nyslowhand

Ya'd think, but, not the case! They are noisy to use! I found a little trick when using mine to make it much less noisy. A finger on the engage-disengage lever takes some of the ratcheting sounds away. BTW - a Xbow is pretty loud when shot, so being quiet after the shot (re-cocking) is kind of a moot point. Like others have mentioned, better make the 1st shot count, a 2nd shot is pretty unlikely anyways.

Burmjohn &/or moderators, is this true?? Shouldn't be a site liability issue, reviews are member's opinions. What's the sense of only allowing positive reviews?

Come on some of you IT guys, chime in! I too am in dire need of upgrading my Vista. Haven't seen any newer version of Win that is right for me. That is other than probably Win7 Pro, which BTW Doc supports legacy 3rd party softwares. Win8 was supposed to be an upgrade, but was hugely unpopular and was dismissed as a down-grade. Win10 looks to be based on social media, photo & video sharing and a lot of smartphone interfacing, which is not for me! Win10 does have a new web browser that is supposed to be huge improvement over IE.

There was a campaign to do just that several decades ago. The five boroughs & LI were proposed to be incorporated into NJ's territory. The rhetoric was that upstate would go bankrupt w/o NYC's tax contributions to the NY budget.

Sure other Excalibur crossbow owners have had much better luck than I did, so my review or comment could be tainted. Shooting a Xbow was new to me, so I was super diligent to the point of being OCD about following mfger's instructions for assembly & proper use. Yes, was still sighting in the scope when string broke & launched a bolt through the trees. Afterwards, inspected Xbow for any obvious problem or issue I might have caused, nothing. Possibly a rare "straight from the factory" defect, but that experience did sour me on that brand of Xbow.

...and don't you get a certain amount of time to provide your driver's license if stopped w/o one?

Okay, it's the law. I get it! Displaying a back tag is so very antiquated and useless on so many levels. Hopefully NYS catches up with the other states that have already transitioned to a license to be carried on your person & done away with the back tag requirement.

Last I knew there were two proposed bills that addressed this and were hung-up in the Enviro sub-committee when the legislature recessed for summer break. Should be addressed when they reconvene, if not already. Anyone hear differently??

I too learned the hard way! Bought a mediocre Excalibur several years ago when I dreamed of an Ohio Xbow hunt. Wasn't happy with its' feel "out of the box"! Scope was crappy! String broke after 7-8 shots, launching a bolt who knows where! Fortunately I got it from Cabelas & was able to get my $$ back. Other than the reminder of how much I spent on my 10pt every time I see it, it's been a good investment. IMHO, wouldn't suggest a Xbow to any vertical bow enthusiasts that isn't struggling with vision, draw wgt or hold time issues. That is, not until NYS cleans up the legislation regarding the current Xbow FUBAR.

Seems to be an issue with this link..!?!

OMG, a test! I can't stand the pressure! LOL. Not to back away from a challenge, but you already picked the timeframe I typically see the most bucks that I can/could actually have a shot at. Other than the smaller bucks that are out & about earlier, ~mid-Oct. Halloween has always been a traditional landmark for me to get very serious about hunting mature bucks. The swing for me has been approx -5-6/+7-8 days. IF I were to plot the bucks I've killed on a bell curve, the peak/plateau would probably be the 1st few days of Nov.Naturally with a disclaimer applied; in my experience, habitat I hunt, surrounded by orchards, no other agr crops/food plots and hours I generally hunt. Finally, I don't hunt scrapes or rub lines. I hunt where the does reside or typically travel per historical sightings &/or the current year's photos. Nothing like how you hunt, huh??

Strictly out of my own curiosity, do you know off-hand of any other mammal, reptile or fish that its' breeding time frame (or even possibly mass migrations) is influenced by any specific full moon? Is this strictly a whitetail phenomena? If you hunt the rut predicted per Charlie's moon & are typically successful, who am I to criticize! More power to you! I tend to prefer the period when the bucks are cruzin' (seeking), so my ideal & most successful time in the stand might be offset somewhat from what other hunters define as their "prime-time". Yeah, there is an annual swing, but IMHO somewhat less than you mentioned. As long as we're out in the woods when we think the opportunities are the best according to our past experiences, we'll all will be happy campers hunters!

Try archerytalk.com forum.

Could very well have been!

Any of you old geezers remember when the (SZ) regular deer season started on a specific date every year? Rural high schools would actually close due to high absenteeism. Small businesses would also be forced to close because so many employers wanted off to go hunting on opening day. Thus the evolution of the flexible (SZ) 3rd Saturday in Nov opener! Bow and ML seasons accordion around the start/end date of the SZ regular season. A later SZ ML season, just another factor I can use to try and justify not going out then. Along with does only! Oops, did I say that?

Simply a matter of purchasing an additional license, bow tag. No re-printing needed! You will need the current license and your proof of completing the NY bow safety course though. Hell, NYS is so accommodating they'd sell you a bow license on the last day of bow season. Sarcasim!! Within the last couple of years NYS got away from the license packages and all are sold individually. As you said, getting someone that's willing to mentor you will literally chop years off the learning curve!

