Doc

Quote: "Otto Warmbier, 22, who was arrested in North Korea while visiting as a tourist" I am sitting here trying my hardest to imagine what circumstances would have to exist that would make me somehow envision North Korea as being a nice place to visit as a tourist. The whole thing certainly is a terrible tragedy and once again highlights the uncivilized brutality and the barbaric nature of that country, but what on earth would ever motivate a U.S. citizen to visit such a place "as a tourist"?

When you stop and think about it, in the grand scheme of things, we hunters are pretty much in an insignificant minority. Our issues are really of little importance because our numbers are so small and trending downward as time goes by. And crossbow hunters are an even tinier sub-set of that small minority. If we don't get the attention that we think we should, it really shouldn't be a huge surprise.

I was fed two lobster tails, corn on the cob, and potato salad and then ate about a pint of chocolate ice cream. I am a happy Dad.

I went through the experience of "pond failure" a few years back. I learned that what you see on the surface is no indication of what kind of pond that can be constructed there. My pond guy even dug a half dozen test holes , and we relocated the pond site because of a wandering gravel vein that passed through the area. Well, guess what..... apparently there was another one that we didn't know about ...... lol. The spring run-off flowed directly in and the pond looked like a wonderful success. By June it was back down to about 4 feet deep. after about three years, it became obvious that it wasn't going to work and the pond guy filled it back in. The only good news about that whole fiasco was that the guy had a guarantee that if the pond failed, he would fill it back in for free. This was an area that had standing water and cattails at he lower end. Everything on the surface looked like it should make a great pond. a few hundred yards away, my Father had built a perfect pond that has been there about 30 years. So what you see on top is no indicator of what is 8 or 10 feet underground.

So was that a custom made bow, or was this something that Bear put out as a standard model?

Now wait a minute. There is always the challenge of picking the right trophy animal that you actually paid for. You don't want any extra charges for shooting the wrong one. And then there is that challenging shot as you poke your rifle through the slats of the barnyard fence, waiting for just the perfect shot. You know, the shot where the critter actually wakes up and opens its eyes. Or maybe to avoid making a mess of the feed trough, you might have to wait until it lifts its head out of the trough. Perhaps the owner can help by calling out its name so it comes over to the fence and he scratches its forehead while you line up on the heart-lung area. So let's not belittle the heavy challenges of these kinds of "hunts".

What I found amusing was your question, the answer to which I figured was self evident given the content of this thread. You asked me to define "today's evil" and I did define it as used in my reply.

I have no problems with people expressing their opinions on what seems like hunting to them and what doesn't. I do the same thing myself. I have a whole list of techniques that do or don't fit into my version of what hunting is all about. I don't state those opinions to influence anyone else's hunting activities, but simply to sample what hunting means to hunters in general and to see how much commonality between hunters there is as far as motives and attitudes about what people expect to get out of hunting. That sort of discussion provides indicators as to what direction the future of hunting is heading. It is a matter of curiosity. I do believe that I have seen motives and purposes change in a large way as the years have passed. The element of challenge seems to be slipping off into obscurity, and the emphasis seems more pointed toward hunting by numbers in attempts to receive peer approval. Things are pointed more toward acceptance than actual achievement. It all is personal and based on some very complex human behavior and psychology. There is no real "right" or "wrong" in all of this, just a discussion and look at where hunting is at these days and where it is heading, and why.

Lol ..... I kind of thought that the title of this thread and all the replies kind of covered that definition. But for purposes of this discussion, I use the term "evil" as describing the random killing of school children, and other innocents based on religious fanaticism, mental derangement, and now we can include political party affiliation.

I guess it all depends on how you react under pressure. "Haste" should not be part of the situation. But I do understand that sometimes bad things happen even with the best intentions. But watching all the videos of people running in blind terror like a flock of sheep fleeing a pack of coyotes kind of made me a bit ill, as it is blatantly displayed that we don't have the slightest idea how to protect ourselves against today's evil. Just once I would like to see one of these terrorists have someone turn around and put a bullet between their eyes. I think that conceal and carry privileges require a certain level of thought and responsibility and perhaps even mandatory training programs. But there is something disgusting about the fact that our current manner of protecting ourselves amounts to simply running like panicked animals or cowering in a corner waiting to be found and shot.

It was around that age when I found that old drawshave up in my Dad's shop and built my first hickory longbow, and went up in the hayloft of the barn and started shooting pigeons. Archery became a huge thing in my life at that time, and it thrills me to see kids getting into it. Yeah, the equipment is a lot different and way more sophisticated, but the challenge, discipline, and fulfillment are the same. And it is a hobby that can provide a lifetime of enjoyment. And look at that shooting form .......perfect!

I think the big problem that some have with shooting, trapping and other control methods of coyotes is that they look too much like Fido. To them it is "dog killing". They get as emotional as the most dyed-in-the-wool anti-hunter. It is Bambi-ism simply transferred to any animal that looks like their family pet. What they fail to realize is that as noted above, they sit at the top of the food chain around here and obviously, these people with the anti-hunting/trapping mentality can't seem to understand what happens when any species is allowed to multiply in an uncontrolled fashion. But it would be useful for people to understand that coyotes are not pet canines any more than Bambi was really a talking deer.

