steve863

I think I read somewhere recently that participation by the young in ANY outdoor activity is on the decline, so I don't think hunting is the only activity being affected. I think everyone needs to face the fact that hunting will never become any more popular than it is today and most likely decline in popularity for various reasons that have been mentioned before. Honestly with all the jealousy, greed, paranoia, and other nonsense that typically revolves around hunting(many examples on this forum), a kid would probably do better choosing some other outdoor activity over hunting. Plus, he will probably become more physically fit participating in something else. I have seen enough out of shape hunters in comparison to hikers, bikers, skiers, etc. to know that this is definitely true!

Fine, I obviously can't prove things one way or the other about anyone in particular, I just stated what in my opinion happens in the vast majority of cases. It would be interesting to know, though, how many people do actually unload their weapons at the exact minute when shooting is not legal anymore? I don't think they have any good reason to keep them loaded one extra second since they will definitely not be shooting them. I won't take anyones excuse in keeping them loaded to protect from bears either! LOL

I have absolutely NO problem dealing with it. In my opinion hunters SHOULD follow laws. As to following them to the letter, in this case not shooting until exactly the second the law says it is legal to shoot, I just don't see it happening very often. Human nature takes over here and as it has been stated before, I highly doubt many hunters will stop to look at their watches before they shoot knowing that the animal is within range and completely identifiable. The law will be overridden by the hunters desire to kill the animal that meets the requirements of what he wishes to kill. That is pretty much it here. Law or no law, people will not be thinking of what is the legal split second in such instances.

They can wish for hunters to be policed all they want, but it will never happen and it in all honestly can't happen with the few DEC officers out there. Much of hunting works on the honors system. I would think hunters more than most people have already realized this, but I guess I'm wrong. I don't think there is a hunter alive who hasn't bent the rules to their favor at one time or another. Some of us are man enough to admit it, while others are obviously having trouble dealing with it. I just don't understand why they can't accept this very simple fact.

Good post! I also believe that you either are a hunter or you're not. My kids are not old enough yet, and I do want to expose them to hunting, but I certainly will never push it on them. One will most likely show interest in it even before they ever set foot out in the field. I know that is how it was for me. While others won't give a hoot about it no matter what you do or how many times you take them out. I know you mentioned in another thread that people should take kids out hiking and to enjoy nature well before they ever take them hunting. This I agree with very much also. I kind of think hunting alone might be the least effective way to get kids interested in the outdoors. It can actually be very boring for many youngsters to just sit around and wait for an animal to show up, while hiking some good nature trails can tune their senses and keep them interested way quicker than those cold and boring hours on the stand can. I think preserving the tradition generally takes way more than just taking someone hunting and calling someone a hunter.

Blatant lawbreaking and recklessness is one thing, but this issue in my opinion simply doesn't fall under the same category. To me it is simply a matter of what MOST hunters would or would not do at such a moment, and I will continue to say that MOST would not hesitate to shoot just because the shooting hour is "technically" not legal yet. If this makes MOST of these hunters poachers and criminals while the rest of you can claim to be the Saint Hubert's of the hunting field, so be it. I for sure won't be losing any sleep over it.

Wow, this thread is still going on! I will say it again, I don't care what people say, I will doubt anyone who tells me that they don't load their guns until the split second legal shooting time begins and then unload them exactly when shooting time ends. Why do people try to get to their stands well before legal shooting time then? I don't care if someone is out looking for a B&C buck, or just for a doe to fill the freezer. If either is down to the last day or two of the season and hasn't filled their tag yet, I highly doubt they will be pass up on the deer just because it's a few minutes before or after legal shooting time. Anyone who swears up and down that they wouldn't is simply full of it in my opinion. I've been around this game long enough to know the deal. Part of the deal for many hunters is also to think that everyone else other than themselves is a poacher and criminal, and this thread is just another example of this. These same hunters are then the first to get paranoid over anti-hunters, PETA and other elements that want hunting stopped. Well, why the hell should non-hunters trust us when they obviously don't trust hunters either?? Did they ever stop to think about it? I doubt it!

I remember a similar argument on the old forum. In my opinion Burt is the only honest one here. I think most would shoot, they just aren't man enought to admit it. I tend not to believe those who say they never broke this rule. And to compare someone shooting 10 minutes before or after legal hours to shooting in the middle of the night is a more than a bit of a stretch also. To each their own of course, but I have been around hunting long enough to know what people do in situations like this, yet will swear up and down that they don't.

My 1990 bow I picked up again this year just happens to be a Bear. I know of at least one older one that still shoots. Mine even fell out of a tree a number of years ago and it was no worse for wear. I can imagine that happening to one of those lightweight ones that are being made today by any company. There would be pieces flying everywhere, I'm sure. For the little I practiced with it over the years, I have always found the bow to be quite accurate also. I can imagine how accurate it could be for someone who practiced more. I wouldn't doubt that there has been more advanced bow companies out there over recent years, but at least the one old Bear I have I wouldn't consider complete junk.

Thanks for clearing things up for us!

Are you telling us that you like the meatballs that your wife cooks, or some other sort of meaty balls that she might have? LOL

We shouldn't forget that it's still only March, so snow is surely still possible. A few years ago I remember having a few inches of snow during the early part of May during turkey season in the Catskill area where I hunt. So I guess we shouldn't think that it's over just yet!

I bet we wouldn't be laughing if we were the husband of that woman who did the switching??

Because I could care less to have any more mounts. I have actually given away several heads that I had to anyone who wanted them. I basically hunt for some venison in the freezer these days. I guess in my earlier years I did want a few example specimans for the wall, eventhough I was never a trophy hunter. However, this trophy on the wall stuff doesn't do anything for me anymore. I honestly got tired of looking at them, and all they have become are dust collectors. So I guess I am an example of a hunter who has become LESS interested in trophies as they age and not MORE like some theories like to claim.

