Doc

I guess that all speaks for itself. There's not much point in replying to that one. I just hope that isn't coming from anyone hunting in my area.

One thing you probably won't find in NYS is an expert bear hunter. Anyone who has gotten one here has probably done it accidently while actually hunting for deer. Doc

Hi sits ...... Good to hear from you again. :

There does seem to be a bit of a "bandwagon" effect going on these days where a lot of hunters are saying they are for AR without a whole lot of actual thinking about the ramifications. They have heard other people talk about it, they get visions of huge bucks all of sudden becoming easy to get and say, "why not". Yes, I do believe that some of the more devoted AR fans would just as soon that the ones against AR would get out of the way, one way or another. But whether that comprises a significant number of them or not, I can't say. I get the feeling that most would still rather persuade the rest that AR is a good idea.

I'll bet they wouldn't kick you out if you showed up with a replica. I really do like the idea of historic re-enactment. There's an awful lot of history that we can simulate and experience in that way even in these modern ages. What's really interesting is the extent that these guys go to to learn the details of life back in the pioneer days. Each one of them develops into a historian in one fashion or another, and takes the time to learn and understand about our own heritage and culture for a change.

I think I remember hearing somewhere that law enforcement agencies will take any ammo that you want to get rid of and dispose of it. but I don't know if that is true or not. Doc

I'm going to have to remember that one. That was great!

Where the heck do these guys come up with this stuff? That was hilarious! Doc

Of the whole damned bunch of them, Shockey has always been my favorite. His shows always seem to have a sufficient amount of variety and also an added element of honesty and credibility to them. I don't know why it was so surprising that these programs that we watch for entertainment have such an ugly business-like aire behind the scenes. And I don't know why it suddenly occurred that having that as an occupation might just take the joy completely out of something that I love. but there was something about this particular program that got that point across. No, to me that is not hunting. That's just another day at the office. Doc

That's too bad. I spent a lot of years in field archery, and it was a huge activity not only for me, but our whole family. Well, I guess I should be happy that I got a chance to enjoy it while it was big. Things change and I guess occasionally, we DO throw out the baby with the bath-water. Doc

I'll tell you what. The internet has gobs and gobs of all kinds of wild game recipes with most of them being venison. I've done searches, and always come up with more recipes than I could ever even read. Doc

I guess I would suggest the same thing here as I do whenever we talk about getting DEC opinions on legalities. Try to get it in writing! It may not completely save your butt, but when it comes to legal interpretations, it is always a good idea to be able to show (with tangible evidence) that you at least tried to get the correct answers and were operating under the best advice that you could solicit. When dealing with telephone calls, it is amazing how short memories can get when the wrong advice was given out.

Thanks a lot all you guys that responded. This was exactly the kind of discussion I wanted to start. Sometimes things aren't always as simple as they look at first glance. I guess if the subject were all that simple, you would only have one scope size to chose from ..... lol. So now I think I see why there are so many 3x-9x scopes to choose from. It does seem like an excellent choice for deer hunting with all things considered. Doc

I was watching Jim Shockey on TV the other day. I have always considered him one of the more entertaining TV hunter heroes, simply because his shows aren't simply non-stop deer hunting repetition. He probably provides the biggest variety of game species of any of the hunting shows. But this show was a bit different and quite an eye opener. For one thing they were showing one of the organizational pre-hunt meetings back at the Shocky headquarters, where they were discussing an up coming African hunt for some rare, hard to hunt, goaty-looking critter. The meeting looked like some industrial board meeting. I don't know how many people were involved, but they had a rather large table and there were people sitting all around it. The discussion was deadly serious as they talked about commitments for the program and the possibility that they might fail because of the nature of this animal. I mean the pressure to perform was a whole lot more intense than anything that I have ever experienced (or ever want to experience) in any of my hunting. Then during the program, he was trying to get the job done with a crew of at least 5 people that I could see in tow. I'm not sure how many people were behind the view of the camera. So there he was trying to hunt some super-elusive, relatively reclusive, super spooky animal while dragging along this circus of people. I mean it was truly a team event ..... with a HUGE team. The first day he did an endurance test of 12 solid hours in the blind. I mean, everything was being done to eliminate any fun out of the activity. It wasn't hunting, it was and industrial project with a whole lot of profit driven demands for success. When the program was over, and they ran the credits, I couldn't believe the number of people involved in the production of one of these shows. By the way he did manage to be successful inspite of all this nonsense. I've got to say that if I ever did envy the lifestyle of any of these guys that program sure straightened me out on that score. There is nothing about what those guys do that I would ever want to be involved with. Too much business and not enough hunting. It looked like the fastest way to drain every ounce of enjoyment of hunting out of the activity. Is that kind of life anything that any of you guys would like to be doing? I'm just curious because I think I got an insight into something that might just look a lot better from the outside than it really is on the inside.

