nyantler

That's a beauty... he's got everything... congrats!!

It's very hard to explain rocket science to someone that is not a rocket scientist... not engaging antis is the best way to handle their nonsense... I will however defend hunting to those who have never hunted and are trying to understand the attraction, but are not necessarily anti-hunting... there is no sense in having a conversation with someone that has already decided they don't want to listen... Doc hit it on the head... I can only add that antis, like liberals, have this notion that they can someday lead us all to Utopia which clouds there ability to see reality... it is very hard to have a realistic conversation with these kind of people... so I won't.

A good 2.5 year old... bruiser potential

I left two very good jobs with the federal government and state government... simply because I had enough of being taken advantage of by "live to work" bosses and co-workers... I work for myself because I am able to set my own hours and charge my own fees... I only get paid for working... I have a rule at 55... I NEVER work more than 40 hours a week... and NEVER work weekends... I understand that is not realistic for everyone.. but for me, work is something I do to live... it is NOT my life... it always takes a back seat to the things that really matter in life.. and at this age if I have to work more than 40 hours to get by.. I have really done something wrong in my life.

I just find it hard to give up the recurve for crossbow... maybe in the future I'll get one for the regular season southern tier... be cool to take a buck with one during the gun season... something different.

I shoot a 60# Martin Recurve ... I just purchased a 52# self finish longbow that I'm gonna try to hunt with this year..

Sorry... forgot to say congrats first...congrats Aaron

Sorry but I'm old fashioned and didn't want to know until the birth

Moose River plain is best to hunt with snow on... it is hunted to death because of the easy access... used to hunt out of a camp tent camp there off the Indian river... there are some good bucks there.. but you'll need snow to find them...

a bear dresses just like a deer... just a lot more of it... skins like a deer as well, but a lot more fatty and greasier...

I've seen some spotted fawns myself recently in the Tug Hill region.. not good

LOL... you probably have a good point there... I never use bait though I strictly use lures and flies

60# Martin... cedar arrows... homemade tube quiver

That is a beautiful bow!!!

Except for my pistols... I don't think I own a hunting weapon newer than 40 years old.. I have a couple of my father's shotgun's that are 50-60 years old... my recurves are an older Martin and an even older Bear... 50 year old Winchester 30-30, my Hawken ML and Rem 870 early 1970's... Wow.. I need to buy a new gun!!

Well you haven't missed anything.. it isn't all that fun..lol

As long as I never get that "deer hoarding" mentality.. everything will be just fine... I really don't care much about the how, where and why others hunt... I learned a long time ago not to worry about things you can't control... and I don't

There was a time I thought I liked the idea of food plots for attracting deer too... but for some reason it never seemed to sit well with me... I don't begrudge anyone else that enjoys it though... I'm convinced that some of my current personal hunting rules are arrived from some terrible mental problem I think I developed after I turned 50,,,lol

I whole heartedly agree... I only chose to make the point because it is one of the things that has turned me off about the QDM movement.. I don't like the emphasis being put on food plotting for attracting and holding whitetails on a property... I too like to distance myself from the concept of livestock manipulation... it just seems unnatural from a hunting standpoint... even though I know it can be beneficial in some habitats

You don't have a standard if you are willing to compromise that standard... for the record that buck might just get taken by your neighbors anyway before you even get a chance to see him during the season... kill him because he's a beautiful buck.. not because it bothers you that other hunters might kill him first... and if they do I would shake their hand for having taken such a nice deer. Don't get rapped up in all this he'll be better next year crap... he's either on your "hit list" or he's not.

I think that there is a place for both... I like being with the guys at camp, and I enjoy time with my sons while hunting... but my favorite "hunting" .. I mean where I am really focused on finding and killing a nice buck... that is done best alone in my opinion... I am able to really concentrate on what I'm doing without worrying about anything or anybody else.

I would contend that very few food plots are created with habitat improvement as the main motive for planting... unless done by a conservation organization or the state... the peaked interest in food plotting was started by hunters looking to attract animals and hold them on the property with the intention of hunting near or over those food plot areas... in most habitats.. enhancement or replanting of already present food sources would serve the deer populations just as well as introducing acres and acres of crop type foods known to attract and hold deer. I don't think anyone can deny that food plotting is beneficial to deer... but it would not exist at it's current level unless it served deer hunters... we need to start calling things what they are and stop hiding from the truth about why food plotting has become so popular... like you, I don't think I would go as far as to say it is the same as baiting.

That's always a concern of mine in the warm weather as well

Its there... and he never had it scored... officially that is.

I'm sure baiting would be an affective way of taking deer... and if you're into just taking deer and baiting is legal, I guess it serves the purpose as a conservation tool... for me personally.. it isn't about taking a deer... it's more about how... I'm off the charts of most hunters with respect to how much I handcuff myself with my rules for taking a whitetail... I know to some of my friends it seems crazy, but I prefer taking the hardest route to a harvest, not the easiest. So for me baiting is not an option... but I don't have a problem with it for other hunters if that's what you're into... it just doesn't feel much like hunting to me... and there isn't much of a story to tell afterwards...however..I'm sure the venison will taste just as good.