Doc

I know that is basically a lazy-man's way to blame an inanimate object for its criminal use. People always look for easy answers and feel-good attempts at solutions. But if you really are serious about making any accomplishments that have any chance of success, it is much wiser to look at the root causes which does involve people .... not guns, knives, tomahawks, or any other kind of thing.

Absolutely! My guns are kept in our bedroom, and that bedroom door is locked when we are not in it. I have not invested in a safe yet because of the ridiculous cost. Plus I want at least one gun readily available for home protection without having to turn on a light. But my guns were never just laying around unprotected.

Who knows what goes through their minds? I sure don't, but I never see them miss an opportunity to leverage these acts to the max, extracting every opportunity to further their cause. It's like they consider these events as some kind of gun-control message from Heaven. It gets pretty sickening to see people trying to capitalize on the slaughter of innocents in any fashion. maybe that doesn't bother some of you, but sure is pretty disgusting to me.

Sure anyone has the right to disagree with the starting and ending times of the hunting day (of course they're wrong .... lol), but it is the law, and I respect people who may not agree but still respect the law enough to abide by it. After all laws are not just suggestions, or at least they are not supposed to be treated like mere suggestions. I said it earlier, anyone who thinks strongly that that law should be modified should certainly try to get it changed. We do have procedures for that.

There is no doubt in my mind that there are those that simply see things like this as opportunities to further their anti-gun agendas. The speed and vigor at which they come out of the wood-work tells me that they have just been waiting for these opportunities. Sorry if that thought strikes a little bit too close to home for some, but sometimes things become just a little too obvious to ignore. It's not like this is the first time that reaction has occurred to these kinds of events. Not that much in between, but when this sort of horror story comes out, so do the anti-gun loonies.

Is it dumb to abide by the law? How important is that deer to you? I think the dumb ones are the ones who have never learned any respect for the law. Frankly, I have nothing but contempt for the people touching off those early shots. I have great respect for those that don't feel that something is only illegal if you are likely to get caught. You made the right choices.

Yes, that's exactly the attitude that I am talking about ..... "not much has been done in the past" and now finally (and apparently, thankfully) an incident so horrific that they'll have to do something about those evil guns. I have watched the desparation of anti-gun zealots over the years and have decided that many times their eager campaign takes over their sense of balance and they seem to obtain a kind of renewed enthusiasm everytime something like this takes place. It is almost like they see opportunities in tragedy. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but that thought always runs through my head whenever I see the almost gleeful rabid anti-gun frenzy each time one of these things occurs. It is predictable and consistant.

I wonder if that is the cause of so many early shots. Maybe people don't realize that sunrise and sunset are actual, real, defined, times. Maybe they think that as soon as they can see anything, it must be sunrise .... lol.

I keep getting the feeling that there are way too many people who welcome the news of each of these tragedies because each one serves as fuel for their anti-gun agendas. They seem to come out of the wood-work all re-invigorated and eager to take another chop out of that 2nd amendment that has caused them so much angst. They are always eager to exploit these things as ways to get their next shot of further gun control. They are content to place "feel-good" arguments against a chunk of steel. It saves them from expending intellectual energy toward the real causes and cures of the diseased society that has spawned the evil people that commit these atrocities.

Oh-oh .... It sounds like somebody is not aware that there are defined times for sunrise and sunset. Those are not terms that are based on the sun vs. the horizon ... lol. There are actual meteorological times laid out in charts that define those times for every day. Very precise times....not vague.

I'm sure that one of the law enforcement agencies (FBI or somebody) have developed a typical profile or profiles of these kinds of wackos, and their ways of obtaining the weapons that they use, and other things that facilitate their evil acts. If that info were made public, it may allow the public to get involved before these things occur. Why isn't that info accumulated and dispersed to the public. That is also information that one would have to have in order to make any kind of intelligent, knowledgeable suggestions for corrective or preventative measures. I couldn't even say whether illegal guns are the weapons of choice for a mass murderer. So basically, we are guessing at suggestions without any information. As far as the buy-back program, it has been done in Rochester a few times, and the results are always proudly displayed on TV laying on some table. I don't know the nuts and bolts of the program, but I can tell you from looking at the sorry collection of weapons that they always seem to come up with, most of them were just plain junk that most likely are perfectly legal guns that someone inherited and never dared to shoot. They were probably wondering what the heck to do with them. It pretty much is a program that could be administered by the public trash collection agencies. In other words they weren't necessarily illegal weapons, but simply excess household junk that had absolutely no impact on crime.

