steve863

I saw that Spomer video. Doesn't really surprise me. I surely wouldn't go that cheap on a scope but one surely doesn't need to spend $1000 + on one either. I honestly never had a scope fail no matter how cheap or expensive it was. Maybe if someone is putting several thousand rounds through a rifle a better scope would be beneficial since it should be built better but most hunters don't shoot anywhere near that much. A scope costing $200-$500 will last the hunter a lifetime.

Wounded or not I find it very bizarre that a truly wild wolf would be so calm to let a human put his arm around it in order to have a picture taken. Is that a beer can in that guys hand? Maybe he got the wolf good and drunk to calm him down?

Interesting take here. You are blaming other hunters when the problem may be that the landowner just doesn't want you to hunt there anymore. These days you pretty much have two choices when it comes to hunting. You either own or lease land or you hunt public land. Not many landowners will be letting you hunt for free anymore just because they've known you for years or because you have a nice disposition. These are just the facts of hunting life today. There are a fraction of hunters hunting these days compared to 30 or 40 years ago. Yes, some may be slobs but I think the percentage of slob hunters is way less these days compared to the old days when you had way more hunters out there and it was more likely that some would be slobs. So, unless you have some real evidence that slob hunters have changed this landowners mind about letting you hunt his land I don't think it's fair blaming other hunters for you not being able to hunt his land anymore. I would bet that most of us if not ALL of us here have lost hunting opportunities on land that we used to have access to. That's just the way it goes these days, unfortunately.

I never realized how fun fishing for catfish could be. I'm not much of a fisherman but I never fished for them until last year. The neighbor across the road from where I hunt has a nice sized pond and it's got a ton of catfish in it. He's kind enough to let us fish his pond. My son caught these in a couple hours of fishing back in July. We tried hotdogs as bait as some recommend but it seems like we caught more with plain old nightcrawlers that we bought at Walmart. Surprisingly they aren't bad to eat either.

Another vivid memory from yesteryear was seeing hunters transporting their deer outside their vehicles. Don't see that very often anymore. People went hunting with their everyday cars or stationwagons in those days. These days most have a truck or large SUV of some sort so most deer are getting put inside the vehicle. The only thing hauled on the outside these days might be the $10K 4 wheeler used to take the hunter the 300 yards or less to their treestands and then hopefully help haul the deer back out if they get one. Seems like all you needed in the old days to drag one out was a rope that only cost a couple of dollars. LOL Things were much simpler then and the hunters a hell of a lot tougher.

Yes, even into the mid 70's when I started hunting tree stands were barely ever seen or mentioned. Sitting with your back to a tree or still hunting was how it was typically done. Hunted a good amount from treestands through the 90's to up to a few years ago. Now I hunt from pop up blinds or occasionally still hunt. Don't care to risk breaking my neck falling from a tree at my age. No deer in the world is worth that. Seems like these days shooting accidents are way down compared to the old days yet a good number of hunters get seriously hurt or die falling from trees. So don't know which is better or which is worse.

OK, so if we can print these at home wouldn't one be able to print his tags 10 times and if they were up to no good be able to use as many as they want? I think there is an added level of control with the tags that the DEC used to give us. Those were not easily duplicated unless you went back and claimed that you lost your tag and were given another one.

Well said. On this board if you weren't on the side of the fence that many here seemed to think was mandatory on all issues you were immediately deemed a libtard socialist democrat (see the post above yours for proof of this). This in a nutshell has been the main reason for the demise of this forum. More so than people not being able to register. Some of folks that remain seem to love it now that anyone with contrary opinions to theirs are gone for good. This just proves that not everyone was welcome on this forum. I guess they now have the type of forum they wanted. The three or four regulars remaining can happily continue talking with each without anyone else having the nerve to interject an opposing view.

Same here. Seems like MOST of the hunters I know have kids and hardly any of them hunt. Looking back on things I don't remember these hunters putting any real effort into passing on the tradition to them. Makes little sense but I guess everyone puts more importance on the other sports/activities you listed. There is time for only so much I guess in a kids life and the parents. The kid scoring a goal in soccer or hitting a homerun in baseball will give him and the parents more bragging rights to everyone around them hunter or non-hunter than killing a deer or a couple of rabbits would.

Great post. Hunting isn't going anywhere anytime soon in NY. We are being given more hunting opportunities every year so it's highly unlikely that it will all be taken away overnight. It's always easier to blame politics or everyone else for hunting's demise but the real problem is probably closer to home. Hunting has become way more of a selfish pastime compared to what it was when I started hunting, so this alone hasn't helped matters.

Highly unlikely that you will get a pat on the back from a non-hunter. Maybe if the non-hunter happens to like venison and you share some with them you might get a pat on the back but otherwise don't be expecting one. Trophies on the wall or you telling them that you shot a huge buck that you were after for a couple of years will be of absolutely NO interest to a non-hunter. Only to other like minded hunters will big antlers be of interest. Most non-hunters can accept hunting for meat but it's a whole different story when the emphasis is put on hunting for trophies.

Some of you are just noticing this now?? This has been discussed numerous times around here for a good while now.

