steve863

I appreciate the info!

WNY, I would think campsites in national parks (the places we would most want to visit) might not be too easy get unless you prearrange well in advance, and on a cross country trip with kids it might not be too easy to time ones arrival perfectly so private campgrounds in some cases might be the only option. I agree with you that some private campgrounds are like amusement parks. Not that I have ever been in one, but I have seen some near roads that looked so packed and I can just imagine how rowdy things could get in there. I think one might get a quieter night of sleep in a hotel room than at a campsite like that. My wife and kids are the more quiet and peaceful type so I don't know if they would enjoy a place that could potentially get rowdy.

I can see the value in a knife like this, but I think one like this Browning would serve the same purpose plus you also have a normal blade and a saw all in one.

I think many people who use trail cameras must use some sort of bait to get the animals to come around, be it a food plot or something else. Those who nail them to any old tree probably get the least amount of pictures. So again the DEC seems to be contradicting themselves as usual when they say that animals shouldn't be fed, yet they allow it for this and with food plots, etc. This trail cam stuff actually has never done much for me. I much prefer seeing wildlife photos that were taken by an actual person standing behind the lens.

The price surely sounds reasonable for all those months. Storage would be the only option where I live. I have been thinking of renting one when the kids get a bit older and doing a cross country trip with it, but I read something a few weeks ago on how expensive it's getting to park one of them at campsites these days. At many campsites it's not much less than checking into a moderate priced hotel. I know there is the convenience of being able to cook on your own and being outdoors, etc., but I guess I will need to weigh the pluses and minuses before we decide what to do. I guess it's nice having your own house with you when you travel, but it may not always be so nice having to haul it around and finding a place to park it! LOL

Doe, how much does it cost to store one of those things??

Same here. I am happy with anything I get. Don't care if it's big horns, little horns, no horns, as long as I have a legal tag to take it. I hunt for some good tasting venison and that's pretty much it. If I am lucky enough to fill two tags in a season, that is also plenty enough meat for me.

I guess it will never cease to amaze me what some hunters will do! And for what?? I guess a world record deer head might bring in some money for someone, but in general what does one gain by doing something illegal just to get a chance to show off a big buck head? I can't see any gain other than boosting someones bizarre ego. I guess there are enough hunters out there with similar egos to make this all a thriving activity these days. For who else really gives a rats butt about a deer head of any size in todays modern society??

As I mentioned in my prior post, I think the deer will retreat to neighboring private land where food sources are better before they will enter the deep woods. In many cases I think the deer retreated to these places well before hunting season ever comes around. We look for easier hunts, deer look for easier food sources. We are both lazy in our own way, thus we retreat to what makes things easier for us.

I agree with this. I guess it's a different story for state land hunters where there are many more hunters around but I think it's not only hunters that can be called lazy, it's the deer as well. If deer are going to pushed by the influx of hunters on state land, why would they go deep into forests with a limited food source, when they could probably walk the same distance over to some private land where the picking will probably be a lot better? I guess those hunters who don't have access to the private land have little choice in the matter here, but in reality the odds probably won't be much better if they do go deep into the state lands forests compared to those guys who stay closer to the roads. I guess it's nice getting away from crowds, but in general I don't think one will be improving his chances too much. I have heard of some people who swear by hunting deep in state forests. Yes, they have killed some deer, and a nice buck or two on the rare occasion, but in general there success rates are NO better than others who don't walk as far as them. And if you compare their success to those who have access to some good private land, it really isn't even worth comparing, because private land will beat any state land hands down in my opinion.

I don't know about going that extra mile on state land. I guess it depends on the state land you hunt, but there is a good deal of state land like in the Catskills for example that it really won't help going in that extra mile away from everyone else. Yeah sure, you might luck out and kill a deer, but GOOD luck finding one. Deer are predominately creatures who much prefer living on the edge of cover and closer to fields. You just won't find very many deer in the deep forests when they will prefer to find and live closer to fields, which in most cases will be on private land. I guess one can luck out and kill a deer anywhere, but if one was to tally all the kills, even big buck kills, it will no doubt show that the majority of kills are spitting distance from open fields and fairly close to civilization and a much smaller percentage of the kills from the deep woods and mountaintops. I myself prefer sticking with the percentages when it comes to hunting.

