Doc

Thanks Greg.

Have fun with all the Christmas family gatherings. And remember there is no open season in NYS for reindeer

You have to wonder if hunting, fishing, and trapping would become more like a job when you have to rely on it for eating. Maybe it becomes more of a job than a hobby. I have to say that the landscape and scenery would be pretty easy to enjoy. The feelings of self-reliance would have to provide a certain amount of satisfaction. But a steady diet of fish and caribou sure seems to leave a lot of other vitamins and minerals lacking. Most of them have no garden, so they either buy vegetables from somewhere or have a supply of wild greens and such to balance their diet. Also, I am surprised at the nice shiny new snowmobiles and ATVs that most of them seem to have at their disposal. Looking at the prices they are getting for those things you have to wonder where they are getting the money to afford them.

I wonder if there are farm raised bucks that have surpassed that score?

I've been watching these TV shows on the people that live in the north country. Shows like " Mountain Men" and "Life Below Zero" where they put our passions, hunting and fishing and trapping, to the test of survival on a daily basis. Did you ever imagine what such a lifestyle would be like? It has it's appeal, but there are some nasty realities to living that way too.

Now it is time to do for our own state what we did for the country. Hochul's busted in the polls. Zeldin almost turned things over last senatorial election. Never too early to start getting the right people registered and primed to vote the right way.

And then there are those that I see running along the highway or pedaling their ass on the highway on bikes so that they can "live forever". I have to wonder how good it is for your longevity to be sucking in those exhaust fumes of each passing car, truck, or bus deep into your lungs.

Is there anyone here that is out in this frigid late season that is actually using a vertical bow?

Here's the facts: Lee Zeldin came within 6 percentage points of taking the governorship in the last election. Meanwhile, the latest Sienna poll shows that 57 percent of the voters prefer someone else other than Hochul for the upcoming election in 2026. Only 33% would vote for her again. And she does intend to run again in 2026. If the polls are even close, the time is coming to get things right here in NYS. Do you know gun owners who are not registered? Do you know gun owners who do not vote? A little activism doesn't hurt. It may be a bit uncomfortable, but we have got to stop treating politics like a dirty word and stop avoiding all political discussions. This thread shows how intertwined our hunting and shooting are with politics. Yes, politics is a hunting related discussion. We have to stop whining amongst ourselves and start pushing people to use the voting power we already have accessible to us. There is a pretty good article that lays out all the numbers for you. Take a scan of what the numbers are saying instead of just throwing in the towel and living with whatever the government decides to do with our guns and ammo. We have a chance to make a difference. Take a look: https://nypost.com/2024/12/10/us-news/majority-of-new-yorkers-want-someone-other-than-kathy-hochul-for-governor-in-2026-poll/

They had better hurry up. I am heading for 81 years old. They probably don't have that much time to start knocking on my door.......lol.

Look at the mass on that rack. It makes his head look small.

I guess I missed it too. I don't own a crossbow, but I was just curious.

Are crossbows legal hunting weapons during the late season in the southern zone?

My old Nikon archery rangefinder has some small magnification as a monocular. It is accurate as proven out with my 200' tape measure. So why wouldn't binocular range finders be accurate too. Are you looking for archery range-finding or rifle range-finding? That may make a difference in your choice.

Yeah, now that all is well in the world with the Donald back at the helm, politics has taken a back seat in the world of conversation. Too bad, it has been an exciting time in politics with old sleepy Joe stumbling around and crazy, giggling Kamala campaigning like a blithering idiot. Oh well, now we can see how a real President functions. I like the start to Trump's term even though he is not even sworn in yet.

I have used trail cams for wildlife photography. At one time I used to use them for assessing the deer population and quality on my property. But I don't really do any of that anymore. It was fun back then, but now I do my deer herd assessments the old way (Actual boots on the ground scouting). That is more fun and it gives me a reason to get out in the woods to snoop around. Studying trails and tracks, rubs, scrapes and all the other things involved with scouting are all part of the hunt. I don't want any shortcuts anymore. I'm actually adding more challenge back into the hunt by selectively limiting the technology involved. I don't get involved in the agriculture of food plots. I have stopped looking for more hi-tech archery equipment. I haven't bought any new archery equipment since 1999, and I'm still killing deer. The cameras are just one more piece of technology that I have thrown aside.

