Doc

Isn't it unfortunate that in a situation where a second's hesitation may cost a person death or disfigurement, that person must go down through a list of complex legal qualifications, and parse each word before taking action. I'll tell you what, if I have the means to defend myself against a menacing dog (And he doesn't even have to bite me first), I will take that action and worry about the fine print of some obscure laws later.

It's just another of natures many cycles. Foxes, coyotes, and raptors will knock them back down again shortly.

It is amazing how many people own animals and have no clue that there are responsibilities that go along with pet ownership. I feel pretty strong about ignorant people who allow their animals loose to plague wildlife or farm animals or whatever else happens to cross their path. I have heard it before where people were moving out into the country and were so happy that now they had a place for their canines to "run free and be happy". It happens all too often.

What was it that lured you into bow hunting? What was the attraction?

Is it important to you to "show how good you are to others"? I'm not saying that is right or wrong, I am just asking the question. I'm trying to think if that was ever an important motivator in my hunting, and I do think there was a time when the impression that I made on others was important to me. It has been so many years since I even thought that way, that I guess I had forgotten that there was a time when I actually gave a damn about what people thought about my hunting achievements. It's not a part of me anymore, and I suppose that is why I have a hard time getting into this trophy mentality anymore. I no longer measure my successes by what other people think about my hunting results. It just doesn't mean anything to me. I think I was in my early 50's when my attitudes started changing and my successes were no longer dependent on what anyone else thought of the deer I shot or the rabbits or squirrels or fish that I got, or any other achievements that I accomplished in my outdoor activities. That just isn't a factor in my hunting anymore. I do think that my enjoyment of hunting has increased since I adopted this attitude that my hunting is done for me and me only.

I have had a not-so-comfortable confrontation with a pretty good sized, scruffy, menacing dog. A lot of raised hair and bared teeth and growling and all I had was my bow. I'm not sure how good you people are at getting off a killing shot at any charging animal, but I knew the odds would not really be too great at stopping a charging "anything" with an arrow in a split second. Fortunately, I didn't have to face that test because after a minute or two of standing my ground (seemed like an hour ..... lol) he turned and ran off. I suppose I would have felt a whole lot safer if I had had a pistol aimed at him. But it all worked out ok without one. Another scenario that I have NOT encountered yet, is an escalated situation with trespassers. I have had several encounters where I have told people to leave, and fortunately I haven't run across any wackos......yet. But again, a bow is not a defensive weapon, should that situation ever arise and escalate into violence. Yes if it did happen, I would hope I would have the option of contacting authorities and letting them handle it. But I suppose nothing ever says that you will always have that chance, depending on what kind of nut-case you run might run into.

Because I have always hoped that the motivations were a bit more noble than that. I have no doubts about my personal traits and features that any set of antlers could fix.....lol. Of course it can be mentioned, and as I said has been repeated over and over by the anti's, but I still view it as offensive and meant to denigrate hunters.

Every move has a counter-move. Let's see if McGregor can figure it out. Many guys have tried without success. My guess is that Mayweather will have no problem winning. Of course there is the ever creeping effect of father time. Defense requires speed and reflexes. Does he still have those features still. We'll see.

Ok, there is the answer that I was hoping I would never see on this thread. I have heard many anti-hunters mocking us as being motivated to kill animals to prove our manhood because of some assumed deficiency in that department. Honestly, I have never had that as a motivator to take up hunting or glean satisfaction from matching wits with nature's wild creatures. Damn! I hope that kind of thinking never creeps into my needs for hunting. For one thing, I find it insulting, and for another thing if that ever turned out to be true, that would make some of those arrogant, worthless, loud-mouthed antis correct in there taunting assumptions. Say it isn't so! For me the competition has always been between me and the deer that I am hunting. I have nothing to prove to anyone. I don't have to keep score to see if I am winning or not. I don't have to assign numbers to impress anyone. And I am not after any peer recognition. But most of all, I have never had to resort to some deer's antlers to prove my strength, worth, manhood, or any other personal attribute.

One thing that cannot be denied is that there is something about antlers that seriously attracts people to deer hunting and it becomes their yardstick to try to measure how successful they are at hunting. And that was the purpose of this thread, to discuss what the attraction is and why. I believe that the reason that antlers have become the standard as the measurement of success for so many is primarily a cultural thing inherited from those that came before us. Back when I was a youngster, it was all about the number of points. No one that I knew bothered with, or even knew about some crazy arbitrary scoring system. It was all about the 12 point that someone shot in the next valley over, or the 10 pointer that hangs around up on the hill, etc. Now we get out the tape measures and fill out some official looking form and get our kicks out of the total "score" and maybe even some official recognition to make hunting have some meaning to us. But it is all still the same thing. It's all about antlers. That is how we pat ourselves on the back and declare ourselves hunter-heroes. To me it all seems kind of arbitrary and conjured up, but man has some deep need to compete, even at something as personal as hunting. So I guess it is one of those "to each, their own" kind of things. But I still find it an interesting subject. When someone asks you why you hunt, this stuff all becomes a part of the answer.

