Doc

There was a year that I was less than enthusiastic. The problem??? ...... My shooting had gone bad on me. Just before season, I developed a terrible flinching problem (a target panic problem), and I couldn't get rid of it. I actually didn't go out because I wasn't confident in my shooting, and I didn't want to take a chance on wounding a deer. In the years since, I have worked my way out of that problem, but there is nothing saying that some day it won't come back. If there is anything wrong with my shooting .... anything at all, I will not go out. Of course the year that I had a stroke, there was no hunting, for obvious reasons. However, with the help of some intense therapy, I made a 100% recovery and was right back out there again the next year. Doc

I hate the wind!!!!! Almost as much as a driving rain. The only deer that I have seen during high winds was only during peak rut, and any deer that venture out into the wind are nervous wrecks. The wind messes up every sense that they have and they know it. Even when that one in one thousand chance occurs of a deer coming to your stand in the wind, the odds of being able to get away with anything is nearly nil. The only thing that might work in your favor is scent because high winds dissipate scent molecule plumes. But high wind is NOT good news. Doc

Browning once marketed a broadhead that clearly highlighted the stupidity of their customers, and it was a lot of years ago. So playing hunters for idiots is nothing new. Take a look at this broadhead.

So, how do you guys determine how well any of these things work or even if they work at all? I'm thinking that if I ever got the urge to try any of that stuff, I would probably just go out to Wally World and buy whatever they had on the shelf. What else would I have to go by? If you listen to any of the advertisements, they all will tell you that they are the best. Doc

Yup ..... that would be the kind of equipment that would be necessary. I was picturing some guy on each end of the log trying to pick it up and lift it higher than they could reach ;D .

I suppose the old theory of population cycles probably takes all that into consideration as contributers to the cycles of both predator and prey. And the huntable and non-huntable participants would be considered together as the predator diet. I do believe that all these things including diseases work to establish the cycles. The levels of easily obtainable protien probably is reflected in the cases of disease. But there is no doubt that there is symbiotic link between predator and prey that keeps populations of both in check or booming. It may not always be a perfect balancing and re-balancing system, but it worked well for a long time before we decided to give it all a hand.....lol.

I'm looking at the size of some of those logs, and I am totally amazed that they could ever be lifted to those heights required and placed into position no matter how much help was around. This guy that originally built that cabin, did he have a lot of help or special equipment? It seems like a super-human feat. Doc

I'm sitting here trying to imagine the fire-storm that would ensue if the season were to be either moved away from the rut or shortened. : I don't think either thought is very realistic no matter how much merit they might have. Doc

I'll be "traveling" up to the top of the hill tomorrow. No car required for my hunting unless I feel like a change of pace. Doc

There is only one weather report that has any real value ...... As the day progresses, look up at the sky. Then you will know exactly what it's doing. I couldn't tell you how many hunts I have had ruined by believing the weather man. Wind direction predictions and speeds are almost bordering on useless. Rain predictions generally are not all that reliable either in terms of quantity and duration. It's a losing battle! The problem is that you have to go by something. What I do is to attempt to catch all the forecasts that are available. We have the three major networks, YNN (local news), and The Weather Channel. That's 5 sources. If I can find some sort of concurrence among the majority of them, that's what I go by. I still often get the wrong forecast, but it's the best chance that I have ..... lol. Doc

Many of the "experts" say that it doesn't matter what we take out, at least as far as genetics are concerned. They point to the role that bucks play in genetics as being too minor to really have any impact. The claim is that the does have a big enough part in genetic development that managing features of bucks alone is a pointless activity. If they are right, AR, culling, or even some form of slot-limit harvest would have no effect on genetics. So the question remains: are they right or is the "culling crowd" right? Both sides have their research and studies to back up their 180 degree opposed positions. This isn't the first time that deer management "experts" have gone head-to-head in directly opposite conclusions, and it all just points up the level of skepticism we have to maintain when ever these guys talk, putting on their most authoritative, wise, and all-knowing tone of voice and posturing. It's always hard to figure out just what they know and what they think they know but don't. In this case of culling vs. not culling, I am simply left confused. Both sides of the argument have merit and some level of science behind their positions. So, who can you actually believe? Doc

