nyslowhand

I'd never spend the $$ for one, but can see some of their benefits other than blatantly chasing deer. Aren't drones basically RC helicopters that need a clear "line of sight" field of operation and have limited range? JMO, Drones have a darker side also. Overheard a hunter recalling a story about being harassed by an individual with a drone while he was hunting, numerous times. Fast forward... neighbor operating the drone was given a warning by the DEC for harassing hunters. Or imagine enjoying your pool, a family BBQ, the daughter sunbathing, etc and some idiot flying a drone with a camera overhead!??! Creepy...!!!!!

To get even further off the main track... Funny how the discussions about trail cams has evolved with the changing technology. 10-12yrs ago we'd be talking about trigger speed, photo quality, ect. With most cams being semi-standardized , most <20% from best to worst in quality and exclusively using SD cards/AA batteries, battery cost becomes the main concern. IRC, 1st cam I bought ~12yrs ago was a hybrid. Pretty generic outer housing, a home-brew triggering circuit board and hard-wired to an OEM Sony (3-5Mp?) digital camera. Comparatively good photos, but the damned thing used the old "B" battery and a now obsolete Memory Stick. Then upgraded to an expensive, early era Cuddeback that ate the 4X "D" batteries like it was in a feeding frenzy. Now we receive "real time" photos via cell phone. How we've evolved...!

Didn't he have a dog he'd trained for shed hunting...? Always had really cool posts!

Got all this ^^^, but how do I measure for the chest size to convert from men's to women's sizes with man boobs??

FYI - For another $5-$6, you can get genuine Duracells in 100pks from eBay sellers. Use whatever brand you're comfortable using or fits your budget! And then there's the alkaline vs lithium debate. Pay 2-3X the $$, but get 2-3X the service life. Tradeoffs...!?!

Very cool, dude! You never cease to amaze me!

Passenger vehicle, SUV or truck? Sort of makes a difference in whether everyone's advice is relevant to your situation or not. BTW - tires can make all the difference!! As an example, bought a Jeep with all the drive options, manual 4wd lo/hi range and a selector for different road/off road conditions! The OEM all season tires.. suck, so all those bells and whistles are worthless.

Where do I get one.... a rocket launcher? Get your mine out of the gutter guys!

I've had numerous slate calls, from homemade, expensive & cheapo, slate to glass using various strikers. Just can't seem to master them! What I carry is a couple of box calls, either for short or long range calling, but mainly locating. Can even get a 1/2 a$$ gobble out of one box I have. When a gobbler is coming in, I'm more concerned with being ready, gun shouldered, scanning the brush/woods, diaphragm call goes in my mouth and won't be making any other unnecessary movements with box/slate calls. FYI - NOT putting diaphragm call where other member suggested putting it! JMO, a lot of hunters don't use diaphragm calls because they don't take the time to experiment with properly fitting it to the roof of their mouth. One size fits all, out of the box diaphragm calls will not fit all mouths! Trim & bend as needed, be surprised at the difference it'll make! Back to the OP - Tons of different models/mfgers of box, friction, tube, diaphragm, shock, locating, blah, blah calls, so it becomes a personal preference. Your favorite is the one you've killed numerous Toms with, may not be mine! Maybe that's why they make those turkey hunting vests with so many pockets...?

Agreed, very cool gizmo! Practical or justifiable, ehh.......?

The biggest stumbling block for getting more NYS land access, from private property owners &/or trail (snowmobile) clubs to allow ATVs is when they are ridden. Think we will all agree an ATV in the right season or terrain conditions might tear-up an otherwise passable trail. I know the local snowmobile club spends lots of time/$$ on grooming & grading their trails in the off season. Last thing they want is to have the typical 2% that might tear up a trail, spoiling it for the other 98% that would respect the landowner's/club's property. JMO, I'd be willing, as a former landowner, to allow snowmobiles on my property, but not ATVs when I might also be on the property at the same time (spring->fall). Another issue is just how few ATVs are actually registered, limiting the available funds for NYS to build trail systems. Betting few landowners that use their ATVs within their property actually register them. See the registration requirements; only exempt to register if an ATV is solely used for non-profit snow removal or agricultural purposes. Have to admit, I'm guilty! I'd be more than willing to register an ATV, IF there were areas or trail systems to ride it within a reasonable distance. Sadly, in the mind's of our elected officials, this situation is really low on their priority list. Esp considering the majority of them are from the greater NYC area, so they have little to no support from their constituents to pursue (or fund) this issue.We can only hope...!

Lots of different "what if" scenarios, but in OP's photo.. kind of a no-brainer.

Sorry NYS, you fall way short of our neighbor Pa in accommodating ATVs and providing trail systems!

An old school, traditional re-curve bow with this 21st century gizmo attached.

Wow, very nice, but...$1200->$1500? They look pretty narrow to comply with current NYS DEC min width regs. Interesting Xbows! Glad to see 10pt addressed the cranking system's faults. Mine is noisy & cumbersome, taking a lot of cranks to re-cock.

