Five Seasons

Funny shit last night I’m discing my food plot, audioslave blasting on my Bluetooth in the same field I hunted in the morning and out comes a tom lol. Had baseball this morning and man was it chilly with that wind. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

PS I'm done for the weekend. cheers all, and happy mothers day to the mom's on the board.

so you know a few guys that have big chunks of land... and shocking, because they have big chunks, these pieces of land are deer paradise? got it.

I don't think there's an average or serious hunter that puts a scope on their bow, and I'm aware of the auto-range finders. I was a little tempted to get one but honestly I don't hunt many fields so I'm rarely guessing what distance they're at. I still see a bow site and crossbow scope as very different in many ways. "they're heavy" is a fallacy that I disproved earlier in this thread as well as width. If you're willing to spend the money, there are options out there to get around this. Outside of gun season, I can't recall the last time I've hunted for over 4 hours and if I had to, I can't imgine it'd be hard to uncock and recock my bow. Heck I do several practice draws when I feel myself getting cold, this wouldn't be any different. Fair rebuttal and I appreciate you having a positive discussion

Well 6 deer total out in the fields they're never in during the fall lol but that was it. Hearing many parts of the state haven't had active birds and I know it's been a little colder and wetter than normal so hoping this next dry and warm week will be productive. Going to put in the clover this weekend too, so could use a little rain haha.

So far a coon and what looks like a nice 2.5 year old buck but no beards Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

An absolutely beautiful morning. Only a few distance gobbles. Was tempted to move towards them, but it’s hunt #2 and not quite desperate yet. Happy to be enjoying the view and taking a few hours off work this morning. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

maybe 20 pounds of bird and a pound of water? haha. great dedication hunting in that weather. congrats!

I think the term cross-gun (which I've used to troll) is for sure incorrect. It's just like a gun has some merit to it though. There are similarities and there and differences. I think this is where the air-bow argument comes in and I'm genuinely interested in your thoughts here. It shoots a bolt, propelled by air (not string), but to your point the air bow kills the same and has the same aiming point as a crossbow. It doesn't use gunpowder so it's not a firearm. What is the airbow? Shares the same trigger and scope as a crossbow. Genuine question here and not trolling I swear.

I have a pretty demanding job that doesn't allow for a lot of weekday turkey hunting and with kids sports on the weekends that is tough too. I like to check out of work from time to time to reset and this is where I go. So no answer or response to any of my points? got it.

I'm curious what survey data or evidence you have to support this. A few friends or acquaintances that think like you does not give you the right to say "most land owners". It's like going to a republican convention and talking with everyone there and then being shocked that some people think differently. The barstool is not indicative of the broad feel throughout the state from The Adirondacks to Long Island and over to the falls.

I actually own, or lease or have hunting rights to 7 different properties. 3 in 8F, 3 in 7J and 1 surrounded by public land in 6J. IIRC, you hunt public land and don't even hunt the land you own. Am I mistaken?

I'm too smart to defend something as the statement above? Which statement was that, I made plenty I think I came up with plenty of reasonable arguments, and many states and this one tend to agree. So who is wrong? You can use a crossbow for the september doe hunt, the best 2 weeks a year AND during all of firearm and into mz and the holiday season. So minus what is normally a pretty dull month of October, you can use a crossbow to be efficient at short yardage where they are safer than firearms... although now you're calling hunters with guns dangerous so that's interesting. But I wont poke at that low hanging fruit. Tell me how that month of October is limiting harvests? You know hunter access is the issue in my neck of the woods right? Not lack of crossbows. Heck in the north the issue is not enough deer, so do we want to kill more or less? How are we divided? I'd help all but maybe 3 people on this board if they needed a hand. Hell I'd help drag a wounded buck shot with a crossbow if I was able and someone needed it. There are zero people giving up hunting and becoming members of PETA because Belo doesn't like crossbows. Let me end with this. Who and how much do you donate to for conservation and hunting every year? I can show you my TRCP, NWTF, NRA and BHA receipts. I'm raising 3 young bowhunters as we speak as well. Can you say the same?

miss your first shot? no worries, you have another one ready to go! Or heck, shoot em both at the same time!

Is this our field archer?

I started gun hunting at 16 and archery at 24. Yes I've taken some poor shots with a gun. Not intentionally but because I was learning and learning the hard way. My point is that many, myself included will wait for the perfect shot with a bow and take less than perfect shots with a gun. The later doesn't imply unethical btw. Not sure why 2 of you are now trying to put words in my mouth that I didn't use. This is all text, we can all see what I wrote.

