Doc

Based on absolutely nothing at all, I suspect that there will not be a large immediate rush out there to buy these things at first. However, I do have to recognize that over half of Ohio's bowseason deer are taken with a crossbow ....... over half. So apparently there are some reasons that people go for these things. That number has to represent one heck of a lot of people, wouldn't you say? Yes it took them 30 some years to get into that condition (actually a lot less than 30 years because it has been that way for quite a few years now), but there obviously is some kind of appeal that people here are not talking about. Doc

No argument from me. We covered it all in the old forum. Look, I don't care which side of this issue anyone comes down on as long as they keep an open mind. Frankly no one has convinced me on either side. I see dueling studies, each one just as convincing as the other. I hear eye-witness accounts, and they seem to be just as conflicted as the studies and reports. Does anyone have anymore credibilty than anyone else? ..... not to me. To me it is all a bunch of nonsense that everyone seems to heavily invest their emotions in. As I have said many times, the whole issue is very, very, very far down on my list of priorities. When I see some of the more basic difficulties that this state and others have with wild game management, I find it very difficult to get all excited about a concept whose very nature is designed to cut opportunities and perhaps cost us the loss of even more hunters than is happening now. Especially something that is based on a science that even the so-called experts don't seem to agree on. So if you are seeing some improvement in your local herd, I am happy for you. Over here in Western NY, we are seeing the same thing. Is it due to AR? ........ certainly not here it isn't. and in this chunk of the state we seem to have accomplished the same results without trying to legislate what people are mandated to consider a trophy in their own mind and their own hunting experiences. Doc

I think just about any camo sold today will suffice. It is more about movement when it comes to catching a deer's attention. When you are drawing that bow, swatting that mosquito, or just fidgeting around, you are at a high risk of being detected whether you have Realtree or Mossy Oak, or just blue-jeans and checkered flannel. I don't count on camo patterns to cover up sloppy stand techniques. Deer really aren't that sharp at picking images out of the backgrouns and analysing what they are unless it moves.

Yeah, you got that right. Let's hurry up and get this done so we can rush on to the next thing. You got anything that will make this easier and quicker so I don't have to spend anymore time at this hunting thing than necessary? It's a real shame that we can't at least learn how to apply a different mentality when it comes to our recreations. But I guess it's hard to just flip a switch and all of a sudden change our attitudes. Doc

I am not much of an expert on binoculars. I have a fairly powerful set of binocs that I bought a jillion years ago from sears. They are super clear and have a fair size field of view and plenty of magnification. I generally use them during gun season for still hunting. It takes a pile of patience, but I genearly take a couple of very slow steps, and then stop and thoroughly glass every inch of what's ahead of me. It takes forever to make any progress through a woods, but you would be surprised how all of a sudden you will see an ear, or a tip of an antler, or spot a small patch of fur that is just the right color, or catch a slight movement of a tail. It's not a process for those with little patience, and you have to keep telling yourself over and over to slow down. But I do find it very productive. Doc

You know, I am getting sick and tired of people spitting out that word "killing" when it come to hunters, as if there is something evil about performing the inevitable and traditional product of hunting. For those that simply want to watch deer go by season after season, save yourself some money and go buy a camera. As for myself, I'll not be apologizing for killing a deer (big, medium or small). Anybody has a problem with that ....... tough! Doc

The other thing that I have noted is that any changes in approaches to hunting is not necessarily a generational thing. There's an awful lot of old-timers that out there trying to buy success with every new gadget coming down the pike. Looking for shortcuts just seems to be human nature.

I kind of laughed my butt off at the news that New Jersey was forced to open their bear season again. As any reasonable person could have predicted, with bear seasons closed there by the wacko, animal rights governor and the accompanying merry band of pinkos, the populations exploded, the nuisance calls about bears exploded, the damage done by bears exploded, the close encounter between residents and bears exploded. They just plain took the place over ...... lol. So next time anyone starts to give you grief about hunting, remember New Jersey's story. It was text-book! Doc

Here's a related question that has always been rumbling around in my head: When a WMU experiences a high harvest, does that information mean that permits should be bumped up because apparently the population must be high there? OR Does it mean that permit numbers should be slashed because so many deer were taken out that the population must be getting low? Anybody ever hear which spin the DEC puts on big harvest numbers in a WMU? Doc

And all either opinion, not backed with any evidence, or just plain invalid. Not a drop of bias in that comment eh? ;D

