Doc

I have a spreadsheet that covers hunting seasons from 1982 to 1995. I have attached (hopefully) some screen shots that show how I used to use this electronic journal. I have never used the photo attachment thing before, so if it all works, I will add another reply to explain all of what is depicted here. Doc

It sounds like some of the Rage 3 heads do retract and some don't. That's kind of what the wording of "consistantly" means to me. Does anyone know if that is the case. If so, I would assume that if you can demonstrate that your particular Rage 3 that you used to harvest a deer does "retract consistently" then I guess it is legal. Also, I am curious if there is some modification that can fix the problem of "the blades occasionally getting caught on each other and therefore acting as a barbed broad head". I've never seen one of these things up close and personal, so that is why I am curious. Doc

One other reason why private land gets shut-off...... Many years ago my Dad allowed some hunters from work to hunt our property (with permission). Next thing you know, they started inviting people out to hunt with them (without permission). That sort of thing mushroomed until within just a few years the driveway looked like a parking lot. The original invitees no longer came out, but all these people that they had invited took over the property. Finally, Dad stood down by the cars and one by one encountered each of the hunters and informed them that the place was closed to all hunting. That was the end of open hunting on our farm. So, when I grew up and got property of my own, apparently I didn't learn from Dad's experiences (what kid does?). I fell into the same trap and invited out two co-workers. Oh yeah ...... pretty soon their relatives began to show up. Brothers, brother-in-laws, friends ..... the same thing all over again. The original people were long-gone and nothing but strangers swarmed all over the property to the point where I was in a foot-race in order to get the spots that I wanted ..... on my own property. It finally came to a head when I noticed a bunch of cars parking out front along the road and a whole pile of orange-coats bailing out and setting up a drive in the thicket in front of the house. I went down to give them the boot, and found out it was the brother-in-law of the first guy I invited out and his merry band of drivers. They were going to put on a drive right in front of my house. I sent them packing and wasn't really too nice about it. I spent the rest of the next few days posting up my boundary just about as tight as possible. It has stayed that way ever since. Yes I remember when posted signs were a rarity, and I could hunt just about anywhere I could wander. As much as I hate posted signs, hunter densities and an eagerness to take advantage of hospitality have increased to the point that I and many other landowners have no choice but to try to maintain some sort of control. That control comes through posted signs and very careful and extremely limited offers of hunting access. Doc

If you are talking about deer hunting rounds, I can't answer that yet. Although the change is in process, we still are a shotgun only county for deer. However, on my other rifles: I use Hornady's V-max or SST bullets with Federal primers and Win 93 or IMR 4198 powder. Doc

No kidding!! I was over there a few months ago and drove the length of pole bridge road and I couldn't even find the place anymore even though I went there a jillion times during the 80's. I remember that the clubhouse and range was not visible from the road, and the driveway was real easy to get past without seeing it. I'll have to go over there and take a more careful look. I don't think I am interested in joining again. That 30 mile one-way drive hasn't gotten any shorter ... lol, but I think I would like to just go over and see the place again (just for old-times sake). A bunch of us put an awful lot into that place and were super active for quite a few years. I finally had to give up because of the distance. And then the winter facilities (in Caledonia) were even farther. Thanks for passing on the info. Doc

I was just curious as to how many here actually keep hunting journals. Those that do: - How many years have you got documented? - What level of detail do you record? - What is the format that you use (spread sheets, hand written notebooks, purchased canned programs, etc.)? - how useful has the journal been to you? - Do you use the journal just for historical purposes (diary) or have you tried to build in some analysis features for assisting future hunts? Doc

So, how many of you actually make some of your own equipment (putting together arrows, building bows, etc.)? How many work on their own bows for repair and maintenance? How many have ever gotten involved in creating your own archery inventions? To me, all that stuff is fun and interesting. I built my first longbow. I have designed and built sights and arrow rests and other archery trinkets and gadgets. I have never bought a commercially assembled arrow ...... ever. And up until recently, I none of my bows ever saw the inside of a archery pro-shop once I bought it. It all just seems to part of the archery experience, and I really do love puttering around with archery equipment and have for 45 years. If I had arranged things to have more free time over my life, I probably would have gotten even more deeply involved in it all. Doc

Steve- Way back in the olden days when I first got into bowhunting, traditional equipment was pretty much the rule of the day. Since the advent of the compound, I have not been able to regain the discipline and dedication required to go back to traditional equipment for any sustained period of time. However, as far as I am concerned, your style of bowhunting is about as pure a form of archery as there is. While my successes in the old days of traditional bowhunting were quite rare, I must admit that they were the ones that I treasure most. I guess I am not surprised to hear that any traditional bowhunter hunts from the ground. Somehow that just seems to be a whole lot more appropriate in terms of completing the traditional bowhunting experience. Doc

Man, you've got that right. There is simply not a better day than a crisp fall day with sun shining on those leaves. I don't even have to see a deer to get completely lost in the experience of hunting in those surroundings. Doc

Wow! Those sound too pretty to shoot. I'd like to see a picture of them. Doc

The scariest thing I have ever seen in the woods was a couple of over-sized german shepards that seemed to have a bit of an attitude. I guess they were claiming that part of the woods as their own since they really didn't seem to want to give any ground. I wasn't in to great a defensive position with just my bow and a hunting knife. So I pulled my coat up around my neck and put on my gloves (just in case) and slowly backed out of the area. Luckily, they didn't follow. That wasn't in the dark (fortunately) but was pretty tense none-the-less. Doc

