Doc

Why can't you use treestands in Suffolk County? I don't understand. Doc

If NYS intends to maintain any credibility in the lifetime license program, they had better not start tacking on fees and stamps and any other kinds of flim-flam do-dads trying to rip us off for more. There can be no legitimate excuse for doing that, and that would amount to outright deceit, lying and theft. I'm getting mighty tired of sportsmen being considered a easy soft touch just because NYS can't seem to manage money. This kind of unlimited ripping off of sportsmen and women amounts to an attack against hunters and fishermen which is no less effective than if it were done by the animal rights crowd. And while all this stuff is going on, non-sportsmen are getting increased benefits and use of DEC services and resources FOR FREE. Every year, more and more DEC resources are siphoned off to non-sporting activities and facilities and we are left to pay for it. Yes, we are a soft touch, but somebody better quickly become aware that there is a limit as to how many times they can keep reaching into our pockets and how deep. And everytime they blow their budget, I keep hearing, "Oh that's ok, we can afford to pay more". Well, I hate to say it, but I can't and won't and I believe I'm not alone on that. If they aren't smart enough to put that Lifetime License money to work in the market and simply blow it all as it comes in the door, there is absolutely no reason why I or any other sportsmen should be pulling more money out of our pocket for their stupidity. If there are people who have so much excess money that they want to donate to the DEC ...... by all means feel free to do so, but don't be indicating that the rest of us be strapped with anymore funding of government waste and mismanagement. Doc

Or you can do like I did ........ have your wife run the line for you during the week. She used to do the hill for the dry-land trapping during the week and I would do the swamp when I got home.I could do the swamp at night aftyer work because I used exclusively drowning sets there. Wow, that was a lot of years ago. Probably couldn't find a wife that would do that anymore ..... lol. she's a good woman!!!! Doc

Lol ...... That works. Doc

I don't think the law addresses edge configurations. I would recommend against getting involved in such things though. It certainly is not going to assist in penetration. There always is and always has been one or two heads on the market that have serrated edges, but I have to believe that if there was anything beneficial about that design, they would be the mainline design. Doc

I used to do it all, including complete bow breakdowns for paint jobs. I did all cabling, and made my own strings, and anything you can imagine. Even messed around with a few inventions for accessories. Then along came the string style cable systems, and all that stuff came to a halt. It used to be with the double teardrop steel cables, you could change a string in your shop or in the field without a bow press or anything. not anymore. So other than peepsights and other accessories, the major bow work takes place in a pro-shop. And, on occasion that causes me some real problems. It's a shame because I used to love working on all my bows and nothing was too big a challenge. I suppose I still could, but now I have other things that I am into and really don't want to get all tangled up in big bow projects anymore. Doc

Bill- Look at this as an opportunity. It sounds like you now have something to do this winter. Get a game caller and see how many of them critters you can get. You can pick up a little spending money that way too. Doc

It's a real shame when neighbors pull that sort of thing because not only are they screwing up their own hunting but it does have a ripple effect on surrounding hunting lands. As far as using the 4x4 to assist in a hunt, I would think there must be some law being broke there. Perhaps a phone call to the DEC might be in order. Doc

It's true. When you can consistantly drill the target at long distances, the confidence at reasonable shooting distances is increased. Besides it kind of fun watching the arrow hang out there forever while it covers the longer distances. I remember when we used to shoot the 80 yard shot on a field course with recurves. The arrow almost seemed to be in slow motion. That's just plain fun. Also, if we could score anything on that shot, we went into the next closer shots with a new level of confidence. Doc

He rough-talked him and run him off. I got to get me some of that thar learnin' about rough-talkin'. It sounds like it works good on them sasquatches. Hey, that stuff must be true. Looky there ...... it was right chere on the news. Gotta be true! That video is some funny stuff right there, I don't care who you are. Doc

Well then, I guess that puts an end to this thread and I am still stuck with the same cynical political views. I don't trust any of them, and everytime I get a little enthused about one candidate or the other, they turn around and lie through their teeth and stab their supporters in the back. I don't see anything different about this guy. I'm not sure what has happened to American politics but it seems that those that can manipulate public opinion and toss out the most convincing lies are the ones who win and we don't seem to have any defense against it. Doc