We have a rather large state land parcel that is quickly being taken over by the same kinds of activities (Mountain biking, hiking, dog walking, bird watching, etc.). I hope they don't some day apply that standard of use and shut off hunting there. Actually, I know that they won't because they do kind of understand the need for wildlife management. Frankly, I would think that even county land would have population control needs when it comes to deer just like any other wild area. Ah but then that is an entirely different kind of jurisdiction and probably administered by people who have no concept of game management requirements. And just like private land, they have a perfect right to mis-manage the resource as they see fit.

Powder..... I noticed that Midway has a special $27.50 HazMat charge for powder and primers plus an additional $9.99 shipping charge. That sure makes local buying of powder and primers a lot more competitive. I do use Midway a lot for other reloading components and equipment.

I don't think you realize just how ugly that kind of escalation can get to be. How far do you want to go? There definitely is a lot of value to trying to end all the anomosity rather than trying to fuel it. People have been shot with that kind of "get even" attitude. Do you really want to create situations where you have to be constantly looking over your shoulder, or worrying about the safety of your personal property. I mean some of these kinds of things can develop into a living hell.

I am a strong supporter of mandatory blaze orange during anytime when firearms are used for deer hunting. However, even more important than pushing for a requirement for all hunters to wear blaze orange during a firearms deer season, I would definitely like to see the DEC, and other law enforcement agencies, and hunting organizations all act in unison to maintain a perpetual media campaign using all forms of communication available to push the fact that blaze orange does save lives. There is something to be said for the pressure of public opinion. I also think that there is a certain amount of condoning the act of deer hunting with a gun without blaze orange that comes simply from the fact that the state has not made the act illegal. I'm sure there is a lot of attitude out there that says if the state feels that blaze orange doesn't warrant the force of law behind it, there must be some substantial doubts about its effectiveness. A massive public media blitz might tend to blunt that notion.

Check out Beikirchs in East Rochester. It's a bit tough to find some times, but much better prices, and the guys there know pretty much about everything that they sell. And they carry a huge inventory.

I just stopped into Gander Mountain in Henrietta to pick up some .270 brass ....I should have known better .... lol. I stopped at the gun counter to ask where the re-loading supplies were located and he pointed to a short aisle behind me. As I turned around to start looking for brass, he said they were not going to stock anymore re-loading components and equipment once they sold out what they had (which wasn't much). I really don't buy much from them anymore because of the very problem that one by one, they have dropped everything I ever wanted to buy from them, and I told him so. I also mentioned that if they continue dropping items, they might as well just close the doors. It really isn't that much farther for me to go to the Auburn Bass-Pro shop, where I have always found what I wanted. I told him that too. I won't be going there again ..... and this time I mean it .... lol. I really do wish Gander would close their doors and allow the possibility that someone serious about selling outdoor products might move in. But anyway, I thought I should mention that anyone heading to the Henrietta Gander Mountain for reloading supplies should be aware that they don't have much, and will be out of that stuff forever shortly. By the way there are no sales on what they have left. Better to just go to beikirchs instead or mail-order your stuff.

I have a policy when I suspect that there is a mentally deranged person in the area. That policy is to avoid further contact with him ..... lol. That might involve some inconvenience of hunting in areas farther from the lot-line, but would certainly be worth it to avoid any other incidents that might get even uglier. I know it doesn't seem right to give concessions to someone who acts in a crazy irrational manner, but believe me they don't make a deer that is worth some of the ugly ways that neighbor disputes can sometimes go.

