Doc

My initial reaction is that I would be surprised if this special season is even noticeable to bowhunters. I could be wrong, and since my hunting is almost exclusively on state land, I might be in for a rude surprise ..... lol. That remains to be seen. But I don't expect significant participation. But my point about the special season is simply that I don't see any reason why anyone should expect that hunters who do not take kids afield for hunting now during the regular season will all of a sudden get involved in taking kids afield during any special season. In fact, a special season represents even more effort on their part than if it was a normal day of hunting during a regular season when they were going to be out there anyway. Where is all this sudden outpouring of hunters helping kids into the sport going to come from? .... simply by declaring a couple of days as a special youth hunt? Sounds like a bunch of wishful thinking without a whole lot of logic behind it. Yes, we can flail around trying this and trying that and the only thing that really gets accomplished is that everyone assumes someone else is taking care of the problem because they have established all these fancy special seasons. Instead of fooling ourselves with special gimmicks, I would rather see programs established to recruit mentors during the regular season. Don't ask me what would get hunters to take up this kind of activity, but if we are going to pin our hopes on anything, lets get behind mentor recruitment and stop trying to cram new seasons into the year everytime somebody gets a brain-fart. Aim the solutions at the problems instead of just seeing how much controversy we can stir up. I'm thinking the DEC needs to open up a line of communications with archery and gun clubs and similar organizations and try to enlist their assistance with recruitment and mentoring. I think a PR activity at the time of license sales needs to begin to explain the crisis and the potential roles that hunters could and should take as a solution. These are things that will really make a difference, not trying to tear apart the hunting community with meaningless special seasons. I'm thinking that a lot of this cry for special seasons comes from people who do not currently get involved, and are hoping that merely creating the season will get someone else to handle it for them. The pitiful thing of it all is that no one has to go out with gangs of kids or go through any heroic efforts to maintain the inflow of new hunters. Simply replacing yourself and maybe one or two others along the way would do the trick. That's all it takes, and it is truly hard to believe that each one of us can't bring one or two people into the sport. What the heck is so important about what we are doing that we can't do something like that? I see the DEC as the catalyst for making this happen, and it really shouldn't take half as much effort as all this fighting and arguing about inappropriately stuffing seasons into other seasons in ways that are guaranteed to cause the maximum amount of controversy.

So there you have it. There is no way that hunters can get involved with any organization without being torn apart by controversy. It finally has come to me that we as hunters are incapable of getting along with each other on any subject or maintaining any organization that is capable of getting any significant hunter support. When I look at our advocacy groups and the way hunters nit-pick them to death, this little controversy really comes as no surprise at all. Why should it? It is staffed, run and comprised of hunters. As far as I am concerned, neither of these organizations or any of their spawned off wannabes need to exist anyway. Measuring hunting success by the numbers is a foolish waste of time and effort anyway. But all this does highlight the sorry state of hunters to come to agreements on anything at all. I wonder if the anti-hunter organizations have all this in-fighting and nit-picking nonsense going on all the time?

Yeah, it reminds me of a typical view from a treestand. I realize that's not the purpose of the elevated camera location, but it does give a unique wild game viewpoint from a hunting perspective.

I'm still trying to figure out why hunters seem to feel that the only way to introduce new people to hunting has to be some special weekend hunt. Is there something wrong with volunteering to take a kid hunting during the regular season so they can get the whole experience of what hunting is all about? Is there something wonderful about introducing a kid to hunting without the rest of their family and friends participating? Is there something wrong with introducing them to a traditional hunt camp, during a traditional hunting season, with the traditional hunting environment? Are we really so darn busy that we cannot use part of our regular hunting season to introduce youngsters to the sport? It sounds like if we don't get this introduction out of the way before the season really starts that it simply is not going to get done at all. Honestly, it really doesn't hurt to take a kid hunting while you are trying to harvest your deer.

Getting some pictures (all of the same fawn)

What is interesting about that photo is the relative length of the fawns legs vs. the doe's. Their legs are both about the same size. It appears that a fawns legs grow at a much faster rate than the rest of their body. Probably nature's way of giving them an adequate stride for escape from predators.

