Doc

Hey, I want to play too. How about this: If a weapon kills by laceration and hemorrhage it belongs in bow season. If it kills by lethal tissue damage due to destructive impact, it belongs in gun season. I'll bet that if you cleaned up the wording and put it in legalese it would make these so-called "air-bows fit right into the bow season along with all kinds of nifty things in the future.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could declare ourselves king and make up the rules according to whatever is going on in our brain as logic for where each weapon belongs. Just like the crossbow arguments, that is exactly the way this "air-bow" discussion is going. The news is that that's not the way it all works. We all like to issue our little definitions of the features and limitations of legitimate "bow season" equipment. But for anyone who has paid any attention to the evolution of what winds up in bow season, these little arguments have little to do with the outcomes. If it makes it easier to kill a deer, the definition will change to allow it in the bow season. My Gosh haven't we learned anything from the crossbow takeover? Each little new precedent sets the bar for bow season weaponry a little lower and sets the stage for the next entry. It is a ratchet that only goes one way. And it always goes toward more inclusive in spite of whatever restrictions we each think we can add. Like I have said before, the old-timers that I used to argue with back when compounds were added, turned out to be right. They predicted compounds would open the floodgates to the out-of-control weaponry definitions for bow season. I scoffed and called them crazy. I was wrong and they were right. Each change sets the precedent for the next one in line. It has never been a question of how far this nonsense will go, but rather how long will it take. As the weaponry in bow season continues to evolve toward guns, we can holler and yell all we want and try to set up our own little meaningless rules. We all turn ourselves inside out, convinced that we have defined clearly what bow season equipment must have or must not have. But eventually it will come clear to all that these decisions are not really about the weapon, but more about a struggle for a season that is warmer and a time when the bucks enter their goofy phase of rut. That is really what it always has been about. Bow hunters carved out a prime season because of the operational challenges of the old stick and string. And now as other people have jealously eyeballed that time of year, everyone is trying every way possible to steam-roller over what the season was developed for. And just as in the crossbow invasion, you people have not yet begun to even imagine what kinds of techno-gadgets and crazy new things that will show up in bow season regardless of how much you kick and scream and try to advance your little theories of where the line is drawn. You all think you know where the lines should be drawn, and you will defend them just as the bowhunters tried. And you will lose. At my age the good news is that even the crossbow revolution is not likely to have full impact in my lifetime. So this air-bow thing and whatever else gets stuffed into bow season will take even longer. These equipment arguments are now simply amusement for me as I watch the crossbow gang learning what it is like to try to fight the inevitable.

I'm not concerned with "tendencies". I was just curious as to what protections we may have may have to guard against the irresponsibility of parents that hand their kids anything that they ask for these days. I have no problems with parents who maintain control of weapons and apply the proper supervision and safety training. But there really is no scientific guarantee that all parents are of that caliber is there?

And it won't stop there. I know I sound like a broken record about how "precedents" work on these so-called special seasons, but once it starts, there is no turning it back. Everyone seems to underestimate the power of technology, and always judge changes based only on what they see in the moment. It all began with the Allen compound bow patent, and look where it is heading now. The genie is out of the bottle. The compound played with the hold weight. The crossbow worked a different platform (stock) for the limbs and the fact that there is no draw weight that the shooter is exposed to. Now we have the advent of a different propulsion system. There really is no end to it. It all boils down to the fact that it is the season that everyone is after, and it really has nothing to do with anything about the character of the weapon. Calling it a bow season is absolutely a misnomer these days. It has nothing to do with bows anymore. The bow is just one of a growing array of weapons that can be legally used with each new addition taking more and more challenge out of what the initial season was created for.

So happy to hear that he is doing ok. It sounds like a warning shot that will be forcing him to commence a life-style change of special diet and exercise so that he can live a long and healthy life. I went through the same thing and learned that there is lots of life after a stroke .... as long as you are lucky enough to get a second chance.

I have never seen them claim to be living off the grid, or to be isolated and in deep wilderness. They make no effort to hide the fact that they have a lot of nearby neighbors that help them out whenever they need it. They make no secrets that they have individually lived in other places and done other things, and even had other spouses and kids off the homestead, so I'm not sure what is Fake nonsense. Certainly they didn't find those excavators, bulldozers, tractors and tools and other construction equipment or that huge ship out in the wild. There is no doubt that there is a pile of money in the family. Atz has a net worth of somewhere around 7 million, and I'm sure that Jewel ha a big pile of money. So these people are not to be confused with those on The Last Alaskans, or the people on Life Below Zero, nor have they ever claimed to be in that kind of wilderness, self-sufficient, lifestyle. The lifestyle they live is what they have chosen, and I think it is quite genuinely portrayed.

The climate is what I couldn't stand. Heck, we've got about as much winter as I can tolerate right now. Add to that the winters with short daylight hours, and it would be a good recipe for insanity. Also, whoever your sharing your winters with through the Alaskan winters had better be a pretty good match in terms of personality or cabin fever would quickly turn to cabin homicide .... lol. Really, it all looks great in the few short summer months...all the beautiful scenery and good fishing, and great hunting. But that season is not nearly long enough to make it a great place to live. And even those summer months have a bug population to drive a sane man absolutely raving mad. No. NYS will do just fine....Taxes and all.

The best way is the way the Kilchers did it. Turn one of the daughters into a country music star and then you'll have all kinds of excavators and bulldozers and stuff to do whatever you want to do.

