Doc

Interesting question. If you have a deer target with the kill zone marked on it, is it adequate to be able to put every arrow inside the defined kill area? That can be a pretty big area. But is it good enough if your arrows are scattered all over the extreme edges of that area? A kill is a kill right? Well, if you are using the very edges of the kill area on the target, you have not allowed anything for even the slightest movement of the animal. How about after hours on stand and your muscles are all tightened up and aiming conditions are not exactly optimum. You can do things on the nicely measured out flat and level archery range that somehow come off a lot different when you're kneeling, sitting, or working from just off the side of a tree. What I am saying is that it probably is not really great to be accepting edge or marginal shots. Leave something for contingencies of things not being completely perfect like it is on the range.

I would call it "occupied" as far as the spirit of the law is concerned. But let me ask another question. If you go and get permission to shoot closer than the 500' from the owner/occupant, does that make it legal? I have never seen anything that addresses "permission". I know the landowners and tenants and such can ignore that proximity law, but what I am wondering is can the owner give others permission to shoot closer than 500'. If the answer is "yes", then perhaps you can make the problem go away with a little face to face conversation.

Whatever you do, do not put the problem back on the landowner. they may simply throw up their hands and give both of you the boot, and anyone else that shows up at their door in the future.

I don't know what kind of guy this handyman is. You mentioned that he "got nasty" toward the end of the conversation, so I am suspecting that the guy may very well be a problem. Frankly, I like my hunting and scouting and such to be entirely focused on the hunt and not worrying about stolen or smashed cameras, or sabotaged stands, or someone on the property trying to discourage me from being there. I don't hunt to have a lot of drama and hardships from cantankerous hunters. I understand how these things can escalate, and it really doesn't add a whole lot to the quality of the hunt. On the other hand, I hate to see jerks be rewarded for being jerks. It's a tough decision, and probably has more to do with your own attitudes toward these kinds of situations. If you are up for a potential never-ending scrap, you certainly have "right" on your side. If you would rather not be dragged into a constant looking over your shoulder, and you have anywhere else to go, you might want to opt for another hunting area without a built in feud.

Sounds like you did good. What part of the state is it located?

Everybody's saying they aren't cheap, but nobody is saying what the price is. Being a bit of a cheap-skate, maybe I really don't want to know.....lol

I think the idea is to have gloves that are big enough to easily pull off when the deer first comes into sight. It is rarely so cold that I cannot be bare handed for a few minutes while the deer gets into range.

I don't really mess around the area that I deposit the urine. It is simply squirt a drop or two and retreat to the stand. Even does cannot continue walking without stopping to scent-check the trail. I have never had any deer bolt from any of my scent that may linger. It really works quite flawlessly and gives them something to stop for other than something that draws their attention directly to me. I have experimented with other "stopping items" on the trail, and have found that even items like a Kleenex or even something that has my scent on it will draw a curiosity response that will stop them in their tracks. However, deer urine keeps them at ease more than items that contain human scent. And if I carefully choose the spot, I can arrange it so when the deer drops its head to sniff the urine or whatever the item may be, it's vision is screened behind some item of ground-clutter (grass, shrub, log, etc.) with the vitals still exposed.

Weird topography! That almost looks like an island out there. However the question of stand location cannot be answered with just those two pictures. First of all, are you talking about gun hunting or bow hunting? That will determine proximity. Which way are the tracks primarily coming from and going to? What kinds of areas does that trail connect. Is this a feeding/bedding trail? In other words, what is the purpose of the trail. That will help establish when the deer use it. No point in watching a trail that is primarily used at night. And of course there are the prevailing wind considerations. It makes little sense to set up such that your scent is flowing down the trail to incoming deer. Then there is the consideration of a good stand tree if you are using a treestand. Proper cover against sky-lining. Ground stands/blinds also have characteristic that require specific kinds of background cover. There are so many aspects to stand set-up that all have to be satisfied.

Pants pockets. I seldom need anything else. However, I do have some phenomenal gloves designed for skiing that I use in extremely brutal weather. I take two pairs. One pair on my hands and another pair that is stored inside my suit, next to my body. Then if the one pair gets cold and is not doing the job anymore, I simply swap them. However these kinds of gloves are bulky and not great for shooting (especially for shooting the bow). So there does come a time when you just have to toughen up and go bare-handed for a few minutes.

Deer frequently stop on their own. It is all part of their defensive gait. The problem is that they may not stop at the right spot. Just a drop of deer urine on the trail will almost certainly catch their attention without alarming them. That allows you to pick the spot where they will stop. I do not like the idea of making sounds to stop them as it almost always snaps their head around with a direct gaze in your direction. Not exactly the best thing for those drawing a bow. It also puts them on "set", ready to "jump the string" when you release. That drop or two of urine is a more natural way of stopping them, that does not raise their alarm system.

