Mr VJP

That's a BTSP (boat tail soft point) bullet. Boat tail bullets are designed to have less drag and shoot flatter at longer range. It will work fine for deer if it shoots well out of your rifle.

The rifled bore is designed for the 410 slug and the .45 ACP. The smooth bore is designed for shot shells only.

Welcome to the forums, and welcome to the wonderful world of hunting!

Ruger Muzzle Loader?

Fewer laws, more freedom. Smaller government, less taxes.

That's why I so against any law making it mandatory to wear B/O. Once they have a law to work with they will screw with you as much as they can.

Once a year I test it to be sure she is still on target.

Are you sure? According to the wardens that gave my buddy a ticket last year, it's not legal. The book appears to say it is, but he was ticketed, fought the ticket, and lost in court. So am I sure, no. Are the wardens sure, no. To me that means it isn't legal.

Hunter Orange in NJ Firearm hunters must wear a cap made of solid daylight fluorescent orange or an outer garment containing at least 200 square inches of fluorescent orange material visible from all sides at all times while engaged in hunting. A camo-orange hat alone is not adequate. This applies to all persons while hunting with a firearm for deer, bear, rabbit, hare, squirrel, coyote, fox, railbirds, and game birds including while in a tree stand. Exceptions: this law does not apply to waterfowl, crow, wild turkey, coyote/fox (during the special permit season, page 63), woodchuck nor bowhunters except that a bowhunter using a deer decoy must wear hunter orange, as described above, while transporting the decoy into and out of the woods and fields. During the Six-day Firearm Season, it is recommended that bowhunters wear hunter orange.

Sorry, Not in NJ. Blaze Camo is not considered legal. It used to be, but they changed that too! :

NJ has had mandatory B/O for years. The state has suddenly decided that's not good enough. Now they come around and check your B/O with a meter to see if it's orange enough! That's right, orange that is faded a little will get you a fine the same $$$ as no orange at all. Do you really think the government is ever gonna be satisfied with the little bit of freedom you give up for them? No, they will keep coming back, little by little, until they can lock you up for looking at them the wrong way. No sir. Enough with legislation that infringes on individual liberty. Penalize crime and negligence and let people be free to live as they deem fit!

Doc wrote: See, I really don't believe that is a true statement. Nobody lives in a vacuum. First of all, most hunters have families that depend on them for food and shelter. So right away, such an irresponsible approach to hunting safety has a likelihood of putting a family in destitute situation, sometimes temporarily, sometimes the effect becomes permanent. Each hunter is responsible for his own actions. If you don't have life insurance, you are a fool. You could get hit by a truck on your way to your deer hunt and suffer the same consequences as being shot by another hunter If the situation is severe enough, the burden of the family can be turned over to the taxpayer. Besides the family, there are friends that are impacted. Turn the burden over to the shooter and his family then. Also, the shooter is impacted. Yes most of the time their carelessness contributed to the accident. Most of the time?? All of the Time!! How can anyone not see where the responsibility of the shooting lies. If you enter the woods with a rifle, you are totally responsible for anything bad that happens from your use of that rifle. But as far as I'm concerned some guy sneaking around in the bushes in camo during a gun season certainly bears part of the responsibility for the shooting. Now you sound like a Lawyer trying to deflect blame from his client. Rule *1 of gun safety - Know your target! Don't submit to a "Blame the victim mentality". Women get raped because they dress provocatively?? No Sir. The blame lies with the person who failed to observe proper safety measures with that rifle. You've heard of suicide by cop? Well running around the woods in camo as I have personally witnessed several times is tantamount to "suicide by hunter". I said I wear an Orange hat until I'm on stand. And I do that because I fear someone who shoots at anything that moves. There is a law against that already, is there not? And there should be because you hurt someone besides yourself if you break it. What slays me is the warden giving a ticket to the guy not wearing orange. You are being fined because the state allows unsafe hunting in the woods. And of course there is the situation where death does not occur but rather results in catastrophic wounding or a prolonged death in which the family exhausts all of their insurance money and whatever resources they may have and are left destitute, in which case again it is the taxpayer once again to the rescue. This is saying the shooter is not accountable. I believe he is. Sue the SOB who is responsible for the shooting. The taxpayers didn't pull the trigger. The shooter, and his estate, deserve to be held fully responsible for his actions. So anyone who thinks that there is only one victim in hunting accidents is not seeing the entire picture of the residue of such accidents. The shooter creates only one victim. The man without a plan for his family, should anything happen to him, creates more. Society, that allows the responsible party to get away with it, creates more still. No, blaze orange is not a cure-all, but the statistics linked on the other B/O thread show without a doubt that B/O does save lives during firearms deer seasons in states that have the common sense to make it mandatory. If we wish to allow the government to decide what we can or can not do on the basis of saving lives, we will have no freedom at all and will have to submit to a Nanny State legal system. Besides can I sue the state if I'm wearing Orange and get shot anyway? There is no such data or even logic that says that the same effect of B/O would be expected in any other hunting season. Never said it would. The point was it sure as heck doesn't help you harvest deer. I'll go as far as to say it may even prevent it. I'll stand by a man's freedom of choice and keep the government as much out of my life as I possibly can. Your fears are your own. Do what you feel you must when you hunt, but don't decide choices for others who don't agree with you.