Please pardon my ignorance, but what exactly can you make out of figs other than fig-newton cookies? Can you make pies out of them? Actually I was never aware that they were tolerant of the NYS climate.

Obviously you will not shoot does if you have no DMPs. But that wouldn't be by choice, but simply because of the law. What I am referring to are those who flat out say that they think there is something wrong with shooting does. To me that is simply a resource that is being under-utilized and potential habitat and herd damage occurring because of it.

What is with all this belittling of doe harvests? Some of the sharpest deer that I have run into are does. Excellent tasting meat, and a challenge to boot. The only thing that makes taking a buck a challenge is simply the fact that there are a whole lot fewer of them around. It really has nothing to do with the challenge of intelligence or wariness. So I don't really understand why anyone would be into this buck-only mentality. I guess we are all hunting for different reasons. And I guess I really don't understand all those different reasons.....lol.

I could not have said it any better. It sounds like a philosophy that all hunters ought to believe in, at least in areas where the deer populations warrant it. Actually, as far as deer management principles are concerned, the attitude of only shooting bucks by choice is a bit out of date. That's kind of what antlerless permits are all about.

Yes good old Hurricane Agnes was one to remember. Water flowed across the highway out in front of my property right at the mouth of my driveway. Huge areas of trees were sliding down the steeper hillsides of the valley because of the super-saturated soil. And that was from just one weather event. This year we have had a whole spring and summer of unrelenting rain. Water can be a very nasty thing when it comes in excess like that.

We will be remembering this miserable summer. I just hope that this pattern of constant precipitation doesn't carry into this coming winter.

Yeah, I always hold out for those sway-backed, toothless ones. If I can find one that has the ribs sticking out, and most of its hair missing, that is a buck that is ready to harvest. A little arthritis, blindness and failing hearing also helps determine the proper harvesting age...... lol.

I wonder if they are protected by law? If they're not, the solution is to start shooting the damn things. If they are start legal activity to sue the state and the original owners of these critters for any damages.

Somehow I missed any description of the stand. Is it a purchased portable stand, or is it a wooden construction (boards and nails). To me that makes a difference as to what is to be done with it. If it's boards and nails, rip it down and dispose of the wood. it apparently belongs to no one who is willing to claim it. If it is a purchased portable, take it down and store it in your garage. Do the same with the trail cam. If no one comes to claim them, consider them a gift to you, the land owner. I assume that your name and address is on your posted signs, so anyone looking for these items knows how to get in contact with you. You can leave notes on the trees where these things were mounted, but that is optional. As far as I am concerned, these gifts are abandoned property, and I would not exert any more effort at finding the owner. If they come asking for them, hand them over if you want, unless they start giving you grief over it. Seriously, if they walked through your posted signs and began using your property as their own, the items that they left behind are gifts to you. So it is up to you as to whether you should refuse their gifts or not.

I am of an age where these losses have become frequent. I have lost many friends and many hunting partners. But I have never had to say goodbye to one at such a young age. That is even more heart-breaking. All I can say is, celebrate the times you had together and appreciate the fact that he was in your life for the time that he was. Though the pain will eventually fade, the good experiences and memories never will.

I never did see him with another deer. It could be he was being shunned by the others.....lol. Kind of like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Or was that Ambrose the Amber-a$$ed Antelope? Anyway, I never did see him in person. could it be that all of his good-looks went to more brains instead of beauty?

Quote: "Hows your garden doing?..." This year, I am expecting a good crop of cattails. I can't get enough good days together to even get the tiller out there. And walking around trying to hand-weed winds up with some ugly soil compaction that turns every place I step into cement. And you watch......before the summer is done, we will be deep into a drought ...... lol. Plants look crappy. Most of the seeds never came up so I re-planted them and no sign of germination yet, but I have my fingers crossed. We might get beets and carrots and radishes. I had a thought of not even putting in a garden this year when I couldn't even get the thing tilled. I think I should have followed those instincts ..... But I am stubborn.

And what all your foolishness has to do with "strange racks" is certainly a mystery, but apparently it all fits nicely into that wacked-out mind of yours. Oh, in case that confuses you, strange racks was what this thread was about until you went crazy on us.

You really are a strange duck, aren't you? You just randomly insert some idiotic non related blathering into any old random thread just to continue your little tantrum. What the heck is wrong with your mind? Something is badly broken there.

I guess if there is anything anti-trump in there, it is going way over my head. The presidential masks seem to be from every party and ideology. But I must be missing something somewhere because the lyrics and the video don't really seem to have anything to do with each other.