We used to have a blue heron rookery on top of the hill where there were several nests in the tree-tops. Once I discovered it, I tried to stay away from it so as not to disturb things there. However, I was working my way around the nesting site heading to the back of my property when I noticed a whole lot of noise coming from the area. Curious, I slowly headed toward there. As I got closer, I could see several herons squawking like crazy and flying around the nests. A little closer and I could make out the shape of a big cat's head sticking out of the top of one of the nests. Yup, sure enough it was a bobcat. He was either after the eggs or some newly hatched herons. I was just out hiking/scouting at the time, so I didn't have any weapons with me. This rookery was too far from home to go back and get anything (up and over the top of our "killer hill") so there was no way I could break up the nest theft. That was the last year that they had their nests there. That was a whole lot of years ago and that's the only one that I have ever seen. However, it wasn't too long ago that the local paper had a picture of one that was hit in the road over toward Bloomfield. I believe it was up on route #64 almost up to Ionia. and even more recently, the paper reported that there was one seen by several people in Canandaigua over by a condo complex next to the lake. Yes, I do believe there are more around than people realize. They're just pretty darn sneaky. Doc

Here's an article that you should read next time before going out in the dark ..... lol. http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/10/29/canada.singer.killed/index.html If that don't do it, watch the movie, Cujo again. Now start thinking about an encounter with a bear with rabies. Even better, let's say it's bow season and that is the only weapon that you have ..... Ha-ha. Now let all these things work with your imagination. Next thing you know, you will shut off the alarm and roll over and go back to sleep. It's easier said than done, but you have to get control of that imagination and focus on the fact that there is nothing there in the dark that isn't there in the daylight. Doc

There are so many aspects to hunting that it is a shame to see people get locked into just one of them. There are an awful lot of super experiences that occur during a deer hunt that don't even have a deer involved with them. I really hate to see the whole thing boiled down to a numbers game. Yes, I do get all excited when I see some monster old buck, but I don't have to see some monster old buck to be enthusiastic or to be able to call my day of hunting a success. Maybe I just don't take it all as serious as a lot of people do, but more likely over the years I have simply tailored my satisfactions and expectations to a more realistic level and have developed an enthusiasm of simply watching and experiencing nature along the way. So how does all this relate to the topic of AR? ......I don't know..... lol. Doc

Whenever I can, I have two stands located at every hunting site. They are arranged for different wind directions and may or may not be located right near each other. I kind of made that a standard practice quite a few years ago after having it proved to me that meteorologists are the only people who get paid for being wrong. When it comes to wind direction, they are wrong more often than not. It's not always their fault. When you hunt hill & valley country, you get used to wind doing the opposite of what the prevailing area winds are. Between the thermals and just the way the hills and valleys duct the wind around, the weatherman's opinion doesn't really mean a lot. For example, in our valley like most north-south valleys, you get three wind directions .... north south and circling. When ever you get a west wind (most of the time) or one of those more rare east winds, it all depends on whether there is any north or south component to it as to whether it will be converted into a north or south wind. So, I have to be prepared for unexpected wind directions. Two stands usually does the job. Doc

Probably an honest answer would be, "I really don't know what the average age is of all the deer in our area". But based strictly on only those deer that I see (and only those that stand still long enough to make a judgement), I would have to say that the average is probably 1.5 years old. That stands to reason with a brand new crop of them every year, you probably should expect to see younger deer as an average. Doc

One of the great things about hunting the same areas year after year is that you learn from experience where some of the likely bedding areas are. In our area, there is no "one condition fits all" scenario. I know that deer do bed down in the heavy wild-rose choked thickets and other nearly impenetrable brush areas. But I also have some favorite bedding areas on top the hill that are fairly open mature wooded areas where deer will simply hunker down on some knoll or next to a huge log. These places are usually found simply by spending time in the woods and taking note of where you most often jump deer. It would be nice if we could say that that place over there is thick so every deer in the area must be there when they are not feeding, but it just isn't true. It takes a bit of time and lot of observation to try to determine where the deer might be at any particular time of day and then you can only talk in terms of probability. I have seen deer bed in some real strange places. Doc

I do think we worry entirely too much about what is or isn't a trophy, but people are free to set their measures of success in hunting anyway they want I suppose. If a whole bunch of antler is your way of figuring out what kind of animal is worthy of hunting, that is certainly ok. I just never saw hunting as something where participants need to keep score. For me the whole thing does not boil down to numbers whether those numbers be some kind of rack score or the deer's age. I can't think of another animal hunted in NYS where we spend so much time worrying about how we stack up against the next hunter. But if we think this is something we must do, then I suppose there's no harm in it as long as we don't start trying to force our measures of success on others. Doc

No, this isn't something you really should be worried about .......... but just try to get those thoughts out of your head ..... lol. Doc

Geeze....I hope you didn't mean run "bare" with hounds. Most of the year it is a bit cold for that.

I tell ya, if deer had the slightest clue what their natural weapons can do, and even the slightest inclination to use them, deer hunting would take on a whole different aspect. For one thing, I don't think I would be comfortable going into the woods armed with just my bow ...... lol. By the way ....... what in the heck was that stupid cat thinking? Doc

Who sells those things?

Is there any kind of controlled hunting allowed in that park? Doc

It is real strange that in 1971 it was made "unlawful for any department or division of this state, or any political subdivision thereof to pay bounties on the taking of wildlife", (11-0531) and yet it is ok for private organizations to do essentially the same thing with big-buck contests and now coyote contests. The logic and philosophies behind some of these laws aren't really very consistant are they? I suppose it doesn't matter anyway, since the state really couldn't afford to pay bounties anyway. But I think hunters would get a whole lot more serious about coyote hunting if the state were giving out bounties. Bearing in mind that we hunters are the only real predators of coyotes, it sure would be a good thing if there was more of an incentive to shoot those critters. Doc

What an opportunity for those in that area who are having difficulties finding open bowhunting hunting grounds. Is anyone here going for this? Doc