Doc

Many years ago, we (Our NFAA archery club) used to use excelsior bales, metal banded to keep them tight. That worked pretty good and almost all of the clubs used them. But ... They weren't cheap even back then (mid 1980's). But over-all, they were a lot better than hay could ever be for longevity.

Eddie .... One thing that should work out well with thai target is that it is good for broadheads too. that's the one drawback to my corrugated cardboard butt. It may last almost thirty years with field tips, but don't ever shoot a broadhead tipped arow into it if you ever want to get it back again. When it comes time to check out my broadheads, I get those cheapie styrofoam targets from Walmart. I can get about 2 years out of them before they start leaking arrows. One thing that discourages my using field tips in styrofoam is the gosh-awful grip that it gets on the arrow shafts when the target is new. It really doesn't want to give the arrows back. It's no problem with broadheads because they cut a "relief" path through. One complaint that I do have with Walmart's variety of styrofoam is that after the target starts getting chopped up a bit, it leaves an awful mess with little round styrofoam balls all over the place. That's the one advantage of removing the plastic wrapper like you do. On the Walmart targets, the plastic wrapper is the target face. When I take it in the house for the winter, that plastic sheeting is like a leaky bag full of all that styrofoam debris. It always seems that over the winter the thing gets moved around enough to make a hell of a mess in the basement. Also I think I like the price of your target a lot better than Walmart's .... lol. The one thing you can always be sure of regardless of what material you use is that broadheads will eventually chop them up. It's good to have a free replacement material.

Well, you certainly have your work cut out for you. How many acres in the new chunk of hunting ground? Regarding that "new weed", do you have any idea what it is? Maybe somebody here has dealt with it before. If you're not sure what it is, it might help to post a picture or two of it.

Again, I have no quarrel with targeted exposure to those who need it. It might make a good school project to distribute such stuff to known smokers. I could see pre-recorded messages that kids could email to friends that might be thinking of starting smoking. But again, I have to ask, is there a human being on this planet that is still in the dark about the health effects of smoking?

My Brother-in-law from Canada sent me down a video that was very much like those ads only worse. And no, that didn't work on me either at the time, but at least it was pointed at the particular individual that it was intended for and not just randomly blasted across the airwaves and forced on everybody. Yes, if anyone is convinced that his sort of gross-out is ever effective, my Brother-in-law's technique of targeted exposure certainly was in far better taste.

The very best arrow backstop that I ever had is a 4' x 4' corrugated cardboard target. I constructed layers of cardboard arranged so that the arrows would be shot into the legthe of the corregations which makes it quite self-healing. The layers are compressed together with two 1/2" threaded rods that can be re-tightened when necessary. Every so many years, when the center eventually becomes chopped up, the whole thing can be pulled apart and rebuilt with the unshot corrugations put into the center and the shot ones moved to the top and bottom, and reversed so that there are all new corrugations to shoot at. I built this target back in 1986, and it is still in use today. It has taken untold thousands of arrows from my constant practice and additional shots from guests. Today, 27 years later, it finally only serves as a backstop. The edges are still holding arrows, but the center has finally gotten a bit too soft. Instead of rebuilding it again, I took the lazy way out and just hung a Block target in from. The outside edges of the 4' x 4' original butt will still stop some crazy shot that gets away. So even after all these years, it still is serving the purpose of stopping arrows. Poor old tired cardboard butt has finally given up the center, but the edges will still stop any crazy shots Yes, I do have lights so I can shoot at night. The frame off to the left is my target holder for bench shooting with the rifles.

We have some good ones as well. And at my age, I may very well need one some day. However, I have quit smoking enough years ago so that it will be getting harder and harder to blame it on smoking as time goes on. At any rate, these TV ads aren't too likely to help that situation a whole lot other than to spoil my suppers with gross images. But you know, that isn't really what I pay those exhorbitant Cable TV rates for. Maybe you enjoy seeing that garbage on your TV, but I don't.

Oh, that's just plain crap. That's like the justification for some of the gun laws ..... if it saves just one life then it's worth doing. Yeah ... right. The fact is that that line of reasoning has been used to justify more damned abuses than any other argument going. The fact is that these gross images can not be justified for invading the homes of people who would rather not see that kind of garbage. TV programming should still be subject to rules of good taste and a respect for the sensitivities of the majority of viewers who are paying good money for that kind of crap. You want to muck around in the lives of others and try to dictate what's good for them, find some other way of doing it than forcing these gross images into the lives of every TV viewer (smoker or not). Oh, and by the way, does anyon ereally believe that smokers are unaware of the consequences of smoking. I maintain that if they have been under a rock somewhere and aren't aware of all the health problems associated with smoking, they aren't likely to be swayed with some gross TV ads.

I saw a video of a guy sitting at a rifle shooting bench with his cross bow. He had the bi-pod dropped down and the stock nested into a sandbag and peeking through a scope, shooting at 100 yards. He had the prettiest looking rifle shooting form and was rock steady. He probably got that nice "surprise triggering" that every rifle shooter likes to get. He shot quite a few shots that never strayed out of the bull. I suppose he could have missed but he would have had to do so intentionally. I'm not sure what that's got to do with the original post, but just going along with the most recent replies .... lol.