So who here believes they can tell a buck's set of tracks from a doe's tracks? What do you look for to tell you the difference? Doc

Sometimes it's a real treat to be a mile or so from home in the middle of the hill when it's pitch black and all of a sudden, you hear some gosh awful animal noise that you never heard before.That happened a whole bunch of years ago when a buddy of mine and me were on our way home and passing through an area that we've always called "the Dark Woods". It's a ravine area that is full of mature hemlocks which never let a whole lot of sunlight in, (hence the name). Just a little bit of a spooky area if you let your imagination wander too much. Anyway, not too far away, something started up with some super loud, snarling, screaming combination of noises. I've never heard anything like it before or since. In a calmer frame of mind, if I had to guess, I would say that it was probably a pair of racoons or some other animals having a bit of a wrestling match. However, standing in the middle of nowhere in the pitch darkness (with no flashlight by the way), you would be amazed at the images that your mind can paint. Any way, we both stopped to listen for about 15 seconds and then continued to head home with just a bit more speed in our step....lol. Doc

....... That's a joke ....right?

How did you like Hogzilla? now there was a pile of bacon. Doc

Turkey season causes an unusual dilemma. First of all, I'm not sure whether turkeys are color vision impaired like deer are. However there seems to be more accidents with some occasionally being fatalities during turkey season these days. Would blaze orange be a viable safety precaution during turkey season? Is it even practical? Can turkeys see blaze orange? I know they have some pretty darn good vision. I don't do a whole lot of turkey hunting anymore so I really don't know. Doc

Tweaking and tuning up that bow and sharpening up my accuracy through practice is a hunting preparation that I have already started working on. It all needs work ..... lol. Doc

Just finished watching the program, and it is one scary bunch of stuff. Their contention is that the wild pig population is spiraling out of control, and cannot be contained by any hunting or trapping methods. Apparently the problem has taken off since the 1990s when these critters changed from occupying 19 states to the current situation of wild hogs in 40 states. They were saying that a local hog population can double in 6 months. These things are sexually mature at 5 months old and can have 3 litters of 5 or 6 piglets in any 14 month period. What is spreading them? It appears that there are some people that trap them and then introduce them illegally elsewhere. They didn't say why, but I would guess that it is for hunting purposes. The other part of the program dealt with the change in the nature of these wild hogs. Apparently they are getting bigger and more aggressive. They went on to describe quite a few cases of outright attacks on people. They also showed several of these monsters that were just plain huge. One weighing 1000 pounds and another that weighed 1100 pounds and a couple of others that were just plain monsters but they didn't give the weights. These were not typical, but simply freaks of nature that are becoming more frequent. The theory is that the breeds are being taken over by the more dominant Eurasian boars (russian boars) which have been imported over the years and either intentionally turned loose or are escapees from game farms. These critters are not your typical little pink piggies. They are completely different with significantly longer legs, a longer snout, bigger tusks and longer and thicker coats of bristles. In other words ...... they don't even look like the same animal. They don't have the same disposition either. And this is what's taking over the breed that's living in the wild. If you ever get a chance to see this program if it's repeated, be sure not to miss it. It paints a pretty ugly picture of a pig population gone crazy. As a side-note, one thing that ran through my mind is just what kinds of government programs are they going to soon begin to control these populations if hunting and trapping are so totally ineffective. These things are exceptionally destructive to their habitat and are causing millions of dollars worth of crop damage ($15 million per year in Texas alone). It sure wouldn't be great for the future of hunting if this "pig bomb" causes some technology to develop that contains animal populations without hunting and trapping. In a lot of minds, the one major redeeming factor of hunting is the fact that they need hunters to control animal populations. Hopefully resolution of this hog problem will not be offering up some other alternatives. Doc

Yeah, it would be nice to filter out the single source of foolish nonsense and flame-baiting once in a while. I think it would be a good feature. I suppose I can do the same thing myself, but it's just a lot easier when it is an automatic thing.

