chrisw

Maybe it got caught in the fence? Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Why does that buck have a tag on the antler and also one on the leg? I know other states give you an antler tag and carcass tag... Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

No sir. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

So if you're following the same logic as in your last paragraph, then you'd be alright with someone shooting a deer with a gun at 40yds during archery season because they worked just as hard as you did to get a deer in range? Stop skirting around the fact that the crossbow is waay easier to kill deer with! You cannot refute that! Why else would people be picking them up left and right!? No I do not have children but I have plenty of niece's and nephews. This whole coddling kids so they have instant success is the reason why so many people today don't want to work for anything, they feel entitled. It just reinforces that you don't have to put in the time and effort if you want, there's an easier way around it. I went through the learning struggles the same as most learning to bowhunt. Noone in my family bowhunted so I was on my own. I picked it up from magazines and making mistakes and I'm a lot better bowhunter for it today. If I had a child I wouldn't think any different, pick up a bow, work hard, put in practice and it'll happen. The adult world is not going to coddle them and make it easy so why raise them that way? So to give one final thing before I bow out of this conversation for good... No, I don't think the person that shoots a deer with a crossbow worked as hard as I did to kill the same deer in the same scenario. Hopefully you didn't take anything personal here, it's a hot topic and I'm not in any way berating how you raise your children etc... Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

So buying 1000 acres and hunt with whatever you want regardless of season is your solution? I think that about sums up your usefulness in this topic. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

I care because I'd like to see a shred of actual archery equipment still in archery season 20 years from now. And perhaps if you hunted strictly public land you would see more of an effect as I do. When does the "let's keep making hunting easier" stop? Archery hunters like the challenge for the most part, that's what is alluring. And I won't sit here for a second and pretend I'm not a bit selfish either, I want low pressure, un spooked deer to hunt on public land and small numbers of hunters on the lands I hunt during archery. How much public land do you bowhunt? Do you drive an hour each way to hunt public land? How many opportunities do you get at decent bucks every year? It's easy to try to make rules for someone that isn't in your position, I get it. I hunt my ass off every fall for weeks on end to get my public land deer. Since crossbow became a legal implement, my favorite spot to hunt has become as busy as anywhere else during archery. It's a bow only state park, and yes I talk to a lot of hunters there and the cliche that a good chunk of the guys toting crossbows are the chainsmoking, wandering, deer wounding type has some great truth to it. Why?? Because they are not bowhunters. Believe any of this or not I truly do not care, I know the spot I've hunted for 10 years. You seem to keep saying that kids won't start bowhunting unless we give them crossbows? You're concerned that without immediate success that they'll become disinterested? I say tough, bowhunting is hard, it's supposed to be. You don't find success? Try harder, hunt longer, practice more. Instead children should be taught the value of not giving up, hard work, and being relentless in the pursuit, not handed a trophy just because. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

To put it simply and quickly. I still am anti crossbow for the most part, however I would be all for an age clause, something like 55 and older can use crossbows through the entire archery season and also those that have disabilities. I guess in my eyes I see all of the new recruits into archery season immediately looking at crossbows for the obvious advantages even though some will foolishly argue there aren't any. I would like to see vertical bows, as advanced as they've become ( I know it's not traditional) still be the mainstay in our archery season. Sodfather put it best, man up and pull the string. I know several people personally who were just fine bowhunting and now suddenly their little shoulders hurt and the crossbow is the only way for them to bowhunt now... Please... Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Again, you showed a group kill. I can show you those too. I can even show you dead bucks in the back of my truck that weren't mine. You obviously have something to hide or you'd have no issue showing proof. And no I never had a picture to show as that's not why I hunt. And you can easily find my pics in the harvest thread and I'm proud of each of them, regardless if they meet your approval. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

I never once called you dumb. And you still did not provide what I asked? I'm not falling anywhere? Nasty turn? Do you really think I take anything an online bully has to say as serious or hurtful?? Again, prove to me you killed either one of those deer and I'll congratulate you. Simple really. Would you accept a wild 12lb bass picture as legit when the guy raises bass for a living? Let's not pretend for a second that I'm the only skeptical one in this site, I'm not afraid to call out things how I see them, others may have an online persona to uphold but not me. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Let's see your hero shot and nys tag legibly and I'll be the first to congratulate you on a gorgeous buck, because I don't have insecurities as you do. Sorry if me taking a loud mouth deer farmers word is a bit too much for me to bite off without proof. And secondly hunting is not a competition so I have no need to compete with anyone but myself and the deer. If anything, that exact mentality is doing more harm to the sport than losing crossbow revenues ever will. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

I believe you started this whole thread with your whining did you not? Why even bother starting a thread if you're just going to criticize everyone else's opinion because you are so much smarter and have all of the answers? You've got a serious case of LMS going on. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Why don't you make up your mind instead of talking out of both sides of your large mouth? In one post you're concerned about license revenue and in the next you're telling anyone who doesn't like the seasons to stop hunting them? And I do see everyone else posting pics of their kills, funny thing is I don't ever see you. Feel free to point me to where I can find your deer kills from this year, or for that matter anything constructive on the site from you. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Yea great idea... How about we make a week of gun season for 308's, one for 30-06's, one for 243's and the DEC can sell us a separate tag for each week and we can all go out and buy said calibers so we can hunt the gun season!? You just have all of the answers, everyone else on the forum is just dumb. You must have fun toying with all of us imbeciles... Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Sweet! Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

