dbHunterNY

I agree that the one buck a year would help hunters be more selective. I hate it when hunters shoot a little buck because it was an easy opportunity to fill the freezer and then say now they can hunt for the big. the a$$ just shot the big one that would've been 2-3 years from now. that defies logic. for the most part you see what you shoot. if all you shoot is little bucks that's all you'll see. if you shoot bigger older bucks then chances are you're seeing older bigger bucks or doe.

I don't think someone can shoot that well. always use a rest just don't rest the barrel on something, only the forearm.

...can't think of a good Kevlar glove but i'd get one for your off hand. also meat hooks work well for keeping free hands out of the way. hope it heels up quickly. assume it wasn't deep enough to do permanent damage. good thing.

victorinox knives are a good bang for your buck I think... been thinking about getting some but don't really need them right now.

it'd work much quicker if you take out the insoles. i'm surprised at how many people don't do that.

I think we could also go to an earn a buck system. shoot a doe to harvest a buck.

very windy... tornadoes even. here in eastern ny we always have a leeward side of the mountain.

HAHAHA... really tender.

talk to the land owner and do as he requests and let him know what happened. don't keep anything from him. on DECs website somewhere there's written permission slips with a copy for the owner. they work well. if you don't have it you don't belong here. otherwise you'll be running back and forth to verify if someone has permission from him if they say they do. don't say things like "I would like..." or "I would appreciate it if you stayed off." refer to the owner and his behalf. be polite and not passive aggressive. just because you're not calling names or yelling doesn't mean you're not coming off as harsh or abrasive.

here's my "short" take on ARs... we've tried to do them with neighbors and some who hunt the family farm both half heartedly participating. it won't save all 1.5 yr olds having a restriction of 3 pts to a side or more being legal. it will save many of them though. we've also seen that not many if any 2.5 year olds are protected by the restriction. by the end of gun season (rifle here) many are dead. however, that's with the neighbors shooting practically anything. that's based on us messing with this type of point per side ARs for close to 20 years and observing what's happened. i think that if everybody only hunted 2.5 yr olds as the restriction would suggest, then more will make it to 3.5 in each area. I do think that 4 points to a side, which can include the brow tine, is a great AR to get bucks to 3.5 years old and is the most restriction that this type of AR can benefit from. there are areas in Missouri and other places in the country that practice this. some but not all 2.5 year olds meet that, so some will live to reach the next age class. however, I've found that this restriction meets the threshold for hunters piping up and having complaints who were without hesitation for the 3 pts per side restriction. I do believe that it's only a stepping stone though. it'll force hunters to make decisions that allow bucks to get to the next age class. it will have a small impact on promoting genetics with fewer points but only if this type of restriction is in place for quarter of a lifetime. once the age structure improves throughout the state, hunters in general will learn and go after older deer. deer will have all kinds of benefits from better age structure. NY hunters' mentality of what's a "shooter" will change and than maybe we won't need these restrictions. the hunting population in general participate in quality deer management willingly.

I know with absolute certainty that a 1.5 year old spike will not be a spike forever or doomed to be an inferior racked buck. I know of deer that start out as 1.5 year old spikes that grow larger than bucks that were bigger with more points at 1.5 years old too. This isn't my hunch or what I've subjectively seen in the field either. it's based on scientific research, captive bucks, and heck DEC has a setup in one of their trailers showing a spike bucks sheds and then sheds at maturity. it was a damn nice buck too, I mean a monster to be more accurate.

this is true.

you can skin and gut a deer in 2 minutes and bone it out in 8 minutes. i'm sure they didn't stay there long with a bunch of guys.

yup that's a big one... congrats to him!

Nikon monarch 10X40mm binos and Nikon Prostaff 3-9x40mm are what I use. you just have to check the buck out with decent glass. like what was said make no assumptions and if you've got any doubts then pass. it wouldn't be the end of the world if you passed a barely legal deer because others will be put in the same situation with that buck.

anymore mass and that rack would be palmated. huge buck.

this is true also assuming you've got a bow privilege/license included in your licenses somehow.

cheapest to go all carbon shafts. not sure if you need them factory fletched or you do your own. Goldtip Expedition Hunters you can get for $45/ half dozen. They're a pretty tough arrow and straight enough that I've gotten fixed blades to fly true out of multiple bows shooting them. also dick's sporting goods sells them rebranded for their stores with 4" vanes, not sure about straighteness and weight tolerances but they are $35/ half dozen. Easton aftermath is a good comparable arrow too. Not sure price wise. I shoot Easton higher end arrows and wouldn't hesitate to shoot those. Both Easton and Goldtip are good.

my parent's neighbor insists he could win a "turkey shoot" with this one gun he has because it has a "hair trigger". never knew what he was talking about but let it go. he isn't that good of a shot and then a "hair trigger" doesn't mean you'll be accurate. it just means he won't throw the shot as much when he flinches and yanks on the trigger to fire. lol

I think wardens get a bad rep because they're always looking to write tickets. never stop to ask a land owner how things are going or hunters how the season is going. it's always interrogative questions. makes sense people would feel uneasy around them. I've never had problems with them but I don't do anything wrong and buy a super-sportsman every year to hunt every season (except waterfowl). never heard of biologists with boots on the ground around here and the ECOs don't ask any questions to give them any info. lot of people think all they do is write tickets.

yup that was a nice one too. QDMA land had gotten some poaching in the county above mine. seems it happens whenever there's a big buck around.

I never tried one of those off-hand competitions. I don't know of any being around here.

off hand is difficult at anything more than 200 yards. helps at that point to have a good sling and get your non-shooting hand under the receiver. I've got a slogan outdoors ultraflex sling on my rifle. it's all rubber except the swivels which I changed out to outdoor connection talon quick release ones. it stretches just enough for comfortable carry and to get your arm in there in a hurry for an off hand shot. http://www.sloganoutdoors.com/ I got the longest shooting sticks I could find. got them from Gander Mountain years ago. Shorten up enough to sit and use them and then extend long enough to stand at height of 6' and use them. They can go taller too if i'm standing on a side hill. honestly you're better off taking 1.5 seconds dropping to one knee or sitting quick to be more stable most of the time.

Friday the day before southern zone gun season I hurried home before dark, after work. grabbed my Browning 30-06 and some supplies. drove right next door to the club's outdoor rifle range. then in 5 minutes I ran to post a shoot-n-see target up at 100 yards, sighted my rifle in with 3 rounds, and then used one round to ring to 300 yard steel gong for verification. quickest I've ever sighted in a rifle. new bullets of a different weight too. I wasn't just checking my zero.

I use it every time I hunt, even during rifle season. deer can smell you from a long ways off.