Curmudgeon

Guys - I ask for firearm advice and only person speaks up - telling me to use the bathtub. Well, I am glad you didn't come through because I feel much better today. I was reading about why Hillary will be our next President and I am pumped. She will help the middle class. She will protect us from corporate controlled government. Most importantly, she will appoint judges to the Supreme Court that will preserve Roe v Wade, reverse Citizen's United, and return the second amendment to the militia right it was for 200 years. I think I might change parties so I can vote for her in the primary. HILL-AR-Y, HILL-AR-Y, HILL-AR-Y!

No bathtub, only a shower.

I have to surrender. You guys are really good. I have never felt so defeated, demoralized and depressed. Thus, I have decided to commit suicide and need some advice. I need to consider other people so the choice of firearms is important. Effectiveness and a minimization of mess are my priorities. So, rifle or shotgun? .22 or high-powered rifle? 20 ga or 12? Heavy bird shot, buck shot or slugs? Help me out quick guys before I change my mind.

I would feel better if someone spoke up and said you were right. I'm fishing for that one person who changed their mind.

Doc is absolutely right. None of us should miss hunting and gun related political posts. They are not the problem. Grow - Whether something is provocative is not determined by how I react but by the reaction to the post. I am not so much provoked by them as distracted. When I am provoked, you won't mistake it. Go back and read the "liberalism" post and others that have nothing to do with the purpose of this site. Not one of these posts ever changed the mind of someone on the other side.

I agree, important stuff scrolls out of view too quickly. I miss stuff because the political discussions overwhelm other posts. I think NFA-ADK has a really good idea. Separate, or don't even scroll political posts unrelated to gun rights and hunting. The non-hunting related political posts seem to have no intent other than venting and provoking. As some of you might recall, I have been trying to get some of the heavy political OPs to tell me what they hope to accomplish. The site should separate the political stuff into hunting-related and non-hunting topics.

I broke a snowshoe trail yesterday and hand cut a bunch of volunteer 10-12' Scotch pine yesterday - stuff that was seeded from old trees that should have been cut. The deer have been browsing the low pine branches along with some nearby balsam. Deer were not moving at all here a week ago. The snow pack is settling and I'm seeing well established trails. I even found a couple of spots where they dug through the snow in the woods. It can't be a good return on the use of energy.

4 season's - At least I am not ranting about politics. I admit to being wrong. It was not a minke whale, and it was composted in Ithaca not Cortland. "A Whale of a Tale! In 1999, a Northern Right Whale in the North Atlantic became severely entangled in fishing equipment. About six months later the whale was found dead off the coast of New Jersey. The US Coast Guard hauled the 30,000 pound whale to shore. Since there are only approximately 300 individuals left, a call went out to museums to see if there was interest to preserve the whale in some way. The Paleontological Research Institute (PRI) in Ithaca, NY said they would take it. They cut some of the flesh and blubber off the carcass and hauled it on a fl at bed truck to Ithaca. Behind PRI, next to the Cayuga Medical Center, the whale was laid in a large bed of horse manure and completely covered and left to compost in a large pile. The pile was left for six months (October-April) and gently uncovered so the bones could be tagged and turned by hand. The bones, bits of fl esh and skin were again covered and left until October. With many volunteers, the bones were cleaned and weighed and ready to be assembled. If you are ever in Ithaca, come to PRI and visit the whale skeleton that was composted on their site. (Note: in one year the bones actually showed signs of pitting and degradation, for preservation purposes it could have come out of the pile a bit sooner.) Source: Jean Bonhotal, Cornell Waste Management Institute."

Is that where they composted the minke whale - whose skeleton in now on display in Ithaca?

I wonder if the anti-hunters would approve of us using this resource.

Busted a trail to the camera at the bone yard.

Bullet holes.

I really liked Doc's quiz. Here's a question to satisfy my curiosity. Who has eaten road kill, and what species? This was prompted by DOT yesterday. They deliver road killed deer here for research bait. They dropped off the remains of one that had been butchered. Sometimes they bring them sans back straps but this is the first that someone has completely butchered. The ravens and eagles can will clean up the bones. Personally, I have only consumed road-killed venison. I do have a brother who was well known for stopping at every dead grouse to see how fresh it was. He seems to have stopped doing this. He also once made a great meal from a snowshoe hare he found dead while X-C skiing on a snowmobile trail in the Dacks.

My understanding is that the pigeon racers don't care about lost pigeons. They have been removed from the racing pigeon gene pool, and rightly so.

Come now on Papist. Don't be obtuse. Here are the questions directed at you in post #9 - this thread. What do any of you intend to accomplish with these political discussions? Beyond entertainment for those who like to read them, or recreation for those who like to argue, did any of you ever change one person's mind? Is that a goal? You are a smart guy. Why don't you present arguments in a way that educates instead of provokes? BTW - Just so you know what weight class you are in this morning, I fought a battle with an English muffin this morning, and lost. Grow - No hard feelings on this end.

Vigil - I'm so tired of his hypocrisy, I'm giving up being serious with him. Notice he doesn't even answer the serious questions I ask him.

Sorry, I missed #5. Maybe because I never got to go to the movies. We were sent to bed at 7 PM so my parents could get us out of their hair. My brother and I would turn on the TV and watch the test pattern until American Farmer came on at 5 AM.

Papist - The last time I took the time to seriously share my thoughts in one of these political discussions - as opposed to my usual sniping - you did not show any respect for my opinion. Regardless, I will try again. You will accuse me of reframing the debate and that is exactly what I am doing. What do any of you intend to accomplish with these political discussions? Beyond entertainment for those who like to read them, or recreation for those who like to argue, did any of you ever change one person's mind? Is that a goal? You are a smart guy. Why don't you present arguments in a way that educates instead of provokes? This thread and others look like venting to me - thus the "cabin fever" comment. People are assigning qualities - real or imagined - to those they disagree with. From one extreme or the other, we can each perceive those in the middle - or those who are more complicated - as liberal, as conservative, as The Enemy. Yours Truly, The cockroach.

People have way too much time on their hands. Haven't any of you ever met a liberal libertarian?

One thing good about the old Moultries - for these temps - was the 6 D cells. They last a long time and hold up well in extreme cold. I like the smaller, lighter cameras but most of my camera use is in winter. More battery capacity is good for me.

Cabin fever is a problem everywhere.

These aren't this year but the situation seems similar.

Just hope your camera is still above the snow. I raised this camera a couple of days ago. You can see how high the snow is, even thought the ravens and eagles constantly pack it down. Other cameras I can't get bait to, that is, if we can find bait. There aren't many deer committing suicide in the roads these days. If you want humor, I can send photos of my wife chopping up road-killed deer with an ax.

And, considering the surface area of the tip of the hoove, the pounds per square inch must be incredible. A couple of weeks ago I was swinging a frozen dead fawn into the truck and drove a hoove into my thigh. It put me down. Imagine a yote catching a hoove in the head.

Yes, they cannot completely change their diet in a hurry. The bacteria in their digestive system needs to change in order for them to get energy from corn - so without a transition, they can starve with a full belly. Cutting trees and branches is legal, and is giving them what they are used to eating.