Doc

Oh, how I envy you. My house has always been and always will be a perpetual "time-sink" and I don't think I will ever be saying that I am on the last thing, or even be able to see that kind of light at the end of the tunnel. But as much as I complain about it, I still have to admit that I enjoy it all. Doc

Where is the best place to host the photos? ..... Best being easiestand quickest to access and upload pictures to. Doc

Hang on there, they do not speak for me, my letters to my state reps do, as well as my non-membership in NYB. I wouldnt have the time to try and change anything from the inside of that curmudgeon organization. As far as starting an organization, I kind of remember a couple of guys talking about that on the old site and I also remember a few guys that vehimently tried shooting their idea down, saying things like "there are already enough organizations in NY" and "others have tried and not succeeded". Im not sniping, like I said, my next set of letters will be round #3 for me. I just choose not to join an organization full of elitists. Like it or not, I repeat that NYB speaks for bowhunters and you know it is true. I don't really want to discourage anyone from independantly writing letters to legislators and any other body of power, but the plain facts are that the power of your single communication is dwarfed and made insignificant on bowhunting issues simply because NYB is the only recognized and organized body of bowhunters. And that is true regardless of their size or standpoint on the issues. You can call them all the names you want. You can rant and rail in forums all you want, but the fact is that it is the movers and shakers within that organization that officially has the ear of the legislature and the DEC when those people feel like listening to bowhunters at all. They are the ones that DO take the time to push issues in the direction they want them. We can all sit here and say we don't like this and we don't like that, but its all wasted energy. My take is that I agree with more of what they believe and do than those things that I don't. Yes there are some significant issues that I have total disagreement with them on. I have made the opportunities to have my say, including lengthy phone calls with the President of the organization. I suspect that if the membership agreed with me and took the brief amount of time that it takes to register their opinion, there would be changes. However, we have far too many people who would rather not get involved. That includes members as well as those who like to merely sit on the sidelines with nothing invested and take potshots. By the way, I do still believe that we have enough sportsmen's organizations, but I will say that if someone truly believes that they have a big enough gripe with NYB and they want to lend some credibility to their position, putting their time effort and money where there mouth is, as the current organization does, would certainly show credibility and dedication to their position. No, they would not get my support, because I do not share their view that NYB is broken beyond repair. I do not expect or demand that NYB needs to agree with everyone of my views, and I don't know any reasonable person who would ever expect that. Those that do are guaranteed to forever be malcontents no matter how many organizations you come up with. What I do believe is that bowhunters are better served in this state and in any state if they are organized than if they are not. Apparently not everyone agrees with that. Doc

Well, you probably are right, but when I was floating the question on a few forums, there seemed to be more than a few that talked about this "vertical lining" or whatever the term was. I'm sure whatever they were talking about was probably some small effect that I probably would never be able to detect given my shooting abilities, but Since there was a pile of money involved, I took the safe route, and left the controversy for others to to sort out. I have not been unhappy with my Remington choice and probably wouldn't be disappointed with another one in the gun cabinet. Doc

Like it or not, until you form your own bowhunting organization, NYB is the only organization that speaks for all bowhunters. They are the only recognized bowhunter mouthpiece by legislators and the DEC and anyone else who influences the activity of bowhunting. So, if you have a problem with how they are representing you, and the stances on issues that they take, I would suggest that you do something about it such as joining and changing things from the inside or starting your own organization. I suspect that you might not like the latter choice, because you would soon find out that the world is full of people who would rather stand on the outside offering nothing but worthless sniping. But at least you would be actively trying to represent bowhunters in a positive fashion for a change instead of just sitting back and carping at those who do devote time and effort in the cause of having bowhunters heard. Doc

Nothing special ....... just a 3x -10x Bushell. That's one place where I could use improvement on all my guns is the scopes. The problem is that a really good scope costs more than the gun, and the whole package gets to be a bit of a strain on the wallet. Doc

I had problems with PSE way back in the early 80's, and I never went back. So I assumed that they had cleaned up their act ......... apparently not. Doc

Applying in 8N is almost a guaranteed two-permits. I have been getting the maximum number just about every year for a long time now. Doc

Another requirement will be a low cost of re-loading too. I do my own re-loading, which means a lot of bench shooting working up a good load that performs well. So component cost and powder cost will be a consideration. There sure are a lot of calibers in the lower end that are in the running, but like I said, the .243 is the only one that I have actually had "hands-on" experience with. When I bought my .223 varmint gun (Remington 700 SPS), I also looked at the Thompson Encore. I came very close to buying one. There was some concern going around teh forums and in a couple of magazine articles about the hinge-style action on that style of single shot. There was some talk about an error that produces vertical group creeping. They had a term for it which escapes me at the moment. However at the same time I was hearing about this potential problem, I came across a pretty good deal on the Remington, so I went in that direction. I never looked any deeper into the controversy over the pivoting single shots, so I never really put that story to rest. I've been so happy with the .223 Remington 700 SPS, that I will probably be looking to get the same model only chambered in a deer caliber (assuming they make such a critter). Doc

No, I don't do a whole lot of practicing beyond 30 yards anymore. Those shots out to 80 yards were from back in the 80's when I used to shoot the NFAA competitions. They had a few of these long distance shots which I actually did get fairly good at. Those longer shots are kind of the tie-breakers. They are fun to do, especially with a recurve. You do your best to set up and execute the shot and then you just watch the arrow go and go almost like in slow motion. It seems to take forever to get down there to the target. However, some of the other competitive archery organizations have competitions where archers shoot out to 100 meters. Great fun! Doc

