Doc

Well, I think the southern zone deer seasons are also fine the way they are. Season lengths and locations are probably right at the optimum right now. That's probably why no one who makes those kinds of decisions is seriously proposing any changes at this time. I know, we all think we have a better idea and for all kinds of different reasons. Somebody earlier had it right ..... the only way shorter seasons will have any significant impact on harvests is when more and more hunters quit in disgust over being charged more and getting less. Doc

Oh so you don't like the words I used to phrase the questions. Well, that certainly makes the difference. Now I understand why you lost control of all civility and acted like a jerk..... : .

The question that always comes to my mind is, how do they know that that all the human scent and other signs of human presence is not a threat in the yard, but get withing 100 yards of them out in the woods and that same scent will send them running away, snorting, and in a panic. Doc

Actually, that is incorrect. Crossbows are illegal for hunting (soon to change) but they are legal to sell, buy, own, and shoot in NYS.

Parrish Hill Road is a super twisted, corkscrew road. That part of Hi Tor is directly across (east) from South Hill. Both hills are real steep, and the roads for both of them are no prize. In fact the road coming off the south end of South Hill is downright scary when it's covered with snow.

Well, I must say that you seem to lose control pretty easy, and you certainly get awfully defensive about absolutely nothing. I get the impression that you read the first few words and then went berserk with assumptions of what the rest of the post was about without ever reading it. Your irrational responses certainly seem to indicate that. The reason that I say that you never read beyond the first few words is that there is nowhere in that post where I even hinted that I was "telling people what is wrong with QDM". As a matter of fact I have absolutely no problem with QDM or those that practice it. I do occasionally ask a few questions about the concepts, which I assume is still allowed in this forum. Since I do not consider myself to be an "expert" on the subject I do have to ask a few questions now and then. If your understanding of the science behind QDM cannot withstand the scrutiny of a couple of questions without going postal, then I suggest you either get better aquainted with whatever it is that you think you know, or look into taking some medication for your condition.

Here is something I got sucked into one time. We bought a balled and burlaped blue spruce for a Christmas tree. It was about 5' tall and had a pretty heavy root-ball. It lived in a washtub in the livingroom. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Since the tree was still living, there were no dropped needles and no potential for a fire hazard. It was one of the most attractive Christmas trees we ever had. Everything was great until the time came for it to go. Did you ever try to dig a planting hole for a 5' tree in January? Well, a little pick-ax work finally got me down where the dirt wasn't frozen, but I've got to say that the planting job was a bit less than perfect...lol. Not to mention the fact that I had assistance bringing the tree in, but when it came time to go out I was on my own. That sucker was heavy and I had quite a ways to go with it. I never did that again, but today we have a 30' blue spruce in our yard that looks real nice and is a constant reminder of that Christmas. Of course my memories of the whole thing aren't quite as fond as my wife's Doc

There may also be another problem with just arbitrarily shortening the gun season. What if you live in an area that needs a bit of population thinning. Setting the season shorter takes that management option away. Here again, we always suggest passing laws or making revisions based on what we see in our township or our own unique acreage where we hunt without ever acknowledging that what we see may not be, and probably is not, representative of conditions anywhere else. While not perfect, the best way to manage populations is thru the existing permit system. We may not always agree with the conclusions of the DEC relative to that system, but it is the only management tool that we have that takes into consideration local conditions, habitat, and existing herd populations and does it as well as practicality and resources will allow. Arbitrary revision of season lengths considers none of that. Doc

If it were me, I would go to a local butcher or two and ask them where they buy their knives and other butchering supplies. I've got a feeling they have worked out what is best a long time ago. They should know, their livelihood depends on it.

If you want to see gunhunters descend on Albany in a full riot turn-out, just start shortening the gun season.....especially after just slapping a huge license increase on them. It doesn't matter whether hunters actually use all of the season that's available right now or not. I do not believe that any of them are in a friendly frame of mind to put up with having some of their hunting rights trimmed. And just what would really be accomplished anyway. I'm not sure just how it is in other areas of the state, but In our area, during the last two weeks of gun season I don't believe I heard more than a half dozen shots in the whole valley, so what's the big impact to the deer population. For what it's worth, I believe you would cause big problems in the hunting community and not impact the harvest numbers enough to even notice.

Lol .... I'm kind of sorry I brought it up at all. Geeze... I don't want to get old nyantler going psycho on me again by devoting a whole thread to it. I think I'll just let it die a natural death here and forget about it. Doc

Yeah, all my life I have been a hill hunter and have hunted most of the Naples and Bristol area. So I am always paying attention to how I would drag a deer back out. That's why I always hunt in places where a downhill drag is the only possibility. I'm way past being able to drag deer up any serious hills.....lol. The 2-vehicle trick is something that I have use many times over the years and it allows me to hunt areas where a lot of people wouldn't think of going. The South Hill area is one that I never tried hunting. That one could be quite a challenge. Doc

I have always understood that the 1:1 gender ratio (or 2:1 ... other opinions) was an optimum herd health and optimum breeding success requirement. Perhaps I don't have that correct. That's why I am asking. The urban and suburban settings have herds that are some of the very healthiest and ever-expanding herds of the day, but don't really have that ratio or even close. Based on that, I thought this 1:1 ratio thing at least deserved a question and a bit of discussion.