You know I can't really say what the name of my cold weather camo pattern is. I know it is a suit with the Remington name on it, but I don't know what camo they used. And then, I have a ghillie suit. Now that's some serious camo. I can be nearly invisible practically in front of you. The only problem is that I really can't shoot the bow while wearing that thing. It's great for predator hunting and turkey hunting. Doc

Well, we seem to have a few articles referred to in this thread that seem dispute some of that. Frankly I don't know one way or another. I haven't had the case proven to me one way or another. Also, I have to admit that as a priority, the issue of AR sits very, very, very low on my list of things that I would like to have the DEC studying or implementing. In terms of importance, I don't really see the issue as being anything other than some tiny insignificant item way way down on my wishlist. What I don't want to have happen is for the DEC to start jumping onto every fad management idea that comes along with a fancy sales job, especially those things that have more than one differing expert opinions involved. Doc

I'll have to see if I can find out more on that. I know I have heard that there is a relationship between brainworm in moose and the presence of deer. Doc

There isn't too much that I don't read. Now how much I actually remember ...... well, that's something else ..... lol. ;D Doc

I haven't had a chance to read the scent article yet. Probably tomorrow. This is an unusally interesting issue and it's going to take a while to get the darned thing read. Doc

Convicts are easy. Their actions have deprived themselves of some civil liberties and rights. Gun ownership is one of those rights that they have lost. Convicted felons are barred from gun ownership. I don't think there are too many people that don't believe that those who have risky conditions or have in some way displayed that they are at risk of misusing a firearm should be denied the use of a firearm. That sort of thing actually involves point of sale background checking rather than registration and permitting systems. But my point is that we have to be careful about what doors we open up when it comes to gun control concessions. Some of those doors let in some real nasty little gremlins that have little to do with the reasons we opened the door in the first place. Doc

Blaze orange cloth would take care of any hazard. In my case with the decoy experiment, I really wasn't even leaving my yard. Doc

I haven't heard a thing. I suspect that all the grief with the budget has pretty much paralyzed Albany. Maybe now that the budget is passed, some of the more mundane business of running the state will start to happen. I have pretty much written off rifles in Ontario County for this year. I hope I am wrong. Doc

I love the enormous power of a moose and the size. I too have been on a successful bowhunt , and understand the perfect big game aspects of moose hunting. Yes, I realize that I will never see a NYS moose hunting season in my lifetime, but it is not completely out of the question for those that come after me, assuming that there are no diseases involved in holding the population back. Doc

I certainly hope their is a big enough difference because otherwise it wouldn't take an anti-gun group and their legislative partners very long to offer up a convincing argument for registering all guns (muzzleloaders included) using exactly the same mental deficiency arguments. I mean we can debate the effectiveness of a concealed pistol vs a long gun if it makes us feel better, but once you start accepting the premise of gun registration and government controlled permitting, then you had better be ready to start forking over the bucks for registering the rest of your firearms because the argument works very well for long-guns too and the puny arguments concerning concealability aren't going to be all that useful. The only thing that has held back registration of long-guns is the absolute stubborn refusal of the NRA to accept the premise of registration of any weapons. This is something that the NRA often gets criticized for and often gets the label of extremists hung on them, but the plain facts are that when you give an inch (or even concede the concept of registration) the gun control lobby and their merry band of sympathetic lawmakers happily will take the proverbial mile. The NRA learned that a long time ago, and some of the rest of us had better get on board with that same philosophy. Another thing to bear in mind is the fact that registration and confiscation go hand in hand. Those arguments that work for permitting systems are the same arguments that are so effective in outlawing or severely modifying the legality of those same guns. The anti-gun people will make themselves very happy by super-regulating your guns, or you, or both. Every concession that we make aids them in all of their goals. Doc

It looks like we lost one of our resident NYS moose. Cause: brain worm leading to heat stroke. The moose keeled over in a back yard of a Dannemora (Clinton County) home. I have heard that brain worm was one of the bad things about whitetails and moose cohabitating in the same area. I hope this isn't something that will be expanding through the moose population. I don't know whether that sort of thing can happen or not. Doc

WNYBuckhunter- I keep looking at that deer in your avitar. What in the heck is that sticking out of it's mouth? Is that a tongue, carrot, cigar or what? It's too small, I can't quite make it out. Doc

Another 30 or 40 years, you'll be ready for one of these signs:

Geez Oak. That picture does look like one of those old 1940s photos that you see in NY Outdoor News ....... lol.

Ah, a battle of attrition. Who will weaken first. My money is on Bubba. I've gone a few rounds with him and I know he is relentless .... lol. ;D