Doc

Here's something you don't see much of anymore ...... people waving at other people, even those they don't know. It was just kind of a nice greeting that didn't cost anything, but simply provided a friendly acknowledgement. Used to see that all the time out in farm country.

That's the beauty of re-loading. Guns have individual personalities and they don't always care about cost.

That's exactly right. What a difference in group sizes out of the same gun changes in load and components can make. It can be huge.

Well, you sure can't beat the price. Also, I have found Lee products to be pretty good quality. I'm not sure about dragging along all the materials and components for reloading while I am trying to shoot. But I can understand why he is doing it. On-the-fly evolution of loads while you instantly check the results for verification. Something to think about. I would start out with a supply of pre-sized and pre-primed cases, ready to go. That would cut down on time and baggage.

Any drives that I get involved with anymore are more like still hunting toward a standing hunting partner. They are very low-key activities. We have also done two-man still hunts separated just enough to still be within sight of each other, with one point man out ahead a bit. The one lagging behind is traveling through where the deer are expected to be bedded. The theory is that when a bedded deer spooks, their route of flight is usuall out ahead of the guy that spooked them and also the beginnings of a circle to get behind the intruder. It often works quite well. We have an area that is heavy mature hemlocks along a ravine that is about 200 feet deep with near vertical walls so escaping deer can only go straight ahead or off to the uphill side (where the other hunter is).

Ha-ha-ha ..... would you admit to it if you did?

Not that our school system is anything unique, but we have what they call "the late bus" which is an additional bus route (after the regular afternoon trip) that is primarily for all the after school activities (sports, etc). Imagine what that has to cost in additional bus driver wages and fuel. That's just crazy and un-necessary. I went to the same school years ago, and we had after school activities too, and it was up to parents to take care of transportation.

Yeah, I read where someone in the DEC was talking about how hunting would spread the hogs. And so, I immediately started wondering just how these Einsteins were proposing to slow or halt the spread. Are we supposed to just go out and pat them on the head and hope they all stay put and stop breeding? Maybe providing them with food so they don't leave the area ..... lol. I never heard the 2nd part of that brilliant statement that offers up what stops them if you dis-allow hunting. Basically what they were suggesting is to give up and let them reproduce. Oh and buy the way, the credibility of that statement was never backed up with regulations and laws to prohibit hunting them. In fact, they have publicly encouraged hunting by publicizing the fact that they are un-protected, unregulated and available for hunting with any hunting license. So I don't think they were putting a whole lot of stock in that particular statement. One thing is for sure ...... a dead hog doesn't reproduce.

I'll check that out. I haven't had a chance to go through my copy yet.

I have seen 4 different black squirrels so far this year.

There probably is no real official size limit when trying to define a "canned hunt". I generally figure if you can see prey species lounging around in the shade chewing their cud with their eyes half closed ....... you're probably looking at a canned hunt. If you see a guy walking out into a barnyard banging the side of a grain pan with a wooden spoon and calling one of the animals by name ..... you're probably looking at a canned hunt. If the prey animals are all congregated around a pan of food ..... you're probably looking at a canned hunt. If you see a deer that can barely lift it's head because of the weight of its antlers ..... you're probably looking at a canned hunt. If the animals to be hunted have ear-tags and collars..... you're probably looking at a canned hunt. If the ground is worn down to dirt because of constant animal traffic ..... you're probably looking at a canned hunt. If the animals walk up to the fence in front of you and stick their noses through for you to pet ... you're probably looking at a canned hunt. If there is a barn and stalls supplied for the animal's shelter .... you're probably looking at a canned hunt. If you can use the fence for a gun-rest while you shoot the buffalo next to the watering trough .... you're probably looking at a canned hunt.

I would think the bigger problem has been the lack of snow. No, I am not fond of plowing my driveway, but when there is a coating of snow, those critters silhouette pretty darn nicely. This year I only had one day when there was enough snow on the ground to be of any benefit. Also, tracks in the snow do not lie when you are trying to assess what the heck the size of the herd is and where they are.

