phade

I'm in a $2.5B a year company - there are unlimited contributors to why reps quit - and indicators lay hidden in the data fields. The DEC has models in place to account for what variables there are as best as possible. As long as it is done consistently, there is significant value from the calculations. Value for Sales Rep Model: Fixing the contributors that can be modified, such as commission or bonus structures, car allowances, benefits, territories, training, coaching carries with it a cost savings because rep turnover reduction directly correlates to improved performance. Certain KPI can show what contributor is leading a rep to the liklihood of leaving. Intervention can then take place to "save" a rep. For the little bunnies, squirrels, etc. 20 years of trend data mashed into a model may reveal that certain snowfalls, average temperatures, hunter densities, etc. have X impact. X impact then translates into what expectations are for the following season, or even 3-5 years out. Maybe it signals a season structure change, maybe it signals need for reinvestment in educating sportsmen the fun and value of plugging a few bushy tails...maybe it prevents a population threat. Bottom line is...these numbers play a significant role in how not only the species are managed, but also the humans, and finances.

Mixing passion and business works for some and not for others. I've known and spoke to a share of hunting tv personalities and some can flat out hunt. Others, not so much, but just like any profession (paid to do this as a career), there's a bell curve in effect. I couldn't imagine the pressure of having provide something that is not guranteed...and that leads to the whol driver of the industry...gotta film the kill of a mature buck/animal for the most part. 13+episodes a season takes some serious work. Those that can mix the passion and business seem to really shine. Those that don't, get divorced, cover fences as fair chase, etc.

Who says I bought it?

Sold. Don't need it. I have 10 cams.

While I can't say anything for the DEC, I have found a significant respect for experts in anlaytics. I recently took a promotion to work on a team within my company that performs analytics. Although I do the qualitative portion of the work, I see what they can do with little information, and be scary accurate. Granted, the group is one of the best analytic teams in the country for its industry and 50% of the team has Phds from Ivy league schools...but the fact remains that they can give you information you never deemed possible. And, really, it's gotten to the point, they can make non-numeric recommendations - text mining is huge now. One particular model that my team built involved predicting sales reps who would quit within the company within the next six months. Keep in mind the company has 13k employees and about 5k salespeople. 98% accuracy...unreal. Again, not dinging or crediting DEC, but a very small sample can be used to calculate totals based on very complicated metrics and calculations. I think that is why you see the precise numbers. I think the real value here is the trend data...as long as their collectionmethods remain constat, valid, and reliable, then the can base that off of the trends.

I'm not fond of the use of pig, toad, etc. I certainly don't loathe or hate it...but it just seems funny to call a buck a toad or a pig. I call it a buck...maybe beast...but a pig? a toad? LOL.

NIB = new in box

$75 tyd CO US. Micro Red 6.

Truballs are dirty...but great slugs for the smoothbores. I switched two years ago and have taken advantage of similar sales at Gander. I'll probably go by 5. Be sure to buy in the same lot...I noticed Gander had a bunch from various lots, and I peeked inside the carton of each box to make sure the lots were a match.

Curious as to what it means by hunting hard in your terms? Interestingly, when I hear people say that, I think overhunting. But when I think it for myself, I don't, odd how that happens. Defintely have to take a step back and look at things from time to time to make sure you are on the right track for success (whatever your goal is).

Watching this tonight...thanks!

Since when is a release required to shoot a bow? That makes no sense. Just because it is on doesn't me it's attached to a bow with a nocked arrow. I think that's a personal DEC officer judgement call there.

What is a "prime" spot? Is it just a rut phases stand? I have prime stands for early season that really are only good for a few days and then peter out. Others I stay out of until the chasing begins, because the bucks simply are moving across this particular spot until they look between doe beds. If by prime, you mean close to a buck's core area...you may want to investigate and see what possibilities exist for an early season set.

Understandable.

