Doc

Some of my favorite spots are down in the valley thickets where if you didn't cut substantial shooting lanes, you wouldn't even see deer that are 15 to 20 yards away ..... lol. The problem is that these kinds of hack-jobs do cause noticeable disturbance. The only way that I can get away with that is to do the damage one year and then hunt it the next when it only needs light trimming. However I can't ignore these spots because what I have found is that these are the kinds of places that heavily pressured deer go to, and also the movement in these kinds of tight areas start during more daylight conditions. Doc

No it's not. As far as seat belts are concerned, I don't believe that the whole idea would have been practiced by even a majority of drivers without the force of law behind it. As far as blaze orange is concerned, we also know from the stats that there is a significant number of people ignoring that practice. What people get wrong about these kinds of laws is that they think that these kinds of stupidity effect only themselves. They don't understand the aspect of collateral damage that occurs to their families and often even the taxpayer when they decide to be idiots. I'm not for cradle to grave legislated protection, but there are some things that impact people other than yourselves, whether it be affects on insurance premiums or just depriving your family of a breadwinner and throwing them on the rolls of public assistance. We no longer live in a world where our actions don't interact with others around us. So occasionally there comes situations where laws of safety are a good idea. I think B/O is one of those situations. Doc

I've done the thing with the horseback riders (as well as the dirt bikes, mountain bikes, ATVs, snowmobilers, etc.). They all think that when they move to the country, everything is so big and open that there is no way they could be bothering anybody. They never look behind them to see the deep pock marks or piles of crap that they are laying down on trails. It never occurs to them that a landowner may have uses for his land that requires a minimum of activity (such as the hunting stand that you mentioned). In short, they just feel that everyone owns, pays taxes, and maintains their land for the use of them. In-other-words, they simply think they have a right to use other people's property as their own, even though they would be calling the police in the city or suburban yards that they moved from if someone has rode a horse across their yard. Of course the other thought is that they will never get caught and somehow that makes it ok. Doc

I use a Yamaha Kodiak 4x4 ATV. My driveway is about 1000', and I can handle anything up to 6" of heavy snow, and up to a foot of the lighter stuff. Anything that exceeds that I call a local snow plow guy. That happens only once or twice a year. I'm sure there are some parts of the state where that simply wouldn't be enough vehicle. The good news is that the ATV has multiple purposes. Also, I have maneuverability that allows me to custom plow the driveway putting snow exactly where I want it and how I want it. I can actually plow wider because I know exactly where the edge of the driveway really is. Also, I know where shrubs, etc. are located so it cuts down on damage. I also do my mothers driveway in addition to our own. I've been doing this since about the mid 80's. I had an 8N Ford with a back-blade, but when I sold that and bought the ATV, I found out that I actually like the ATV better because of maneuverability. I will say that there are times when I wish I had a nice heated truck. Some of those winter days can get pretty brutal. Doc

This looks like a list of "talking points" for the meeting. Chances are pretty good that each item included here had a lot more details fleshed out by the presenter during the presentation. Doc

I generally cut an access trail into my stand ....... then the following year I find that the deer are using my new trail .... lol. I keep waiting for the thank-you note. Doc

Whenever possible, I like 3 lanes. The left and right lanes are for spotting deer coming down the trail. The center one is for shooting. Often, I will put just a drop or two of deer urine to stop the deer where I want them for shooting. It doesn't work every time, but nearly so. Doc

So, if I understand all this correctly, not only do they have only part of the year available to hunt coyotes (a season), but then they further eliminate the main weapon of choice for hunting them during the open deer seasons in some areas which is also a pretty good chunk of the year. That leaves only the bitterest, time of the year when knee-deep (or higher) snow and cold keeps most hunters hunkered down at home. You know, that doesn't leave a whole lot of actual time during the year when you can effectively hunt those critters. The reality of it is that some places, the coyote is a nearly completely protected species. No wonder the populations are exploding. Doc