I just finished an article in the Sunday paper that describes an event to try to trim down the infestation of Burmese pythons in the Everglades. They sponsored a contest which awards $1000 for the longest snake, and $1500 for the most pythons. Interesting how a small amount of money ($2500) will provide an incentive for people to go after this particular invasive species. It woukld never be enough to coax me out into the everglades to play with snakes mind you ..... lol. But apparently they are expecting there to be enough participants to make a dent in the population. Of course that brought to mind our growing problem with one of our own invasive species, the wild boars that are taking up residence here. I wonder if some similar kind of "bounty system" could be implemented to encourage people to go after these critters? I don't know what the nuts & bolts of such a contest would be like, but it seems like something that maybe should be considered. This is better than a bounty system because you would only have two minor actual payouts instead of a chunk of money on each head. I know we have a law that prohibits state sponsored "bounties", but perhaps this kind of contest is different enough to not be considered a bounty. Or if that is really a problem, perhaps one of our private conservation clubs or coalition of clubs could take up the effort. $2500 ..... cheap enough for implementing a contest to help rid us of this potential environment scourge.

I would think it would be pretty tough to set your bow up to hunt nights. Seems like something Iwould like to experiment with....lol.

It's been quite a few years since I have seen any ticks (thankfully). I hate them things!

Ah, the list is way too long. But just to name a few: I miss the days when gas prices really weren't a major budget item. I miss all the neighborhood farms. I miss the time when you actually knew all of your neighbors. Everybody knew everybody. I miss the time when the rare car came down the road you actually took notice because it usually was someone you knew. I miss the time when I could actually just walk across the road without standing waiting for a break in the traffic. I miss the local general stores that were spotted around the rural countryside. Ours was 1/4 mile up the road. I miss the peace and quiet without the constant roar of traffic, and the dirt bikes, chainsaws and ATVs all over the valley. The worst thing you might have heard was a tractor, or the neighbor kid working on his hot-rod. I miss the grouse and rabbit hunting. Those two species seem to have disappeared. I miss the crazy action during deer season. We had fewer deer (so they tell me), but a whole lot more shooting. I miss the semi-wilderness experience that bowhunting used to be, when it seemed like you were the only one in the woods. It was years before I actually saw another bowhunter in the woods. I miss the fact that you could hike (or hunt) the entire length of the valley on either side and never see a posted sign. The whole damned world was ours to use and nobody cared. I miss my trapline that I ran with my Grandfather. Those were great days of learning. I miss the wild nature of the state land before they carved it all up with mountain bike trails and hiking paths. I miss the Grange which was the center of social life when I was a kid. I miss that one room school house (the one with the outhouse out back) that I went to for a couple of years before the centralized school system was implemented. ....ha-ha. Not a whole lot of school tax back then I'll bet. Yeah, I miss all those things and a lot more, but that is just the evolution of life. There are a lot of things that went on before I got here that I would have missed too if I had gotten to experience them....lol. There are some new things that are pretty good features added to life as well. Yeah, people after me will be "missing" those too someday.

Pay the money. Improved trigger pull is well worth the cost. Actually, that is one area where I wouldn't consider it a do-it-yourself project unless you have the skills and knowledge and maybe proper guidance to do it. It could become a safety issue.

When you say you all have it "set up really nice", you don't mean that you have done any clearing or backstopping or other modifications .... right?

Yeah, I think enough people have seen how quickly lighting conditions can change, especially in the typical slimey, cloudy, crappy, November weather that expanding the hunting hours really is not a very big "want" with a lot of hunters. I know there have been a lot of evenings when I am on my way out from an afternoon stand that I feel a bit uncomfortable wondering how many guys are stretching the hunting hours. I don't know about the per capita accident rates of states around us, but I do know how fast the lighting changes here in NY around sunrise or sunset, when there is heavy, cloudy weather or in a woods with a heavy, mature over-story. It really doesn't have me very supportive of expanding the hours any further than they already are. And really, I don't feel very "punished because of it.....lol. I don't know, I guess it's just a difference of opinion.