I honestly don't think I will be spending a red cent to get anything mounted in the future even if it was a B&C sized buck. The taxidermist I did use a few times a good many years ago now was Luther Kuhlman Taxidermy on Long Island. The guy did do some nice work and I think he is still in business. I used to get a kick out of talking to him. If you dropped off your head to be mounted you knew you were going to be practically kidnapped by him for a couple of hours and have to suffer thru endless bragging on how he is without question the best taxidermist around! LOL

I fully realize that what NYS deems an assault rifle is nothing more than a cosmetic issue. The problem is that if gun dealers need to be aware of this and they should be very careful in what they sell and what they say to buyers when they sell them about modifying them cosmetically. I don't know all the facts in this case, but I do know that these so called "black" or "tactical" type guns are the hottest sellers these days in the gun industry and are the items that are keeping the majority of dealers afloat. You walk into any gun shop and there are more of these types of guns than there are traditional hunting guns. You even look at hunting magazines these days and they look more like soldier of fortune magazine than they do hunting magazines. If gun dealers want to sell these guns in this state they need to know the law and abide by it. The law may be stupid, but it is the law and they need to follow it and not get caught mocking it while they are selling these weapons to consumers. That's my take on this anyway.

I don't know, carrying a few bandaids, gauze, neosporin, Tylenol, etc. might not be a bad idea for minor things that might come up, but you can carry a medicine cabinet with you and it will help mighty little if you or your hunting partner falls out of a tree. A cell phone may be the only thing that will help in a serious accident of that nature.

I would like to see proof of that. I tried googling the percentage of Texas ranches that are fenced and really couldn't come up with anything significant, however it has become common knowledge to just about anyone who knows anything about hunting that there is MORE fenced off deer habitat in Texas than anywhere else in this country. First of all.. a fenced area would not be considered qdm.. no where in the QDM plan does it offer up any plan for any area that is not considered fair chase... fenced area management would be deer farming.. not QDM.. so in fact there are NO QDM programs going on in fenced areas... and when we talk fenced areas we are talking about high fence areas where deer can't come and go when they please... a barb wire fence does not constitute a fenced in area I have no doubt that there are plenty of high fenced operations in Texas that still consider themselves fair chase even with the fences. I am sure they wouldn't mind arguing the issue with you and whether or not their management practices should be considered QDM. I have hunted in Texas twice actually, be it a good many years ago now. All I can say is that they are masters in trying to make hunting as easy as possible for themselves. QDM, fences, feeders, etc are all used to better the odds for themselves, so I will never be convinced that QDM is anything but another tool that benefits the hunter more than it will ever benefit the deer.

I would like to see proof of that. I tried googling the percentage of Texas ranches that are fenced and really couldn't come up with anything significant, however it has become common knowledge to just about anyone who knows anything about hunting that there is MORE fenced off deer habitat in Texas than anywhere else in this country.

I surely think you have the right to shoot whatever you want to and never get upset at people shooting bigger deer than I do. As far as calling anyone names, I don't think I will need to. If all the examples you guys have given here are what's really happening in today's hunting fields, you will have plenty of other people out there doing the name calling thing!

G-man, I guess the thing many hunters seem to forget is that one can experience and enjoy nature year round. One doesn't even need to hunt to enjoy and learn from nature actually. When I go hunting, I want to kill something for my freezer. It surely isn't guaranteed that I will, but that is why I am taking a weapon with me when I do go hunting. If I want to just LOOK at deer I wouldn't need to take a weapon and don't even need to wait for hunting season to do it, I can do that any time. So in general I don't agree that letting them walk during hunting season will evolve anyone into any sort of superior hunter over any other hunter. I don't think these people are learning anything more by letting them walk during a hunting season, over someone who is a student of ALL nature at all other times. The only thing they are doing is keeping a tag available for a trophy, which is the main reason they even venture out into nature.

Exactly! And the other fact that QDM people will never tell you about is that having bucks reach the age 3 1/2, 4 1/2 or older will be benefitting their trophy collections way MORE than it will ever benefit the deer herd.

Wow, you guys are really putting up a good many examples here why trophy hunting isn't exactly a good thing. Not to say that I didn't know it already. So then exactly how does it help matters when we are told to let the little ones walk?? Aren't we then just helping these shananigans to continue to NO end? Luckily we still have people who just like to hunt and horns are not the only thing that drives them to hunt. Once everyone is onboard with the trophy mentality, then we will be doomed for sure!

Well, don't forget where QDM started. Texas, and the majority of Texans who practice QDM also fence their land. It is pretty obvious that many feel they own the deer that they think are benefitting from THEIR QDM practices. These ideas go hand in hand with each other.

I wish I could read this entire article also. I do agree with what was mentioned in the synopsis of it, however. From it's start QDM has simply used smoke and mirrors to try to convince everyone that they are most of all interested in a "healthy herd". Nice try, but I would bet that there isn't ONE person out there claiming to be practicing QDM who also isn't a hunter whose greatest driving force behind hunting is killing trophy sized bucks. They can try to say whatever they want, but it is pretty obvious to anyone but a blind man that trophy bucks are the MAJOR motive behind all of this. I have no doubt that some here will argue to the contrary until they are blue in the face. They can go ahead if they wish, but there are plenty of hunters out there who will never buy it. As the synopsis mentioned these QDM people have some serious PR work ahead of them to make it perfectly clear to everyone that "trophy bucks" are not the driving force behind all of this. So far I have never heard them ever admit any such thing. As they say, silence can speak louder than words. LOL