I don't see how the DEC is going to recoup any money that has been "lost" by low license sales by allowing crossbows for the full archery season. Crossbows are already legal for the best part of archery season. How is adding a few more weeks going to increase sales even noticeably?? That's like saying that when they made rifles legal for the majority of the southern tier gun season that license sales would go up... Doubtful. The people who hunt are already doing it. Quit trying to justify why you want crossbows in archery season by pretending the DEC is losing all of this money and the crossbow is some savior... Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

I see where you are coming from and scientifically don't disagree... However I think we coddle ourselves a bit too much at times. I've let deer hang a tad longer than I'd like in higher temps than I wanted due to work etc and never lost any meat and have never gotten sick from venison. I've also let deer go overnight when the temp hit 60, and came in the next morning and found them, no issues with the meat. To each their own! Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

I used to go 50mm on my scopes but honestly it's unnecessary unless it's a night hunting predator rig. I've got a Leupold vx2 2.5-8x32 and it makes a great light hunting rifle scope. I've never once turned my scope up much past 5 or 6x to shoot a deer anyhow. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

So a big buck comes up to you, someone blew his back leg off, a few days prior, you kill him. Is that the other hunters deer if he happens to see you dragging the deer out?? Are you going to give it up? By your definition the first shot was likely eventually fatal...? Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

I think some of you are getting confused by what ultimately may end up killing the deer and what is immediately fatal (immediate being a short time frame and short distance). If your deer makes it far enough to run past another Hunter or is alive long enough for another Hunter to finish the job then you didn't do your part and it was not an immediately fatal shot or you are hunting too close to another hunter. Gut shots are not what I consider a "killing" shot even though chances are extremely high the deer will eventually succumb to the wound. If you didn't strike the CNS, hit a combination of lung/liver/heart, then no I don't count that as an immediately fatal hit. So some of you guys are telling me that if you shot a great big buck and found out your neighbor wounded it in the guts the day before that you would March that deer and hand it to your neighbor?? I can tell you that I would not. Simply putting a hole in a deer does not entitle you to that deer when someone else kills it. You should've made a better shot, period. Same goes with me in reverse, if the same happened and I hit the deer badly I would never expect someone to think it's my deer when they in fact killed it. There are very few exceptions to this in my opinion, a mercy killing on a deer that's unable to get up etc... Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

November 11th 2001, I had the day off from school and I wanted to sleep in but my father got me up to go hunting. We went to my uncle's hunting club in Constantia and put a few small drives on. He drove out the white grass swamp and told me to wait until the deer got as close as possible and not to shoot when they first came out because it was quite a ways to the swamp edge. Shortly after the drive started I saw movement down on the edge, it was a doe, holy crap she had a buck with her. They hung there not sure which way to go for like what seemed forever. Finally the doe decided to come right to me dragging the buck along. When he got to 30 yds I shot with my open sight Mossberg 500. I hit him back in the stomach with the first shot, racked another one and pulled the trigger and he dropped and never moved, neck shot. He was a 15" wide 7 point (missing a brow). Remember it like yesterday. First deer and first buck. Sadly I sold the shotgun a few years later for basically nothing, wish I held onto it now... Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Wow, I haven't kept up with this thread but here's my opinion... To me the first "fatal" shot is the one that puts the deer down in a short distance or very obviously would have, ie: a double lung hit, lung/liver, heart, 2 broken front shoulders etc... A gut shot in my opinion is not a fatal hit due to the fact you're going to wait hours until you can even begin to track it. If the deer is alive for hours then you're shot was not immediately fatal. I guess we need a consensus on what "fatal" means to you. If I shoot a doe in the ham and she runs around state land for 4 hours and gets shot, was my shot fatal? Possibly? But it sure as hell wasn't dead! Every scenario is different but in my opinion the guy that gut shot the deer first is not entitled to the deer as it was not an immediately fatal hit. You can't wing a deer and say "well, that deer was going to die and I was going to find it" after someone else puts the deer down for you... Sorry, should've made a better first shot. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

... Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Suffered through 25° temps and 30mph winds but was rewarded with a brown trout beatdown and I even nailed an Atlantic Salmon on the first drift of the morning! Gorgeous fish, god I love river fishing! Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Went 3/6 this afternoon in the rain/snow mix, I did however get into a brown (2 actually) on my centerpin so that was awesome. Back to back drifts too! Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

I've never advocated neck shots, when executed perfectly they work well but I have also seen deer alive for a long time after being hit in the neck. I've tracked deer for buddies that hit a deer in the meat off the neck and they went a mile, some found, some not. I just don't understand why it makes any sense to aim there? It's not even half the size of the heart lung area and Yea so if done perfect they drop, but how far does a deer run with a double lung hit? 50yds? I think I'll take the 150% bigger vital area and walk a few extra yards to claim my deer. Hell, I know guys that have dropped deer with a neck shot only to have them get back up and run off to never be seen again. IMO, don't shoot for the neck or head. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk