nyslowhand

Back on track... Really hate to "pigeonhole" or categorize all deer hunters into distinct categories! Everyone has different reasons for being in the fall woods and their expectations from the hunt. BUT ... there does appear (JMO) to be a couple of main groups of hunters seeking mature (trophy?) bucks and with those obviously bigger racks. An older hunter that has filled numerous buck tags over the years, more than likely attempts to add more challenges to his/her hunting experience. Can be either by using more primitive weapons, stalking, up close & personal encounters, etc or simply passing on younger bucks in favor of waiting for that big boy to show up. Obviously when these types of hunters are able to connect on a mature buck, it becomes a more fulfilling experience and to some extent an ego soothing situation. As stated previously, due to my age, I fall into this group seeking the challenge. I'm just as happy to high-five a friend, relative and especially a younger hunter for getting a nice buck. I'm not looking for any praise for what I accomplish and never have widely broadcast any BB harvest beyond a small circle of friends or family. Granted, not all remaining hunters that seek BBs that don't fall into the "old farts" category can NOT be "pigeon holed" into another sole grouping!!! There does appear to be a group of deer hunters that might have been influenced in their early learning curve days in pursuit of BBs by social media, peer pressure, hunting camp or lease harvest restrictions or those absurd TV shows. If your early hunting experiences were tempered by the Holy Grail trophy rack propaganda, that might be what you think hunting should be all about. Along with this goes the "one-up-manship" or bragging rights mentality, both of which are to inflate one's ego among your peers. Sorry to say, but you're missing out on a lot of what hunting is all about! So ... It's all about ego. Whether to soothe it or embellish it, hunting mature bucks with larger racks is an ego boosting endeavor! Betting few will actually admit this....

Growalot eluded to it and Larry302 hit the nail on the head.. strictly a male ego boosting thing that has spread across all hunters. Not sure if this phenomenon started back in Neanderthal time or more recently with the "baby boomer" era when keeping up with (or surpassing) the Jonses became commonplace. Everything in life seems to be dictated by wanting the best job, biggest house, prettiest spouse, smartest kids, fanciest car, landscaped yard ... and brag-worthy buck. All bragging points attempting to make you look (feel?) better about yourself than others do. The advent of the internet and social media definitely has encouraged this ego boosting craze. I've hunted over 50yrs and shot some nice mature bucks. Okay, so mature bucks do tend to sport better, bigger racks, but IMO are more difficult to hunt....generally. I've shot a few that were leisurely walking through the woods in October or walked by my stand during the rut with their nose to the ground and unaware of anything around them. At least to me it was sort of anti-climatic after I got my hands on these types of harvests and realized how easy it was and how dumb these mature bucks can be. Some of my most memorable hunts were from encounters with bucks that were .... less than "trophy worthy". Have never fallen into the dreaded ego boosting trap of "mine is bigger than yours"! Inches, points or bragging rights don't matter to me, it should be about the experience!!

As long as we're derailed... I just had the flooring in a smallish kitchen and adjacent laundry room re-floored. After a lot of thought and online research, went with a vinyl flooring that looks like wood planks (Pergo-ish). The vinyl is truly water-resistant as opposed to the best wood (composite) planks that boast only 24hr resistance. Also cost about the same as the water-resistant Pergo, ~$2.80/sq'. The specific vinyl style I chose was 5.5mm thick, so it was more forgiving to any sub-flooring irregularities. The guy that installed my flooring even had to transition from 3/8" to 1/2" sub-flooring between rooms by using a plaster sort of ramp transition area. Can't even see or feel the difference or transition. BTW - The specific brand of vinyl flooring I used even comes in some stone look patterns in the lock together, free floating floor planks. Probably not appropriate for a bathroom, but for the occasional smaller water spills in a kitchen or laundry room it should work fine. Just a suggestion...!

In my experience, by the end of June they are basically ~75% of what they're going to be in October. May grow a few more inches in tine length, but mostly mass added on. More into the middle of July, they are probably at 90-95% of rack growth. Granted, different scenario for other parts of the state. Suppose if the available food sources were super good, they may develop more from 6/15 to 7/15.

Yeah, I've been fortunate enough to take decent bucks the 1st week of Oct bow season in the SZ by knowing their late summer/early fall patterns. Swear I won't do it again, but if the opportunity presents itself may have no control..... Sitting through the remainder of bow season and the rut with your buck tag already punched is frustrating. Makes you think about staying home simply to remove any "temptation". LOL

This is why I put out my trail cams in mid-May. Very cool photo! Cute Bambi, maybe a future Brutus? Got a very similar photo years ago, After viewing 2nd/3rd times, something didn't look right! Counter legs & figured out it was twin fawns, side by side nursing from back side of mama doe!

The "hub-bub" around my neck of the woods (apple country) is that pollination was somewhat sparse &/or sporadic due to so much rain &/or colder temps during peak blossom bloom. Different fruits and their peak bloom times varied as to weather conditions, bee activity and successful pollination. BTW - Those farmers pay a pretty penny to import and lease hives to have the spring time weather determine crop success. Hazard of farming!?!

Typically I put out trail cams about mid-May. Little earlier this year due to DEC transplanting bears in my hunting vicinity. Like to see fawns and racks growing. Not a lot of other useful info from cams for fall hunting purposes. Do watch deer movements to try to get an idea where does are residing or if they have changed their historical travel patterns. Stands are generally s/u, relocated &/or shooting lanes trimmed by end of July. Whether it's a good practice or even sound common sense, after about Labor Day my intrusions in the hunting areas are very limited. Maybe once more in Sept to check cams and install any stand cushions or pads. Of course all this hunting prep work varies per individual according to proximity to hunting area and ability to make time in your social or work schedule. Careers do interfere with hunting! lol

BTW - Interesting choice for the title of your thread. Surprised no one else has commented about it. Are we the only ones that have walked through pastures or know what a real "cow pie" is... lol

Definitely the "beast" is my H&R Partner Turkey shotgun, single shot, 12ga chambered for 3 1/2" shells. They do offer a 10ga/3 1/2", which I wisely chose to avoid! Those single shots shotguns have no mechanisms to absorb any of the recoil, so it's all delivered to the rear thru the stock to the shooter's shoulder. One of those guns you better make sure it's shouldered properly or you will be black & blue. Oh yeah, one of those turkey guns you do not do a lot of experimenting or patterning with for different for loads. Find one that works and stick with it!!!

Love southern R&R and the Allman Bros made it popular decades ago incorporating soul and R&B into their musical style. Sure Gregg and his brother Duane are somewhere jamming again. RIP

Holy crap dude, that had to take forever to complete!??! Poor little Dremel tool..! LOL. Very cool!

Per the moderator's request, won't go into the "Why" of this Xbow legislation. The pros & cons have been aired numerous times on this forum. Whether you're pro or con, hopefully by now you've seen both sides of the discussion and formed an opinion based on the facts presented! As far as "... the whole crossbow thing just appears to be a special interest group trying to sell product. " If that were the case the NYCC wouldn't be begging for membership funds, soliciting for letter writing campaigns and would have all kinds of help lobbying in Albany! Do know that last year's NYS legislative session was the most unproductive year on record. Your elected officials not doing their jobs...!?! Believe this year's session is full of resentment! Basically the legislators "butting heads" with the governor over Czar Andy's veto of the legislator pay increase and now closely looking at their stipend pay. Your elected officials acting like middle schoolers defying their parents...!?! Apologize if this has gotten overly political, but IMO it is why the Xbow legislation has pretty much stalled-out the last 2-3yrs.

