Doc

Bigfootses eat cougars don't they?

That looks exactly like an old Case knife that I lost about 25 or 30 years ago. That knife had some good steel in it and did everything I ever asked of it. I bought another knife just like it and made by Case too, but it just was no where near as good in terms of holding an edge. I had that old knife back when I was a kid, in fact it was the first hunting knife that I ever bought. I lost it after gutting out a deer. But anyway, it looked exactly like the one in your picture.

Yeah, I'm getting out there a ways, but I can't find any help anywhere on the net or anywhere else. I love that "horsey sauce" that Arbys serves with their stuff. I just can't figure out how they make it. We planted some horse radish and finally decided last spring to harvest a bit of it. Well, all I can say is that I have never seen any kind of food processor or blender or anything else that will cut up that "woody" stuff such that it will ever look anything like Arby's "horsey sauce". So as a last ditch effort, I'm hoping that someone here knows of a way of turning that stuff into a puree that can have the other ingredients added and have it all come out the consistancy of a horse radish cream consistancy.

"i do not honestly believe that anyone in government has any plans to take away my hunting rifles" .......You can't be serious. Nobody could be that far out of touch with reality and the history of gun control to actually make that statement. I also note that you are only concerned with your hunting rifles. I guess you are not aware or concerned that there are many predator hunters who use AR style weapons for their hunting. You know those evil looking black rifles that politicians have been trying to outlaw for decades, simply because of their looks (speaking of the bogie man ..... lol). "And, i dont' believe that any restrictions on assault-style weapons or high capacity guns will impact my right to own hunting guns" ...... I see that you have once again fallen back on that faulty thinking that relates gun ownership rights strictly to hunting as if there is no other reason for gun ownership. However, using your myopic view of firearms ownership, I might repeat what I noted above, that so-called assault style rifles are legitimate and effective hunting weapons. And if I can remove those blinders and pry your view just a little bit wider for a second, I might add that an awful lot of honest law abiding citizens use those same weapons for target practice, and self defense. Perhaps you don't get involved in any of those activities and that's why you are so willing to sacrifice the rights of those people. There's a lot of that kind of thinking going around these days.

Now really ...... is that what happened? Most likely not. More likely, the fences were simply not maintained. And yes there is no excuse for that. Believe me, anyone who raises livestock takes on a responsibility for maintaining and controlling that livestock. And there is no reason for shirking that responsibility. And yes, I hold them responsible for checking and maintaining their enclosures. We raised sheep, goats and cows for years when I was a kid, including one of the hardest things to contain ..... pigs. We maintained and patrolled fencelines regularly and in all those years, never had any of them get out. Other farmers of the area also took their responsibilities of livestock ownership very seriously and I don't recall ever hearing of escaped critters when the owners cared enough about their animals to maintain proper containment. And yet some of the more numerous escapes that I have heard of recently involve farmers with wild boars and farmers with deer. There's no reason to excuse that. I almost had an encounter with some guy's horse on my way to work a bunch of years ago. It was a near miss. If I had hit it, there is no doubt that I would have made him very aware of his legal responsibilities regarding control and maintanence of his livestock (that is if I was still alive to do so). So yes, I am pretty rigid on that stuff and don't really accept a lot of excuses.

You do understand where the extension of this kind of argument leads, don't you? We have heard it all over and over from every anti-gun group and politician for literally decades. the arguments for "restricting the damage they can cause" can be used for, and has been attempted to be used for, the addition of laws restricting all gun ownership. That little phrase opens the door to literally complete firearms elimination. Perhaps you are trying to see some sort of difference, but believe me there is absolutely no difference. Perhaps you may want to eliminate semi-autos for exactly the same reason. Maybe any kind of repeating firearm could also be banned under the guise of restricting the damage they can cause. Where do you stop and why?

I have never seen a deer or anything else running around in the wild with a tag in it's ear. So it definitely would be a brand new experience for me, and in the short time that you have to analyze the situation, it sure would be ugly to let the thing walk and then always be second-guessing what the real story was and whether you did the right thing or whether it was just a plain old dumb move.....lol.

That's what I was thinking. Even if I did see a tag, am I supposed to be able to read what it is all about at 20 yards (bow), 50 yards (gun). And even if by some miracle, I did notice the tag, I really can't say that it would occur to me that it was a privately owned deer. I'll admit that I might feel a bit funny about having the thing mounted because there is still the stigma of having shot a "tame" deer even if it was in a wild location. With taxidermy costs being what they are these days, I most likely would pass on the wall mount. But I would have no problem eating it and maybe saving the antlers down in the basement as a conversation piece. I think also that I would be very irritated that some guy even put me in that position. After having thought that I had just harvested a true wild once-in-a-lifetime trophy and then finding out that it was all only because some jerk just couldn't contain his tame deer...... What a disapointment. I agree, a phone call to the DEC probably would be a good idea just to establish a legal right to it. And if there was some recognizable ID on the tag, I would be notifying the previous owner as to what happened to his critter.

