Doc

I am seriously wondering what fish & game clubs, gun clubs, archery clubs and other such organizations that so many hunters belong to are doing to promote the sport. Back when I was a member of a bowhunter's club. we had several events and activities each year devoted toward promoting youth participation, and also conducted some mentored hunts. Today, I don't hear a peep from any of these kinds of outfits. Somebody is dropping the ball. I remember in years past, there would be local bow clubs with booths set up at Avon's National Hunting and Fishing days where members had kids bows and targets set up, and promotional slide shows, etc., etc. that were all geared toward enticing youngsters and adults into getting into bow hunting. I haven't seen any such displays there for years now. We have some huge sportsman's clubs that could have a huge impact on hunting and shooting sports promotions. They just don't seem to be interested in any kind of public activities and promotions. We have a rather hidden presence of DEC people even at events that are held on their own property. They could be having a whole lot more visibility if they had any interest in doing so. Any DEC representation in schools? Why not? Anyone in the DEC concerned about hunter decline? any events or activities or programs being worked on to boost hunter participation, enthusiasm, or knowledge? ..... I don't think so. And yet the NYS hunter is by far the most valuable management tool in the DEC's tool-kit. These are all people that should be knee-deep in hunting promotion and yet there seems to be less and less interest in doing so. These are people that could have real impact, and who could be working on real solutions. However, they don't seem to be willing to do anything that will actually have some effect, so where do you go from there when the people who should care, don't?

A friend of mine was half way up the hill on his way to his stand (in the dark). Apparently someone had let his big black lab dog out to take care of its business. Sure enough, my friend hears this huge big animal running full tilt at him crashing through the frozen leaves and snapping twigs and branches and just generally making all kinds of noise. I guess it was a pretty tense few seconds until the dog got close enough for him to figure out whatthe heck was going on. The hunt was cut short while he returned the dog, and even though he never said so, I would suspect some more time was lost changing his pants .... lol.

Would have made a heck of a great cover-scent.

That goofy spring that we had this year brought on all the blossoms early with all the hot spring day-time weather, The frosts at night gave them repeated shots of sub-freezing temperatures. I watched the blossoms on all of my fruit trees get forced out and then frozen. I am not surprised that I don't see any apples. It's too bad because I do have some great stands that rely on those apples being there. So this year, I am working with other food sources.

So now comes the question .... lol. Is there any advantage to hunting from horseback? That would be kind of like hunting from a vehicle except it would be legal.

The one difference that I spotted was that these guys run a trapline and actually catch something. Yeah there is still the B.S. over-dramatization, and a few staged "life or death" circumstances. But I was amazed that in Mountain Men, the guy in Alaska was there specifically for trapping, and they never did show him catching anything. At least on this Yukon Men, they did show them taking care of a wolverine in the trap, and trapping a beaver, and shooting a wolf and it looks like there are more scenes along the trapline where they show that trappers really do have success once in a while .... lol. Basically, it is the only show on TV that ever has shown anything real and graphic about trapping. I guess I find that interesting because I used to run a fairly extensive trapline and can relate to some of what I see on that show.

Well, I can certainly understand deer becoming at ease with horses when the horses are part of their everyday existance. It's like anything else in a white-tail's world. If they have frequent exposure without any negative incidents, they accept them as part of their environment. However, what I wonder is how they view them when it is just the occasional horseback rider that comes wandering past your stand. Do they view that situation as being harmless? I have a feeling that that may not be the same situation. Also, do they view the scent of horses as being harmless in areas where they are not used to encountering the scent of horses?

Yes, this does sound like a hyped-up story that was definitely expanded beyond simple news reporting. But then that's a media specialty these days. I'm not saying that this guy was totally rational and that he wasn't a wack-job nut-case. I'm just saying that what they were offering up as evidence didn't sho that to be the case. But what-the-heck .... It all sells papers, and that is all they care about.

There's another new series on that' called "Yukon Men" that has started up on the Discovery Channel. First show looked pretty good. I have another episode recorded to watch.

There is another new look at the problem of declines in the ranks of hunters. Everything seems to have to do with mentoring, whether it is involving youths or adults. And I do agree that when you get an adult involved, you have an excellent chance of getting a two-fer out of it. I can't say that I have directly been involved in bringing adults into hunting, although perhaps some have been drawn in because of conversations that I have been involved with. But I have to admit that I seldom have considered spending the effort on an adult. Generally when we think of bringing in new people, the goal always involves kids. However, given the thought of expanding the scope of mentoring to include adults as well as youths, one has to wonder why Fish and Game clubs, and other conservation and outdoor organizations have dropped the ball on all this organized mentoring. What great club projects such activities would make. Sure, such activity is great for indvidual hunters to take on, but just imagine how much more powerful and effective these kinds of recruitment activities would be with the enthusiasm and numbers in existing organized clubs being focused on this effort. And maybe, they too shouldn't be ignoring adults to the extent that they do when it comes to recruitment.