As a little shot of realism, your statement is most likely a fact. However, That is not a reason to encourage the continuation of the extreme liberal (and even socialistic) policies that have driven this state for decades, with votes for Cuomo, or even witholding votes for either, or splitting the vote among fringe parties. The fact is that some kind of protest statement has to be made against the Cuomo's of this state, and a Paladino vote is about as good a protest vote as I can think of. As long as we keep throwing up our hands and giving up, the liberals will continue to be encouraged that their idealogy is a winning one in this state. My feeling is that even the most socialistic of politicians will reverse a lot of their reckless irresponsible ways if they perceive a genuine threat to that way of governing. That's just the way politicians react to those kinds of threats. In fact, just the presence of Paladino already has many of the candidates who are responsible for NY's condition calling for cleaning up the mess in Albany (even though they are responsible for it). The stronger the showing of Paladino, the more you will see politicians retreat from their liberal ways. Sure, I wish Paladino had turned out to be a stronger politician, wise in the way to conduct a campaign. But, it doesn't matter as much whether Paladino wins the election or not as long as he comes in strong enough to put the fear of God into these liberals. That's where we come in. This is not the time to simply wring our hands and throw in the towel. This is the time to move ahead with the protests that have been started, and vote accordingly. What I fear most is that voters will sit back in the corner wringing their hands and not vote, giving Cuomo, and others of his kind, a landslide victory that they will interpret as a mandate for the continuation of the reckless policies that continue the downward spiral destined to bankrupt the state. As I said before, I will hold my nose and vote for Paladino and hope for the best, and know that if nothing else, I will have registered my protest and perhaps help to show these politicians that there is something afoot out here amongst the voters that had better be taken into account. It's called making the best of a bad situation. Doc

But it used to be considered pretty common knowledge that predators were part of those population cycles. At least that is the way I always read it. As small game numbers increased, predator populations would prosper, thrive and grow. Working in concert with small game disease and deteriorating food sources they would eventually reverse the small game populations to begin the down side of their cycle. Then as the small game diminished, the predator population would correspondingly begin the downturn of their cycle. I suppose there has to be a point where both the predator population and the small game population both are at their high points in the cyles, but it would only be for a short, temporary time. I'm sure it never works out all that neat and tidy, but generally that is the way it's supposed to work. Doc

Which kind of goes back to the original question ..... Is culling effective or not. Because if it is, then the reverse of taking out the runty, deformed, and inferior bucks, would not be a good thing. If such selective culling has no effect, then trophy hunting would also have no effect. So I guess the question still remains can selective harvests (of either sort) really impact the quality of the herd at all? Which experts are we to believe? Doc

We're not going to get into a critique of typing and spelling are we? ...... Lol. That's destined to piss-off just about all of us ... ;D Doc

You know, if I had to go through all that to do my whitetail hunting, NYS is probably not the destination I'd be heading for .... lol. Doc

I'm not sure what aspects of destruction you are referring to regarding the Pataki administration, but I certainly hope you are not pointing to Pataki as a Conservative governor. However, I believe in my last reply I included the sentence: "It is very hard for anyone to blame New York's problems on anyone of a conservative idealogy since the state has never had such a thing in its politics (Republicans included in that statement too)." I am not a Pataki fan and he in no way represented conservative principles. And in addition I have to say that I have not noticed any particular improvements since good old Elliot and our current governor took over, so what's your point? You want to blame decades of state trashing on Pataki and ignore Paterson, Spitzer, Cuomo, Carry, Rockefeller, etc. That's a bit of heavy duty selective memory wouldn't you say? Now, as far as Bush and Clinton are concerned, remember this thread is about a New York gubernatorial campaign and election. Neither one of those guys had much to do with the condition that NY is in today. So, I would say that anyone who has paid any attention to NY politics over the many past decades will be very hard pressed to honestly say that we have ever had anything that didn't fit the mold of tax and spend super-liberal fiscal mis-management. Again, (Republicans included in that statement too ..... All two of them). I really don't understand how that can even be argued. So we know where our current condition comes from. It didn't all just begin with any of the modern day politicians. People and businesses fleeing the state is not a recent phenomenon, so I would conclude from that, that the idea of continuing to elect one liberal after the next just might not be working all that well for us. So how on earth could anyone be so enthralled with the condition of this state that they would vote yet another one of that kind in? Haven't we had enough? Don't we ever learn from decades and decades of past experiences? .....apparently not. Doc

