ItalianHunter5

Now that this topic has been brought up, I've been wondering the same thing of why there are no dmp's in the majority of the northern zone. If it's because of population, at least make it a preference point system so there's some out there...but im no DEC. Also, I've been wondering since the first day I started hunting of why on earth 6N, where my father owns property, is buck only for muzzleloader when every single other unit is either sex (except 6A now for early muzzloader according to these new ridiculous changes). We hunt that property 3 or 4 weekends a year before we can jump down to our hometown southern zone and we saw way more does in the area than bucks, even though I was able to take a spike on Halloween.

Thanks Pygmy, I was very into the look of the side by side so I really set out to get one. I read really great reviews of the Ugartecheas especially when I saw that they make a ton of guns valued in the thousands, so I was impressed. My father is also an Ithaca fan, he's got the classic Model 37 and loves it!

So just a little update, on Monday I was set to go to the store to pick up the Franchi but I just felt like I needed to go take another look at the 12 gauge side by side, especially after reading great reviews about Ugartechea. Low and behold, yesterday I checked out the SxS...and I walked out with it. Called a couple of my friends, we went right upstate with some shells, some targets and some clays. I'll just say that after about 60 shots run through the gun, I have no regrets! Turns out to not only be a pretty gun but a great shooting gun, as I already nailed a few clays. In the beginning I set out looking for a side by side, and boy did I get a nice one. (Knock on wood) Thanks everybody for the input!

Espresso, that's exactly another reason I'm leaning towards going back and grabbing that Franchi. I've been using the same 20 Gauge Remington 870 for a few years so I figured hey why not treat myself to something!

Pygmy, surprisingly it doesn't have a polychoke and i'm not sure if it's modified or improved cylinder but will most definitely check when I go back. I was also stunned by the price of $350, almost to the point of scared to buy especially when you find out it comes with another barrel....interesting. The guy there said the only problem is a missing screw but that will be ordered and put on, obviously it has some dings and scratches on the stock but of course a small game gun will have that. Charlie, the Browning has a 26" and the Franchi has a 28" and both felt so nice but the Franchi seems to top it in my mind, I have a question though. You said you have owned both so you would know well, I have read reviews that the Franchi is a pain to unload, is it that much of a pain? Also I've read that some people have had ejecting issues that took a while to resolve, have you had an issues? Thank you guys for the input!

Today I began looking for a general small game gun (pheasant, grouse, rabbit) and at the 4 local stores I found 3 that interested me that I don't know much about so hopefully someone can give some useful information. I found a Belgian Browning 16 GA A-5 in good condition for $350, an Ugartechea from Spain 12 GA side by side in excellent condition for $599 and then a Franchi 48AL 20 GA in very good condition for $500. Honestly, my favorite and the one I'm leaning towards is the Franchi for the way it felt and how light it would be walking around the field. Anyone know anything about these guns??

I wrote that in my first statement because I know exactly what the average hunter is going to look for first, and that's orange. Then I explained to you that I didn't mean it was the man that got shot's fault because of no orange and that it was the irresponsible shooter's fault for not knowing his surroundings. Regardless that the deer was being rolled around on a cart.

So by people first blaming a hunter getting shot for no orange means that it's hard to wear an orange hat? Re read what I asked.

Look what i'm saying is the fact that orange is extremely important. Saturday morning I had a doe walk in front of me and as it was 30-40 yards in front of me a shot rang off and I watched the deer sprint off. Considering it was not one of us in the group, I got down a couple hours later to see who was there. I encountered a man in a tree stand wearing not a lick of blaze orange and said he saw me get in the stand at 9, when in fact that's when I got down to take a leak and walked back up right after. I was in the stand at 6:15. He had no idea I was there and I had no idea he was there and that's how accidents happen. Why is it so hard to throw on an orange hat?

No bubba I wasn't saying it was his fault for not wearing orange because if the shooter had crosshairs on a deer and didn't notice it was strapped to a cart behind held by a person, it's obviously his fault. Irresponsible hunter is what that is.

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/2014/11/15/hunting-accident-deer-stormville/19095637/ Sorry if this was posted already and I didn't see it, I found it especially interesting because I planned on hunting here during the week...Somebody was in the wrong here, maybe the hunter wasn't wearing orange? Who knows...

At what burmjohn said about not knowing a hunter against AR's in 3H, I do. I can name 8 right off the top of my head.

jjb has a great point that I agree, the people who currently own or hunt land in Ulster, Sullivan, Delaware etc. are suffering from the antler restrictions meanwhile I can freely shoot a spike in the 3 other counties I hunt in. None of this makes sense to me and I also know of people that would immediately stop hunting New York and buy non-resident tags for another state as long as they found a spot, if it became statewide. Besides the fact that I don't know about you guys but out of the 3 bucks I've killed, I've had a perfect look at the head on only one of them and knew that it was a spike. On my other 2 all I saw was an antler and as long as I still have my tag, I'm taking a shot. In the places i'm hunting it's borderline impossible to have the time to count out how many points are on a side when they are in front of you mixed in brush for a minute tops...

We're using our money for a buck tag so obviously we should be able to shoot whatever makes us happy. It could be a spike for a hunter like myself, or wait all season for a "shooter" that may never come by. Voluntary is the answer.

Rotorooter, I guess we're lucky that we can't see a piece of venison red and that it has to be cooked completely through.