nyslowhand

BTW - Photos are posted as they reside on your computer or cell. Start there by rotating & saving them in correct orientation. Just a tip!

Lots of things wrong with this Environmental Assessment for Deer Damage Management in New York plan/draft! A few blatant issues that popped-out while I was reading the draft: The draft was initiated by NYS agencies that want to reduce the whitetail population mainly because they view them as a nuisance. The DEC got dragged into this because it specifically involved a wildlife resource, deer. This excerpt really summed up the reasoning behind this plan (APHIS-2015-0093, pg 3); "Wildlife acceptance capacity, or cultural carrying capacity, is the limit of human tolerance for wildlife or the maximum number of a given species that can coexist compatibly with local human populations. Biological carrying capacity is the land or habitat’s ability to support healthy populations of wildlife without degradation to the species’ health or their environment during an extended period of time (Decker and Purdy 1988). Both cultural and biological carrying capacities must be considered when resolving wildlife damage problems. Those phenomena are especially important because they define the sensitivity of a person or community to a wildlife species. For any given damage situation, there are varying thresholds of tolerance exhibited by those people directly and indirectly affected by the species and any associated damage. This damage threshold determines the wildlife acceptance capacity. While the biological carrying capacity of the habitat may support higher populations of wildlife, in many cases the wildlife acceptance capacity is lower or has been met. Once the wildlife acceptance capacity is met or exceeded, people begin to implement population or damage management to alleviate damage or address threats to human health and safety." Seems to be two completely different views trending within the (~37, as of this posting) posted comments to this plan. One by hunters and another by suburbanites that want deer around, just not in their yards. Read the plan, form your own conclusions and post comments by 1/15/16.

Not only do they know when the season is over, but they also know exactly what tags you have left when sitting in your stand.

What Doc said,...can't believe I'm agreeing with him! Kidding!!! The effectiveness of a BH probably only makes up 5-10% of the bow hunting big picture! I used G5 Montec fixed blade BHs for years, successfully. Super durable, easily re-sharpened, dependable performance.. but I did have a few decent hits that produced minimal blood trails. Did eventually find the deer using grid or circular searches. On a whim, switched to a mechanical BH 3 years ago, NAP Spitfire. Most hits had great blood trails. Some not as much as I'd expected. Of course. depending on the shot placement. Success rate..went 4/4 this year. Disclaimer - Not a big fan of replacing blades, so each kill was with a new BH. Are fixed blade BHs more effective than mechanical BHs? Is one model better than another mfger's model? BHs are a personal preference choice, like almost all your other archery tackle. If it's working, it's the best! Keep using it!! If it's not, is it really the BH? Sorry if I'm the bearer of bad news!

The whole scenario sounds like trouble to me. Need an ATV with tracks because areas are swampy...! What do you think will happen when the (whatever model) mower goes thru it?? Sounds like a lot of smoke & burnt out drive belts to me. I tore up a decent ATV pull behind mower the 1st year using it on questionable & uneven ground. May be a completely different situation for your area!

...and to make this whole thing even more confusing or questionable, throw in different habitats or food sources. Anyone that looks at brush lot bucks on their own trail cams might over-estimate the age of one from an agr rich area. Or vise-versa.

Yes, the issue is quality products, but more so built in obsolescence &/or service life! Look it up! It's a product design consideration that drives profits for those large companies at the consumer's expense.

Isn't this more of a survey topic rather than one where there is a "best practice"? Answer is, it depends..! Where, how or when you hunt. The habits or travel patterns of the deer in your hunting area will affect how you hunt. Certainly your weapon of choice &/or which season you're hunting comes into play also. Almost hate to mention it, but the....maturity issue also has to be taken into consideration.

Sorry, dude! Sounds like the crap malicious kids would do, irate neighbors or maybe another area hunter that doesn't like you competing for their deer. Big problem is getting it down & removed, huh!!?!!

Yes, in those does only areas (ie; 8F) ! In past years it was an either sex tag!

Without taking their body size into consideration, yeah I can see where this over/under guess-timating could happen when trying to field judge from a photo/video! This isn't a phenomenon that's exclusive to scoring from photos, happens from the stand also!! Hypothetically - If you were able to have the exact same rack on a 2-3yo, 150/160# buck, wouldn't it appear much bigger than on a 5-6yo, 190/200# brute?

Nothing but the highest praise for you & Luna!!!!!!!! AND, to do this for strictly donations in today's world is unbelievably awesome!! The Trackfest sounds like it'll be a very cool experience. Almost forgot...Congrats on your buck harvest!

First thing I thought of if it were me tracking a deer for 1+mi, would have certainly gone across several properties I had no permission to be on. Maybe that's not the case here though!?! Check eBay! Lots of moose, elk, deer racks for sale. Still not sure why anyone would want to display a rack from an animal they hadn't killed.......?