There is a phenomenon that I have noted with my archery when the weather mandates that you start piling on the clothing to keep warm. It may be true only for me, I don't know. But as soon as the heavy coats and other garments have to go on, I have to adjust my sight pins (significantly). Something about the bulk changes my form, or follow-through, or stance, or something that violates the form that I had in the warmer months. For me there is a need to continue practice during the season to account for these clothing changes when cold weather sets in like we are going into this late season with. Like I say, I don't know whether this is just something to do with the way I shoot, but it may not be right to assume that because you were zeroed-in during the more moderate weather, that you are automatically zeroed-in when you are all bundled up. Are there others here that have seen this happen when cold weather hits?

There may also be a correlation regarding all the land that is being locked up with leases, and the fact that there are fewer hunters per acre because of that. Another thing that I have noticed is the number of part-time hunters. There are many who only hunt opening day. There are also a lot of 1/2-day hunters......Those who go out for lunch and don't come back. This sort of thing is what makes the numbers seem not so bad as far as the number of licenses sold. But there is a participation factor among those that buy the licenses. So many reasons for the "silence phenomenon" during the season.

I think there are deer out there that don't even know there is a gun season in progress. My wife tells me that we had deer on our front lawn this morning (of course I was up on the hill). What the heck is going on? This is Saturday, there should be all kinds of pressure and hunters and gun shots going on out there. I haven't even heard a shot in the whole valley today.

Gun laws are not really for stopping gun crimes. They are intended to harass gun owners and encourage us to give up our firearms. No one has any data that can say that any of the laws has discouraged gun crime. The fact is that the more laws and harassments they throw at us the more gun crimes increase. The only way to get the government off our backs is through the vote. We have the power if we ever choose to use it. We did a damn good job of shutting down any new federal gun legislation, now we have to get that sort of thing happening here in this communist state. But it takes dedication to our gun rights. It takes not only our ow votes, but activism to get others out to vote, and to vote correctly. The hunting community may be shrinking significantly, but the numbers of gun owners is growing. We should not be getting over-run by the anti-gun pinkos.

Are we seeing the demise of hunting. Oh I'm not talking about in a few years, but I have to wonder about a few decades from now. There definitely is a trend going on and it ain't good.

I have asked myself this question so many times, and still come away with no one single answer. Yes, there is the challenge of man against animal. Actually back in my trapping days I experienced that challenge thing the most. But even with hunting I have my best times during bow season where the odds are clearly stacked in the deer's favor. I do love to stand there eyeball to eyeball with a deer or even a squirrel. It's a contest between me and them. There are other reasons though. I have always had a feeling that hunting was a link back to the natural predatory nature of humans. There is something primal about the chase. The plotting and planning that are involved and the feeling of conquest when it all comes together in success is the reinforcing motivation to get out there year after year. Then there is the fact that there are those days of calm and sunlight and changing colors of the foliage, and the peace and quiet that makes the hunting woods the place that makes you feel like you would really not want to be anywhere else. There is also the tradition and culture of days way before me when hunting was a way of independence and survival. Even though not much of our equipment comes close to resembling that which our forefathers were stuck with, there is still something about getting your own meat that provides satisfaction that relates back to our roots a bit. Sitting down to a meal of wild game that you have gotten yourself is also a satisfaction that will drive you out into the woods and brush-lots year after year. Even if it is only squirrels or rabbits or game birds or venison. There is also the fact that for our family it has always been a family tradition for generation after generation. Yeah there are a lot of reasons why I get out there every year and get into the hunt, even at 80 years when the struggle to get up that killer hill gets harder every year.....I still do it.

What is it that drives you to go out in this crap weather and sit there with the rain dripping from your nose waiting to kill a critter? Is it the meat? Is it the challenge of man vs. animal? Is it just to get away from the old-lady? What is your personal reason for hunting?

Well, the turkey-bird has precedence today. No hunting for me. We'll pick up the hunt again tomorrow.

Uga Booga is right. You are pretty damn creative. Did you carve that bottom piece yourself? That may make a good winter project for me when the snow has me locked in.....lol.