Imagine the terror of standing in absolute darkness and hearing that sound (nobody mistakes what that sound is). I think a little sinister laughing right afterward would enhance the panic. I wonder if the guy would open the door before going through it on his way out.

The bad news is that I have yet to put a single round through it. I am waiting for all these darn deer seasons to get over with. My range is up in the woods behind the house (50 yard range) and up on top the hill (100 yard range), and I don't dare get caught up in the woods with a centerfire .... This year we are still a "shotgun only" area. So I've got a little more than a week before I can get out there and check it out.

Too late guys. I already bought the Ruger American .270 (see photos in previous reply in this thread). In fact, I am in the process of pricing and sourcing all the reloading equipment and components. Thanks all for the advice.

A poacher that uses a spotlight is breaking the law. We do not do that so we are we are just playing by rules that are more punishing us than the poachers. There are countless examples of poachers getting an advantage over the law abiding. So should we change laws to even the playing field between us and the poachers? Of course not. I think the sun-rise to sunset laws are in place for safety reasons. We might disagree as to whether that is overly cautious, but the reason for the law should not take into consideration whether there is a fairness relative to lawbreakers. If we did that, we would have to trash all conservation laws ..... right?

This year we had only one day with a sufficient snow cover to make the deer stand out from the background. I believe that in addition to the additional complications of barren ground tracking, the lack of snow is giving more hunters hurried shots of fleeing deer instead of shots at deer spotted well in advance against the snow and careful prepared shots. Those rushed shots of bounding away white deer rumps are a cause of a lot of wounding losses. Jump-shooting deer is a very low percentage way of hunting. Your other point about hunters that assume a miss if the deer doesn't go down in a heap reminds me of something that happened years ago. I was just coming in from a morning hunt when I heard a shot in the field next to the house. I went over to the hedge-row to see what was going on and I saw 5 deer come out of the thicket. Four crossed the field and went up the hill. The 5th one kind of came into the field and hooked around back toward the thicket. I expected to hear another shot, but instead saw a guy come out of the thicket, stepped into the field and before I could yell over to him about the one deer that went back into the thicket, the guy swung a quick glance right then left and did an about face back into the thicket. It all happened in less than a minute. I kind of stood there stunned not knowing exactly what was going on. In a couple of minutes I heard a car door slam out by the road, the car started and the guy took off. Unbelieveable, I was certain that deer was hit and I suspected it was hit hard. So I headed off to the other end of the field, and before I knew it I came across a big splotch of blood. It had to have been within 20 feet of where the guy stopped. I followed the blood in a semicircle back to the edge of the thicket and there was the biggest doe I have ever seen. If that guy had done even the most fundamental attempt at tracking that deer, it would have been the easiest tracking job ever. No there was not any snow, but in this case it really wasn't even needed. Well in this one case, the deer did not go to waste. But I have to wonder just how often this sloppy follow-up goes on out there.

There is no question hunting practices and attitudes have evolved, and not all change is necessarily good. The ideas of tradition, and heritage are being replaced by technology and expediency. And as you pointed out, motivations and measures of satisfaction have evolved as well. Success is now measured in numbers so hunters can compete with other hunters for bragging rights. Hunters are also becoming urbanized and the family connection within the hunting community is practiced by fewer and fewer of us. With all these massive cultural changes in hunting, it is interesting to see people on this thread voicing their opinions based on traditional values that they were raised with. It is basically the last vestige of tradition kicking its feet. There may come a time when people don't even worry about how they get their "high scoring" bucks. Maybe some of those concerns have already been bred out of a lot of us. That wouldn't be a good thing. So, if some people want to cry foul (right or wrong) at some of the practices, I actually feel they are trying to get back to the traditional approaches to hunting that they were raised with. I'm not too worried about it. It all makes good discussions and actually tempers our obsession with "success at any cost". We may or may not agree with some of these things, but I find it encouraging that people are even talking about such things as "fair chase" and hunting ethics. It's a whole lot better than not having any concern with such things at all.