I guess what I was thinking of when I mentioned taking some of the mowed material off the plot was the massive amounts of hay that you typically see laying on top of hayfields when farmers mow. It looks like a large enough volume to suffocate what is trying to grow if it was all just left there. I suppose that if you mow it often enough and don't let it get like a hay crop, it might not be a problem. Also, as long as you're not using a sickle-bar mower, the stuff might get mulched up fine enough to sift its way back down to the dirt like what happens on your lawn. Doc

Yeah, one of the things that started me cleaning the squirrels right on the spot in the woods was when I discovered that they were full of fleas. I didn't want to be dragging a bunch of fleas home. The same thing would apply to ticks if they were a problem here. Doc

I have a range set up in the basement for winter shooting. I can get a 15 yard shot. I just use smaller bullseyes to compensate. Outside, behind the house, in the woods, I have a range that's marked out in 10 yard increments from 10 yards to 80 yards. I don't use the super long yardages all that much. They are kind of a carry-over from my NFAA competition days. The range is lighted from 30 yards in. Doc

Glad you found your way here. Doc

One of the most recognizable symbols of NY is the state outline. How do you incorporate that into a logo? ............. I don't know. Maybe the shape around the deer could be the NYS outline? Personally, I don't think what you came up with is all that bad. I kind of like it. Doc

So far over here in my chunk of Ontario County, we haven't had a lot of ticks on the squirrels. Maybe it's just a matter of time, because I have found ticks on deer. The squirrels are full of fleas though. Generally, I skin them right in the woods as soon as I get them and leave the hide behind. I carry a big zip-lock bag for the skinned carcasses. All the guts and skin stay behind for the critters to feed on. Doc

Now there is a stand that I could get along with. Love those railings! Doc

But when you mow it, you have to remove it from the plot .... right? Unless you've got some kind of mower that chops it up real fine won't you have a problem with it choking out additional growth. Would a bush-hog mulch it up enough so you wouldn't have to find some way of picking it up? Also, what are the sunlight requirements for food plot crops. I can see where a lot of the plots might be real small and be in the middle of a mature woods which would cut down the number of hours of direct sunlight. Is that a problem, or is there some food plot plantings that might do better than others in such conditions? Doc

You ought to try eating a few if you can get yourself to do it .... lol. They really are great tasting when cooked right. They sure can be a pain when you're trying to listen for approaching deer. More than once I've gotten all excited only to find out it was just a squirrel. Doc

Lol ..... Don't be wishing your life away. But I can verify that for the most part, retired life is great for a hunter and fisherman. I think in your case, a nice multi-million dollar lottery win would be just the thing. Doc

I am about the last one anyone would want to ask about equipment. I have entered a phase in my life where I am trying to use every last dollar's worth out of the equipment that I've got, and I haven't bought anything new in years. I think some people call it being cheap! It's been so long since I bought a release that I can't even remember the name of the one I'm using now. However, I think you are doing the right thing by going to the store and actually checking over as many as possible. Doc

Getting a deer with a bow before getting one with a gun is a very unusual thing I think. I'll bet most of us went from gun hunting into bow hunting. Doc

Well, you all can probably tell by the way I worded the question that I am not real crazy about taking any of the challenge out of my hunting. But to be honest, I must admit to having hung up my recurves and longbows and taking on a bunch of compounds over the years. I have to admit that the old wooden arrows got replaced by a bunch of aluminum ones. I sure didn't buy all those releases because I wanted to increase the challenge. The years have been one huge "buying spree" trying to find the perfect set-up that would basically, one by one, take challenges out of shooting. We all in our own way do things to put things more in our favor, which is another way of saying that we are trying to decrease some of the challenge. Some of us get involved with food plots. Some of us would like to see baiting legalized. Some continue to chase the elusive arrow speeds to try to make our bows perform more like guns and remove some of the challenges that our archery equipment offers. And on and on. And yet I believe all of us would say that we want challenge left in our hunting and we all seem to want to have it both ways. As far as styles of hunting, I'm sure most of us really would like to go on a guided hunt some day. Some areas of the country and some species can't be legally hunted without a guide. In some cases hunting without a guide would be a complete waste of time. So in most guided hunts, the guide does the scouting and pretty much everything else other than the shooting. How does all that fit into our idea of personal hunting challenge. So now I have to wonder where we each draw the line. How far are we all willing to go in terms of using equipment that takes some of the challenge out of our hunting. In terms of using guides or super-managed herds and habitat, how far does it all go before you start to feel that you are really playing a rather minor role in your hunting? Those questions are not that easy to answer are they? It's all kind of interesting things to think about, and the answers are all different for each of us. Doc

One by one we are all making our way back here from the old Empire Forum. Welcome aboard! Doc

I'm over here in Ontario County. I hunt in my back yard in rather steep, hilly, non agricultural area, that is mostly mature woods on top and dense brush in the valleys. Much of the low land is beginning to get covered with multi-flora rose that creates huge areas of man-killer, impenetrable cover for the deer. I've got a small amount of land (almost 40 acres) but spend most of my hunting time on the state land next-door. I have an ATV that gets me to the top of the hill, which gives me a bit of an edge over other hunters in that I can get up the hill still relatively fresh and then have the energy left to hunt some of the back country that most hunters don't have the stamina to hunt. Climbing that hill is real heart test ..... lol. I don't hunt out of the area like I used to do. I used to hunt all over the Naples area, but now I stay pretty close to home. I've been hunting the same area since I was a kid, and probably know that particular stretch of hunting turf better than anyone else because of the thousands of hours I have spent there over the years. Thousands? .... yeah I think thats accurate. Well anyway it's been 55 of my 66 years. As far as fishing is concerned, we have a whole bunch of options in the area. West River down by Naples supplies the bullhead fishing in the spring. Almost everybody around has stocked ponds that I have access to. We have finger lakes all inside of a short drive. And if I want to get into a bit of a ride, there is always the canal. Doc