FYI - Almost identical Xbow legislation got bogged down in the (NY Senate's? )Environmental sub-committee in 2015 & 2016. Also, there is overwhelming support for this type of Xbow legislation as shown in a couple of "hunter surveys" and amongst most sportsman, land mgmt and farm bureau types of organizations across NYS. The opposition (IMO) is coming from a small number of bow hunters and an affiliated organization basically creating a "squeaky wheel" protest. Sort of thought that the Governor adding it to his version of the latest NYS budget, it was getting his stamp of approval and might stand a fighting chance of becoming approved legislation. My bad... Wish I knew the real inside story behind this Xbow legislation's 3yr battle! My theory is that the majority of NYS legislators being from the greater NYC area (or borroughs) view this legislation as irrelevant to the best interests to their constituents and probably think Xbows are best used for killing zombies. While ~90% of NYS (land-wise) is where Xbow legislation would directly affect the minority of NY legislator's constituents. Making any Xbow bill a legislation "math problem" and directly influenced by those who voice the loudest opposition, whether in the majority or not! No offense to the forum members from the greater NYC area, but you probably could admit your legislators do NOT serve your best interests in hunting, fishing or outdoors activities. Unfortunately, like grampy elluded to, Xbow legislation will eventually get passed, but only through years of wearing down the unbelievers or those uninterested elected officials.

To anyone still following this legislation, this is status in NYS Senate as far as I could find: May 15, 2017 ADVANCED TO THIRD READING As far as I know, needs to be put up for vote in senate, passed to assembly for a vote, onto governor's desk before the summer recess and all with only ~11 "in session" working days left. Trying to be optimistic...!

Definitely, condolences to family & friends for their loss!!! Very bizarre and freakish hunting accident!

The main drawback of these Winn releases is they are super cumbersome to try and do anything with the hand the "glove" is on! Can adjust the amount of travel before actual release of arrow, which I never found the need to fool with. Getting the exact, correct size can be a challenge too! Last time I bought one was ~5-6yrs ago and they were a little hard to find other than online. Meaning - Getting a replacement in an emergency situation basically put your hunting on hold. Not sure if their availability has improved since!?! Other than that, they are ideal for kids, hunters with smaller frames or us old farts with declining muscles.

Really cool dude!!!!!!!!!!!

In the past there have been changes to hunting regs that were too late to be published in the newest DEC hunting/fishing regs booklet,... BUT they were implemented for upcoming season anyways. Optimistically - Encouraging that the newest Xbow legislation has made it further than in 2015-2016, as pretty much the same bill. Lets hope it doesn't get hacked-up like the one that got passed in 2014 giving us the current regulations. IRC - That's how it came out of the dreaded Environ Sub-Committee... Fingers crossed...!!! Pessimistically - There are only 17 working sessions before the NY Senate & Assembly breaks for summer recess. After that most pending legislation seems to somehow get purged from their calendars!

Did the same thing several years ago AND yeah, it's sort of anti-climatic when I look back at it. The stars & planets have to be perfectly aligned to tag out on consecutive days and in the same location! Or possibly over-run with turkeys!! LOL Congrats!! Would be super cool if you could help sis tag out!! Asking TOO much...!??!

Congrats! Almost same H&R turkey gun I carry. Except mine's the camo, choke tube and 3 1/2" model. That dude kicks a$$ on both ends!

Dude, you never cease to amaze me! Super cool!! Way too nice to be used on a key ring. Would look nice as an adornment for a lightweight jacket on the zipper. A cool pendant also! Giving that Dremel a workout, aren't you!

Can get a generic can of sardines at most supermarkets for ~$1. You'll get 3+ trappings out of one can. I used about 1-1/2 pieces per setting & it worked great! Do have to place bait in center of triggering area otherwise they'll get at it from outside the trap. Marshmallows are okay, but them racoons love their fish!!! Not that it'll make you feel any better, but it could have been a bear like recently was caught on cam raiding a guy's birdfeeder in Sodus area! Little more difficult to trap!

Along with DEC WMU maps, there's a description of how each WMU is defined, per roads, etc.

Dumb & Dumber .... Can't decide who's worse, her, the deer or whomever posted it for all to see? One of those embarrassing situations that eventually happens to all of us, that hopefully we learn a lesson from and never to be mentioned again!