I remember when three of us kids used to have free reign of the valley. One neighbor kid was given a gun, and we used to head out, shooting up trees and whatever looked like a good target. There was no thoughts about safe back-stops or what was beyond the target that we were shooting at. We just had a gun with absolutely no rules, training, or responsibility. Today, I would not want to share the woods with a bunch of little terrorists like we were. I don't know how prevalent this situation is today, but I do know parents that give their kids anything they want with no care or concern with how they use it.

So when these people become frail, doddering, old, crippled people, exactly what do they do to continue living.

We have massive volumes of gun regulations on the books that have been piled on annually for decades. There are more laws than any one person can even keep abreast of and aware of and in compliance with. Each one of those laws was touted as being the sure-fire cure to criminal gun use and all traveled under the feel-good veil of being "common sense". And yet gun crimes continue to get worse and worse. Now, I don't really know any answers, but it seems to me that continuing to pile on harassment laws has historically not proven to be the answer. We already have every gun ownership scenario covered many times over, with the effects seemingly only on those who have no criminal intents. Yes with each one of these layers of worthless gun laws, we all feel real good to have done something even though that "something" is merely pecking away at the 2nd Amendment and nothing else. In reality, we all really know that growing violence in our society is a problem separate from guns. We've seen what can be done with a box-cutter, or an airplane or a truck or an explosive-laden vest. Remove one weapon and a more lethal one will take its place. There is a societal problem that no one is even looking at because they are so emotionally attached to the concept that gun control is violence control. Maybe it's time to crawl out of that box and send our thoughts in a different direction that is aimed more at the real problem.

Common sense???? .........lol. That's in pretty short supply these days. It seems odd to me that minimum ages for firearms use is regulated only in cases of hunting. I probably don't really want to get anywhere around a bunch of neighborhood kids who are out there, untrained and unsupervised shooting the place up.

Is there a minimum age for unsupervised gun operation? I know they have age restrictions on hunting, but are there any restrictions on unsupervised target shooting and other non-hunting gun activities?

I know winter is over when people start telling me about how they killed the bullheads and I missed it all ....... again.

So Rob, I assume you have some magic way of purging this site of the spam attack. Keep in mind that none of the moderators are receiving a salary from this site, nor do any of them necessarily qualify as computer wizards. So, I think this comment is a bit unfair. If you have a solution, perhaps your time would be better spent on suggesting ways of stopping the attack.

I am thinking that every gun cabinet looks a bit bare without a .222 or a .223 rifle in it.....lol. I think you have to consider the situation that usually happens, where the yote, and even foxes will hang up at 100 yards or so, and simply refuse to come any closer. It seems to happen more often than not, and it is nice to have enough gun to reach out and touch those nervous coyotes.

The reason I was asking is because I would think that the government would have to supply some minimum ages for kids to be running around, unsupervised, firing off guns. The concern is for their safety and also any unsuspecting other people that they may come into contact with. First of all, we all know there are minimum ages for unsupervised hunting, but I can't recall ever seeing laws regarding unsupervised target practice and other gun use. So maybe this topic has two parts: 1. Are there such laws regarding minimum unsupervised gun use? 2. If you were implementing such a law, what age would you establish as the minimum?

There are a whole bunch of old foundations along the west side of Canadice lake that are pretty cool to poke around. The City of Rochester bought up all the house and cottages around the lake between 1872 and 1947 and pulled them all down so that that lake and Hemlock lake could become water supplies for the city. The state now owns the properties, and there are trails maintained there that lead to some of these old ruins. I suppose that metal detectors are allowed, but removal of anything is likely against the law. It's pretty cool stuff to poke around and explore.

What legal minimum age would you recommend for gun hunters/shooters that are unaccompanied by an adult? Do you think there should even be a government mandated minimum age?

Some of the stuff that I have found in the woods offers a picture into some of the local history from many years gone-by. Much of the land that I wander around in and hunt in is what some might call "old growth forest". And yet I have found huge old stone piles. I have found old plow points, and a horse-drawn potato hiller (the kind with the two handles for the farmer to guide behind a horse. Also the same style hand cultivator. These were found at the top of the hill a long way from any roads or farm buildings or obvious fields. I also found the remnants of an old sap-house, half way up the hill with a brick fire box and all kinds of rusted pails and big rusted chunks of a boiler. All these things offer up a very different picture of family life where farmers were trying to scratch a living out of land that has long ago been abandoned. Another "find" up on the hill was a huge hollow dead tree with a hole chopped into the side of it. Inside was an old axe head. I have no idea what the story was behind that.

Not really something "cool", but it did make me feel like I was intruding on a private moment between two trees:

Several days ago, I had a list containing TV programs that I wanted to record. I went out in the kitchen to make a bowl of cereal. By the time I got back and turned on the TV, the list was gone, never again to be seen. I swear there are ghosts in this house. It has been over a week, and that list has never surfaced. By the way, the wife was still sleeping while all this happened, so I know that she didn't move them.

I am hoping that we eventually get a public release of those documents so we can see exactly what our national top-cops are involved in. We do not need our own version of the KGB springing up within the government here. It has to be aired out, and corrected immediately.

It sounds like you have trust issues with your doctor. That is not acceptable, and you should be looking for another doctor. This question is one that you should be able to ask your doctor and rely on his/her opinion. If you can't, then you have the wrong doctor.

I lost my wedding ring in the slime of chicken guts when we were butchering chickens. It is up in the town dump under ground somewhere.