Mr VJP

Welcome! Glad you came aboard.

Welcome! Glad you came aboard.

Just wondering if anyone is hunting deer in NJ during the bow or gun seasons? Some zones there have unlimited antlerless seasons.

I've been thinking about getting a good air gun for small game because they are quieter than a .22. My buddy has that Gamo rifle with the whisper thing on the muzzle that looks like a silencer. Once you get over 1000 fps with an airgun they get pretty loud. So this thing helps to quiet it. I think his is a .17 caliber too. I'd prefer a .22 caliber for rabbits and squirrels though.

I can't tolerate firearm hunters that practice "spray and pray" shooting, as opposed to "one shot one kill". They see a deer but don't wait for a good shot. They take whatever shot they think they can get, and then unload the gun in a series of half aimed shots until the gun is empty. I saw one guy take 10 shots this way with a .44 Mag lever action Marlin. I'm sure he hit the deer too, because there was a blood trail for the first 100 yards or so. But it was not recovered.

This is the result of lax enforcement of exotic animal importation and control. Many game farms have not been diligent in insuring escape proof compounds. There has also been lax enforcement of trap and relocate laws by individuals. Another big problem along these lines is the Asian Carp. That fish was brought into the country as an algae eater. Claimed to be the solution to weed infested ponds, it is now the bane of many river systems because it escaped into the other ecosystems. it will literally destroy a river by overpopulating it and eating everything in it that other fish need to survive. Without better controls and more foresight, these types of alien species issues are only going to get worse.

Isn't that Michelle? :-\

Like fasteddie said.

It guts pretty much like a deer, but it's best to skin it ASAP or it won't cool and the meat will taste bad. And anything over 250 pounds will have to be quartered for one man to haul it out of the woods. Keep some small tarps in the truck to put the quartered pieces on when dragging them out.

Used to get uneasy when I started 40 years ago. But after so many years of walking in the woods in the dark, it doesn't bother me anymore. If there is a full moon or enough light in the sky, I don't even use the flashlight anymore. Seems to scare the crap out of anybody that hunts with me though!

Check the Game Laws book for details on where and when you can hunt bear. It's not open statewide. You have to know what zone you're in when hunting bear in NY. Bow, rifle and muzzle loader are all used for Bear in NY in the right season and zone.

Welcome to the site.

Do the lead bullets foul the Micro-Groove rifling in the barrel?

A 6" blade Randall Hunter with a stag handle would be a great prize! ;D

The Bowtech Stryker costs from $1000 to $1500 and is considered to be the exception, not the norm, in crossbow technology. If you wish to spend that much for a top notch compound bow, you will find it can do anything the Bowtech Stryker can do. The Stryker has an arrow speed of 400 fps while creating 155ft. lbs of kinetic energy. There are compound bows that will approach those figures. The sales hype is not reality. Anyone can be taught to effectively shoot a compound bow within 30 minutes as well. Bi pods and Tri pods don't help when carrying a crossbow through the woods to your stand or while stalking game. The above issues do not negate the argument about crossbows being allowed for hunting in my opinion. I assume the rest of the issues I mentioned in my prior post were agreeable. Many other states have legalized crossbows for deer hunting. What makes NY special in regards to banning them?

Wow, where does one start here? First, the Crossbow is less effective than a compound bow. It travels less distance and carries less energy. It is a close range weapon that limits the hunter's deer shooting distance. Look it up for yourself. 2nd, It is no more accurate than a compound bow. The skill of the shooter has to be just as high, and his weapon just as tuned as a bow hunter's, in order to score a kill. It is also much heavier and noisier. 3rd, by not allowing crossbows, NY is losing a ton of sales tax cash, many new bow license sales, as well as a ton of new jobs, that would be created by allowing crossbows for use in bow season. It also limits license sales to people that will hunt with a bow, but stops people who might try crossbow hunting if it were allowed. This fact has been proven in other states that have allowed crossbows during bow season. New weapon choices means new sales of those weapons and related equipment. 4th, Poaching is illegal. Regardless of what is legalized for hunting, poaching will continue. Allowing crossbows in other states has not increased poaching rates. There is no evidence to prove any legalized means of hunting deer has ever increased the poaching rate. 5th, The youth are the future of hunting in America. Allowing them a special day to be safely in the woods trying to bag a deer is an investment in the number of future hunters that will be buying licenses and equipment, as well as keeping hunting's political clout at a high enough level to insure it survives future anti-hunting initiatives. There are not that many youth hunters, and they are not successful enough, to have a negative impact on your deer hunting. 6th, Any group that strives to limit any form of hunting, especially when it is done for their own self interest, is not doing the sport, or it's future, any favors. It fractures the unity of hunters and creates an elitist mentality that causes friction among the hunting community. 7th, A hunting group that actively plots with state legislators against other hunters, is anti-hunting by very definition. 8th, If you fear legalizing crossbows for hunting, and are actively fighting their use, you should educate yourself about crossbows with an open mind, so as not to be played as a fool by any group that has less than honest reasons for fighting their use. The leaders of these groups don't need to have any real qualifications in hunting, weapons or wildlife biology to get elected to their positions. It's OK to question them and their motives. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

And then the Game Warden cited you all for hunting too close to a house and it turned into a nightmare!! ;D

I spend every day I am hunting deer, in the woods all day. I believe the deer move a lot on the opener as hunters start moving into the woods and shooting. By 10 AM I think they have found a place to hide and stay there until things quiet down. That usually occurs as most hunters leave the woods for lunch around 11 or 12 noon. At this time I see deer, often big bucks, sneaking through the timber, with what looks like deliberate attention to get someplace. It's as if they got caught in a place they don't want to be when the shooting started. Once hunters begin to return to the woods after lunch, the deer start moving again and the chances of seeing a deer before dark are good for the rest of the day. Even after the opener, I find the same facts are true, but to a lesser degree, as a lot of deer have already been taken, or fewer hunters occupy the woods.

I used to be a fast car guy, but moved on to bikes. This is mine. the bottom one is the one I want.

Welcome! Glad you came aboard.

Welcome! Glad you came aboard.

Welcome! Glad you came aboard.

Welcome! Glad you came aboard.

Welcome! Glad you came aboard.

Welcome! Glad you came aboard.