So have they really run out of names for bow models? What the heck does a "Riot" have to do with anything in archery? ....... lol.

First of all, I would ask for some form of written document that explains the disposition of this gun. Then, I would make it clear that you intended to go the "letter-to-the-editor" route just to make the situation public. You never know, that gun may all of a sudden be returned to you if he gets an idea that this is going to become public. That will certainly be the case if there is anything shady about the way he is handling the case. In the future, I would always see to it that you stay with the troopers.

So, how does it work? what is the fuel source? A bit off topic, but, what ever happened to those little fold-up sterno stoves with the canned fuel? Can you still buy that stuff somewhere?

I would think that all responsibilities would lie with the farmer. The safe and secure containment of his critters is (or at least should be) his concern. If he does not live up to his responsibilities as caretaker of his livestock ....... oh well. Whatever happens after that should be nobody's problem but his.

I am a bit concerned that if we keep pushing the various deer seasons (no matter what weapon is being used) deeper and deeper into the winter, there may be an awful lot of bucks shot for does simply because you are starting to get into the antler-drop timeframe.

Well, I guess inspite of all these laws, regulations, restrictions, and good intentions, the unthinkable was still able to happen ..... and did. It appears that we may have dodged the bullet ...... this time.

My ATV is the primary snow removal machine for our 1000' driveway, so it never really gets stored for any long periods of time. However, I wouldn't think that an ATV would be any different than either of my riding lawnmowers. With those, I just add some stabil fuel conditioner to the gas and pull the batteries and store them in the basement. I also keep a generous supply of mouse poison around the barn (year around).That can be a very important tip because not controlling the mouse population cost me a good garden tractor once when the mice decided to pack the cooling fins on the motor with fur/grass/etc. Because of the cowling, I was unaware that the engine was being cooked until it was too late.

Well, nobody is "sticking it to the farmer". When the deer got out, there was no way that he was going to capture him out of the wild and put him back in the pen ........ unless the deer comes when called by name ..... lol. So if someone is able to get and use the meat, I don't think that makes one bit of difference to the deer farmer. He already pemanently lost that deer. And of course as far as intentionally shooting escaped livestock, it would have to be proven that the tag was spotted before taking the shot, and maybe that wouldn't even be enough to prove that the law was broken. The records keeping organizations can disallow what ever they want (who cares), but as far as it being a legitimate target and a good source of some venison, I think it is. What's the option, let it die of old-age and rot in the woods? .... lol. That would be real useful.

I'm not sure that I would even if such a hunt were offered. I think it wouldn't be that big a deal for me since I am sort of a laid-back hunter that likes to do his own thing. I really have no desires to participate in a guided hunt unless it were for one of the big game animals out west somewhere. I certainly don't want to get involved with farm-raised deer, or fenced in animals, and I'm afraid that a hunt with one of these hunter-heroes would probably end up to be exactly that. In short, to converse with one of these guys would be ok, but I would pass on hunting with them.

Man ... They're ripping by pretty darn fast aren't they? Well, this past one was a dandy, and I hope the next one is another good one. At any rate, here's wishing you all a happy, safe and prosperpous new year.

Well anyway, aside from all that nonsense, if you really want to see a good movie, this is the one.

My needs for an all-around hunting knife includes its occasional use as a hatchet when required .....lol. That requires a bit of weight and an indestructible strength. The fact is that mine is usually used in that fashion more often than just a gutting knife.

Well, we made it through another one. I hope this next one is a great new year for you and the rest of the members here.

Jump over a few lakes to Canandaigua if you want to see geese. The place is taken over with them.

It would be one heck of a great idea if the DEC would organize these kinds of activities for state lands and supervise such volunteer work-partys. Perhaps working in concert with rod & gun clubs as club projects, some nifty habitat improvement projects could be worked on. Also well publicized projects of this nature to seek assistance from non-affiliated hunters maybe would work out pretty good if only they would try some of that. However, as it stands right now, if you go on state lands (public lands) to "create a brushpile, cut out invasive plants, selective cut or freed up heritage apple trees", you most likely would encounter a series of fines that would put a significant dent in your life savings.

Just a heads-up for movie fans. If you get a chance to see the movie "War Horse", I would highly recommend it. Our local theater seldom gets much of a crowd, but even into it's second week, the theater was almost filled. I really can't remember the last time i've seen the whole audience applauding after watching a movie, but that's what happened with this one. Obviously, I was not the only one that enjoyed it. Check it out ...... you won't be disappointed.

Actually the baiting law preceeds the discovery of CWD in NYS. However the no-feeding law was a direct result of the CWD concerns. I believe that's the way it all went down.