This is what I was afraid of whenever the subject of antler restrictions comes up. The situation described here is basically telling hunters that you will not hunt this year. That is a situation guaranteed to lose even more hunters.

Why can't they build reinforced concrete housing on elevated earthen pads above the potential storm surge. It seems to me that housing could be made hurricane proof. Yes, it would be super expensive, but how expensive is it to replace the entire structure and contents every time a hurricane decides to come through?

Ok, I have never lived in hurricane country so this may be a dumb question, but watching the lines of traffic heading north with some of them in a stop and go mode. I am picturing some of them sitting there barely moving, watching their gas gauge going down ..... maybe to the point of hearing their car sputter to a stop, out of gas, and here come Irma chasing after them. Now what do you do? I saw gas-guzzling trucks, and vehicles pulling trailers, and I know some of them have a limited range. It seems like that scenario has to be happening in some instances.

Wow! That sounds disgusting. How did that happen? How long are they predicting before it is back to being workable again?

Coffee

Sometimes some peculiarity to the rack give it character and catches everyone's attention. I do think that weirdness can be overdone to the point where the deer looks ugly. But a drop-tine here and there or palmated tines and beams always make the rack unique.

Looking forward to some pics when it is done.

I have cut trails through thickets only to have deer take them over. They love them. So now, I usually run the trails past my stand a ways with a little spur off to get in my stand. Actually, the trails are intended to let me survive the multi-flora rose thickets and still be able to come out the other side in one piece. The areas where I have to cut trails would not be huntable without that kind of hacking. What it does is give me unique access to the kinds of cover that other people will not venture into. That makes them sanctuary areas for the deer when the hunting pressure begins.

Maybe, but I haven't heard a whole lot of complaining about the delivery of lifetime licenses, and I must say I am pretty impressed about that.

Apparently we had some pretty serious wind with that storm. I woke up to find limbs and leaves all over the place. Had fun cleaning that mess up.

I tend to agree with you when we are talking about bowhunting, and that is only because my archery abilities or lack thereof, need constant reinforcement. But for jillions of years, I have gun hunted with a nasty ol' 12 gauge shotgun during gun season, and I will say that I usually took a maximum of 3 shots just to ensure that nothing got bumped or moved on the sighting system. There was no target practice involved with that shoulder mangler. And yet marksmanship never cost me a deer. Life is so much nicer now that our county allows rifles for deer hunting. Now I regularly shoot my deer rifle ..... Not because it has anything to do with "responsibility", but simply because now it is fun. As far as trimming, anyone who does any still-hunting might find that a bit difficult.

I have found that I have had to drop more than a few activities over the years simply because of time constraints. For example, I do not engage in small game hunting like I used to because of conflicts with deer season. I no longer can take time out of all the activities to run my trapline anymore. Every year it seems like I say I need to get out fishing more, but it doesn't happen. Ice fishing, no.... not anymore. Some of the camping ventures that we used to do every year have fallen by the wayside. Hiking?.....Not like we used to. No smelting, no spearing like back when I was younger. Non local hunting trips? ..... probably won't happen anymore. Archery tournament shooting ..... not anymore. And by the way, for those that think being retired leaves you all this excess time on your hands, don't you believe it. I have no excess time, and am busier than I ever was while I was working. So yes, I agree with him. I have way more interests than I will ever have time or energy to do anymore. I'll bet I'm not alone in that.

Ha-ha look at you! ...... just like a Timex, you take a lick'n and keep on tick'n.

Great looking gun, but all these comments about competing makes, models and calibers is all lost on me. For umpteen million years, all I ever shot was a 12 gauge Ithaca Deerslayer that liked to tear my shoulder off. I sure collected a lot of deer with it, but target practice sessions were held to as few slugs as possible. So a few years ago when rifles were allowed for deer hunting in Ontario County, I went looking for a gun that was not as brutal on the hunter's end as it was on the deer's end. I had my son bring up his .270, and my choice was made right there. Almost no recoil. And it has become a real deer killer. So I cannot really make any comments about other guns. Frankly, when it comes to deer calibers, I really have no experience at all. And yes, I do like to shoot. And I like to shoot without punishment. And I would like to get every shot in the same hole, but elongating holes is the best I can do. But anyone who thinks shooting is boring simply has not set their goals high enough, or I should probably say, high enough to take the boredom out of the activity. Archery is no different. When you think you can consistently place every arrow in the kill zone of a deer, it may be time to tighten even that group up considerably. The challenges (and fun) will return.