Yes, and whichever way one chooses to go about it it's still called "hunting". The meaning of the word doesn't change. Hunting has been around forever and I'm sure the hunters of 1000 years ago weren't challenging themselves and holding off for the biggest or best. They killed what they could to survive. We obviously don't need to hunt to survive these days but again the concept is the same as it always was.

So you don't find that demeaning in any way?? Come on, dude. This is just one example from this thread. You've been calling out people like Wolc, Grampy and others forever around here. It's one thing calling people out about politics, their quirks or BS like that, I've done that many times myself, but it's another when you call them out about their hunting skills or how you don't think they have any. Where is it written that one needs to continuously show proof of their hunting prowess to participate on this forum?? You can carry on, however, I've wasted enough of my time with you here already. You obviously see only what you want to see.

No way. As I stated in an earlier post you can hunt for a deer that is twelve years old and toothless for all I care. Don't matter one bit to me. YOU are the one demeaning people here who don't hunt for the big ones like YOU think everyone should. You claim that we can't even know the meaning of the word "hunting" until we do. You even challenge people to show you proof of what they kill which shows how stuck up YOU are on this issue. It's like you go out of your way to make sure that everyone knows that your wiener is bigger than everyone elses. Honestly NO other way to describe it.

Nope, did not kill a buck this year and feel absolutely no shame about it. Just for you since you are such an idiot I walked downstairs to my basement where some of my past hunting exploits are collecting dust to take a couple of pictures for you. Enjoy. I had these critters mounted because I had the money to do it but they don't mean any more to me than any other animal I have ever shot. I am happy with whatever I get to kill.

LOL, yeah right. Everyone is jealous of you. That has also been your worn out delusional tune around here for years. I guess the pot smoking has gotten to you real good, bud. Go seek help.

The attacker is the one who thinks that anyone who doesn't hunt for trophy deer is a sub-par hunter. That has been his theme on this forum for years. He dishes out this BS and you think everyone will just be quiet about it and not let him know what others think about his opinions??

Lots of reason and many have already been mentioned. The world has become more urban and suburban so it's not as easy for a youngster to take up hunting on their own like some were able to in the past. The key is for parents or other adults to TRY to expose kids to hunting. It may not always work but at least give it a try. It takes time, effort and patience which many adults don't have these days. We knock kids for lacking many things but I see adults as a big part of the problem, too. This trophy deer hunting mentality isn't helping things either. Lots of these fathers and other adults are so wrapped up in their own hunting that they won't give up their "precious" time in pursuit of that trophy to take a youngster out. It's become a selfish world in general and hunting is no exception.

Does anyone know where I can get a copy of "Deer Hunting for Dummies"? From what expert hunter Four Seasons is telling us it looks like some of us have a lot to learn and we may need to go back to the beginning. LOL

As others have said here and I totally agree with everyone has their own reasons why they hunt. If someone wants to wait for a deer that's twelve years old and toothless they can go right ahead. I surely can't stop them. I and many others will not be waiting for one like that. The problem I have with what you keep posting is that you imply that those hunters who hunt for mature bucks only are in many ways superior to all others (and of course one of these superior hunters being YOU). You also claim that these hunters are the only ones who will ever feel what the word "hunting" really means. I call BS to that for so many reasons. As much as it doesn't seem to sink in for you it is definitely NOT all about the horns for many if not most hunters out there and most of us don't feel shortchanged in the least because of this. You hunt for what you want to hunt for and we will hunt for what we want to hunt for. Simple enough in my opinion and I think most of us have hunted long enough where we don't need to be lectured how your way is the only truly satisfying way to hunt.

Boy oh boy do you beat this to death. Like someone doesn't know the meaning of "hunting" unless he's out to kill a huge buck? LOL No way, bud. I'll tell you what "hunting" is to me. I've now got my young son hunting with me for the last five seasons and nothing could be greater as far as "hunting" is concerned and we are creating memories that will last us until our last breath on this earth. It matters mighty little what size deer either of us kill or if we even kill any. I have given up some of my own limited hunting time to be able to take him along with me but could care less. It don't matter one tiny bit that I may have not been out there at my spot when that monster buck walked by. The memories that I will have hunting with my son and passing down the tradition to the next generation of hunters is way MORE important than any huge antlers on the wall. Now my sons cousin (my nephew) has been saying that he want to try hunting also. Hopefully I can now add even another young man to the next generation of hunters. This in my mind far outweighs any dust collecting trophy buck on the wall. In fact it's NO contest between the two.

As will a .30-06, .308, .30-30, 7MM Rem Mag, .300 Win Mag, etc. etc. And of course there are still new cartridges coming out every day it seems that claim to be better than any of the older ones. All BS in my opinion and only brainwashing people into thinking they need to buy something new that will work better. A guy who knows how to hunt and can shoot straight will kill deer with any of them just the same.

LOL, you can keep dreaming then. If you are looking for a Trump clone to be Governor of NYS then it surely will never happen.

NY voting for a republican president probably not unless we get another Reagan, who actually won NYS both times. For Governor, absolutely we could get a republican to win. Pataki was a three term governor and that wasn't too long ago. The difference in votes between Hochul and Zeldin could be surmounted if you had a Republican that didn't kiss the likes of Trump's butt at every opportunity. That turned off even many republicans in NYS against Zeldin.