Doc

they appear similiar in many regards. I wuld think anyone capable of using a gun to hunt could operate a crossbow. There are cocking aids. weight and firing operation are very similiar ...model depending. How cheap are those cocking aids? I don't think they are standard equipment on the average crossbow are they. Are they one hand operated? Also, if I had only one arm (typical disability even with shoulder and back problems), I might chose to use a pistol, or even a rifle would be a whole lot easier to load and hold. Also, I would think that handguns and rifles might be a lot easier to transport for someone with the use of just one arm/hand. I know that crossbows are very awkward in terms of having lateral instability (side to side rocking) added into the mix. Frankly, if I had the use of only one arm or hand, the crossbow probably would not be a very good option compared to any firearm and especially pistols.

I'm not sure how this thread got onto food plots, but I will admit that I am no big fan of food plots for a lot of the reasons that have already been mentioned. However, I will say that I am getting a bit concerned about the maturing of NYS's habitat. I have been in my chunk of NY for just about all of my life, and have had a unique opportunity to see land use changes over a big chunk of years. I now walk through some chunks of woods that were open fields back in my childhood. I have seen areas that were almost exclusively active family farms turn back through some prime deer country and then continue on into heavy over-story habitat that really isn't all that great for a lot of the critters. So, I guess if there are those that want to keep some small chunks of land open and producing and call them food plots, I can't argue with that a whole lot.

Lol ..... This thread has spun right off into outer space. I don't think it is about the video anymore. Just random flailing around and insults .... ;D . Kind of fun, but doesn't seem to have much of a point anymore : .

Why does this stop with just crossbows? There is bound to be many disabilities that cannot be compensated for by a crossbow. Why are there no provisions in this bill for people in that more severe bracket of handicap to use firearms during bow seasons.

That's what I was thinking. As far as I know nobody got him. It was kind of weird but those small game hunters were the only hunters I know of back there even all the way through gun season. So I think he'll be back in there next year.

I have always over-estimated my ability to drag out a deer. I've done that ever since I was a kid. I always wind up hunting a lot farther back in than I should, or not paying enough attention to whether there will be a lot of uphill in the drag out. It's just not something you tend to think about until the deer is down and laying at your feet. Then all I can say to myself is, "My God, what have you gone and done?" I ran into a small game hunter that was laughing at me bow hunting way the heck back in and he asked me how the heck I would get a deer out of there if I got one. Well, a few weeks later during gun season I found out that I can still do it. But then it wasn't any 291 pound deer ..... . If it had been that big, I might have had to eat it there instead of taking it home. ;D I think I am getting to the age where I had better begin factoring in a little bit of reality though ..... lol.

Jackwagon ..... I like that one. I have no idea what a jackwagon is, and I don't suppose anyone else does either. Those ads have got to be some of the best on TV. My current favorite is the woodchucks chucking wood. ;D Doc

Actually, my version of still-hunting is something that would take you quite a while of watching to figure out whether I am still-hunting or stand hunting. I think the best description of it is a very, very slow moving stand hunt ..... lol. Boredom? ..... I have never experienced that with either method. Impatience maybe, but never boredom. Doc

I was watching a hunting program the other day where the host was talking about how it is absolutely necessary to pass on those 2-1/2 and 3-1/2 year old bucks if you are ever going to get a decent buck worth harvesting. So the answer to your question is there apparently is no such thing as "far enough" ....... lol.

That's the weird part ..... there are squirrels all over the hill. I never understood why those guys climbed all the way up that hill (and it is a cardiac tester) and then walked all the way back just to hunt the same amount of squirrels that are down at the bottom. I do put in some hours squirrel hunting before bow season, but once I have a good buck located, I try to stay clear of any stand areas in that area until I'm ready to hunt. If I have to go in there for further scouting, it is done extremely careful and quiet. I'm hoping that it all was just one really ugly coincidence that won't be repeated next year.

Sounds good! Now all I have to do is catch the fish .... lol.

Got any instructions and/or recipes for making those "fish nuggets"?

It's hard to have any "lows" at all when I'm bowhunting ..... BUT .... I did have some stands that turned out to be pure frustration. On three different occasions, I had a pair of small-game hunters that zeroed in on one of my prime stands and decided to set up for squirrel hunting during some prime hours, just banging away while I was trying to work on a very nice buck in the area. They seemed to get a shot about every 15 minutes or so which I'm sure was very effective at turning back any deer that was thinking about coming into that area. Needless to say, when all that banging started up, daylight buck movement was about the last thing that was about to happen. The amazing thing is that I was over a mile from the nearest road, so I thought I was far away from that kind of interference. It was just one of those things that occasionally happen when you're hunting state land. They have a right to hunt wherever they want, and most likely didn't even know I was trying to hunt there. I'm not sure what I could have done different and I'm not sure how I'm going to avoid the same thing happening next year. That was where the buck was hanging out and apparently it must have been a place that was particularly good for squirrels too ..... lol.

