Doc

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

I do.

drilling for gas on the property brings in some extra coin to the land owner correct? i am in no means looking to make money off the property and i would hate to have anyone driling anywhere near the land i end up buying... i want to keep this land for hunting and recreational purposes only. somthing that i can have to retreat to for a little get away and to manage for hunting season. thats really it. i appriciate all the info so far guys! keep it coming. Geno- Today, your only interest in the land may be hunting and recreation. However, always keep your options open as much as possible because things can change. You never know when you might all of a sudden be surrounded by new residences and the value of the land sky-rockets to the point where you would be foolish not to sell. You may find out that some land uses or neighbors adjoining your property are something or someone that you would just as soon not put up with anymore and you might want to sell. You may find out that you have to re-locate and no longer have use for the land. There are potential pollution issues that could render your land worthless (speaking of gas drilling). There could come a time when your financial situation demands that you sell the property. You may want to sell to have some cash to buy a different, more attractive parcel somewhere else. There are a jillion reasons why you may decide at a later date to sell the land. If you treat the land like a speculative investment, you can do your best to make sure that your money grows in value instead of taking a beating if you ever do sell. So it is always wise to look at land (any land bought for any purpose) from a speculators eyes and buy property with profit potential even if you have no intentions of turning over the property immediately. And it's always wise to take moves to ensure that the value will be as safeguarded as possible. Just remember that land is an asset and a part of your net worth and should be managed with that in mind. That is why I am cautioning against any view of land purpose that is kept too narrow. Gas well drilling that has been mentioned may very well be an impact that you want to have control of (regarding the issue of ownership of mineral rights), especially when talking about a small piece of property like 50 acres. Such activity could impact the ability to site a house(s) at some point in the future and could be a negative impact on the land's value. I think you want control of that. Anyway, just some thoughts and reaction to your comment about the land only needing to satisfy hunting and recreational needs.

I wasn't ready for that ending ....... Ha-ha. Really funny video By the way, what do they intend to do with that gavel .... drive fence posts? Doc

I guess people say a lot of things until they actually see an example of it. Politics is an art. Candidates have to have some natural talent towards it otherwise they can do far more damage to their cause than they ever intended. Paladino simply was not cut out for that kind of work. It's too bad, but someone should have recognized that fact before all the attention and support went his way. We certainly were left with a couple of real ugly choices. Like I said, the Republicans and Conservatives gave away what should have been a simple win for them. However, on a positive side, Paladino did highlight the anger in the way government is conducted. No, he didn't scare anyone by making the election close, but I think the liberal NYS politicians did recognize a force that has the capability of growing. I think they are all pretty happy that they dodged the bullet by having a politically challenged candidate to run against. I think it is also true that he successfully got his message across and forced his opponent o pick it up and carry it forward. It is my belief that without Paladino and the Tea Party, a lot of the more conservative rhetoric would not be coming out of Cuomo's mouth.

That is a pretty tiny red light, and just like treestands, it is away from the deer's normal line of sight. Just look at the way some of those deer have their neck twisted up to look directly at the camera. Something significant is getting their attention.

There is no question that those deer know where the camera is and they seem to be looking right at it in many of the pictures. And yet the camera is infra-red with no flash. What is it that is tipping them off? I bought infra-red cameras for "stealth" purposes and avoided the flash cameras because I didn't want the deer to know there was any such strange equipment along the trail. It looks like I could have just gotten the regular flash camera and gotten better quality pictures without any difference as far as deer recognition is concerned. Your pictures clearly show that. Doc

What is sad is that Paladino was the best that the Republican party could come up with. Along with a lot of others, I had to hold my nose to vote for him. The whole campaign was an absolute joke with the outcome being known months before the voting. Yes much of that was due to the liberal posture of the average NYS voter, but we know from the past that Republicans can be elected here. We also know that the opportunity was there for that to happen this year with a severly wounded Democrat party and Paterson at the helm. The opportunity was completely squandered with the nomination of a guy who was totally ill-prepared for the campaign. The Republicans (and my Conservative Party) gave away the election. So here we are living with the consequences of our own folly. What do you do now? Well, I look forward at the state of the state and try to figure out how to straighten out the dangerous mess that will sink us all if it continues to be ignored or attention gets side-tracked. I'm listening to the Democrat, and he seems to be the only one drawing the proper level of attention to the problems of the state. He's the one, saying a whole lot more clearly, the same notions that Paladino was trying to say in his blundering way. This guy has stolen the issues, but is concentrating on those issues none-the-less and carrying them forward. Not only that, but it does seem that he might just have a slim chance of selling Paladino's message. Certainly he has a much more broadbased support from both sides of the aisle and just might be able to pull it off. Our future financial condition (both as a state and individually) count on his success. Considering the consequences of failure, I think it would be foolish to let blind partisanship stand in the way of solutions. I'm not ready to distract the issues by worrying about his girlfriend or any other nit-picky type of distraction. There's important and vital work to be done. Yes, keep an eye on him, but be sure that that doesn't turn into sabotage. We really can't afford that. Doc

