Five Seasons

my grandfather. Korean war vet. Passed away at 81 this April. Still bowhunting at 80. Going to be a different fall this year...

listen, we all have our opinions on hunter numbers. One thing we can all agree on I hope is that hunting has changed in NYS. Some areas have seen an increase, others a decrease. Farms are disappearing, sub-divisions are popping up. Technology has made our society lazy. We have a society that now watches youtube clips instead of hour long tv dramas. We need instant gratification. There has been, and always will be an anti-hunter society. There are even people out there who worship dead trees What did all the anti-gun people say when they made their pitch? We are not going after hunters. Why? because they realize hunting is a part of our history. That it is necessary to control populations. I think PETA would rather fight the killing of whales by the Japanesse then the upstate NY deer hunter. Now lets talk population of upstate NY (not including NYC). put in your county and see that people are leaving this state, not coming to this state http://www.forbes.com/special-report/2011/migration.html or even better is this article http://www.empirecenter.org/pb/2009/10/empirestateexodus102709.cfm 1.5 million people have left from 2000 to 2008 and you think 200k hunters in 20 years is bad? Finally, I'm a hunter advocate. I want to maintain our tradition and past time. But times have changed, culture has changed and I hate when a company or sport feels they HAVE to adapt to bring up their numbers and they end up changing so much they ruin the very thing people love. Football is dancing this line right now. They're taking the violence out of the sport for player safety. How far can they go before we realize they've taken away everything we love about the game? I'd rather there be less hunters and for hunting to stay the same, then for us to bend over and change how we do things to incentivize the younger attention span deprived generations into joining the sport. You're either a hunter or you're not. You can kill or you cant. You love it or your dont. I do believe that some things must be changed and we must adapt in some areas... but I want to make sure we don't go so far that it's no longer the pastime I love.

and i agree with that, and what happens when the dust settles is what is really important and exactly why our justice system allows someone to file suit if they feel they were wrongly treated. It is obvious to most that it was the teacher who instigated and escalated the situation. After the kid refused to take off the shirt, he should have been the adult and gone to the principal. The principal could have reminded the teacher that the shirt is not against the rules, or in the least decided to address it by calling the kid to his office instead of having a public argument. but again that's all hindsight, and from someone whose mother is a teacher I fully support the police being called. If the police decided an arrest was warranted, than that's on them and not the school. Like I said there's a lawsuit and we shall see the results.

Doc, you know that I realize this and understand the concept very well. I just don't see our small numbers decline as an epidemic. I don't believe we're hemorrhaging hunters. A small decline (probably the result of the economy) doesn't mean the world will end. If we do start losing hunters at an alarming rate, then fine. But until then I don't believe crossbows will "help" any cause. Again, the stats posted show bowhunter numbers increasing, which would make one wonder why are we losing gun hunters? And what will legalizing crossbows do to help the gun hunter numbers? I would be pissed and would march on the capitol if we lost our gun season. But you wouldn't see me burn some sh!t to the ground until they messed with my bow season.

and if the kid refuses to get up and go to the office? i'm not sure what high schools you guys went to, but even at Wayne we had our "trouble with authority" bunch. At no point can a teacher put their hands on a student (although those were the good ol days). And if the situation is growing out of control with the student body getting riled up, then what choice do you have? Think about the non-violent protests where people did "sit ins".

no, but the yahoo article states the cafe became near riot like atmosphere. the kid did nothing wrong, but is it so hard for you to picture the scene in a highschool cafe with a bunch of teens getting all amped up in the drama. the only thing to do is remove him whether it's his fault or not. I can't believe everyone missed my first post. I'm fully supporting the kid. The teacher has a lawsuit against him, the charges will be dropped against the kid because the DA wont touch that case. But being arrested doesn't mean you're prosecuted. That's all i'm trying to get across. You don't give the kid detention when you have a teacher yelling at him and a bunch of kids jumping on tables. you neutralize the situation. there has to be some LEO's on here that can back me up.

