Doc

What a bummer it must be to see a flash of blaze orange in the scope a bit too late, just as you touch off the trigger while swinging on a running deer. Yes, the backdrop is unchanging, and immoveable, but hunters are not. There are a lot of good reasons not to shoot at running deer but you have just touched on the main one. But these stories about shooting women walking their dogs and shooting trucks thinking they are deer......well that defies imagination.

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I suspect that most successful still-hunting turns into stalking before the shot becomes available. However, I have had some situations where still-hunting actually became stand-hunting as a deer that I spotted was walking toward me. I used a tree as cover while I waited for him to close the distance to within bow range. And so that hunt started as still-hunting and morphed into stand hunting. So whenever I have been still-hunting, I never know what style of hunt that it may eventually become.

I was driven out of the woods by rain yesterday (Tuesday). What a miserable day. And I am not just whining about some petty drizzle. It was flat-out pouring for most of the day. I know that deer move on rainy days, but they would have had to have been wearing some kind of floatation gear. I made it for a couple of hours, but eventually got washed right out of the woods.

The first buck I ever got with a bow was when I was on my way home. I have gotten a few still-hunting, but I have to say that the most effective hunting for me is still out of a stand. But I will not argue that still-hunting can not be successful. My problem is that still-hunting requires some very precise control of balance and muscle control and I have reached a point in life where that sort of thing is not my strong point.....lol. I have lost my "sneak".

Pretty much on target here. And if you think land access has changed since the 80's, imagine the perspective from someone looking at it up close and personal since the 50's. I remember when a posted sign was a true oddity. Farmers didn't really have time or money or even a desire to go traipsing through the woods hanging up posted signs. But if you want to go even deeper into this problem, the change is due to modern vehicles and improved roads that promoted a mass migration from the cities and suburbs to the more rural areas. Everyone wanted their little piece of paradise in "the country". Large blocks of huntable forested land became chopped up into little 5-20 acre lots. And that residential migration to the U.S. hunting lands still continues to take place at a break-neck pace.

I heard that a lot of the quality displays and events were driven out by escalating costs of the spaces. So now they sit there not making any money at all and leaving the floundering hunting/fishing/trapping activities that the DEC relies so heavily on, high an dry with no public exposure. Yes I was there back in the good times when I was with the Avon bowmen. It was a wild heavily populated representation of what those sports were all about. And I know that a lot of kids were exposed to the world of nature and outdoor activities even beyond hunting fishing and trapping. How the region 8 DEC finally decided to abandon outdoorsmen in the fashion they did I am not sure. But a good event was trashed when they kicked the event off the property that we help to support.

I get so sick of the lefties trying to poo-poo an obvious rip snorting economy (by any measurement you want to mention) that is staring them right in the face. That is an incredibly cartoon-ish biased opinion, or just plain ignorance. A lie does not become a truth if you say it often enough. It was not uncommon back when I came out into the market to have to wait at least a couple of years for a decent car. Today most high school kids are tooling around in brand new cars. I take a look at some of these "mansions" that the 20-something employees are living in and laughing as these people whine about how tough things are today. Second homes are not all that uncommon anymore. Take a look at some of these motor homes that people are cruising around in. They cost more than my house did. And the stock market that has become the retirement income for most retirees is going nuts and restoring all the resources lost during the Bush/Obama years. Most of the whining comes from those that are just plain lazy and are swallowing up this socialist crap that believes that asking people to work for what they have is a stingy and heartless way to do things. So go pedal your left wing fantasies somewhere else. Nobody is buying into it here. The world is not one big free lunch paid for by the dummies that actually work and produce things.

I suppose it would follow that the best way to provide the biggest racks would be to make buck hunting illegal completely. All in favor raise your hand....lol. Actually, the state is perfectly happy the way things are right now. They are interested in getting control of deer numbers of any size and they actually prefer that you harvest antlerless deer to do that. And if an occasional button buck gets harvested, that's just the way things go sometimes. That's basically collateral damage. The AR push really comes from guys who are intent on insinuating themselves into the lives and goals of other hunters.

It's good that you mentioned "early" Fall at the end, because I had a different vision pop into my head: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I didn't know that ears could hurt so bad; Its almost time to go and I sure am glad. I haven't had feeling in my toes for hours; this bitter cold is testing my powers. I'm shaking like a leaf, can't pull back my bow; With 35 pounds of clothes on maybe it is now time to go. Well here I am at last, the truck; glad I made it but just by luck. That tired old battery is barely enough; the engine caught but is running rough. I sure do wish that I had four wheel drive; Maybe then I could get home alive. Oh what fun fighting the wheel and driving in this snow; It's all ice underneath in this two below. Oh...here we go right straight for the ditch; 10 inches of snow makes driving a bitch. The tow truck should be here any minute; This hunt seemed like a good idea until I actually got out in it. Finally I'm home thinking about it all; Damn, I knew that Winter was not all that far behind Fall. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All inspired by real events .....lol.

