It might be that the ammo manufacturers like things this way.