Here's the problem I have. I have heard all of this stuff before, and not really all that long ago. We had Pataki who campaigned as a friend to gun owners and then turned around and passed all kinds of so-called "assault rifle" restrictions. he too claimed to be a Conservative Republican but never lived up to that label. So, when campaign rhetoric and promises don't really mean a thing to these guys, how do you really recognize one of these characters that is telling the truth if he does come along. These guys love to say that they are outsiders like that is supposed to be some badge of honor. All that means is that they have no record or paper trail to foul up whatever they have to say to be elected. The last major outsider that I can remember was Carter when he was running for president ...... And look how that turned out. No, that label doesn't do a thing for me. And of course finally, there is the question of what chance does this guy have to beat Cuomo. Most likely Lazio's chances are pretty darn slim. So what chances does this Paladino really have. So, how about somebody trying to convince me that this guy should or even can become the next Governor of NYS. I really can't warm up to any candidate from either side of the fence, and have really become one politically cynical son of a gun. Doc

I know we would all like to see the DEC manage the herd more locally. When we look at the size and diversity of some of these WMUs, we know that the conditions across those WMUs are not identical and in some cases not even close to being identical. The fact is that even if you used counties or townships as management parcels you might get a bit better, but you still would never find exact consistant conditions. And the financial practicality would break the bank. I have seen deer conditions vary completely from one side of the valley to the other, or one property to the other. Couple all that with the current realities of the DEC budgets, and you start beginning to see why the WMU system was adopted. You are never going to make all hunters, everywhere, happy. In fact the herd will most likely never be managed at its optimum anywhere. What we have is a system that tries to average conditions across a large area, and most likely they over-shoot some areas and undershoot others within the same WMU and seldom really get it right. It's really a no-win situation. Add in some of the anti-deer financial interests that continually lobby the government to "kill 'em all", and pretty soon you begin to hear from some pretty irate hunters. Even some of the more popular suggestions that we see on this forum are really only appropriate for some specialized population and habitat conditions and probably are not suited for all lands of any one WMU. Nope, it will never be done right, and we will never all be happy. That's just a fact of life. I don't think it will ever change. I can only say that I'm glad that I never tried the DEC for employment. It's a pretty thankless, no-win job. Doc

Lol ...... That's why they call it "hunting". Things change and just as soon as you think you have it all figured out, it changes. It's funny the way all the deer hunting "how-to" books and articles always say to set up your stand between the bedding and feeding areas. Like the deer are always feeding on the same thing and bedded up in the same area. If it were all that easy, I guess there wouldn't be a whole lot to this hunting thing. Doc

Just based on what I see locally, our population is definitely on the upswing from several years ago. I don't have the harvest numbers here in front of me to see if those numbers agree with my observations or not. There really is no one story that covers the whole state other than what is issued by the DEC. Where you live will be different from just over the hill sometimes. Not only do deer patterns move, but hunter patterns move too, so conditions can change from one year to the next and from one valley to the next, one township to the next, and from one county to the next and from one region to the next. You will hear all kinds of conflicting stories about the state of the herd, and it is concievable that they all could be accurate. In our area, I believe we are seeing a steep decline in hunters and also a decline in endurance or enthusiasm of those hunters. Things get awful quiet around 10:00 opening morning, and they stay that way through the rest of the season. We now have a lot of 1 day hunters, and a lot of 1/2 day hunters. That's good news and bad news. I do like losing some of that carnival atmosphere when gun hunting (I feel safer), but I have to admit that a good lively crowd does get the deer moving. So if the crowd dies down, the deer take dies down, and the population goes up ..... regardless of how many permits are issued. Anyway, I can't answer your question about what is going on statewide. I only know what the DEC tells us about the statewide herd. Actually statewide numbers and comments are kind of useless to me anyway since I really can only be concerned with what is happening in the area that I hunt. Doc

That was an interesting video! It all looks like a fun time although I'm sure some of those guys take it a whole lot more serious that just a "fun time". Doc

Bad year for skeeters. It's a lot damper than other years and excellent breeding conditions for those little guys. Most other years, we have had a substantial stretch of drought by now. My shooting range (gun) and archery range are both in the woods and I haven't gotten a lot of shooting done this year because of those things. Doc