So many things to think about in archery. Absolutely, your arrows should be matched including every accessory on the arrow. The name of the game is "consistancy"!! Also, be just as critical on consistancy with your form as you are with your equipment (maybe even more so). Consistant anchor is a must ....... Consistant stance .... Consistant grip ..... Consistant shoulder and arm set-up .... Consistant follow through ...... Consistant aiming ..... Consistant-consistant-consistant-consistant. When talking groups, all these things have an impact and repeating the same form and shooting routines are essential. So when it comes to closing down groups, equipment is only one part of it all.

How on earth do we ever get people to serve as law enforcement officers? I can't imagine doing such a job. It seems like there are way too many no-win situations that they have to get involved with. Also, there seems to be an awful lot of peple who simply hate cops (why, I can't figure out) and are hoping that they screw up. The assumption always seems to be that the cop messed up. You couldn't pay me enough money to take on that job.

Actually, I have seen a lot of racoons out and about in the daylight. What is not normal is for them to be "walking real funny and making noises". However there are other diseases besides rabies that will cause this that are common to racoons. One that comes to mind is distemper. But whenever there is any doubt, safety is always the best advice. Shooting the critter was a good idea. That may have prevented the diseased animal from spreading its problem to other animals.

That's the great thing about getting old ..... this thread is so old, it seems new to me. That works good on TV re-runs too. It's just like seeing movies over and over .... for the first time .... lol.

This thread reminds me of those disgusting ads that they insist on putting on TV..... usually right around suppertime. You know the ones where they show this pathetic looking lady whose face is all mangled up from cancer surgery or the one where you have to listen to "X" number of minutes of some guy wheezing and coughing. What the hell is the matter with these people. These people have absolutely no class or taste forcing such stuff on the entire population in some kind of false notion that these ads will stop someone from smoking. All it really does is gross everyone else out. I've got 5 years smoke-free, and choosing to quit had nothing to do with any incessant parade of gross disgusting images being posted on my TV set. Where does all this crap end .... Are we going to be looking at open-heart surgery showing the dangers of obesity. Or how about some nice pictures of someone with diabetes having a leg chopped off. That all would make lovely pre-supper viewing.

Well, it's just a theory but it is getting to be fawning time. The does are ditching last year's fawns so they can begin giving birth to this years crop of fawns. For a lot of last year's fawns, this is the first time they have been out on their own. Perhaps they don't always make the best decisions around traffic when they are on their own.

I'm not sure what the difference is between a "sting" and "entrapment". But we all know that stings are a common legal tool for law enforcement.

I wouldn't be surprised if all of the deer attention to cameras comes as a result of human scent on them. Also, there are plastic smells and manufacturing odors that these things carry forever. They just smell completely out of place. The industry has spent a lot of R&D money on calming down the flash and noise features of these cameras, but there will always be those stray scents that come with the camera and stay with it. It was interesting back before my Cuddeback "white flash" camera was stolen, I noted that even with that violent blinding flash, the deer kept coming back. They actually got used to it and I had several doe & fawn groups that had no problem with it. On the other hand, I had several of those nose shots where the deer came right up to a camera and got a good whiff of it, and they never came back again. It kind of gave me the impression that they will put up with a lot of sound and visual nonsense, but they really don't like that scent thing.

Great bunch of pictures! You can't beat a beaver pond for action.

I guess nobody knows how the law will effect this. Fortunately the federal version got shot down by the legislator friends of gunners. As I understand it, their version would have made this maneuver an official ownership transfer and would have required that an FFL holder get involved with official paperwork when guns are moved from one household to another. I have no idea if the so-called NYS Safe Act has any such provisions.

The way components and reloading supply prices are going, there may come a day when the number of grains of powder will become a consideration for us reloaders. Some of these powder hogging cartridges may make us wish we hadn't been so extravagant on the caliber size selection.

Lol ..... "Eye Booger". I thought I was the only one that called them things that...... lol.

Yes, getting back on topic ...... I have to say that most of what I am doing right now in preparation for the up-coming season is just maintaining my archery skills with a little rifle practice stirred in. This time of year is one of my busiest with yard clean-up and maintenance along with preparing and putting in a garden, and also some great fishing opportunities before the weeds and slime overtake some of my favorite fishin spots. So time is limited. Later on this summer, there will be a lot of trips up the hill and over by the creek to see just how the food sources are coming and what kinds of tracks and trail-use there is. I also will begin freshening up some of the traditional ground-blinds and looking for new spots. But a lot of that has to wait while I participate in some of my life that actually exists outside of deer hunting. Spring and summer ....... great time of year with a whole lot of non-hunting related things to do.

Interesting how this thread has gone .... lol. I suppose it was inevitable that it would eventually devolve into name calling. Surprisingly, it stayed as an actual conversation for a long time. By the way ..... What is a goober? Last I knew, it was a chocolate covered peanut.

I don't even own a pistol, so if I want to carry a firearm, I have to get one of those long trench coats.

I take it the biopsy came back with no cancer? This is getting to be a very sad story. I know how attached to a dog you can get and these kinds of things are never easy things to live through. I hope your pooch turns around shortly and starts getting better.