virgil

I was surprised to hear the gobbling. But, it's an unmistakable sound. I was wondering if fall flocks generally have hens and toms, or all hens and young birds like the flocks that I saw.

I had a couple of flocks of birds around me yesterday. I did hear some gobbling in the distance, but didn't see any toms in the group. There was a group of about twenty birds. They all looked like hens to me. I'm a novice turkey hunter. Is it normal for a flock to be all hens?

Hope you didn't mess up his hair. Otherwise, he might've turned on you. Sorry- Islander fan here. Couldn't resist.

Good luck. Hope you find him.

Whoever is messing with those stands seems to think they have a legitimate claim to that property. Is there any chance the landowner granted permission to anyone else; or could there be confusion about boundaries? Maybe you could speak to the neighbors and see if they know anything. Either way, that sucks. I've been there and know exactly how you feel.

I passed those same cars on my way in to work today. That white pickup in the first spot south of the expressway in there all season every year.

When I've been to Europe, my bank usually has an affiliated bank overseas that will not charge fees. Otherwise, she'll be able to take out cash, but will get hit with a fee.

NY Hillbilly, I was thinking the same thing. Would be interesting to see.

I understand wha you mean, Culver. And, I do the same thing. But, I think that within certain fields, there are particular schools that are known for producing the best grads. And, I think many employers are looking for those schools on resumes. Also, many of the bigger name schools have very powerful alumni associations that connect their new grads with prospective employers, who usually are alumni themselves or have some other connection to the school.

There are plenty of high priced schools that do offer a good return on investment. There are far more of them that do not. The high priced but lousy schools get away with charging those high prices because there are plenty of people who can afford to send their kids to these schools without regard for potential return on investment- in most cases, those kids couldn't get into the better schools. But, since a college education has become the norm, these schools have no trouble filling their seats. Like it or not, there is a lot to be said for 'name recognition' when it comes to where your degree came from. College is no different from any other purchase or investment- you have to do your research, pick the right field of study, pick the right school, make the right connections, get good grades, etc. , etc,....and you'll get bang for your buck. Simply pissing away another four years at a high priced run of the mill school to collect a meaningless degree in an low-demand field will get you nothing but four years older and, possibly many more years of debt.

No, you're not necessarily making it 'a right'. You must qualify for it in order for it to be free. You qualify based on your scores on the entrance exams. And, your test scores on the entrance exams determine what professions you can study for.

Because if we try it in this country, everyone will go ballistic claiming that it's a giveaway/entitlement/government takeover/blah blah blah.

Grow, the problem with that idea is that there literally are no jobs for the graduates there right now. Otherwise, I agree with the idea in principle.

Grow, I'm not trying to imply that Ireland has it all figured out. They have massive problems with unemployment and welfare dependence, especially since their economy tanked in recent years. However, the Irish place a high value on education- the government supports it, but makes sure that their money is not being wasted. Unfortunately for them, so many of their new graduates are leaving the country because the economy in Ireland is so bad, and their graduates are in high demand around the world- specifically because they are known to produce top quality graduates.

WNY- that was my point. They work their asses off and prove that they are a good investment.

I agree that a college education should not be a guaranteed right and that it should not necessarily be funded or subsidized by the government. But, my wife is from Ireland and I think they have an interesting system. Tuition is free, but entrance is by no means guaranteed. Only the best students get in and their system prepares them for the professional workforce very well. Those students works their asses off in high school and preparation for pre-college exams. Their scores on those exams determine if they get into college, which school they qualify for, and what programs they can study- no 'undecided/liberal arts' majors. There are some fees, but tuition is essentially free.

Great idea.

Congratulations to you and good luck.

Jjb, I know it. I don't think they bowhunt. I'm hoping they'll keep their distance if they know I'm there. That way, I'll at least have peace for the first few days. My guess is that they do most of their hunting early in the season. From what I've heard, they own about 700 acres in the immediate area. So, I'm also hoping they'll decide to hunt elsewhere.

My new land is adjacent to a 70 acre woodlot. I've heard from a few locals that my neighbor is a large family and that they've been hunting the whole piece(theirs and mine) for years; and that they drive/push the entire property with their extended family and shoot everything they see. I have no doubt that they know exactly where the boundaries are. I'm really nervous about this season- I dread the thought of having to get out of the treestand on opening day and have a conversation with trespassers. I'm planning to try to drop by their house and introduce myself in the coming weeks next time I'm upstate. I have the added stress of living 250 miles away and knowing that they can do whatever they want when I'm not around.

Good luck. I'm in the exact same position and have the exact same concerns.

The title of your thread is 'Non Lead Bullets FOR HUNTING', no? And, in your orginal post, you stated that the man you talked to about the subject was not pushing for a ban.

What is the huge expense? How many rounds does the average hunter fire in the field in a year?

The issue is purely that people don't like being told what to do regardless of the reasoning behind it.

Oh, please Doc. Read some of your own posts.