Doc

Of course it's real hunting. It's a partnership between the guide and the hunter for the purpose of harvesting an animal. It is not my thing, because I like to take 100% of the credit or blame for what happens on any of my hunts. But there is a point of practicality when you are traveling a thousand or so miles and have only a week to pull off the one hunt of a lifetime. And then there are the trips to some foriegn countries where they won't even let you hunt without the services of a guide. And then there are some hunts where it is simply downright stupid to head out on your own. But for my preferences, my hunting is a one-on-one activity. I don't like having other people do my scouting for me or my stand selection. But then I don't get to go on a lot of these western dream hunts that others do either.

Ok then apparently that is just another name for the law we are discussing changing for archery equipment.

Lol .... I don't have any theories. I'm simply saying that 50 yards is too close from a safety standpoint to be shooting arrows at or near neighboring buildings and I would also add neighboring yards as well. The proposed law is for modifying archery proximity only and I simply believe for all the reasons stated already that that is simply not safe and the law should not change. It really is nothing any complicated than that simple fact.

I'm not familiar with the "safety zone" law, but I agree that a landowner can grant whatever permissions he wants to anyone he chooses.

I don't mind considering those shows "entertainment" but it's hard to watch those things without the feeling that someone is actually believing that I am gullible enough to believe all that BS. And then there is the fact that they are all constructed like blatant infomercials. That's why they have to duplicate a bunch of the previous segment. So much advertisement time has gone by that you forget what the heck they were doing before the commercials .... lol.

I don't know that my opinion is based on the fact that I am not directly affected by this proposed change although I will say that I am glad that I am not. I only know that I have driven through housing developments, and there is nobody that will ever convince me that 50 yards is an adequate distance for people to be shooting bows in hunting or target situations. And I'm not just talking about distances to buildings, but even distances to people's occupied yards. Those people have the right to enjoy their property without worrying about arrows flying through their yard. I think anyone who has ever stood in the back yard of a typical suburban lot can not disagree with that assessment and still maintain a straight face. I am not saying that clever people would be unable to add qualifiers to that law that might make it acceptable, but simply chopping the distance as is currently being proposed without any other restrictions is definitely not something that will ever get my support.

I don't want to rely on laws that only kick in when there are bodys laying on the ground. The idea of the current law is it serves a deterrent from creating an unsafe situation rather than waiting until someone is hurt or property damaged and then trying to figure out what laws to apply. I can't see revising a perfectly useful law just to legally put people in harms way. As far as trying to legislate the use of common sense, there is no doubt that law cannot rely on individual common sense. And so, that is the purpose of such laws ...... So that we don't have to rely on our neighbors having things like common sense and responsible attitudes. That kind of goes along with the thought that if all people were honest, and always did the right thing, we wouldn't need any laws. But, we all know better than that, don't we?

I guess I have a pretty bad feeling toward them now, and it may not even be fair. On the 3 cameras that I had, I did note thatthe serial numbers were very close .... in fact two were actually consecutive. So all three could have been some goofy assembler or component that were bad on one particular day. However, after three cameras, I think I gave them a good enough try. It's time for something else. By the way .... lol ... Last year I did have to return a Primos. I don't know if you remember or not, but I was getting a whole bunch of black pictures. It was kind of like the IR couldn't always figure out when to come on. The good news .... the replacement works fine. I'm actually quite happy with it. So, pink pictures eh? I've never heard of that one. did they offer any theories? I am really surprised (and disappointed) at all the quality problems that people have with these things. No moving parts ...... what's the problem ..... lol. There sure are a whole lot of other much more complex electronic appliances and gadgets that seem to be flawless and run forever, but something about these trail cams seems to really pose a challenge regardless of who the manufacturer.

Now that would be impressive! Robin hoods would have a lot more meaning if you could do it on demand. Predict it ....then do it. Byron Ferguson could maybe be able to do that. I once watched Stacy Groscup shooting aspirins out of the air. That has got to be pretty close to being able to shoot a robin hood on demand.

No, actually take the proposal for what it could wind up doing to the peace of mind of neighbors. reckless endangerment laws are great after an arrow is found stuck in the side of your house (or leg .... lol). If reckless endangerment laws were adequate to handle the situation, then there would have never been shooting proximity laws of any distance in the first place. I have laid out the scenario quite a few times already and there is no need for me to repeat it. 50 yards is simply too close to be safe.

I'm not sure how much of an effect it really has, but I do remember reading somewhere that prolonged low temperatures of a bitter winter has been partially responsible for stopping repeated infestations of gypsy moths because a large percentage of the egg masses where frozen for long periods of time. Winter may very well be another form of insect control. But again, I do not know that for a fact.

It really does feel like you have just executed a perfect shot. Getting two arrows to go exactly in the same spot can be quite a confidence builder. It also makes a great picture to show friends. Congrats on your first one. Now you might consider making that your last one ..... lol.

My problem with lowering the shooting distance of a bow from structures is purely based on safety. I do think it is irresponsible to consider only how wonderful it is for deer management. Just as it is wrong for antis to consider the welfare of animals over humans, it is equally wrong for us to do the same. Whenever I hear this sort of thing being proposed, I never hear anyone recognizing the fact that the very same leeway that is being proposed for hunting also applies to backyard target practice. I have not heard what the proposed legal remedy is for the homeowner who feels uncomfortable about having his family use their own yard because of a neighbor's legal but dangerous target practice arrangement. As far as suburbia not being my favorite place to hunt, that is absolutely true. I don't have any problem admitting that. I also have no problem with those who like that sort of hunting. However, my attitude on that is quite a different subject from what should be deemed safe or not.

