Doc

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

Well, you may invite people to publish lists on your personal possessions and pastimes, I see it as an attempt to harrass with absolutely no redeeming purpose. I also am not going to ignore the potential misuses of this list as outlined by MrVJP. I find it amazing how easily we now accept such intrusions into our personal lives. I guess we are starting to get conditioned to accept it and even defend it as being harmless. I'm not so accepting of that kind of nonsense and will speak out against it whenever given the chance.

I'm a "ground-stander" too, but I have already been out fixing up some of the ground blinds that I have scattered through the woods. There's always shooting lanes to clear and new brush and stuff to add to the blinds. I don't like to wait until too close to the season to start disturbing things, so most of them are done already. Doc

I had some guys setting up a drive in the little 1000' deep thicket in front of my house. I'm not sure whether they intended to post some guys up in my front yard or what. They never got that far before I was on them. I'm afraid I wasn't as nice about it as you were. I just gave them the boot. The leader of the drive turned out to be a brother-in-law of a guy that I invited out to hunt years previously. The posted signs went up the next day and have been there ever since. I always try to think only the best of my fellow hunters, but some times you just have to shake your head and wonder. What the heck is the matter with some people? Doc

I suspect you're right. Those critters cover a lot of ground and lay down a pile of tracks, and in the snow it can look like you are over-run with them. On the other hand, there may be places where there are piles of them. I have heard of places where getting to your wounded deer winds up to be a foot-race with the coyotes. So I do believe there are some places where the population density is quite high. However, I have found around our area that they are not as plentiful as I once thought. And that fact does make them an extra-special challenge to hunt. Doc

Here's a sign That I have to get installed in front of our house:

Well, here's a little something that ought to give a few a chuckle:

Question: When you do come up with loaded rounds that won't go off, what is the proper way to dispose of them? Obviously you don't just throw them in the trash ..... so how do you get rid of a round or two that refuse to fire. I suppose with centerfire ammo, you could just pull them apart and reuse the bullet, powder and case if you have a bullet puller. But rimfire would pose a pretty tough disposal problem. So what is the recommended procedure? Doc

Mine comes off at the stand or any time I shoot or am prepared to shoot. Doc

Of course the horse is out of the barn now. But then that doesn't mean that we simply pull the doors off the barn. Honestly, I have no idea why you would defend this action. When someone thumps me on the head, I tend to react differently than just sitting there inviting them to do it again.....lol. Or maybe even do it better ..... : Really ...... I wouldn't have the slightest clue how to access that info ..... until now. Now it's real easy isn't it? As far as personal info, I would guess the fact that I have a pistol might qualify as that. At least it should be. What really concerns me is just what did this person (or organization) have in mind when they went to all of the trouble of filing the FOI petition to obtain the info and then set up the web-site to display it to the public. I can sit here and imagine all kinds of dastardly uses that some of the wackos of this world might put that info to use for (Some of which MrVJP listed above). But this guy obviously had something a little more concrete in mind. Doc

Some time in early August, I believe.

I haven't gone back to my spreadsheet to check, but I would say that Bowseason sightings on average across the whole season is probably less than one deer per hunt (from stand). That would be a quite a bit higher when scouting or walking around. I spend a lot of hunts closing in on where the deer are. And those hunts may pass without seeing one deer. That brings the average down in a hurry. In gun season, the number would be a whole lot lower. Even though opening day I may have deer running all over me, when you average in the weekdays when deer have moved into the survival mode, that average number drops way down. That number also changes upward on days when I am still-hunting. I tend to see a lot more deer that way than when I am sitting like a lump, feeling like the only guy in the woods, and all the deer are switched to nocturnal movements. Doc

Magnus stinger 4 blade. Doc