Blaze orange saves lives. There are stats that show that. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00044112.htm The arguments against blaze orange that I have heard relate to a paranoid (my opinion) argument that mandatory blaze orange would lead to a slippery slope to the end of democracy as we know it....lol. There seems to be some that believe that any safety laws are a terrible infringement of civil liberties and to quote some, "we all have the right to be stupid". Well, to be blunt .... No you don't. Not on matters that affect those around you. There also is an argument that says that if blaze orange is mandatory, anything else in the woods that is not will automatically be shot. Well, that is a nice theory, but there has been no study that has proven that or even suggested that that notion is likely. Apparently the majority of states that do have some form of blaze orange law have not experienced that, but maybe it's something to investigate before passing any B/O law. Also, there is an argument that says that the deer can see blaze orange. Yes, there are all kinds of studies that say that they do not see blaze orange the way we see it. I can't say that I have ever seen a study that says that things shrouded in blaze orange become invisible to them. I have never read any study that claimed that the highly reflective color doesn't look like some glowing shade of white that doesn't blend in with the surroundings. I have never seen any studies that would indicate that the eye-catching flash of movement isn't enhanced by that color as far as catching their attention. Personally, I have had experiences that would support both theories. I have had deer approach me dressed head to toe in blaze orange and never recognize that I didn't belong .... as long as I didn't move. I have also had deer stop and become fixated on me for no other reason, that I could tell, other than that they saw a big flashy blob of something that looked completely out of place in "their" woods. I also have had cases where a slight movement of a very small exposed area of orange immediately caught their eye like I was waving some flashlight at them. So the question of what a deer sees when it sees an orange colored hunter is not all that clear to me. Frankly, for me it doesn't matter. Wearing blaze orange may require that I sharpen up my hunting skills a bit and be a bit more careful about movement and exposure. I can do that. What I can't do is to plug up a slug hole that some idiot puts in my body because I didn't have the intelligence to use a readily available, easy to use, piece of safety equipment. To me there is no deer that is worth my life or the use of major parts of my body. So my final choice would be to not argue a whole lot with mandatory blaze orange. For me it wouldn't be the end of the world.

If I were going out (and I'm not), I think I would get back to the trails leading to the current food sources. So far this late season has been absolutely dead quiet. I haven't heard a shot since regular season ended. The state parking lots are almost completely deserted. There is no indication that there even is a season open. So my guess would be that deer should be starting to move back into their pre-season patterns. The 5 deer on my front lawn the other day during legal shooting hours also indicates that.

I had to laugh when I opened up the latest issue of New York Outdoor News and found an article on this exact topic. That has happened before on a lot of other hot topics on this forum. It almost seems like they monitor this site to get ideas for their articles .... lol.

Yeah, I realize that with enough research, anyone can eventually find out what these hunts are really all about. But those non-hunters who have simply paused to view one of these things just out of curiosity is not going to launch an investigation to see if what we do is really being represented by these programs. The newbie hunter is probably not going to question what they see either. They just set their expectations on what is presented to them and most likely are set up for huge disappointment. In fact anyone watching these shows probably will do nothing more than watch them and form opinions based on exactly what they see. I also believe that the constant drumbeat of huge deer taken rather easily and quickly is having its effect on even more experienced hunters in terms of what their expectations and their demands are developing into.

I think that's what most are complaining about ..... the fact that they do pass it off as real hunting. And there is never any disclaimers to indicate otherwise, so the general non-hunting public that happens to stumble across those programs assumes that they represent what every hunter does. So, when we talk about challenge and such in our hunting, they kind of look at you sideways, and then change the subject .... lol. Also, new hunters pick up on unreasonable expectations when they enter the sport because they have been raised on these phoney-baloney programs. Also, I see more and more hunters driving themselves crazy trying to grow huge deer in open lands that look something like the pen-raised deer that they see harvested on TV. Also the expectations and demands that many hunters are now pursuing are being influenced by what they see on TV. I do understand why they have to take shortcuts and knock a lot of the challenge and time out of their hunting process. Let's face it, they have a weekly show to do. They need results. They have demanding sponsors that want to see action and not excuses. If they are going to be in that business, they have to be prolific and can't be bothered by rules and fair chase and everyone else's versions of hunting ethics. No, there absolutely is nothing illegal about what the TV hunter-heroes are doing (most of the time), but there is a false representation of what most of us do as hunters. And that will always be true whether we watch the shows or don't. So, if some hunters get a bit bent out of shape over the deceit and fakery that goes on, I guess I understand some of it.

Remember, safety measures are a two-way street. They are there to keep you from doing something foolish and most importantly from our own concerns of well-being, they are there to keep the guy who is drawing a bead on you from doing something foolish. Sometimes it really isn't all that wise to squeeze every part of a safety measure out. Frankly I do appreciate that little additional cushion when it comes to my safety.

Yes, the suspended coon is in a completely illegal set. Look I am an old trapper from way back, and I am proud to say so. However, it still is a good idea to use a bit of disgression when posting pics. You can pretty much tell what pics might be offensive to those that don't trap. There are times when you can be too graphic for our own good, and a poorly thought out picture certainly can convert a lot of non-trappers to anti-trappers. That's not something the activity needs these days.