Doc

Will moving water set off the motion-detector of a trail-cam?

I have to wonder how many of the hunter-heroes that we see on TV actually engage in this kind of hunting. Many of us sit around and amazed over the massive racks that these guys routinely take every week and shower these guys with something near hero-worship. Maybe this video gives a little different perspective on what kinds of hunting tactics may be behind these consistant trophy hunters who pose as hunting experts. Could be these guys are just a different kind of "market hunter" who are catering to a different kind of market. Is it all just harmless? Well as the guy in the video points out, such footage would make powerful recruiting media for the animal rights people. It's rather easy for someone to paint all hunting with the same broad brush that is being shown here.

No, the texting while walking thing was a joke (see above). The other so-called "common sense" laws that I mentioned, involving texting or using phones while driving are anything but a joke (for obvious reasons). Sure you would think (and hope) that people had "common sense" enough to know that that stuff is a bad idea. But anyone who has been paying attention out there has seen otherwise. Some may think that those kinds of laws threaten the foundation of our democracy, but just like DWI laws, they do serve a purpose as an attempted protection from those that apparently don't have that "common sense". I don't relate any of that stuff as being on the same level as the McDonalds fiasco. That sort of thing relates more to the letigious nature of society, and the court systems and juries who also seem to have a shortage of common sense.

Good point. Since all the crossbow enthusiasts on this forum claim that a x-bow is archery and deserves to be in bow season, why all of a sudden is it necessary to split it out in this forum. Which way is it?

I knew this would be a good topic. Lots of good info here ..... thanks guys.

The "law against texting while walking" I assume was a tongue-in-cheek joke regarding the woman who fell down the stairs while texting. But there are a lot of these kinds of laws that people complain about that are really needed to protect other innocent by-standers around them. Yes, they have to do with what would be considered common sense, but in some cases lack of common sense can kill people. For example, texting/phoneing while driving is a great example. It appears that a lot of people over-estimate their abilities to multi-task effectively ..... especially when it comes to driving. The latest episode was where I was pulled up to an T-intersection and I was in the lane to the right of this woman who was busily yacking on the phone. All of a sudden she decided she needed to turn in my direction. It didn't seem to bother her that I was there waiting to get out. Whatever was going through her mind had nothing to do with driving. I guess the old man still has pretty good reflexes, because I got to that horn just in time to keep her from driving through my front fender. Actually, I see it all the time where people are driving erratically down the road and , sure enough ....... they are out in la-la land on the phone, with no clue what the heck is happening around them or what it is they are supposed to be doing. Needless to say texting while driving is even worse. I really don't understand this obsession the public has with constantly being wired up for conversation. Are they really that lonely or has life gotten so boring for them that they need these kinds of distractions, 24/7? Yeah, I'm darn glad they make some of these "common sense" laws. Now all they have to do is to start enforcing them. NYS could go a long way toward balancing their budget if they just started enforcing these texting/phone laws .....lol. There's a whole bunch of people out there that are ignoring that one.

What a great price!

Then does anyone have any idea what the heck they are talking about?

So how popular is hunting in England? Is it something that a lot of people are involved in or is it kind of a rare activity? Do they have a lot of open government owned land that can be hunted? Are the licenses expensive? When you say "it is difficult to get a rifle in England", what kinds of restrictions do they have on rifle purchases and ownership? Yeah, I know ...... a whole bunch of questions. But I am really curious about such things. I never have found an occasion to talk hunting with someone from England who has actually done it there.

Buried about half way down the article was something that I have never heard about. They were referring to a "State Land Access Permit" on Long Island. "A State Land Access Permit is needed to access DEC managed lands on Long Island. DEC processes around 5,000 of these access permits each year". Do you guys actually have to have some special permit to access state land? Do they charge for this? What is the purpose of such a "permit"?

What this article puts into words is exactly what a few of us knew even before the license fee hikes. I for one never did expect to see the additional money put toward actual DEC needs. I also did not expect to all of a sudden see the addition of fish and wildlife management activities. What has caught me a bit by surprise is how quickly and blatently the state government grabbed up that sudden windfall of money. It really amounted to a massive tax for government general spending, plopped on the backs of sports men and women. And we didn't even get a thank-you.