I think it's very important to note that nobody is saying a compound is HARD, but that it's substantially different or harder than a crossbow. So the statement is used relatively. Also nobody called anyone a slob in this thread, so stop gaslighting.

some day I might try traditional. My line is that with a compound I need to draw the bow, hold it on target (most guys aren't holding for more than a few minutes and deer don't always cooperate do they?), then I need to do all those things I mentioned in the previous post and then release. I understand the ravin is not legal in NY, but the NYCC would like to see it be. It is 6" wide. What's a rifle or shotgun 2 or 3 inches wide at most? It weighs 6.5 pounds. My ruger american .30-06 weighs 6.2 WITHOUT a scope. Other than lethal distance and sound that's literally the only difference between a crossbow and a gun. You aim through a scope and pull a trigger. https://ravincrossbows.com/product/r26x-crossbow/ What are the similarities? The trad bow, compound and crossbow all used a string to propel a bolt or arrow. So we lump them together. I don't know what a draw weight is on a trad bow, but iirc it's around 50 or 60. The issue being without a letoff one cannot hold it very long. Most NY compounds are setup with a draw weight of 50-70 and 80 or 90% letoffs. The ravin is 340lbs... yes you read that right, 340! These are the 2 arguments repeated at nauseum for the last 10 or so years. I've said it a dozen times. I don't care if it passes, it won't change a thing for me. But like you, if I had a vote, I'd be against it for able bodied non-senior citizens. I believe it tarnishes the tradition, uniqueness and exclusivity of the archery season which was and has always been intended to be a challenge. Who sets the challenge is the next question and by and large I'd say it should be the hunter. For sure it's harder to shoot a mature buck than it is to shoot a button. It's generally harder to spot and stalk, it's generally hard to hunt public land. A hunter can decide for him or herself what their challenge should be, but the state needs to set a bar. It's why they broke up archery and firearm and muzzleloader. They set a bar and now that bar is becoming blurry because many want an easier road to success.

ah there it is. Mr. washes in irish springs has popped into the chat. You should be wise in your age to know we don't all hunt the same area and deer. I'm glad you get shots at 8-15. So do I. But I've killed some nice deer at 30 as well and so do many others. If anything, the later requires more skills "old man".

I'm not sure where and what you mean when you keep referencing some fool sitting in an office who is totally clueless. Did you get picked on as a kid or something? These are state biologists and wildlife management officials, not software engineers. You should subscribe to the DEC newsletter and you may better understand what they do and how they do it. Who are these Karens you're referring to? I'm not sure you understand what a Karen is.

For sure, I've actually missed more with a gun than a bow and I think that's because mentally I know I have to have all my shit together with a bow and with a gun I've taken some less than ideal shots. But my point is that a killing weapon with an optic and trigger has less variables and is more forgiving under stress. Hell simply forgetting to bend at the waist could be the difference between wounded and dead, let alone a blurry peep, lower light collection without a scope, dropping the bow hand, follow through, incorrect grip or wrist position. Things that are all easy to control while target practicing but become more challenging on a 15* moring in a stand in November after sitting for 3 hours. To be fair, I think there has only been 1 or 2 guys in the long tenure of this debate on this board that have argued the compound was easier than the crossbow, so I'm kinda preaching to the choir. And there are folks that think my stance against the crossbow is negative and elitest. I don't find that negative at all as I do agree that the archery season should be reserved for those in pursuit of a challenge. It's meant to be hard. Society today is always looking to dumb shit down and make it easier for everyone. Inclusivity and all that BS that a certain political group shoves down your throats every day. Why? Why can't we have something that's intentionally difficult and challenging? Isn't that what makes arrowing a 3.5 year old buck feel so f'n spectacular? Why does it feel so good? Because it's freaking hard. /rant

If we were listing reasons A through G why some are against full inclusion and tallying up all the answers, I actually think that's closer to G than it is to A. But in this vein there lies some truth. Despite some of the bad ass cig smoking, irish spring using, I don't practice and shoot big bucks guys on this site, most of us know that is incredibly more difficult to get a successful shot off on a nice mature buck, or doe for that matter at 30 or under with a compound. I will agree that it doesn't take a ton of work to become a decent shot with a compound these days. I will say that to become a decent shot so that when it's go time and your muscle memory kicks in from all that practice to overcome all the adrenaline does take more work than the guy flat footed in shorts and t-shirt in his backyard though. I'm not a vet, but I've spoken to many who have seen combat that can attest to repetition and muscle memory from training kicking in during a cluster f*ck engagement and have to think that it's a similar concept. To answer what's closer to A than to G though? It's draw, distance, lack of optics, lack of rest etc. Those are the differentiators for most of us. Not so much the "I earned it in the off season". Just my tired old .02. Hell there's a crossbow now that has 2 bolts ready to go. I haven't seen that in a compound yet.

So what's the line for you? What if that guy is cooking meth out their on his property? What if he's trafficking humans or running a pedo ring? When do you stop minding your own business? I'm curious what your line is. After your last post indicating it's ok to wound birds because they taste bad, I've decided I'm no longer replying to your posts. So take that as a victory, and good luck in life wolc. You and I have closed our chapter.

killed my best bird in drizzle. but it he was roosted maybe 100 yards away from my setup and I think I had the perfect deek and call timing. For sure it's not a killer and even nicer if you're in a blind but generally I think they're harder to hunt in the rain.

well I had a long car ride back and forth yesterday for work. Still made it home to get in bed before 9 and wanted to give it a go this morning as my weekend is shot and the next 2 days are super busy. Alas I don't have good luck with cloudy weather and the alarm clock won. I'm pretty ashamed that I bitched out on hunt 2, but I don't feel too guilty with how hectic life has been. I was bummed to wake up to full sun though and now I can't help but wonder what could have been. Will enjoy not feeling groggy all day, but bummed still the same. It's looking like friday for me.