Not sure whether there was a cause and effect situation there. The closing of the sight was abrupt and without any warning or explanation, so I don't know if the site owner died, stepped in quick-sand, moved away, went to prison, got lost on an African safari, developed amnesia, blew up his computer, gave up hunting, or why he shut it down. I wouldn't even guess. Actually I am very curious about the demise of the site. That was one of the strangest things I have ever seen. It was a super active forum, and seemed to be functioning ok. But I guess nobody knows or nobody is going to say. Probably will never know.

Been there ..... Done that ...... don't do it any more.

I don't even like pictures of snakes .... lol. No way I would want to be out shooting them ...... Yuck! Indoor shooting going on in my basement already. 15 yard shot and a very tiny set of bullseyes. One arrow per aiming spot. You can stay pretty sharp with that kind of practice.

Yeah, it looks like when the County takes ownership of tax foreclosed land, they are opting to not relinquishing mineral rights when they auction it off. I suppose there is nothing legally saying that they have to. If mining and energy companies can buy your mineral rights that would seem to mean that they can be separated from the deed. So I guess that is what Broome County is doing with their tax foreclosed properties. It does seem a bit out of character for a government to be involved in such things. But apparently Broome County residents let them get away with it.

In the words of that great American, Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along".

Yeah, it's winter ...... it's cold and miserable ...... the roads are slippery ...... the days are short ...... It looks ugly out there ..... I might have to get out there and plow and shovel pretty soon ...... That salt coating on my car is not real appealing ..... heating bills keep going up every year .... I can't shoot my bow with all the heavy clothes necessary to survive outdoors .... I don't ski .... I don't skate .... I don't own a snowmobile .... What have I forgot? . I hate it!!! The only thing worse than winter up here would be the snakes that live down where you don't get winter ..... lol.

Actually, I don't think we ever found out what caused the demise of the old site do we? I never did hear why it suddenly turned up dead.

Well the good news is that there is no requirement that any member of any advocacy group needs to agree with every word, thought or notion of that group. If we expect that, then I guess there would not be any advocacy groups.....lol. I'll bet there are some things where I don't see eye-to-eye with them too. However those things are totally irrelevant to the reasons that I belong to the NRA. My membership is for one single purpose, which is to prolong the well-being of the Constitution's second amendment. And that is a job that the NRA has done better than any individual or organization in existance. So whether they have a problem with Jim Zumbo, or somebody in the NRA likes to pal-around with Ted Nugent, or somebody in the organization made some statement about "jack-booted thugs", I could care less. I sincerely believe they are the only reason that we have private gun ownership today. Without the NRA, the Kennedys, Schumers, Bradys, Boxers, etc, etc, would have long ago crippled or deleted the second amendment and all gun ownership rights that goes along with it. That fact alone gives them my support. They are serving the function that I require. In terms of looking for common ground, that is just another way of preaching appeasment. I have no interest in that. And don't for a second imagine that the anti-gun side believes in that either. Their incremental elimination of private gun ownership such as the magazine restrictions that you suggested is just one more item that falls in their version of zero tolerance for guns. The NRA sees through that tactic and others and refuses to play that game. That by the way is not an attitude that has developed just since 1969. The NRA was never any different regarding the zero-tolerance reaction to second amendment encroachments. Thank-Heavens!

I don't think there is anything wrong with having personal preferences and beliefs about what is defined in your own mind as "true hunting". Sure enough, I have standards and acceptable practices that are considerably more limiting than just what the law will allow. I'll bet all of us do. There are definitely some activities that travel under the definition of hunting, that I will never do. I would be surprised if that wasn't the case with all members here to one extent or another.

Hah! We are downright cordial compared to some of those people. ;D

I messed up the bears. Have you ever seen those old movies that show the clothes lines in the big cities that have pulleys to run them back and forth. That's what I incorporated in my bird feeder system. We have a raised ranch, so I ran this pulley and cable thing out to a tree. So now my bird feeder is suspended about 12 feet off the ground. Haven't had a problem with bears since. Doc

Sure we can apply that same logic to a lot of features of privately owned weapons. Do we have to show a need before we can justify ownership. Do we need guns that have multiple shot capabilities? There are those that argue that we don't need any guns. Where does that line of restrictive reasoning end? There is something basically flawed with that kind of definition of what we should be allowed to own. That is one reason why I belong to the NRA. With a zero tolerance attitude, they fight this kind of incremental encroachment on gun owner rights. And by the way, since when have the needs of sportsmen become the sole criteria for gun owner's rights? That's kind of a narrow and incorrect interpretation of 2nd amendment issues, wouldn't you say? I don't remember anything in that amendment that talks about sportsmen. Doc