Ohio. As an aside, I have some hunting ground surrounded by apples and taters... Last season, I went in for an afternoon sit...all was quiet for about 30 minutes and out of nowhere blasts cha cha cha hispanic music over a loud speaker for the rest of the night while the hands worked. I didn't see a deer, but it was pretty darn entertaining, they were dancing and farming all at the same time.

Big difference between an August buck in velvet and a hard antler buck in October. I do agree with needs, though. Not saying it is impossible at all, but I certainly wouldn't base my hunting on an August daytime photo...and this coming from a person who has 95% daytime photos this season of mature bucks.

I became a sponge when it came to the chance that the early October opener was going to happen. All of my midwest connections have told me they feel their best odds on a specific mature buck occur during the very first part of the season and 9 of 10 times it is the afternoon (late season is also a godo time, but moot here). They purposely stay out of the woods in the a.m. because it usually does more damage the good. On the rare occassions they hunt mornings, the moon and or weather slows the bucks down from returning to their beds giving a chance for them to be shot in shooting light. The other big thing, which makes total sense, is that they ATTACK the buck as close to its bed as possible in the evening. They don't really lay off and hunt fringes unless they are in an observation stand to gain additional information...hunting fringes just lowers your odds of connecting while still alerting the buck to the fact humans have intruded. I figured most would lay off beds that early and maybe focus on food, but I've come to realize most mature bucks don't go far from their beds until darkness. First time in hits home here. Sure you may see daytime visits now in velvet, but that's going to change come hunting season.

Is there a reason why you are saying you cannot hunt this fall? Now, I don't want to get blasted for this on here, but I've seen some people take up the sport with relative ease and be proficient within a solid month to the point they could hunt with a bow in a short distance (say 20 and in). Now, that's not to say they went willy nilly...but most were adults in their mid-late 20s and had some hunting experience. Obviously they practiced, learned, etc. in that time and each person is different. In today's age, I think it would be reasonable for the "right minded and able" person to be ready to hunt within 6-7 weeks (as is the case now for SZ). Now, that's certainly not the majority and in fact is a small minority of most people in this situation...but it is possible.

Title says it all. Seems like quite a few of the people I know who hunt midwest where seasons start a bit earlier often don't hunt as much in the a.m. Some will sit when the moon is right, or a weather pattern calls for it. But most say that you have to be careful hunting mornings because many bucks are bedded by the time shooting light rolls around. Afternoons seems to be where its at for many of these same people.

Ha, I saw this last night and immediately thought if mineral rights were included in the purchase. I wouldn't fear the gas companies as much as the salt mines coming in...ha.

Nice buck.

I've got a few older cans and one of the new ones...the new one works fine...but it's an anomaly. I stopped using another of the new ones cause it was worthless to pour. I think the bigger ones of the new kind pour better than the smaller ones.

$110 tyd CO US. Sent to Spot Hogg for custom pins (G/O/G/O - top three .019 and bottom .010). Very little use - 25 shots within new pins. Never hunted with.

Original owner...two to three months use in total. $95 tyd CO US.

Removing foreign mobile military units? Sheesh. I can understand "some" reasoning for the other two...but really? Cutting us off at the knees? Although I was not in the military, I can offer some advisement on it because I lived it as a child of a career Navy veteran. I lived on foreign bases - at one point being at ground zero for submarine naval operations in Europe during the first Iraq war. Foreign presence has significant value, even in today's world. Don't believe me? Look at Russia...they've recently started opening foreign presence again. While taking care of "us" here is important. It starts on their territory. Not ours. Border security quality aside (not a manpower issue), our capabilities here are vast. Sure, nothing is foolproof, but when we need to rain down some power, we can and will - a drive to Fort Campbell or NAS Oceana or Norfolk is great evidence. As a kid in more "lenient" times in the military, I was afforded access to things that many people never got to see. I know what it feels like to touch and handle a weapon that can wipe out an entire city and millions of lives. Just being around it made me nervous - yet we harness it with extreme precision. Imagine many of these sitting on a submarine with a broken propulsion component in the northern atlantic...how does it now get fixed if we have no foreign presence?