No, they weren't outlaws. There were no laws concerning hunting methods. They simply used whatever methods that were used at the time to prevent one particular concern that today's hunters don't have ....... hunger. Their very existance depended on their abilities as hunters. In their own context of the day, they absolutely were true hunters and a lot better at their hunting than we ever will be given the limitations of their weapons. In terms of their understanding of the prey and the habitat that they lived in, they were a whole lot more in tune with all things wild than any of us will ever be. Yes I would say that they were indeed the epitome of true hunters in any sense of the definition. Maybe today we have the luxury of not approving of their methods but then we aren't in the same circumstances as they were. And that all doesn't mean that they didn't know their craft or were breaking any rules or regulations of their time. I wonder how many of today's hunters could actually live off the land as they did? I sure would hate to feed our family with what I got this year ;D .

When the food plotting rage all began, everyone claimed that food plots were just a benevolent activity with no other concern than that of helping to feed the deer. Lol .... I think it probably goes a bit farther than that ..... don't you think? Well, today hunters are a little less shy about saying that their plots are for drawing and holding deer in their hunting areas for hunting purposes. I would have to assume that as part of that, you would have a result (intentional or not) of drawing deer off neighboring lands. I suppose that's just a necessary consequence of getting involved in the feeding patterns of a local herd. What the heck, if he wants the deer back he can put in a bigger and better food plot .... ;D

I have to agree with that. It takes a bit of study and understanding of your prey to be able to position yourself within 20 yards (in the case of bowhunting) of the one spot that a deer will go, at a specific point in time with wind and cover conditions just right. This is particularly challenging when you consider the amount of alternate acreage where they could be. That is a bit of the familiarity and intimate understanding of the prey that I spoke of earlier that is all part of being a true hunter. And yes it is usually the result of a lot of pre-work, sign reading, observation and analysis. That's all a significant part of hunting too. In most cases that set of successful circumstances are not the result of luck, and the correct set of circumstances is also one of the things that one "hunts" for in order to provide success.

If that's your opinion, you're entitled to it. As I've already indicated in my previous posts, I have a few opinions that are "personal preference". I won't say that they are common beliefs or that they are even correct in the mainstream. They are just a product of upbringing and a very personal feeling toward hunting. My feeling that hunting must be totally a product of my own doing alone is just such an opinion. I don't say that anyone else has to abide by it, but it is just my individual feeling toward hunting. You are certainly entitled to the same kinds of individual feelings.

Well, here's my take on the whole Cuomo thing. I didn't vote for him because of his publicly noted idealogy. We lost .... he won. I'm not happy with that, but that's the way it worked out. Now I hear this leftist pinko commie making speeches that make him sound far more fiscally conservative than good ol' Paladino. Ok, so let's see just whether the actions and results follow along with the current words and attitudes. At this point, we don't have a lot of options anyway....lol. We've got plenty of time to bad-mouth him if he turns out to be a liar and a con artist. But for the time being, as long as he is taking positions that need to be taken, I'm just going to sit back and watch and listen. Temporarily at least, it may be useful to have him operating from a position of strength. He's got an awful lot of pinkos in his own party that are going to have to be dealt with if he is going to succeed with the spending slashing that he needs to do for the state to survive. I'm not too interested in interfering with that part of the process by nit-picking him to death ...... yet. It's going to be interesting to watch the fiscal condition of NYS begin to twist the normal democrat liberal idealogy. Kind of hard on those libs to have to begin to adopt conservative methods particularly when it is the head of their party that has to push conservative financial values the hardest. I'm actually kind of enjoying this a bit ..... lol. Let's just see where it all leads.

Thanks for the invite, but for me hunting is still a contest between me and the deer without the team approach. It's just a personal requirement for my satisfaction of the hunt and has been for quite a few years now. Win, lose, or draw, I want my hunts to be the results of my own efforts.

I'm certain that all these dead animals are the results of alien experimentation.

That's funny. They all always looked the same to me, but there is some real significant differences.

Oh Boy!!! ...... I hear there are some ladies looking for you!!!! :-X