I don't spend a lot of time anguishing over "would have, could have, or should have" situations. Whether a decision turns out to have been the best or not, I am never disappointed over a decision that was later effected by circumstances of "luck". I make the best decisions at the time that I can and accept the outcomes of these kinds of decisions without a whole lot of regret. Just like so much in hunting, a lot of the outcomes are a result of happenstance and luck. When you get all hung up on the "what-ifs" of the hunt you are taking a lot of the fun and satisfaction out of the activity. It's all good! I'll soon be entering the age where any deer that I get will be a good deal, and I don't intend to spoil any of it with recriminations regarding the size or age of deer I got. I'll just be celebrating another successful year in the woods with an additional bonus of having some fresh venison.

So far, I have not found it necessary to resort to baiting to get a deer. The fact that it's illegal or isn't doesn't change anything for me because I tend to hunt deer the way I find them. They are wild critters, and I like to keep it that way. I don't go out of my way to condition deer to make my hunting easier. If I want easier, I'll go to the supermarket and get some nicely marbled cuts of beef. That's easier! I suppose it all depends on why you are hunting in the first place. I'm not saying that I am judging those that are baiting or those that would like to. I'm just saying that it doesn't fit into my idea of what hunting has always been about .....For me.

I'll know it when I see it. I haven't got a lot that I have to prove to anyone anymore (even myself). So if it can be converted into venison, it had better keep it's distance. No really, I am getting of the age where it doesn't even have to be a buck to meet my minimums. In fact smaller is probably better from a safe dragging perspective.

Many stores market this stuff under the guise of being sold for use in other states where baiting and feeding are legal. Of course we all, as well as the stores, know that it is being used illegally here. But the law does not make the sales of those products illegal, while the use in NYS is. It is your basic loophole that allows the illegal practice to flourish as long as you don't get caught.

I would like to make one suggestion that may aid in the survival of your trees. Get a roll of 4' high welded wire and build 4' or 5' diameter cages to put around them. This will avoid any deer damage (eating or rubbing) and also provide support if the snow should begin to bend them over. You will find the prices pretty reasonable at stores like Tractor Supply. And a roll goes quite a ways. I do that with all of any fruit trees that I plant, and have never had any damage to any of them.

Ears are way too long for a bear. I think it is a deer. No, I can't explain what is going on with its back half. I might be part of the surroundings or another deer changing the outline or something, but the front half definitely looks like a deer outline. But really, the picture is so bad that it is hard to say anything for sure.

I remember when I never locked the car. I remember when we never locked the house doors when we went away. It's a whole different world these days, and it ain't getting any better.

So, where can you buy bear mace? Is it legal to possess in NYS? With comrade Cuomo at the helm here I have to ask.

We still have mosquitos that will eat you up alive if you don't out-run them. I still get that trickle of sweat down the middle of my back if I exert myself beyond climbing into a hammock. I suspect it will be a while before it even feels like hunting season. I think I can afford to skip a bit of the early season. I'm retired and really am free to hunt anytime I feel like it. And right now given the summer weather, I would rather do summer things. That wonderful extra two weeks of bow hunting in early October that everyone is so jealous of and fighting to get into really is not something that I am ecstatic over. It really feels like I should be fishing or doing cook-outs instead of hunting.

I always marvel at all the different places and directions that my mind goes when I am sitting alone in the woods. I don't think I ever do such intense but relaxed thinking at any other time. It's just amazing how the mind reaches a state of clarity when all the noise and confusion are stripped away.

It's getting to be that any allegation of abuse by any male is automatically believed. The male is now guilty until he proves he is innocent. The Dems have now learned to use this fact as a political tool. I might take this a bit more seriously if the left were not constantly in throes of mental melt-down and obsessed with the notion that Trump must be punished for winning the election. Seriously, when all this clandestine/illegal stuff keeps coming out about what shysters the leftist are and the unlimited, never ending, dirty-tricks and outright lying and obstruction tactics that they have incessantly using, it casts a shadow of doubt on everything that they roll out now. Just the timing of all this makes it all very suspicious. It all smells like B.S. when combined with all the wacked out things that the left has been doing. They simply are not credible.

My Brother-in-law used to have a dog that would watch the bobber when we were bullhead fishing. When it went down he would start barking and jumping around like a crazy thing. Somehow he figured it out that when the bobber went down, everyone would get excited and jump up and start pulling in a fish. So, I guess he just wanted to get in on the action. Apparently they do have some reasoning ability.

Dang! That sounds like a heck of a good idea. I'll be checking the forecast to see what day would be good for that. I might take the camera along though.

Those are shagbark hickorys, and that is how they are supposed to look. It's a very common species and generally a very beneficial one. And by the way, for those that are very, very, ambitious, it produce nuts that make some darn good cakes and cookies if you have a lot of time on your hands....lol