The most damaging thing that we have given away over the past decades is our technology. In the later years of my career, I saw it happening first hand as more and more of our equipment was being designed and built overseas. We actually exported our design work by training foreign professionals to do our job and supplying them with whatever design info they needed to quickly get them up to speed. I was asked to go over to Taiwan to assist with this nonsense and I flat out refused. That was back in the 80's, so we've been doing it for a long time. We had foriegn outsourced companies come over here and steal our designs and patents. No that is the wrong term. We gave it to them so they could do our jobs (much cheaper) that we would have otherwise done. I had to laugh when NAFTA was being discussed and the proponents were telling everyone that the Mexicans would simply be doing the jobs that Americans refused to do. That was a pile of crap back then and it's a pile of crap now. And it gets even worse when you're dealing with european and asian nations. What they can't currently do, we will train them to do. Yes, there are a whole bunch of reasons for all this, many of which you have pointed out. But when we started to export designs and technology, that was the beginning of the end. That was our last bastion of excellence, and our companies gave it away. So today we not only don't make anything here anymore but we don't even invent or design anything here anymore (other than worthless trinkets). What's left? We can sell services back and forth to each other until the actual wealth eventually vacates the country. Doc

Actually you could make that count even one more bow. I had one that was a complete tear-down that converted an old PSE Citation from one with hunting limbs to target limbs along with a complete paint job. So I pretty much had two bows in one. Never needed a bow press at all on that job either. That's not one of the 11 because I sold that one along with the hunting limbs. A guy made me an offer that I couldn't refuse. It's one of the few that I ever sold. Doc

Sometimes I wonder if very many people really know what the underlying problems of NY really are. It is very hard for anyone to blame New York's problems on anyone of a conservative idealogy since the state has never had such a thing in its politics (Republicans included in that statement too). So basically, the state has always been governed by liberals (extreme liberals) and we have the financial results to show for it. Do you like those results?? Are you happy with the levels of taxation, and the out-flow of jobs and residents? Do you like our current unemployment situation? Well relax and enjoy the next installation of liberal leadership. Cuomo is cut from the same cloth. Is there anyone who is denying that? ...... anyone?? Frankly, at this point I would sooner vote in Darth Vader than Cuomo and I would have complete confidence that it would be an improvement. This year's election is likely to be a reaffirmation of that definition of insanity: "doing the same things over and over and expecting different results". Doc

I would think that if there was any kind of breeze that it would get flapping and moving around, and catching the deer's attention. How do you keep that from happening? Doc

Exactly the reason I don't hunt in the rain. I have had a very unhappy experience watching the blood trail dissipate right before my eyes. Fortunately a circling search pattern turned up the body, but the actual blood trail was completely gone. The rain was pretty light when I shot, but as is often the case, that was just the beginning of a serious downpour that washed away ALL sign. I count myself pretty lucky to have been able to have collected that deer. Doc

GET AWAY FROM MY MONEY!!!!! You can't have any. It's mine ....mine .... all mine. Ya hear....IT'S MINE!!!!

I hope that nobody is surprised by all this. How did anyone ever expect that Americans could compete in the global job market with the Koreans, Chinese or Mexicans or any of the citizens of 3rd world nations. I talked of this decades ago, and the only surprise is how we have been able to continue to develop our own overseas competition against the American worker, and still be able to maintain our standard of living. It really is all smoke and mirrors, and has absolutely no reality or foundation to it. Perhaps this is the correction that has been delayed through some crazy accident of economy. At any rate, now we are at the state of not really being involved in the manufacturing anymore and for some reason we continue to think that this never-never land can continue to thrive. It's hard to understand how we ever thought that we could sit over here in our 1/2 million dollar homes and our two or three cars per family and compete with those who don't even own such things. How on earth did we ever think that was going to work out anyway? Doc

Yup! That's just exactly what the DEC and politicians love to hear as they prepare to hoist up the fees again in the near future. They simply love to hear all the testimonials about how sportsmen are such a convenient soft touch, totally satisfied as the government reaches deeper into our pockets and slashes what little effectiveness the DEC may have left at the same time. Ever wonder why the DEC has become the favorite target of budget-cutting slashing by the Governor and legislators, and such a popular source of state revenue? It's all because we are in a position where all we can do is sit back and take it. And then there are some who want to declare that even with all the budget slashing and the gutted services and operating personel, it is "still a bargain". As we continue to watch this latest round of DEC lay-offs (200 head more), we continue to encourage these politicians to keep on cutting because we think it is "still a bargain". Instead of patting these guys on the back and indicating that we think all is well in the world of state game management, we should be letting them know that this continued abuse of hunters, trappers and fishermen cannot continue forever. We should make it clear that we do not approve of this constant financial abuse forcing more and more hunters to join the ranks of those that have already deserted hunting. We should be emphatic that we do not approve of the constant elevation of fees that accompany the continued gutting of the game management organization of the state. No it is not a bargain. It is a constant and continuing ripp-off, and there is no way that we should be encouraging it to continue with positive comments. Doc