This is what I was trying to point out. By definition, the rut has 3 phases and it does culminate with the breeding or tending. Another little glitch is that there is no starter's pistol going off & all does immediately go into estrus at the exact same time. This all depends on the buck to doe ratio, just how much & far a buck will roam looking for subsequent does to service. Thus giving mini-cycles within each of the early, main &/or late ruts. I'd be a fool to think I could pinpoint an exact date or even a couple day range to say this was the rut. Wooly, you for one can appreciate the chasing phase. Best time to set the bow aside & enjoy the show or get the camera out. Buckstopshere, trying to sway my opinion..? LOL. 11/11/14 was when I got my buck last year. Wasn't that a ~75deg day too? Which goes against all logic, assuming they'd be more nocturnal during a heat wave!?! Just goes to show your there isn't a lot of predictable logic or pure science going on with the rut. Sure, some of both involved, but they are wild animals and each has their own distinct personality or tendencies. This is why I have a problem with Alsheimer marketing his observations as a predictable science. Just out of curiosity, how does that out of state sightings data you keep correlate to your own observations. God knows I've gotten texts and read posts saying "it's on" and look around from my tree stand and see nothing...WTH!?!

It would be interesting if the DEC would add a graph to their annual Harvest Report, Bucks harvested by date. There is one already, but it's all deer harvested by date as a % of the total # reported. Suppose you could interpret harvest by date increases as also meaning an increase in bucks killed. Maybe!??! In the graph I mentioned there is a spike ~Oct 20 thru ~Nov 20 of harvest %s, with a slightly higher spike the 1st couple weeks of Nov. Believe a lot of the confusion or frustration of when to place the rut is merely how each of us defines it. Aren't there 3 primary ruts, early, main and late? With an occasional very late or 2nd estrous does around. Within each rut, isn't there 3 main stages, seeking, chasing and tending? I've harvested the majority of the bucks I've gotten over the years within a couple week period. So I probably have had the best luck in the seeking stage or possibly when the BBs were between does looking around for another. Not sure I could relate that info to the actual rut timeframe. Nor am I too sure this can be done from a tree stand on a micro level. Have to agree with Mr. Duke, they are wild animals, not on a schedule and at the mercy of many outside influences, like weather, intrusions, full moon, etc.

You guys are killing me! LOL. Up until ~2yrs ago, all I wanted my flip phone for was for emergencies. Now look at me checking out this device. Who says you can't teach old farts dogs new tricks? From what I just read, the technology (OS) needed to use one of these gizmos is called OTG (On The Go). There was a site that explained how to check your phone & I believe it listed an app you could use in place of OTG. Basically, if you can connect your phone to your PC via a cable and upload or download files - you're all set. http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-tell-if-your-android-phone-or-tablet-supports-usb-on-the-go/

Do a search for apps to run videos/movies compatible with his phone. Gotta be something.

Gotcha, understand! Would be more useful in setting up a new cam rather than one of those crappy card readers. Went that route years ago & was super disappointed. Most of my cams are set to video and are a couple years old, so the s/u is pretty well established. Guessing I won't be carrying one of those gizmo cables with me into the woods. Only instance might be during the season when I check cams. Now I'm thinking I just might have to invest the ~$10. Having the capability to view video on my new-ish Droid is a fairly recent adventure to me.

Speaking strictly about Droid phones... Doesn't it depend on cell's OS/version, what apps the phone came with or ones you've downloaded? Has to be an app available for this viewing &/or editing thru a USB gizmo to be done on most Droids! But...there's no comparison to viewing a vid/photo of a nice buck on a 19"+ HD PC monitor vs a ~4-5" pocket-sized phone screen. I kind of enjoy the anticipation I get from swapping SD cards and waiting to see what pops up on my PC monitor after I get home!

There are at least a couple good crossbow forums that get into mechanical BHs. If I recall, the Rages were not overly popular due to huge inertia exerted on arrow/bolt by some Xbows and prematurely deploying in flight. Check out those forums, members are from across US and have a lot more Xbow experience than most NY'ers do.

Just my thoughts, but if you've never hunted before, I would not suggest any "end run" option in lieu of actually sitting thru a NYS Hunter Safety course. Might actually learn something and accelerated the steep learning curve associated with becoming semi-consistent in your harvests.

Just an FYI about those Bow Hunter Safety classes that are required to get a NYS archery tag. They typically start being offered in various locations around the May/June timeframe. Several will be offer throughout the summer and into Sept or even Oct. The later offerings are difficult to get into, filling up fast!! Last minute frenzy and procrastinators! Believe a pre-registration for a class is a must! Pretty sure there are forum members that teach these bow classes, maybe they can pipe-in! May be required to bring a bow & shoot it!??! Not sure you'll be evaluated on proficiency, just using one safely.