I was listening to a sheriff on TV explaining how and end to the constant attacks on the 2nd amendment could put a dent in the motivation of terrorists. It kind of made sense when you think about how these characters operate against a helpless population of defenseless sheep, waiting for slaughter. I have to wonder just how eager they would be to kill men, women and children if they received a hail of bullets whenever they tried. Yes maybe some crazy weirdo with a bomb strapped to their chest may not be deterred (Unless you detonate him at a safe distance with a well-placed bullet). But these freaks that like to shoot up movie houses and schools and restaurants might not think it was near as much fun if they started getting shot down as soon as they pulled the gun out. They all have visions of their victims cowering in corners or under desks or running panicked in terror. It sure would be nice to change those visions to their own certain death in a hail of gunfire. I think that would cool their enthusiasm for this sort of activity.

As far as I am concerned, every poisonous snake could all of a sudden become extinct and this world would be a much better place. And when they go, they can take the mosquitos, black flies, gnats and ticks with them, and likely no one would ever miss any of them....... Particularly me!

One thing that we often forget is that here in New York, Coyotes occupy the top spot on the food chain. Other than humans and disease and the occasional automobile, there is absolutely nothing that keeps the coyote numbers in check. So their numbers can go completely berserk without trappers and hunters actively going after them. That is a unique and unhealthy position for any animal to be in, let alone an efficient killer like coyotes. It's not good for the environment, other critters and eventually for the health and welfare of the coyotes themselves.

When populations get too high, we do have the technology to do something about it. No one is going to get rich trapping coyotes, but they do have a hide that is worth the effort. Running a trapline will be an education in coyote lore that will also help you out on the rifle successes too. What other pastimes offer some cash, some wildlife teaching, and helps the deer herd too. Time to sign up for the nearest trapping course and start a new hobby. Get the kids involved too.

Did it have any rattles?

Ha-ha-ha..... It's not just on rifle ranges that self-professed "experts" get over-eager to jam their unsolicited, so-called expertise on you. I have seen that at archery club and league shoots where some guys feel it is their God-given duty to lay all kinds of criticism on you about your equipment, form, and style of shooting. It is just part of human nature that overcomes some people that simply has to be relied to with a smile and a nod of the head and then complete dismissal. I think if you want an environment that is free of that sort of thing, you have to invest in your own private shooting range. And even then there is a possibility that a relative or friend may try to lay unwelcomed expertise on you ..... lol. But at least on your own range, you only have to listen to it once if it really bugs you too much and you can eliminate the problem quickly.

I am not a real big fan of coyotes, but I hesitate to say with certainty that every dead and dined on fawn is the work of coyotes. I have come across dead fawns curled up without any trace of physical trauma. I have seen road killed fans that all of a sudden disappear into the bush perhaps to be found later by someone who assumes it is another coyote victim. We know that there are no shortages of predators out there or other carrion eaters (from the ground and the sky) that can kill of take advantage of a fawn carcass that can die of any number of causes including health deficiencies. So yes we can swear at the coyotes, but understand that there are many critters that leave dined-on fawn carcasses scattered throughout the woods.

I have a rangefinder that I use for entertainment while I am on deer stand. I pick out various items around the woods and try to guess the distance. I check my guess with the rangefinder. I am unbelievably bad at guessing distances. I truly do need a rangefinder if I am going to be anywhere near right.

2004 Yamaha Kodiak 400 4WD It does all of the plowing for my 1000' driveway, and this year it even did a fair job of bulldozing some flood damage gravel out of a field. Work that you would never expect a machine that size could ever do. I was impressed. It has brought home a pile of deer too fro just a few yards from the house to over a mile up on top of a very steep hill (some people call it a mountain .... lol.

I guess the reality that even we have limits as to how far we can solely finance every fix to all the worlds ills. It is time for countries to begin taking individual responsibility for cleaning up their share of the mess that they create. We do. Trump is simply saying that we no longer will play the role of the fool when it comes to matters that impact the entire world. Frankly, I am glad the message is out there now that we no longer supply free meals. Even we have our limits. We have to apply pressure to the different countries to act environmentally responsibly, not supply all the resources to do it for them. I think that is Trump's message and determination, and all I can say is, "it's about time, what took us so long?".

Time to spray or is it a bit early yet? According to my last years calendar, I seem to be a bit behind last year in terms of spraying the fruit trees.

Anybody see any signs of tent caterpillars or gypsy moth caterpillars or Japanese beetles yet?

I have found that deer are pretty much slaves to their food sources. That happens to be what ever wild resource that happens to be available at each time phase of the year. In other words the deer are not dining in the oak stands in June. They are not feeding on greens in the winter. They can change feeding patterns overnight when one source stops producing and another begins. The same thing happens when the changes in cover occur as a natural phase of the time of year. Bedding areas do change seasonally just as the feeding patterns do. And then of course there are the rut related changes in patterns unique to the Fall. Even changes in human patterns where massive changes in land use have occurred can make changes in deer patterns. I have always found that the most reliable and useful scouting occurs during or very near the season that will be used when deer movement patterns are most current and representative of what will be happening during hunting season.