Why is that? Are they semi-domestic or something? .....Just need a game commission guy to tell you where they are and go get one? Seems funny that it would be so difficult out west and so easy here on the east coast. Makes you wonder how much of a hunt it really is. Any thoughts on why it is so easy?

Actually, I was going for the sarcasm ..... lol.

Sometimes you have to choose from the only apples left. But the choice isn't between apples. The choice is between which two individuals can do us the most harm. But if you are suggesting that something will be accomplished by not voting at all, I would hope you will eventually see the problem with that. I understand that there are other choices besides the Republicans and Democrats, and I hope that is what you are referring to. Unfortunately voting for one of the minor parties is actually going to benefit one of the two prime candidates in a back-handed way. You may be able to have the satisfaction of making some kind of statement, but the actual results will wind up with one of the major candidates winning the election.

Well, looky here ..... this trolling stuff really works. Early got into his second page already. Say thank-you Early. He is indeed a lovely addition to this site..... lol.

Lol ... Trolling for some controversial arguments??? Sorry, not biting. I really don't get involved in bashing someone's religion. I'd rather concentrate on hunting, fishing and trapping issues.

Throw the new bow away and put the sight back on the old bow so you can have your 30 yard pin back .... lol. What's wrong with using your 20 yard pin and being 2" low at 30 yards? I'll bet I could easily compensate that 2" and drop the arrows right in there at 30.

Tough night. Normally he'd be hugging the toilet bowl. Or maybe he's just gotten too much into indian lore and is listening for stampeding buffalo.

I love the cooler weather too, but I'm not in too much of hurry to be wishing my life away .... Not too sure how much more of it I've got ..... lol. But anyway, I'm not done with summery things yet. And I certainly don't want to even think about all the white stuff that will be coming after hunting season. This summer went so fast, it seems like it just got started. I guess the older you get the faster time goes by.

Thank god for the system of checks and balances. Yes, Obama is the radical in this race, and with a second and final term, he can be in a position that takes the political heat out of his socialistic goals. And yes, he can advance some rather worrisome policies that can have serious negative consequences. However, I do believe that "ending America as we know it" might be a bit strong given the fact that on his own, there is very little of significance that he can do by himself. Now back to the original points about Romney getting soft support by Conservatives. Let's not forget that for all intents and purposes, Romney is the Republican candidate. He is the only one that has a chance of keeping Obama from being handed the election. Sad to say, and hard to believe, but there simply is no one else. Tea partyers and Conservatives all understand that, and they have fallen in line already behind Romney even though the enthusiasm isn't there. It's just a policy of accomodation to try to save the country from a crazy socialist ...... A truly worthy goal.

I have a huge bow-rack downstairs that is made from a big 2"x6" frame with 1" dowels glued and driven in which are wrapped in leather. Bows that are not in current use are wrapped in clear plastic bags to protect them from dust and dirt. The whole rack is kept out of direct sunlight. The bows are pretty much babied.

Even though planing surfaces have been minimized, even the mechanicals still have them field tips do not. Tuning still is necessary. Also good consistant shooting form is required to keep these small planing surfaces from taking off (i.e. inconsistant hand positioning, torquing, post-shot grabbing, minor and major flinching, floating anchors, etc.).

Strange thread ..... I guess I am not one to jump to any conclusions based on what a hunter is carrying. There's a lot of guys packing equipment that I myself may not prefer to use for any of a number of reasons. So what? Now if they were running through the woods dressed in a loin-cloth and armed only with a knife clenched between their teeth, I might get a bit concerned ..... lol. We certainly do struggle sometimes just to find reasons to bash hunters don't we?

Well, I'm not quite twice as old as you .... lol. Happy Birthday buddy and have a couple for me

Lol .... I always have the same dilemma, and have really never figured out why. A lot of people have that same problem with shooting coyotes and foxes ... they are just too "dog-like". Why is it that even we hunters pick and choose which species are suitable for killing? Strange, isn't it?

I suppose that as long as wildlife populations are controlled by humans, there will always be some kind of "un-natural" impact on wildlife whether it be removing critters at their earlier life stages, or taking out the best and the strongest. Man doesn't really get involved without the results being un-natural, and by the way, I doubt we could live with the results of Mother Nature's "natural" management methods......lol. However, if we are talking about man involved in evolutionary results (as the little PETA-girl was), I think we often have our thoughts contained in too short of a time frame. True evolution involves changes over centurys and more. Yes we may force temporary, short-term behavioral changes. But I wouldn't get all excited about changing how any of the animals "evolve". Barring any intentional DNA or genetic modification experiments, I don't even believe that the practice of hunting will be around long enough to have any evolutionary effects on any of the species.