Doc

Actually that is just one of many gaffes that he has made in this campaign. What it does point out is that he is not real skilled in the smooth and polished double-speak of politics, and probably would not be real good at hood-winking the public and getting away with graft and corruption. I would count that as one of the positives in a candidate. However, it is a fact that all that really doesn't matter if you can't get elected. What I am hoping for is that the voters will develop this stubborn "protest attitude" and will vote for Paladino simply to send a message to Albany that they do have to govern with our votes in mind, rather than simply ignoring the constituents and conducting the state's business for their own personal benefit. Man that is a long-shot, but the alternative is to set up another bunch of years of watching NYS become the laughing stock of the country with more of the same kind of people. Doc

So what you're saying is that there really is no way of determining the legality of those bucks when it comes to satisfying some theoretical antler spread restriction that you are supporting. Your real solution is to simply wait until a deer goes by that satisfies your own personal goals and the antler spread stuff is just a bunch of irrelevant nonsense that most of the time can't be determined anyway. Well, I guess we agree on that. Doc

That's a heck of great video. I wasn't expecting the harvest pictures. I thought it was just some great footage of bucks working a scrape. Surprise ending. By the way, what was the make and model of that camera. It sure does take some great pictures! Doc

Yup! It ranges the distance to the far antler and then the distance to the near antler and then subtracts the two.

Comfy treestand???? .....Heck no. I sit in my comfy ground blind. I don't go up in those trees anymore. Doc

See, now I happen to know you are wrong. When I ran up to them with my Stanley retractable tape measure, they measured an average of 17.2398". I think I would have to learn the art of snap shooting if an antler spread rule were implemented. First I would have to get their attention with a whistle or by hollering so that they would look straight at me and I could see how the spread compared to the distance across their ears, and then get an arrow into them before they took off. : Doc

I do believe that deer do "learn". I have seen them change patterns due to human disturbances. I have seen it claimed that deer respond to the noise of a feeder that's on a timer. Deer know how to find their way back to an oak woods without having to stumble on to it each day. I don't think that it is scent that tells them how to get back there. There are also danger responses that are learned from their mothers. They seem to be able to repeat those foot stomps and head bobs and that stiff legged walk without ever getting them mixed up. There must be some memory being used there, at least at first until it becomes engrained behavior. After all, I have never seen them forget and get that stuff all mixed up and start stomping their head or bobbing there legs ..... lol. If they can learn, they must have memory. Doc

What is the spread measurement on these deer?

An excellent question! A bit more recently than 40 years, the New York Outdoor News has highlighted numerous articles detailing the deep cuts dictated by Paterson, so it has not really been a secret. And even today, with the latest Grannis developments, it is the environmentalists and the "greenies" that are raising heck about the situation. I haven't heard any sportsmen making a sound so far. So, when you ask where were the sportsmen while all this was going on, I don't have an answer. Doc

If those guys are able to handle the problem by themselves, they will be the first that I have ever heard of that could. As I understand it, even with totally open hunting, it is nearly impossible to eradicate the things. And as a matter of fact, the fact that they are now starting to show up in many different parts of the state sort of indicates that there are a lot more of these farmers who think they can handle the situation on their own than there are farmers that can actually do it. Doc

Sounds like a scalp disease contracted from a deer. Doc

I'm from down in the hill-country, with all the valleys and crosswise ravines, etc. Just all the features to create thermals and all kinds of wind-baffles, and it is a rare event that you don't see the wind see-sawing back and forth. In fact, these stronger winds really do keep the winds on more of a steady course than some of the more gentle breezy days. Anyway, I totally understand your frustration with winds that don't behave. I also share the frustration of the weatherman never being able to predict wind directions. I think they always are talking about the wind directions up at that nice flat Rochester airport....lol. Doc

If landowners wait until these things are common everyday residents of their property, they will be unwitting accomplices to establishment of an environmental disaster that will impact their use and enjoyment of their own land forever. I don't doubt that there are a lot of landowners with that kind of short-sightedness. Unfortunately, if they are not willing or able to eradicate these critters from getting established on their property themselves, I would hope that they would not only welcome those that are willing to help, but actually go out of their way to solicit help at solving the problem before there winds up no solution to it at all. Well, that's what we would hope, but the reality of it all is more likely what you have stated. Until they actually see the environmental damage first hand (which is usually too late), they will continue to view hunters as being the greater evil than the hogs. Doc

I don't think that the deer will evacuate the area .... lol. However, they may take on that defensive invisible mode as happens when gun season rolls around. I say might, because I don't really know. It probably all depends on how intensive and frequent the waterfowl hunting takes place. I do know from past experience, that before the opening day of gun deer season is anywhere near completed, the deer take on a completely different attitude and do indeed take on a highly secretive nocturnal pattern of feeding and movement and even rut, that is not broken unless the deer are kicked in the butt by hunters. Doc