tell me how decreased hunter numbers leads to the demise of hunting. that's what i'm interested in knowing. There are still several thousand hunters. If there is only 1 hundred thousand do they ban the sport? And if they do "outlaw hunting" what will be their reasoning?

ok bub. what would you propose the school do when there is a scene resulting from someone that is breaking the rules? Remember genius, that arrested does not mean you get charged. But to think a teacher or someone else should confront and remove the problem is ridiculous. So what do you do when someone is being insubordinate and needs to be removed? you call the police. It's not that he's arrested for the shirt, it's that he has refused to correct the rule violation and has turned the situation into a volatile one.

I agree. I'd rather be really deep into a few things than half assed into a lot.

if you had a crossbow she'd have never caught you drawing

totally agree. I get asked to go snow boarding and to buy a road bike and other things. I can't afford any more hobbies. Hunting has always been #1 for me. But cars and motorcycles are a close second. Then fishing, golf, running and i try to sneak a videogame in during the winter months. I want some snowmobiles but not sure I can fit them in. Getting married and having a kid has made very little free time available for me. haha.

the family has a lawsuit against the school. However, I believe both the charges and the lawsuit will be thrown out. But you have to realize the teacher took his own views into action which is not allowed. Had he flipped out at the kid for wearing a yamica or turban then we'd have a much different story on our hands wouldn't we? Again, there is nothing in the school's rules that prohibits guns on a shirt. If there was, then the kid deserved to be arrested... but there wasn't.

this must be the 10th time you've accused me of twisting your words, and not once have i attempted to do this. maybe you need to express your point better. Anyhow, I honestly don't see the doom and gloom a lot of you do. As long as you can own land, they will not take away your right to hunt animals on it. In fact many states are increasing permits to help thin the herds. hunting is the oldest form of anything since the dawn of man. Maybe you guys have a lot of PETA friends, idk. I work in an building of 250 and have a deer calendar in my office and have yet to have someone throw paint on me...

I dont really think there is as big an anti-hunter push out there as there used to be. The whole "green" movement has done a lot for organic and natural lifestyles. Hunting is as organic as it gets.

Golf is what holds me over. That and a cold beer on a hot day in the boat.

i read the story on yahoo. sounds like an anti-gun teacher made a big deal about it. the kid was not violating school policy as only drugs, alcohol, sex etc type of shirts were not allowed with no mention of guns being against policy. the kid refused to remove the shirt, the cops were called. chargers will most likely be dropped by the DA. Win for the kid.

sometimes turkey season makes it worse. Being in the woods and seeing the deer but not being able to hunt them is tough. Fever usually sets in for me in late August.

so if bowhunter numbers are increasing; why mess with it? and enter "crossbow hunter"

I believe he was just stating he is in opposition to crossbows. The pro-crossbow group is very vocal and seem to outnumber the anti on this site. Just chiming in to give your side helps provide proof that the few vocal anti's are not alone.

always been my thinking too. been thinking of maybe bringing an old arrow with a field tip if i see something cool to shoot.

is there something i could plant now that would go quick until july and be easy to remove so they start using it early?

on the same subject, if i were to plant something this spring that would attract in the fall what would be my best bet? Or do I plant several things throughout the year? I want to start planting next to my clover patch and dont want to miss my window.

no, my point is that there are mainstream news outlets who tend to employee reporters with higher standards and better sources. If it's not being reported by anyone including fox news then i call it bs and simply a wish by some online blogger. I realize every organization has their downfalls and corrupt reporting, but if it's truly a scoop everyone will run with it, not just a couple websites that nobody has heard of.

i think it depends on the use. There's nothing wrong with a 16/18" lowes special if you're only pruning a few limbs and small to medium sized trees a year. But if you're going through several tanks of gas a year in your chainsaw I agree that it's better to spend the money up front.