Gee, now I feel like I should apologize for watching TV .... lol. Actually, I don't watch these kinds of shows, believing everything I see is totally unaffected by the cameras being in their face all the time. I'm sure that the televising influences some of what goes on. However, much of what they bring up, and describe, seems to be real in terms of the kinds of challenges one might encounter when living that kind of lifestyle. For example, that guy that flys into his trapline, I'm sure really does have some concerns flying around in the wilderness at that time of year. And yes, his life really does depend on that airplane functioning in stressed out ugly winter weather. I'm sure that the necessary preparations for winter are pretty factual too. Also, the concerns about bears is likely a real concern in those locations. Much of the issues brought up on those programs are likely potential scenarios that truly are part of that lifestyle. But then, I have always had an interest in those kinds of people that have the independence and courage to head off into the wilds in a real fashion. Some like the guy in North Carolina may not get as deep as others, but many of the challenges are still there in one form or another. But in general, I would imagine that the depictions of that kind of life are pretty much on target. By the way, I did mis-speak when I said it was on the National Geographic channel. It is in fact on the History Channel.

Anybody watching this program on the National Geographics channel? I saw the first one the other night, and tried to picture myself living that lifestyle. I know there was a time in my younger days when I thought about it. There definitely are pros and cons. It's kind of like "Swamp people" only it has to do with some guys who have crawled into the wilderness to make their lives off the grid by hunting, fishing and trapping to survive. It's quite interesting when you consider the penalties for failure .... lol. In my opinion, so far they have done a pretty good job of showing that lifestyle.

How about the element of competition? It always seems that it is me against the prey. We have a bit of a competition going with a winner and a loser. As the saying goes, "Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you".....lol. That's competition.

Anybody come across any gypsy moth caterpillars, or tent caterpillars or japanese beetles yet? I thought by this time last year I was spraying fruit trees for them already because they were already out. Unfortunately, I didn't write anything down about when they came out, so I don't know whether they really should be out by now. I'm really worried, because of the mild winter. Also, the apple trees are getting tall enough so my sprayer won't reach the tops of the trees anymore. On the other hand, if they are already out in other parts of the state and we don't have them yet, maybe I can breath a sigh of relief (wishful thinking ..... lol). The poor things have taken a beating over the last few years, and I already lost two cherry trees, 2 apricot trees, and a couple peach trees to the critters. The japanese beetles have been thick for more than 3 years in a row.

I never heard of a tree that would not support itself from its own weight, especially ones that are 5 years old. Are you sure that they are not victims of that late snowstorm that we had this year that dropped a significant amount of heavy, wet, sloppy-gloppy snow. I had a blue spruce in the front yard that was very healthy and had a trunk that was about 7" in diameter that got really screwed up with that storm. about 4' up the trunk, it actually took a right hand turn and looked like a hockey stick. The goofyest thing I have ever seen. It wasn't broke at least not outside the bark where you could see it. But it just took a sharp bend and never straightened back up. I had to cut it down. Perhaps this is something that happened to the bent trees you are seeing. They may very well need a bit of persuading and staking to straighten them up again. It sure wouldn't hurt. One thing I would caution about is to be sure you don't drive any support in too close to the roots. That could wind up doing more harm than good. Also if you have to tie something to the tree (like guy-wires), make sure you put something smooth and soft between the rope and the bark of the tree. I have used sections of old garden hose for this purpose. Otherwise, the wind whipping thetree around over the year will cause a sawing kind of action that will damage the bark.

So far, I guess most of the replies play some part in my enjoyment of hunting, but for me there are some other elements that have made hunting a huge part of my life. There is a huge traditional aspect that hooks into history and our American culture (yes, we Americans do have a culture). I generally feel a bit of a link to all that, and actually it was some books about mountain men and early pioneers and their hunting activities that first interested me in hunting, fishing, trapping and all things that involve nature. Yeah, it sounds a bit hokey, but when I am out hunting, there is always those thoughts of ancestors basically doing the same thing, perhaps for different reasons, but it is a cultural thing that we all share with early Americans and even their predecessors. Also, I have to believe that there is a connection with our basic place in the food chain and ecosystem as a predator. We may not want to call ourselves predators, but the truth is that we as a species have always taken on the role and existance of a predator, and it may very well be a more basic genetic reason for our attraction to hunting. Quite possibly it is built into our DNA. Perhaps it is more natural and honest to acknowledge that link than those that try to bury it and pretend that we have evolved beyond such things. Also, there is some element of independance built into the activity. Anything that demonstrates an ability to fend for ourselves as individuals has some kind of appeal for me. It's like gardening. I wouldn't starve if I didn't put in a garden, and I wouldn't starve if I didn't hunt. But the fact that I can provide for myself to one extent or another does add a feeling of self-reliance. The honing of these kinds of survival skills does help establish some level of independance. So perhaps there are some more deeper reasons why we hunt than just hanging out in the woods. maybe it's also a lot of stuff about how we are built and designed.