I too am one of the many hunters in the SZ that complained about the lack of deer sightings this year! Until a friend mentioned that I sounded like a broken record, with this annual whining! WOW, the truth hurts! LOL. So I looked at a hunting journal I've kept for the past 6+yrs. Appeared to be general trend in my journal entries every year during the SZ gun & late ML seasons....frigid temps, brutal wind chill, snowing again, NO sightings from stand, jumped deer to/from stand .... Finally dawned on me that this year was no different, even with warmer temps than the past years with snow & colder conditions! There's no hunting pressure in my area, so the deer just seem to go nocturnal after the main rut. Per my annual observations; it simply is what they do! Not to say that it isn't a different situation in another area of NY!??! Off topic, but as a side note addressed to the DEC; Pretty sure your doe-only restrictions in those over populated regions was a failure. Have to wait for the #s to come in for 2015 harvests to see for sure. Since the late ML season in my regions is doe-only, I won't be going out at all w/o at least the remote opportunity to take a late season buck!!

Fun? This is self-inflicted mental torture trying to figure out where to be at the exact right time! Kidding, of course!!! Strictly SZ and northern 8F: Up close & personal in a tree stand with archery tackle somewhere in the Nov 8th (+/-5 days) timeframe. Better yet, with my Xbow giving me an additional 10-15yrd ethical shot at a bruiser. Might have to break out a single day for a meat hunt in early October when the deer are still fairly predictable to/from food sources.

IMHO, B&C promotes this exact kind of behavior with their "Picked-up" class of trophy listings. Hard to believe any "finder " would have any gratification, not to mention bragging rights from simply locating a dead deer!

In case you'd forgotten, this is Marketing 101, sex sells! For its' influence on the TV hunting shows, you can blame (or thank) Tiffany Lakosky and the infamous flying carp episode. Maybe some of these are truly illegal acts..? Have to wonder, where was the guide when this all happened? Who was paid how much to simply look the other way in order to get the required KILL for the TV show? I quit watching those hunting shows a few years ago when they pretty much became Reality TV. This is how hunting is? I can do this too, right? Maybe I actually can't, so lets throw in a beauty queen to spice things up.

Don't get the correlation?? Are those exotic's farms also being shutdown by NYS laws or over regulation? USDA, right? What's this, a typing error? to Tb test every 3 years. Is there an actual TB testing requirement? Not sticking up for the urine based scent industry, just thought this was a pretty bizarre example of the DEC's thought process! AND..NYS' inept legislation at its' best worst! Also in the article, aside from the CWD "arm waving" unverified claims, budgetary considerations were mentioned. WTH are they thinking, if at all???

... and breeding machines!

Anyone see this small article in the latest issue of NYON? Apparently NYS is looking at what PA is attempting to do, introduce legislation to prohibit the use of all (doe & buck) urine based scents. The unverified claim is that it could possibly spread CWD. Think we have a resident deer farmer, so maybe he/she could chime in. Thought all captive deer were tested for CWD by the DEC..? My dumb question is; If the donor (deer) of the urine is verified CWD free, how in the world can it be transmitted from a drag-line or scent wick?? Seems to be yet another "knee-jerk" legislation with NO factual basis! Regardless of whether you think these scents work or not, what's your opinion of the legislation? Feel bad for the small time, local gentleman that has a few deer and tries to make a living off the sales of these urine based scents!

At least in my little neck of the woods it's not a lack of deer, have lots of cam photos during the summer. It's a lack of deer movement! I'm all for any hunter that has a use for the venison provided by filling all their available tags. What I'll never understand is the pure "kill" mentality involved when complaining about tag-soup! I'm not a big blood-lust hunter, mainly do it for the fun & enjoyment. Could simply be the mind-set I've adapted after 50+yrs of hunting. My situation is probably unique! Own & hunt 60ac by myself, surrounding properties have a few weekend stand hunters, so the deer aren't really pressured very much. Couple of farms near &/or adjacent fill a lot of DDPs. So I walk a fine line trying to harvest deer to fill my freezer, while pursuing those elusive mature bucks, hoping to donate at least one deer annually, attempting to keep a huntable deer population considering the local habitat, while being sensitive to those crop damage kill #s and trying to keep the whole experience enjoyable! Do try to manage the deer population on a micro level regardless of the DEC's broad claim of an over-population in my region. If the above situation were different for me, might fill all 7 tags available to me, Doubt it though!

What portion of those revenues do you think goes into the blackhole General Fund?

Ten Point Turbo XLT II, Alum xx75 arrows/bolts, NAP SpitFire (Reg & Maxx) AND a Claw sling. Same sling shown in 10pt Xbow photos above. Anyone that doesn't have a decent sling for their Xbow - get one, you won't regret it! OMG, Xbow horror stories. Been there, done that with a Barnett Predator years ago. Thus the reason I splurged and paid more for Ten Point (American) quality. Not within everyone's budget, but I considered it an investment for years to come and it's proven itself!

Pretty sure those young'uns don't roam or relocate by their own choice. The BBs won't tolerate them and will either pushed or chased them out of the their kingdom!

Very cool! Looks like an old warrior, with a broken rack from sparring.