In most instances, its not "mis-management". It's simply no management at all. But maybe that's not so much of a bad thing. Some of the recent attention that I have seen on state land is aimed at turning it from hunting and trapping land to activities that attract constant crowds of hikers, bikers and such with construction of a maze of mountain bike trails that pretty much blanket the entire area. Nothing much for the critters of the land, but simply exploitation for amusement and recreation. Unfortunately this constant assault throughout the spring, summer, and fall months doesn't co-exist well with hunting.

Is there really any way to identify a buck from a doe simply by looking at a track or series of tracks? Or is there anyway to tell that a track was probably made by a buck?

I think the strangest thing I saw on state land was very late in the afternoon, way up on the hill in the middle of nowhere. I was on stand, and all of a sudden this wacky looking dude dressed in flourescent pink tights came bounding through the woods like some kind of gazelle. Needless to say that pretty well screwed up that hunt. That was the beginning of many such encounters during bow season. I guess when gun season opens up they all head for cover because I have never seen a biker, hiker or jogger up there after opening day. It's a new day in the state woods now, and some areas are being taken over by non-hunting uses. It's a bit hard to get used to after all the decades of non-interference from such activities. But I guess if you are going to hunt public land it's something that must be accepted.

That'll be interesting to see what they turn out to be. That's too bad ...... I do like those Grannies. But then I already got two of them out in my orchard so that's probably more apples than we can eat anyway. Mystery apples ...... I like that .....lol.

I'm thinking they are probably pretty hard to trap. They don't seem to do anything without a whole lot of worrying and checking. It's a wonder they ever get around to eating anything .... lol.

Oh boy ....... politics and religion. Two discussion topics that are guaranteed to wind up to eventually erupt into warfare. Probably not the best of forum topics. Always excellent trolling bait though......lol.

Hey ..... Mr. personality is back. Slipped off that medication regimen again eh? Well, these things happen. It's always a treat to see you and your ugly personality on display again. You really have a knack for making a real a$$ of yourself. Some things never change.

Actually, in one case that I know of, they are not being replaced. If they fall down, they stay down. I am sure that its a budget thing, but I know that one DEC guy actually got out of his car two years ago and walked up on the hill along the property line and I'm sure he must have passed at least a dozen downed signs. Well, they're still down.

What a great way to begin eliminating worthless budget items. maybe some more of these useless, ineffective gun laws should be eliminated. We have way to many politically inspired laws that have not proven themselves in crime prevention or prosecution. Why shouldn't they all be held to the test of effectiveness and removed if shown to be not worth the cost or gun owner harrassment.

Interesting. I wonder what the regional DEC biologists would say if you told them about this observation. how do you suppose they would explain it? You might want to send them an e-mail.

Slightly off topic, but my wife planted some "granny smith" apple seeds from some store-bought apples, and sure enough she has some 1" high seedlings started. They're growing like a weed. So I just may have some free apple trees to plant pretty soon. Not exactly rehabilitation, but there may be a few new apple trees in my hunting area that weren't there before.

If you live in a part of NYS where they are illegal to trap, you have to figure out some way to release them. Same thing is true with bobcats. They are not legal to trap in all parts of NYS, so if one stumbles into your fox or coyote set, be ready for an exciting time releasing them ..... lol. If you haven't given it some thought and planning before-hand, you might just wind up with a scrambled face.

So, how on earth do you lose track of $26,000 and forget that it is locked in a safe. There is a lot of money out there in households and apparently, there are some who have so much that they can't even keep track of it....lol. I say that the guy simply does not need that money returned.

Mostly, I am confused as to why there are two different signs printed up to perform essentially the same function. As far as I have observed, they are both still in use, and used interchangeably. As far as preference, I have no real preference. Either one will stand out just fine, but putting them on a separate board will make them last a lot longer than simply nailing them to trees. Which only lasts until the growth of the tree pulls the nail heads through the sign (Something that I have seen happen inside of one or two years. Lastly, I would say that there is plenty of room on either sign for perhaps a little more detail of what the land is used for (in fine print), for the benefit of anyone who happens to stumble across a line of these signs. Never mind all the pretty graphics ..... just explain what the land uses are as briefly and as clearly as possible.