nyantler

yeah Bubba I think thats what I was getting at is they are minimumly oriented for hunting... with a crash course in hunter safety... so why not skip all the formalities and let them study on their own... then test at their convenience.. just like a learners permit. To get more hunters started on the road to becoming a hunter without the hassle of finding a HS class that has room for them. Believe me I'm all for safety... just was a thought I had about making the safety certification quicker and more convenient..

Unfortunately you need proof to convict someone of a crime.. so without any evidence its hard to go after even the guys that you might think are guilty... but its still good to make the officials aware of something going on so they can keep their eyes and ears open. The bad guys eventually always get caught.

Welcome to the forum.. that is one healthy looking buck...

You guys need to get a pick-up truck!!

I guess what I was getting at is that the classes aren't turning out experienced hunters... just people that have sat through a safety course and were able to retain the info long enough to pass a short exam. 40 years ago I went to a class that lasted 4 hours and left with a certificate to hunt.. I'm sure many of us here did... they aren't really any better prepared for hunting with 20 hrs than I was with 4hrs... so why not just let them study on there own and come take a test. If they pass... they're certified, if not, they keep taking the exam until they pass... saves a lot of time and resources...

definitely

Hunting to me is what leads up to shooting.. shooting is the reward one gets for a good hunt... so a 300 yard shot would be shooting

The jewish commandments or mitzvot...forbids hunting because it violates the cruelty to animals law of the mitzvot... only to keep oneself from dying is hunting permitted... hunting an animal is not considered humane therefore the meat is not kosher... having said all that... I'm sure there are still jews that hunt.. in fact I know one.. only one... but I still know one... not all jews are strict orthodox

harder to learn new stuff... have to get rid of old stuff in the brain to make room for anything new!!

it would be only a guess... both deer have great body size... racks are similar.. hard to tell because the angles are different. I would probably take the 2011 buck because of his body size...

I think that buck has been snooping around my neck of the woods

Actually that might even be more true.. its isn't even the same buck. I have seen groups of 4 pointers together and they all looked the same... be really hard telling a crotch horn from on year to the next. The DEC also aged a buck for Tom Wheeler and told him his 160 class buck was 2.5 years old and when it was aged by tooth dissection it was 6.5... that is the only reliable aging tool... my new opinion is that the four pointer is not only NOT 3.5.. it isn't even the same buck.

I agree there should be a more efficient way to get hunters certified... lets face it.. no disrepect to the hard working volunteers that do the hunter's safety programs... but we are not turning out rocket scientists here... 20 some hours of safety instruction a test and away they go... I don't know very many hunters that have failed their hunter safety course and been denied a certificate... I guess what I mean is .. those that get to take the short course usually get certified... I think there should be a way they could do it on their own and just take a test... maybe online... I know some of it can be done online now.. but I'm talking maybe doing the entire thing online.

Only us older folks that remember when they were invented..lol

I agree.. still a nice healthy looking buck! And good pics as well.

Yeah I know.. I was just messing with Paulie a little.

I'll grant you that antler development is not always a good determining factor when aging a buck, and although I may not be smarter than you... i've studied and killed enough 3 1/2 year olds and better to know what the body of a 3 1/2 year old or better looks like.... and he just doesn't have it. It's entirely possible that he is just a bigger bodied 2 year old and unless you saw him for sure 2 seasons ago your guess is just as good as mine.. but it is nothing more than a guess. I've seen 2 year old 12-pointers and 5 year old 6-pointers and take away the rack and the 2 year old still looks 2 years old and the 5 year old still looks 5... He looks healthy to me with no ribs showing and a lot of muscle tone...which tells me he is getting enough to eat... meaning he should be showing the body signs of a 3 1/2 year old buck.. but he is not.. so unless you are sure you saw him 2 seasons ago... my opinion is still my opinion. To be fare... is it possible he 3 1/2?... well, anything is possible... but, i still don't think so. But i'd like to see the cam pics of him last season.

Turkeys are everywhere during the fall on my property... flocks of 30-50 usually... I hunt them with bo only during the spring and fall... just to make it a bit more of a challenge.. I have yet to kill one with my bow... so I guess thats challenging enough.. lol My best experience was hunting them with dogs in Candor NY.. the dogs find the birds and bust up the flocks then you go and call the birds back in... it was a riot

So he could have been a 1 1/2 old last year? What made you think he was 2 years old last year? . I'm still betting he's 2 1/2... unless you saw him 2 seasons ago...

Like you G-man our camp has lost 2 hunters to old age and gained 6 youngsters... so I guess we're up 4 guys just there.

likewise

Just curious why he's ok for bow, but not for gun?

Guys out west consistantly shoot animals at 300 yards or better with scopes... I'm guessing they might think its still hunting.. I'm not a long distance guy and i always shoot open sights ...so I think 300 yards is a bit too far...I like up close and personal thats more like hunting to me.

where can you get a 300 yard shot in NY?..lol

Are you kidding me????? That is one lucky SOB!!