Doc

Opening day of gun season is an all-day sit. I just sit there staring off into space, drinking coffee, and munching down sandwiches. My luck during gun season relies on a major escape route, which depends on hunter movement. And that movement can come at anytime during the day. The rest of the gun season is all still hunting for as long as my old legs can take it. Bow season is generally a couple hours in the morning and a couple hours in the afternoon on stand. I try not to make it a test of endurance.

It sounds like there really isn't any consistency to the program. Everybody's got a different story about how the nuisance permit system worked for them.

What is it that is so irritating about Eustace? I don't have a very high opinion of him either, but I can't really figure out any specific reasons ..... lol. But poor old Preston was the one offsetting personality in their segment of the program that made it possible to put up with Eustace. I do get a kick out of the creativity of both of them. That wood-burning powered truck was just brilliant. I've never seen anything like it. I didn't even know it was possible.

Ok, I just found an article that seems to answer my own question: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2017/04/12/fishers-ridge-bass-pro-go/100383372/

So, speaking of the Bass-Pro in Victor, has anyone heard anything about the progress or future of that new store. They are way, way past the original advertised opening date, and the subject seems to have gone completely dormant. Have they dropped the whole idea, or is there some local roadblocks or other problems involved?

Good! Several replies here made it sound like trophy hunting was a problem with the current rules. But if they are antlerless-only, that cannot really be a problem. So why hunters using nuisance permits would be passing does and waiting for trophy deer really doesn't make any sense, does it?

You are doing it right. 30# is probably a good place to start. It allows archery muscles to develop without damage. You'll know when to go for the big upgrade. As far as the arm guard is concerned, I still use an arm guard. I use it more to keep control of bulky clothing. And yes, if you start whacking your arm, that is a good indicator that something is slipping up in your form. Good clean arrow flight will never be achieved if you are hitting anything with the string on release. Roll that elbow out a bit and train that to automatically be part of your bow arm form. Pay attention to your grip also since that can be a primary contributor to an elbow rolling in.

Many years ago, Fred Bear coined the phrase, " Be a two season hunter". I guess I took him seriously because I do enjoy both kinds of hunting and really wouldn't want to give up either one. There really is nothing in common between bow season and gun season except you are trying to get a deer. The style and requirements are completely different but I find each one has its own unique challenges.

Wouldn't you think that nuisance permits would be good only for does? I mean the object is to cut population. Also, there would be no problems with people passing does as they wait for a trophy. Seems like an obvious requirement to me. But from what I am reading here, it sounds like that is not the case. Anybody know why?

It makes you wonder how he gets those things between the trees.

Ha-ha-ha..... I remember our 30th high school class reunion. That was almost 20 years ago. The 50th will be coming around soon if there are still enough left to organize a reunion ....lol. We had a pretty small graduating class to start with.

Take a look at the program, "Antiques Road show and take note of how so many of these valuable items were bought at yard sales from people who basically thought they were junk. But those things happen. We cannot be experts on every item that we have laying around the home. I wonder if I have thrown away or given away things that were worth much more than I realized. Probably have.

So now we are defending hunting by attacking commercial meat producers. Count me out on that style of defense.

Probably one of the worst ways to begin archery is to be over-bowed, regardless of what kind of bow you are using. And really it has nothing to do with the archer's physical build. the muscles used in archery are a specialized set of muscles that have little to do with other forms of activity. I have watched non-archers try to draw my bows and noted that even some rather big guys have to grunt and struggle with what seems very easy to me. You cannot work on proper form if you are struggling with just the simple act of pulling the string back. I think another good thing to consider is that it is not likely that the first bow that you buy will be the one you wind up hunting with for years and years. It takes some experience to understand what works best for you. The reason I mention that is because we often have a tendency to throw money at our first purchase thinking that we can buy the perfect bow right off if we spend enough money. All that will do for you is to saddle you with an expensive bow that you will feel that you have to make work for you. I am more of a proponent of buying a cheap "starter bow" and grow into a final purchase that you have proven you need. A starter bow will develop those "archery muscles" quickly and at low expense. Almost any bow will serve to learn the fundamentals of proper shooting form as long as you are not struggling too much with it. In fact I would suggest buying used equipment for your first bow. Cheap and light with well matched equipment, and you will be off to a great start. You can buy that "dream bow" later after you have learned how to shoot.