Throughout the summer, I have noted a high number of deer being hit on the highways. My guess would be that it merely indicates a higher level of population. There should not be anything that I'm aware of that is going on in the deer world that would cause increased movement. Doc

6 deer in the front yard this afternoon (adult does and a couple fawns). They came up the driveway and headed for the flower garden ..... lol. We've had smaller groups (2 or 3 deer at a time) doing that on a daily basis for about a week. Following quite a long ways behind was another bigger deer, but as I look out the livingroom window toward the driveway, I am looking down on driveway through the trees because the house is higher than the driveway, so I never got a good look at it, but all the deer in the yard stopped eating and were staring down at him. Just before he got to a point where I might have had a chance to tell whether it was a buck or not, he stepped off the driveway and into the thicket. My wife had to head out, so she spooked the whole bunch of them when she started up the car and I never got another look at him. I might have to build a stand out in the yard this year ...... lol. What I was wondering was whether the bucks might be getting into that "following" phase where they seem to know that soon they will be expected to do something, but really don't know what that is just yet. Over the years, about this time of year, I have noticed that kind of behavior on several different occasions. The bucks seem to be just off and on following the small female herds at a distance, but not acting real pushy about it yet. It's kind of like they are just keeping tabs on the where-abouts of the ladies for future reference. Doc

Then who in the heck is it that's shooting all these 1.5 bucks that everyone is worrying about? It seems to me that there is likely to be no need for AR, if so many are already sold on the idea of letting them walk. I have not yet figured out these claims about how wildly popular AR is, and yet the harvest percentages of 1.5 yr old deer never seems to change. You can't have it both ways. Which is it? is it a popular concept or not? Doc I guess some as to be attributed to "saying and doing are two different things". One might be for not shooting a 1.5, yet takes a 1.5 thinking, Ah, if I don't shoot this, I might not get another chance. Now that its enforced, its a different story, again in my area. Now its ah I see this nice 6, 7 or 8, maybe I should hold off knowing that AR has produced options. If I had to guess (and it is only a guess), I might think that AR is one of those things that many think is a good idea as long as it remains as a theoretical question (survey or casual conversation). However, when the reality of having to make an actual choice, ideals change real fast and down goes the yearling. So which shows the real attitude, the words or the actions? Doc

I have an old Army pancho that I keep rolled up in my pack. It is strictly for a case where the sky opens up with a downpour, and I need some protection to get home. I can't shoot with the thing on, but when it's raining to that extent, shooting is absolutely not a requirement that I'm worrying about ..... lol. Doc

You know, that thought crossed my mind as I stood with my face a few inches from his. They don't impress you with huge size like a moose or something, but the size is adequate and the speed is something you simply could not defend against. And that head-gear is just designed for penetration. I do believe that they could be very dangerous animals, especially the domesticated ones that have lost their natural fear of humans. Doc

I wouldn't be surprised if maybe nobody is left for that assignment. I think somebody dropped the ball in terms of organization and soliciting participants. And yes, when Ron Shroeder was running it, the whole event was moving in a "growing" direction. I don't know who is in charge of it these days, and I seriously wonder if anybody is. Doc

Sorry ...... I didn't see this thread when I started an almost identical comment on the "General Chit-Chat" forum. I was very disappointed to say the least. It did almost look like a protest kind of boycott thing. It was that significant a change. As I said in the other thread, I only skipped one year of attendance, so it looks like a rather sudden reaction to something. Also, it was not just vendors that were missing. I noticed right off that the buck skinners group weren't there. Doc

The point still stands.