Ahh, the old post-season armchair quarterbacking and all the shoulda, coulda, woulda scenarios. I do it every year and it's hardly worth all the headaches! Shoulda shot that buck instead of waiting for another one that never appeared! Coulda have gotten one if only I hunter over there instead of where I did that day. Woulda have hunted more if I didn't use more than my annual allotment of TOO excuses, too hot, too windy, too rainy, too cold, too tired, too comfortable in armchair.... Also saw way less does (& fawns) around than usual. Made those hunts w/o any sightings... agonizing and the prospects of seeing a BB unlikely. Did get a decent buck that was leisurely walking thru the brush during the rut by himself. Blind luck and a fluke of stand choice that day due to a late AM start. Little to do with any well laid plans! Like to think I do my due diligence in scouting, stand locations, cam photos evaluated. planning, etc every year to put myself in the right place at the right time. This year, Lady Luck prevailed and was able to get a Blind Squirrel buck!

Oh yeah, when you get to a certain age the bone & meat are much lower on your priority expectations list! The simplest of things are important; ie; just being able to get out in the woods and enjoying nature. Gruesome, but ... Life has a cruel way of dealing us cards we don't want or expect, so each year my philosophy is this one may be my last, so enjoy it to the fullest!

Obviously, having permission or retrieval rights granted before the hunting season starts would be the ideal solution! But ... If I know I don't have retrieval rights or that specific neighbor is.. temperamental, I'm not tempting fate by putting a stand or hunting near that PL. Even if I have permission and put a stand near the PL, it will be facing the area I am hunting and not tempted to shoot on/across the PL. BUT.. If things don't play out as planned and the deer decides to go further or where it wants, I'd be enforcing the old standard - "It's easier to ask forgiveness than beg for permission!" Even if I'm obliged to give the deer to that property owner, I'm still respecting my kill by retrieving & tagging it! Isn't this one of those unspoken rules not mentioned in Hunting Ethics 101?

Very nice!! Lot of work went into that big boy, huh? Congrats! BTW - Ever see the BassPro tractor/trailer that tours around with all those record book, phenomenal BBs? At one time there was a TV show with the story line behind the harvest of some of those BBs. Many were simply "walked upon" and shot! So much for BB hunting strategies..!?!

Oh yeah, the Bill's fans were pretty faithful all the way from their founding Jack Kemp years, thru the Joe Ferguson era and into the 1990's Jim Kelly/Bruce Smith cycle. Not pointing any fingers at the owner (Ralph Wilson) or the numerous coaches & GMs, but the Bills have struggled with QBs since Kelly retired. JMO, I'd be revamping their scouting staff! Granted, it was a heart-breaker to see the Bills lose 4X consecutive Super Bowls, but just making it that far was pretty phenomenal to say the least compared to almost all the rest of the NFL teams. As a fair weather Bill's fan, I'd take being #2 again compared to what they've been the past ~17yrs! Optimistically - A new owner dedicated to keeping the Bills in Buffalo, a new head coach determined to re-vamp the team's mentality and of course you loyal, beaten-up fans fanatically supporting them. Pessimistically - The Bills don't have enough draft picks (or $$) to rebuild their aging linemen, augment the backfield & receivers or draft & pay for a big name QB in the 2018 draft. So, the saga continues.... Oh yeah, we could be living in Cleveland, imagine being a Dawg Pound fan...!?!

Remember, it is the overall width of the limb measurement for that reg, not the A-A mfger's measurement. Or per DEC reg: Minimum limb width: 17 inches (outer tip of limbs, excluding wheels and cams, uncocked) Get the tape measure out, you may be more legal than you thought!

Hoping you have a great B'day, you deserve it!!! Remember, 50 is only a number...!

"Brutcher was charged with taking big game in excess of the bag limit; unlawful possession of protected wildlife; failure to report deer take within 7 days (three counts); take/kill deer wrong implement; unlawful deer kill (two counts); hunt over bait (two counts); entice deer to feed (within) 300 feet (of a) highway. " So... If you feed deer more than 300' from a highway, it's legal...? Never heard that one before!??!

Lot of alarming news about how everyone's PC down to smartphones are susceptible to hacking due to microprocessor hardware issues that were made in past ~15yrs. Maybe I'm just too naive, but I see this as more an issue with firewalls, Bluetooth/WiFi security &/or AV/Malware programs not doing their job! All the news articles I've read keep pointing to the microprocessor as being the basic vulnerability. Unless your PC is always connected to the web, like Win10's default, or the same scenario with a smartphone being connected via WiFi, how can these above vulnerable hacks be exploited?? Hopefully, someone with better understanding of this issue can shed some light for a technology inept dinosaur like myself.

There are many free video hosting sites, everyone has a favorite or old reliable one. Lot of computer based websites like cnet.com (for one) have reviews and suggestions. Many of these free hosting sites are pretty similar, with the exception of allowed storage space allotted per user. JMO, but I only upload videos I want to share with specific individuals or on this forum, and delete them after a few weeks/months. Don't store very many online, just keep them handy on my PC. Most people abandoned Photobucket when they started charging a fee or limited the site's usage w/o being a paid user. This is when I began using Google Photo, but haven't used it too much to be anywhere near a point to give any advice. I don't use it, but I think you can do the same on Facebook, with the caveat that viewers would have to also have a Facebook account to view them. Y-N?