And with this thread being 110 pages long and with little if anything settled, it looks like it's a train to nowhere!! LOL

OK Geno, so tell us the truth. Is going to the Bahamas with your wife as much fun as deer hunting?? Just kidding!! LOL

Statistics can be quite accurate, but I really don't think they are when it comes to the NYS deer kill. Just way too many assumptions on the DEC's part in my opinion. Those that don't get reported by hunters cannot be made up by visiting butcher shops. As others have mentioned, there are way too many variables and things that the DEC can't possibly get a good statistical fix on. Plus, I've heard so many people complain over the last couple of years that they aren't seeing or shooting nearly as many deer, so how could hunters be shooting as many or more deer this past year than earlier years?? I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the DEC's kill totals are off by as many as 50,000 deer. Plus, I sure know that there are many fewer hunters actually out hunting these days compared to yesteryear, so who exactly is doing all this killing? These days you see guys hunting the first couple of days and then they hang it up. And with fewer deer management permits being given out over the last few years, how could fewer hunters be killing just as many deer? Just doesn't add up in my opinion.

In that case, blaze orange garments surely won't be a requirement! He might even get point deductions for wearing it. Now if you made Arrowflinger a judge, God help the hunter who showed up with a crossbow in hand. He would disqualify them immediately. NYAntler would be a fair judge as long as you didn't show up on stage too early Pat Rockets would be the easiest of judges. Just give him some weed and you will definitely get a perfect score.

No, I think I will pass on that. I see enough of them at sporting goods stores and parading in camo during hunting season. They are usually sweating and breathing heavily when I do see them, so I think the exertion of a contest might actually be a bit too much for them.

If there was an OLD FAT hunter competition, there surely wouldn't be a lack of contestants out there. What other sport has XXXL garments available for it's participants like hunting does?? Not very many, that's for darned sure! You could probably fit several hikers or cyclists into one typical hunter sized garment! LOL

My gosh, this is so ridiculous. Really who cares?? These women like to hunt, so what? Why does everything that surrounds hunting these days need to turn into a competition?

LOL, and from the looks of Bubba's picture they will almost get as much meat off him as that elephant. OK, maybe I shouldn't have went there, but then again what the heck! LOL I guess one doesn't call themselves Bubba for nothing.

"Debbie does Dallas", WalMart probably doesn't carry it, though.

LOL! I don't think those hungry africans who were tearing the meat off of that elephant were too worried about the ethics of shooting before legal light! LOL After all Bubba teaches hunters ed only here in NYS! LOL

So what should we read or listen to instead since Time is so liberal?? There is absolutely NO one in the media who is unbiased. It all depends on who people let themselves be brainwashed by and many here obviously prefer being brainwashed by the right. They are as gullible as those on the left. No difference actually

You're toast once Bubba reads this. There will be a DEC swat team waiting for you up in the trees of Central park the next time you are out feeding the birds there! LOL

Burt, just don't tell them that you shot that crow 5 minutes before or after legal shooting time, or else they will turn you in for sure! LOL I think a lot of hunters in NYS have the DEC hotline programmed into their cellphones and call in every vehicles license plate numbers they see thru their binoculars while sitting in their treestands 75 yards away from the road just to be on the safe side! LOL

I actually don't like the word "harvest" when it comes to killing an animal such as in a hunt. We harvest corn, wheat, etc., but we do "kill" animals, and I don't have any guilty feeling about using that word. With that said, I don't think shooting doves is target practice, but it isn't exactly a hunt in it's purest sense either in my opinion. One will most likely fire more rounds at doves in one sitting compared to any other animal that one could legally shoot at. I call it for what it is, and to me it is a "shoot" instead of a typical "hunt".