Sent you a PM. I'm interested.

Every hunter is different and so is where and how he hunts. Therefore every hunter's perfect deer rifle will be different. The perfect deer rifle is the one the individual hunter decides is perfect for the deer hunting they do. This may actually be the perfect deer rifle for someone, though I would hate to meet the man in person......

FMJ ammo is legal to use, but even in a pinch, not a good hunting bullet. You will wind up wounding more deer than you kill. Shooting fur bearers with them may produce less pelt damage, but you will have to track some of the coyotes you hit.

Sounds like a good idea. Another tool in the tool box is always a good thing.

I feel Blaze Orange laws are like seat belt laws and motorcycle helmet laws. Where does the state get off telling anyone they must do something for their own safety or get a fine? It should be an advisory and not a law. If Blaze Orange is a good thing and someone chooses not to wear it, they take the chance of getting hurt, but they don't hurt anyone else. Some people feel it does affect their success rate, especially on older mature bucks. If it isn't seen by deer, why don't bowhunters wear it? It is noticed by deer when they are on alert and moving carefully, especially by older deer that have experienced a few hunting seasons. When I hunt my own land I wear an Orange hat going in to my stand, or when I decide to move. I do not wear it when I'm on stand at all. If I see another hunter approach, I'll get out the hat and show it to them. That's my choice and my decision. I understand the risk and I am OK with it. I always wear Orange on Public Land though, just as I always wear my seat belt in the car and helmet when on the race bike. The risk is too great not to and would be foolish in my opinion. Once again, freedom of choice for everyone. IMHO The government should have no say in what you choose to do regarding your own safety.

The deer regs are up to the Game Dept. When they make a decision on regs it's for the good of the entire herd and all of the hunters in NY. They are in a position where they can't please everyone, so they do what is biologically correct for all. AR's are fine if they are used selectively. Perhaps not a good idea in an area that has way too many deer currently. The crossbow issue is an entirely different topic that deals with hunting implements and not deer themselves. This is a political issue as opposed to a real hunting issue. Overall, hunters must remember that the rules are there for the benefit of all hunters, all the deer and the State of NY. If you don't like the rules, work to change them using facts, science and logic on the Game Dept decision makers. Arguing with other hunters and calling them names isn't productive, it's divisive. This state is big enough for all hunters to be able to follow their chosen style of hunting without stabbing other hunters in the back. There will always be hunters with more ability to hunt than others, but hunting is not a right and it carries no guarantees. You pay your money and take your chances. Know the rules that are in place, quit complaining and have a good time!

I think it's bigger than the ADK park itself since it goes all the way to the northern border of NY. More deer are taken in the southern zone because the deer density per square mile is a lot higher, more antlerless deer permits are issued and the hunter density is higher also. The habitat is the Southern zone is better for feeding a larger number of deer and the winters are not as harsh as up north. Therefore a lot more deer can survive until spring.

My Bro in Law shoots a 500 with a 24" rifled barrel and a 2x7 scope. With Lightfield sabots he gets groups of 4" at 100 yards off the bench.

This is the last picture taken by a stoner that got caught there! ;D

Either the Milk Fairy or you have a magic milk box that never goes dry! ;D

Where in the Catskills do you hunt? Rifle only or bow as well?

Welcome to the forum

Greetings and Welcome Aboard!