I think it may be a mixed blessing. Good for some things and bad for others. I have no idea what will happen because I have never seen a winter like this before. All I know is last night I had two bugs that hit the windshield. On March 2nd, that is unheard of. Will be beeaten up by bugs this spring and summer? ..... Only time will tell. How does all this lack of snow affect the water table? ...... I guess we'll see about hat too. Will teh deer herd prosper? ..... Most likely. Will there be any affects on the turkey population? ..... We'll see. How about survival rates of pests and vermin? Am I going to be over run by mice and chipmunks? ..... I don't know. But as the year progresses, it might be interesting to see if we can spot any changes that we theorize relates to this strange winter.

On an 8-1/2" piece of paper, I can nicely fit 4 bullseyes or 5 if I want to put one in the center. That means 1 arrow shot into each individual bullseye. That also means no more expensive robin hoods. I have had seven of them, and realized that when the novelty wears off, there's nothing left but the need to replace arrows. Why did it take me 7 of them to figure that out? ....... little slow I guess ..... lol.

The DEC's stake in the argument is obvious. I have not seen a single move by them in recent years that was not aimed squarely at reducing herd sizes. That seems to be the only tenet of herd management that they are concerned with these days. I don't believe that they are even thinking about safety in this issue or about what is reasonable neighbor relationships when it comes to proximity issues. In fact, I seriously doubt they have even considered the non-hunting ramifications of such a law change as regards back-yard target practice. It seems that most discussions of this issue start off with a focus on hunting and never seem to get involved with the bigger picture around that. I frankly would not use their opinions as any kind of credible endorsement of the law change.

I think these videos are darn near of a commercial quality that maybe could earn these guys a few bucks. A few more of these kinds of hunts lumped into a full length video, and it would be every bit as good (and better) than some of the ones that I have bought.

I love these videos. It's hard to find any videos on predator calling/hunting that aren't done way out west. We have completely different hunting conditions and predator mentality than they do in the western states, so at least these videos are something that I can relate to.

I don't believe that deer change their intelligence just because they are in a suburban habitat. But, I have some additional requirements of my hunting that other people probably don't as regards the ambiance of the hunt. I try to make the hunt contain some illusion of wildness. That's just a quirk that I personally have, and I know it isn't necessarily something that others require or necessarily should be concerned with. I have no problem with that. Sometimes I do worry about consequences after the shot when hunts are conducted in areas of tight population. I guess I can imagine some nasty potential interactions with angry neighbors if my shot deer were to make it onto the property of somebody that really doesn't care to be forced into my hunting adventure .... lol. So anyway, maybe it is some of that that is creeping into my opinion about chopping the bow distance down to 50 yards. I guess I just don't like hunting around people.....lol.

You know, I keep hearing all that, but have never had anyone ever offer a source of that data.

What the heck ...... you actually found some snow and ice for pictures.....lol. Those are some great pictures, and I guess you have inspired me to get out tomorrow and climb our "cardiac hill" and see what photo opportunities there are up there back in the badlands. Love seeing those pics. It kind of reminds me that there are a lot of things besides deer to take pictures of. Thanks for posting them.

I've got a feeling that deer are pretty tough no matter where you might find them. Unless of course you are talking about my front yard around this time of year .... lol.

If it is deemed necessary or useful to have special days set aside for a youth hunt ..... IF ..... I would actually prefer to give up the last couple days of bow season, or the first couple days of gun season. to me that would cause the least disruption of anybody's hunting. I know there are bowhunters that highly value those rutty last couple of days, but from what I have seen, success on those last two days is more a case of good luck with incredibly poor odds, than good planning. Generally at that time the deer are simply running random patternless movements that are almost impossible to key in on. So, FOR ME, that would be the least painless time to throw this special firearms season in. Of course I am still not convinced that such an event is either necessary or useful, but there seems to be a lot of "feel-good" pressure to stuff that sort of season (along with every other "catch-all" disturbance) into bow seasons.

Since most states consider blaze orange laws to be hunting laws, I sincerely doubt that the law would be extended to the general public, and probably would simply be made a condition of participating in big game hunting. One would hope that they would use some level of practicality and common sense, coupled with the fact that it is likely that there never has been a hunting accident that has involved "walkers, dog walkers, bike riders, etc." being mistaken for game. The reality of it is that these people have pretty well vacated the woods when the season opens. However, I have seen joggers running down the side of highways that are fully clad in B/O when gun season opens. And while that is a bit overboard, credit them with having more native intelligence than a lot of hunters who should know better but don't, and play Russian Roulette during the deer seasons with their camo suits. By the way, don't imagine that NYS would be paving new ground with a blaze orange law. The great majority of states (40 of them) have some form of B/O law in place with no apparent negative results or any of the problems or difficulties that many are imagining.

I'm not sure what kinds of legal hoops one has to jump through to have someone arrested for reckless endangerment, but I'm sure it is a much more serious level of offense than violating a firearms proximity law. However, the shooting proximity law is already on the books, and in terms of archery equipment seems quite adequate. The changes to that law that I have heard about simply involve slashing the distance. I have heard nothing about removing the law and letting some other category of law serve the purpose. So as I understand it the intent is to simply lower the limit for archery shooting and let the consequences fall where they may. As far as the Irondequoit bowhunting control, I'm afraid that the newspapers left out most of the details of the extent of restrictions that are placed on participating bowhunters, so I have no idea as to exactly how those hunts are conducted. But I believe I heard that the bowhunters used are specially qualified by the authorities and are nothing like the back-yard target shooter who props up a foam target and starts firing away. I don't believe that the Irondequoit hunt is thrown open to the general public for uncontrolled participation.