"The immediate cause was the leak of a memo, sent by DEC to the Budget Division, that laid out in stark terms the possible consequences of the planned layoffs of more than 200 agency employees. The unsigned, undated memo -- the subject of a front-page story in Tuesday's Times Union -- warned that fewer polluted sites would be cleaned up, fewer regulators would be available to oversee the potential natural gas drilling boom in the Marcellus Shale, and stocking of game fish could halt." ------------------------------------------------------------ Well, there you have it. Somebody leaked the memo that explained what the results of the on-going Paterson dismantling of the DEC. Had this story not been leaked, I'm sure the whole situation could have been forced under control and Grannis would have been back in a properly muzzled condition. My only question about all this is where has all this Grannis "back-talk" been during all the previous, more severe, hack-jobs on the DEC that have been going on since Paterson assumed the governorship? Was the end to his silence because he no longer could quietly get away from shuffling resources from fish and game activities to his more favored environmental activities without public notice? I will give him credit for finally speaking up, even though it appears that it was an accident. But where was all this concern for all the other slashes, when the cutting was primarily in the areas of fish and game? At any rate, it appears that the heat is on the issue ...... finally. Just the other night as I was listening to the debate among the candidates for governor, I was amazed to hear several of the participants mention the horrible deteriorated state of the DEC and the fact that they have been rendered completely inneffective. And now we have this development which is causing some heavy-duty piling on by environmental groups. So, within just a couple of days, there has finally been some very high-profile, super public, attention brought to bear on the dismantling of the DEC. That's good news ..... I think. I think that the state spending has to be curtailed on all fronts, but I do not want to see the DEC take on the lion's share of all of that simply because they are an easy mark. And so far, up until the last couple of days, it appears that they have been a very easy mark. Doc

Always tinkering!! I love it. That's pretty slick. Like you say, all you need now is a deer to hang. Make sure you take a video of the first use. That'll be pretty neat to watch. Doc

I got rained off my stand this afternoon. Wound up pretty soaked and had to leave early. This morning I was a little smarter. It was raining when I got up so I stayed in. AND THIS STINKING WIND!!!!! Is it ever going to quit? The only thing I have heard on the forcast is that it is supposed to keep up until early next week when it is supposed to get worse. Doc

I carry three. Why?? ..... Because they come in three-packs. ;D I dedicate three broadheads to practice. I keep three broadheads in the package on the shop wall peg-board as spares. I use three broadheads to equip my hunting arrows. I hope I never get into a situation where I need more than three arrows ........ but then, you never know. Doc

It does make you wonder ...... Deer are creatures of habit (mostly) and one would think that it takes some kind of memory in order to establish habits. But that's just a guess. Chances are that the deer that do have a good memory are the live ones ..... lol. Doc

Being critical of poachers is not quite the same as being critical of hunters. Frankly, if there are people out there poaching deer, I would hope that all hunters would be critical of that. As far as the odd shot here and there, it's true that there is an awful lot of legal gun activities available at this time of year, and I suspect that all or nearly all shots are probably for legitimate reasons. That's not to say that poaching doesn't happen. It's just that it is likely not as prevalent as some might imagine. However, if someone suspects that some odd shot at some odd time might be poaching, I don't see any reason to jump all over their case as being critical of hunters. Actually, I like the idea that people are on the look-out for suspicious activity. Doc

I Don't, and I have food plots.... Big different from a 2 acre plot and a pile of corn, especially from the CWD reasons that NY uses for banning baiting. Lol.... I found that out last night. I have an area between the house yard and the road that is about 2 acres of lawn that I keep mowed. It is surrounded on three sides by pines and thicket. It does act like a food plot even though it is only lawn grass. It attracts deer so I set up a pop-up ground blind tucked into the pines and brushed in perfectly. Ok ..... that's a great set-up except that I watched deer come out about 70 yards away that never did get any closer all evening. Not hardly like baiting at all is it? Not even close! Doc

I decided to go down to a stand in in front of our house last night that overlooks a small field that I keep mowed that is surrounded by pine trees and thicket. During the afternoon hunt, I invented a new game. I call it "Name That Noise". I found out that our neighbors are some pretty noisy people. First off, the ones across the road had a pair of machines going that I figured were the mother of all leaf-blowers. What a racket! they had those things whining over there all afternoon, and nearly right up to quitting time. Meanwhile, My next-door neighbor must have been working outside, because he had a radio blaring away while he was thumping and banging around doing things that I couldn't even imagine. Now I know why I usually head up the hill to do my hunting ..... lol. By the way, even with all of this crazy circus of noise going on, a doe and fawn did step out to eat, but they were on the other side and never came within shooting distance. Doc

Small game season is open.

Actually, it is my trail-cams that tell me how impractical antler spread rules would be. I have quite a few pictures of bucks starting to accumulate, and just as in hunting situations, I have yet to get one that has the deer's head turned toward me so that I would have even a remote chance of estimating the antler spread. The same thing is true in hunting situations. If the buck turns it's head toward me, it is probably because I screwed up in some way, and the very next move on his part will likely be to blow out of the area never again to be seen. It seems like every thing I ever hear regarding AR involves something designed to frustrate hunters. This antler spread thing is a yet a new level in making that frustration happen. Doc

Nothing exciting to report. Having a bit of a problem making contact ..... Ha-ha. Tonite I saw a couple of does and a fawn charging up the hill, pushed by something. Of course they were about 40 yards away, and got downwind and went through their foot stomping, head bobbing and eventually the big blow to let the world know not to come into my section of woods. Meanwhile, the trail cameras are showing all kinds of deer including a pretty nice 8 point. All that occurs at 9:00 pm, 2:00 am, 3:00 am, and all other kinds of after dark times. Doc