My-my such an aggressive reaction. You really need a course in anger management ..... lol. Look, I am simply asking questions. If you don't actually know the answer, there is no need to go postal about it. I'm hoping to hear from reasonable people about why they think the gender ratio thing doesn't seem to apply in urban and suburban settings. I thought this line of questions might be a bit controversial, but I didn't realize that I could not ask a question or two without some flaming psycho getting his panties all twisted in a bunch.

Sorry ..... I didn't get it.

Oh, what is a nice calm thread like this one without some ole' curmudgeon trying to add some controversy. ;D I have been watching quite a few of these monster urban buck posts and they all have two things in common: 1- They all seem to have a near out-of-control doe population 2- They all have huge .... huge ..... record book bucks. Does anyone but me see the peculiarity that all the "experts" tell us that in order to have monster bucks, you have to beat the hell out of your doe herd until they are nearly non-existant or until there is something close to a 1:1 gender ratio, and yet with these urban and suburban deer herds all that stuff seems to just go out the window? Is there something unique about deer that dine on azalias, lilacs and rhododendrons? Obviously, the bucks get older in such places as long as they don't get squashed by a truck, car or bus, but where does all this doe super-management come into play when indeed in urban and suburban places there really isn't any management and gender ratios are as whacked out as any wild environment or worse. Truly the places where these bucks are found do not have anything like a 1:1 gender ratio. Perhaps another question that might go along with the above would be, since urban and suburban poulations are either unhunted or under-hunted, I would think that trends that you see there might actually closely represent what a true gender dispersement might be in an uncontrolled natural state where hunters are not in the picture. How come there still seems to be way more does than bucks. It would appear to me that the natural gender ratio is not anything like 1:1. I need some help making sense of all that. Doc

Actually, Hi Tor is huge and there are several parking lots. I do think that if you wanted to avoid the crowds, and had a lot of energy, you ought to be able to get away from most of the hunters. However, it is a place where you might want to keep track of how much uphill you might have to drag a deer if you are successful. It's pretty easy to get sucked in by the great views and the "deery-looking" country you will find there. If you're not careful, you might find yourself with a dead deer and a mile of so of steep uphill drag ahead of you. Here's a thought: Check out the topo maps of the area. Mark some of the parking spots on the maps. Two guys with 2 cars. Park one at the bottom of the hill and drive the other to the top of the hill and still-hunt your way down zig-zagging along the side hill. That's a great way to get to know a section of it with a much easier drag if you do get something. You also have a good chance of finding area that might scare off other hunters because of the hill. Doc

Somebody found an ignore button? Where's that located ;D ?

Spleen works pretty good. I used to check by seeing how easy the blade went through fingers. I did that about 10 times and then ......

I'll be out entertaining the coyote and fox population soon.

That guy holding the crossbow may well be a member of the NY Bowhunters> :-* I suppose it is possible for a DEC officer to be a member of NYB, however according to the caption below the picture, the crossbow is simply a weapon he confiscated during an arrest. I really wouldn't try to make any more of it than that .... lol. Doc

No, a whole bunch of years ago, I invested in a genuine, official, bona-fide, fake tree. It works out pretty good. We only take the delicate ornaments off, and leave lights and everything else on it when we stuff it away in the basement. Christmas rolls around, carry the thing upstairs (weighs almost nothing), throw on the ornaments and .... POOF! ...... instant christmas tree.....lol.

Fortunately, most laws are aimed at a minority. I should say it is fortunate that those that caused the law to be implemented are in the minority. But when you look at most laws, they are in response to actions and attitudes of a minority. That's nothing new and it's not unique to hunting.

I guess I'm one of those guys that feels best going afield with a big knife. I carry a military style Kabar knife that can be used in a survival situation if need be. Unless you are going to carry an assortment of knives, I want one that will perform any cutting function that I may encounter on a hunt. Often, one of those functions may be to trim out a fairly stout branch. Field dressing game is only one function of a hunting knife. Doc

He uses quite a bit different technique than I do. He's using a back and forth sawing sort of action.I generally move the knife intothe edge for almost all of the sharpening and then for just the last couple of strokes gently pull the knife away from the edge. This usually results in a razor sharp edge. Obviously this guy has a lot more experience than I do, so next time I sharpen one of my knives, I'll be trying his technique. I think I understand what he is talking about when he compares his edge to the wavelength of light. When he says that he cannot see the edge of a properly sharpened knife, I think that is something that I have gone by for years. When I use a strong light and look right down straight at the edge, I don't want to see anything reflecting back at me. I think that is what he was saying. Absolutely if there is any surface reflecting back, the edge has a long way to go before it is anywhere near sharp. However, what I have found is that just because I can't see the edge doesn't mean you're done. That's just a quick check. My final test is to lightly drag my thumb across the edge. There is a certain feel of drag when the edge is done. I've read of all kinds of tests involving paper, and rubber bands, fingernails, etc., but I have the most confidence in checking it with my thumb. So how do you guys put a good edge on a knife or broadhead? And how do you decide that the blade is sharp enough? Doc