Tough butt hairs? ...... LMAO!!! I've never heard that one before. Hope you don't mind if I borrow that phrase ;D Doc

I just got home from the festivities over the region 8 DEC headquarters. We skipped last year because it was getting a bit repetitive, but dropped in today to see what kinds of things that may have been added over the past two years. Huge disappointment! They have downsized the event considerably. I would guess that it was about 2/3 of what it was last time I attended. It was not going unnoticed either as I heard quite a few people grumbling about the huge empty areas that used to be filled with exhibitors. I'm not sure whether somebody at the DEC has dropped the ball in terms of organization and soliciting of participants, but something is definitely going in the wrong direction with that event. That's the bad news. However, there was one display that really got my attention. There were some people there with a couple of live bucks that were looking a bit like the ones shown in that video that we had floating around on one of the threads here. These bruisers were huge! Very domestic ...... but huge! I believe the owners were a scent production outfit. I tried to remember the web address and name of the outfit, but you know how it is with geezers and their memory. The other good news is that it looked to me like the attendance was not suffering any. At least to me it looked like the usual large crowd, especially considering the threatening skies. So anyone of all those people who had never seen one of the shows would not realize that it had been downsized, and still would be very impressed by the whole affair. And don't get me wrong, it still is one very great outdoor show by any measure, but I was just a bit disappointed that the size has actually taken a major step backward. Doc

Then who in the heck is it that's shooting all these 1.5 bucks that everyone is worrying about? It seems to me that there is likely to be no need for AR, if so many are already sold on the idea of letting them walk. I have not yet figured out these claims about how wildly popular AR is, and yet the harvest percentages of 1.5 yr old deer never seems to change. You can't have it both ways. Which is it? is it a popular concept or not? Doc

Years ago, I had a triple trunked pine tree that did a great job of snapping nails right between the board and the trunk so that there was nothing visible that would tell you that the nails were broke. Except of course eventually it would get bad enough to start to move. So before entering the stand, be sure to give it a good test, especially on the first time of the year, and be sure to be harnessed. A lot of times, just some of the nails are broke, and the stand feels somewhat secure. What I found from watching these 3 trunks in a high wind is that they act independantly and do not always move in the same direction. The amount of force that a tree can develop in a wind is tremendous. And the cyclic fatigue is murder on the little cross section of a nail. Yes the pine tree that I chose was worse because it has needles on it year around and gets the "sail" effect all year around even worse than deciduous trees. I like the strap idea a a secondary factor of safety. I did start looking at some design alternatives that would allow the main horizontal support members to slide instead of being fastened rigidly via nails. In other words, the support beam would be fastened securely to one trunk, but at the other end it would be captured in a sliding shackle so that the two trunks were never pulling the attachment apart or trying to push it together. I'm probably not being too clear without a diagram. Any way, My fear of heights took over, and experimentation along those lines ceased. I do think that something like a 5/8" lag-bolt would be much better than nails. I had a stand that I built in a willow that I used lag-bolts on, and the tree will be dead and on the ground before those things ever come apart That was just about the time I was getting a bit paranoid of heights. So I spared no expense or effort to feel absolutely secure. I called it my "condo". It has a 4' x 5' platform with railings all around and a section of heavy duty aluminum extension ladder to get into it. Every piece of wood is pressure treated 2 x 8's. I think it is going on its 11th year and is still a piece of the tree it's mounted on and I have no doubt it will last long after me. The lag bolts do not break! Also, they have not hurt the tree at all. Doc

The best thing to do when requesting an interpretation from the DEC or a judge is to ask for the interpretation in written form. E-mail is good for that because the whole conversation is written down. In the case of some bad info from authorities, it is always good to have some indication that you acted in good faith with the best information available at the time. That way there are no sudden lapses of memory from whoever gave the advice, and perhaps a judge might have a bit of leniency or forgive the violation entirely. Phone conversations are notorious for back-tracking when it looks like somebody is going to have egg on their face. Doc

The only reason it caught my attention was the fact that for my lifetime license, I was only able to get the Sportsman and not the Super-Sportsman license that I have been buying ever since they came out. So now I still have to buy my Archery license every year. Doc

There ya go. It's the Chlorophyll for sure. ;D

Well see, that's what has the capability of automatically turning you into a game violator.

In my area, red oaks are bearing super-heavy. White oaks ....... I haven't found one with acorns yet. Doc