You seem to be forgetting that these programs are voluntary. No one is compelled to take part. The government is not forcing any farmer to do anything. They simply are applying reasonable rules to what amounts to a government subsidy involving state owned resources. Farmers are asking for special dispensation that allows them to disregard regulations designed to manage a state resource. So if that special privilege involves special requirements, he still has the right to refuse participation in the program.

Cultures evolve over time. Hunting has undergone a culture change and is a fading pastime as people's interests change. I have seen huge changes just in the span of my own lifetime and the changes are accelerating.

What happened to the original video clip of the guy throwing and shooting clay birds? Looks like something got edited.

I love these kinds of things. I think I will go to Empire Farm Days this year just to see how much of the new ag equipment I actually can identify. Farming today is not anything like it was when I was involved with it as a kid. Hay bales that you actually pick up? Yes and even hay that was not in bales at all hauled up from the wagon with huge mechanical hay forks? Combines that need a kid with severe hay fever bagging and tying up the bags of wheat? How about hay rakes that had to be manually lifted to rake the hay into rows? And then the one or two bottom plows that that were pulled along on trailer wheels and manually engaged. My Dad was the talk of the town when our farm was one of the first rubber tired tractors in the area. Today's stuff doesn't look anything like any of that old stuff that we used to have. It is just fun to look at.

Well........I could do that too, but I just don't like to show off....... yeah, right!

I agree with this reply. How long has it been since the DEC looked for alternatives to nuisance permits. I think that a list of reliable hunters who can pass a certification program would be a good solution. These tested hunters would be chosen from the list randomly or according to location by the DEC to handle population thinning and the landowner would be excluded from the activity. It would not open the farmer's land to random public access, but adequately take care of the over abundance of deer. No rights are trampled on since the farmer has the right to refuse the service and continue on with the problem or seek other legal solutions. Also I agree that every deer that is taken should be used by somebody. No natural resource should ever be wasted when there is a need for that resource.

I could not indicate a "like" on this response because it would not be a result that I would truly "like". However, I do agree with most of what is predicted here. I think that we will be evolving toward a European style of hunting that will be very heavily regulated and likely remove a lot of the harvest freedoms and decisions that today we are still able to make for ourselves. I also believe that public lands will be dominated by non hunting activities. It will probably not be turned into that by anti-hunters, because actually being outdoors and directly interfacing with nature is not really their thing. But the hikers and bikers and other organized groups of non-hunting outdoor people will begin to push hunters off of public lands. And yes, landowners will begin to reap the benefits of what they own with super expensive lease rates and pay-to-play hunting arrangements that will put hunting into an activity primarily for the wealthy. I also believe that hunting will fade out along with hunter numbers as a method of game management to be replaced by some future scientific advancements in selective reproduction controls, and a heavy emphasis focusing on population control for those that remain in hunting. I am guessing that weapons used will not be limited in any way other than to favor heavy deer takes. Likely it will be one season, any weapon, with ever expanding bag limits until the anti-deer economic forces dictate when the deer population is suitable for their financial activities.

Not that any of us are equipped to make very credible guesses, but as a fun exercise, what do you imagine that the future of deer hunting could look like out 50 or 100 hundred years from now?

In the real world, some of that equipment cost has to be amortized into the costs of the meat. Also, I am guessing that you don't value your time as being worth anything. But if it is worth anything at all, the time on the tractor and at the butcher table has to be added in. Are you into farming as a supplement to your income? I should have excluded farmers from my comments. Their plotting expenses do kind of get swallowed up in the rest of their operation to some extent. As far as additional "open heart surgeries" and the like, you may be engaging in a bit of dramatic over-generalization there unless you absolutely believe that eating venison is the cure for heart ailments....lol.

I wonder if anyone enters the costs of tilling equipment (even a cheap old 8N isn't cheap anymore....lol), or fuel, or their time, or soil amendments, seed, equipment maintenance, or any of the other assorted costs of putting in food plots. Want a shock..... just honestly figure up what that food plot is really costing you and add that into your venison costs. I think you will find it far more efficient to go to the supermarket and buy the most expensive cuts of some damn tasty beef. I guess I have never heard anyone try to justify food plots on a financial basis before. Actually, when you add up all the costs of hunting equipment and your time, you can't justify hunting on a financial basis. We may try, but if we are honest, hunting is simply another recreational expense. And food-plotting is simply more cost on the expense side of the ledger (big-time).

I have seen a similar thing with hickory nuts. Dropping early and real small. I have seen it before, and have never heard a reason for it. Maybe the soaking spring and summer that we have been having?