I tend to be pretty lazy about my cooking too. So I generally have the wife do it. I think we wind up with a better job of it too.

No, but seriously, I really would like to know what the intent was. I'm really trying to figure out what they had in mind when they went through all the effort of filing a FOI petition and then built the website to put it on. That just isn't normal behavior unless there is something in it for them (him/her/whatever). Just curious and not easily convinced to simply ignore it.

I don't think that is really any part of the motives behind AR. It may be the unintended consequence, but I don't believe it is intentional. No I honestly believe that they don't even think of that part of the potential consequences or they look at their own hunting and habitat conditions and can't imagine that anyone might not have those same circumstances as they do. I don't think there is any malicious intentions on the part of AR proponents.

"hill-side veal" ....... can't beat it!!

I forgot to mention that one. I also have a Bear Kodiak Magnum hanging on the wall downstairs.

Yeah, I guess over half of the participants in the Ohio bow season probably are using them because they like all the extra handicaps of lugging a heavy, awkward, clumsy, noisy, piece of junk that can't even group at 40 yards. And all these people asking to use them in NY must be just plain idiots that don't even understand just how ineffective they are. That's too bad. It sounds like they are in for a surprise when they find out that they can't hit the broad side of a barn at 40 yards. I'm surprised that these x-bow companies can possibly stay in business, putting out useless trash like that. Are you guys sure they are even adequate for taking deer? Sorry guys ..... I had made up my mind not to comment on these x-bow threads, but it does seem as though after all these years of redundant repetition, somebody has finally come up with something new ....... an attack on the crossbow itself. That's a new and interesting twist to the discussion that I thought I would like to comment on.

I suppose you could. I never tried. For centerfire, I have an impact bullet puller, which i don't think will grab a rimfire cartridge. And then, since the primer is in the rim, I would be a bit nervous bout using that style of bullet extraction. I suppose you might be able to use pliers and such to dismantle the bullet, but there is no way to dismantle the primer on a rimfire ...... that I am aware of. I have never had any bad ammo like that either, but I have heard of that sort of thing happening. Also, I have had some extremely old corroded ammo that probably should have been tossed somewhere rather than put through a gun. I also had a few reloaded 20 guage shotshells and the gun I used to use them in has been gone for about 30+ years. I wanted to toss them, but I really didn't know a safe way to do that. Anyway, I was just curious as to how you should properly dispose of junk ammo. I would assume there must be some approved way to do it. Doc

Ok, now first of all let's be honest neither you or I have any idea why they posted it. We can guess, but only they know why they went to all the effort to do that. I sure don't know about people going crazy, but if gun owners are concerned with this kind of nonsense, then I guess I feel better than if they simply shrug their shoulders and say, "I don't care".

That's something I never have gotten a good clear answer on. There seems to be a preference of wild sows over wild boars when it comes to taste. Also, I have heard that wild pig is not as good as grain fattened domestic hogs. Is there anybody here in this forum that has had first hand experience in eating wild pigs that could offer some opinions on taste differences? Is there a significant difference in the quality of taste between the sows and the boars? Is there a significant difference in taste between wild pigs and domestic pigs? And, one last question, is there much difference in taste between Russian boars and the other smaller varieties of feral hogs? They don't even look like the same kind of animal .... lol. Doc

LOL.... That's why we have a shredder. And yes, the internet is a major source of privacy invasion. That is a shame, and it also is not something where we should be welcoming or justifying more of it.

In some cases it may just be perception. I know it is the days that I actually see deer that stand out in my mind. But I also know there are days when I don't see any deer. So when you say "average", I have to factor in those days when nothing is spotted. Also, there is a huge difference depending on hunting style. In my younger days, I used to stand for a couple hours in the morning and then head out to do some scouting/stillhunting. Then go back to stand hunting for the last 2 hours. I would see all kinds of deer during those "walking" hours. Another feature regards food. Last year, we had a bumper crop of acorns. This had the effect of dispersing the deer because there was no concentration of their food source. I think that comes into play anytime you have too much food available. As far as pressure is concerned, sometimes the right kinds of pressure will keep deer on their feet. That may be a factor during gun season as far as higher sighting numbers. A little pressure usually winds up to be just enough to put deer in their survival mode, but not enough pressure to keep them moving. That all combines to provide low numbers of actual sightings. That doesn't mean there are no deer, it just means that they are not out and on display. I'm guessing that every area is unique and has different features and influences that effect sightings. Some may legitimately be low deer numbers, but that is not always the case. Doc