I think that's pretty much what I said.

I truly love the summer. With all the activities of fishing, camping, hiking, vacationing, outdoor photography, yard and gardening activities, and a million other things that there are to do, I hate to see it all come to an end. I'm the sort that has a pretty ordered life, and have taken each season of the year as offering certain things that need to be taken advantage of at a specific time of year. Generally, the early part of October still finds me heavily engaged in summer activities, as well as taking care of some last minute scouting and ironing out any bow shooting difficulties. Add to all that the necessity of getting summer equipment winterized and put away and it turns out to be the most busy time of the year. I'm not sure I am ready to chop 2 weeks off of that part of the year to actually begin hunting.

I don't think it really comes down to a question of survival .... lol. I remember one bow season when the temperature flashed up into the 80's. Man, that just didn't seem right. I know guys down south handle that as simply normal, but I don't start feeling it's really hunting season until we have had a few frosts. Just the way it has always been I guess, and what I have become conditioned to expect hunting conditions should be like. Sweat running in my eyes and bugs flying into my ears is not really a good time. In fact, I really don't get into things until the leaves start falling. But then as I said, that is just my perspective.

I'm not sure how much of that additional time I will actually be using for bow season. I am thinking of years past where that period of time is generally still super hot and full of bugs. Also with the weather still great for fishing, camping, and other summer kinds of activities, I most likely will not have finished with all of those things. I guess I will try it out and see how it all fits in with the rest of my life. But I have some doubts. I also wonder how those warmer weeks will be used by others. I don't usually have my head wrapped around hunting when the sweat is trickling down my back and the bugs are banging into my eyes .... lol.

Actually there is a section in the site that is a "discussion on the merits of aluminum vs. carbon arrows".

Great job. What we need now is some pictures looking out the shooting holes so we can see what you will be seeing. Another picture from a ways back so we can see the whole thing in it's setting.

I know a lot of people will disagree with me, but if deer hunting were easy, I wouldn't be interested at all in it. Honestly, if someone came up with some super weapon, or super tactic that hacked the challenge out of it all, I would take up something else. While everyone is frantically searching for that "edge", I love the challenge (and often the frustration) of limitations. The rewards are so much more worthwhile. That's why guaranteed or guided hunts, and game preserve hunts have absolutely no appeal for me. If I could develop a property that was highly managed for large quantities of trophy bucks, all the interest in hunting would disappear. So, I have gotten plenty of deer over the years, but I am not the guy who gets his buck every year ....... and that's the way I like it. I'll bet there are other people who have the same idea of hunting, and probably quite a few that take that idea a lot farther than I do.

You're not alone. I have a lifetime supply of aluminum arrows that still kill deer just as dead as carbon. I'm not changing.

It took me 7 years to get my first bow-killed deer. Back then the population was in short supply, and the archery equipment that we used was truly primitive (not by choice either .... lol). The Monday morning get-togethers at work always had conversations about the doe that someone saw off in the distance, or the one that got away, or the shot that they almost got, but it was a rare thing when someone had a story about actually getting one. A lot of us took quite a few years to start getting deer with a bow. Nobody got discouraged or dropped out because of it. We just assumed that the next time out would be the charm .... lol. When someone did finally connect, it was a true massive sense of achievement. It was a unique and rare event that caught a whole lot of attention. We all understood that that would be the pay-off eventually, and that kept us going. Things have really changed. Now when someone doesn't connect each year we wonder what went wrong .... ha-ha. We don't care about the doe that someone saw, or the missed shot. The first question asked is "what did it score?".

Saw another fawn yesterday down in the driveway. Didn't see the doe, but I'm sure she wasn't too far away.

I was a bit disappointed to see those general (rule of thumb) methods of establishing draw length. Things such as height charts and arm-span /2 are pretty bogus when you are laying out the kind of cash that bows and arrows go for these days. I really hope that no one is using those methods of determining draw length. As far as I'm concerned, there is only one way to measure draw length and that is with a real bow drawn to a proper anchor and the use of a measuring arrow, or some kind of marker.

wooly- Any thoughts on cause of death? Relative to your question, Yes, I have seen a doe with one fawn crossing the road in front of us.

I saw my first fawn of the year yesterday.