phade

Grim Reapers seem to be about the only mech head I have dealt with that is reliable to the point I am comfortable shooting them (1 3/8 Razorcuts). Outside of that, I've stuck namely with Slick Tricks, Stikers, or a Striker-variant (Blackouts). My best guess is that at the moment of truth, being a first take, you probably forgot to bend at the waist if you were in a stand. It happens. If you can get in a stand a practice before the season, that'll help you quite a bit.

I'm going to go against the grain here and say to try it out as long as it is a sturdy type of tree. I've had success in trees about the same size (cherry comes to mind realy quick). A 15' ladder can be made pretty sturdy.... A big factor will be how the mass of the tree carries upward. Not going to be a stand you want to be in when the winds pick up...but again, I think you should try it.

He openly admits that the googly eye gives him an unfair advantage because he can watch either side of the tree he's in. Dead Serious. That's his canned response to the question...he get's asked quite a bit about his eyesight, etc.

Dandy buck...I bet the other deer aren't all that excited to spar with him.

Order from Natchez...cheapest place to find a cam for most brands. They have a Bushnell TC for $139. Free shipping if you have the sticker on your catalog. I have one and just used it but I think it's reusable. Cabelas has a TC for $129 in bargain cave plus shipping that would put it at or above the Nachez price. Personally, since you mentioned pic quality (SG is middle of the road)...I'd look at Spypoint since their pic quality is probably the best for low/middle commercial units. Once I started using the video mode on my SG...I haven't switched back to pics on it...the videos are great quality and it's still ticking. The M80 by Moultrie seems nice...it's done well for me so far. BUT, it's time out is a little long, so always take three pic burst. Outside of that, it seems great...sound, time lapse option, and several pic options. The cam REACHES out at night like no other cam I've had in the sub-$200 range. I plan on using it in time lapse closer to the season and set it on video to capture sound/video at a scrape this year. I wouldn't waste time/money on WGI if you can spend over $100. WGI cams have their place. I know...I've had 8 of them. All have been warrantied once or twice. Good cam for the low-end money...but much better options are open to you if you go over that $100 mark. ***Edit...Bushnell has a 2 year warranty...that's something to take into consideration, too. Most have 1 year. Not a big deal until you need it.

Not much, but the fact they are spread out helps a bit. 2 hunters total with the occassional FIL for one or two days a year. 109 acres owned through distant family. Acreage is leased to farm and only about 15 of it is woods or huntable hedge rows. Lots of tresspassing through gun but little done about it since the family owner doesn't take action. Bow season seems manageable as I'm there enough that others don't bother hunting it. Good for a few does and the occasional buck...lots of pressure in the area but high deer numbers. 25 acres, of which about 10 is useless due to house on property. Phenomenal bow hunting...best 25 acre piece of ground I've ever been on. Largely due to location and bordering large land tract that is hunted by one small party. Helps that the ground is sandwiched between two bedding areas and feeding areas. Bucks cruise this like clockwork last weekend in October to gun season. Seems to produce again during MZ after pressure ends. Gun season is a waste because the deer head to large tract once pressure starts. 3 of the 5 biggest bucks I've ever seen while on stand came through here. 7 acres...two of which are useless for hunting because of house. First season on it. Looks to be another phenomenal spot for size. More than 10 apple trees and located in narrow wood travel corridor for almost a mile. Likely great bow spot. Can gun hunt it but likely won't since owner hunts once in a blue moon. Center 3-4 acres is prime bedding. Creek on back side with large open field across the creek. Deer will funnel right by...with the wind going across the creek. About 40 acres in Yates County....usually hit more during spring turkey. Occassional bow hunt (1-2 days a year early season) and OK for gun season just because pressure is relatively low. Decent deer numbers but distance from home prevents too much time spent there. Can overnight it if need be.

Mock scrapes are pretty conversational as experiences differ greatly. I've found huge success by bypassing commerical products and hitting up the local park where hunting is not allowed...I know where a few giant community/primary scrapes are from summer walks with the family. I'm talking 6 scrapes within a 50 x 50 ft area...that get the size of a car hood. As soon as they fire up, I'll scoop (using a cheap metal spade for this purpose only) one spade of the scrape dirt and cut one small branch of the licking branches (these ones usually have a half dozen each). I've always wanted to put a cam up there...but I'm sure it'd be gone fast. I then take them to my hunting area and set them up on an interior trail (non-field edge) and make a mock scrape that way. Zip tie the licking branch to the overhanging branch of your mock scrape, and add the dirt after clearing with gloves, etc. Talk about fire in the hole... I've also had some success by simply peeing in a mock scrape (no other work done to it)...about 50 percent success....peeing in an existing scrape...works great. I doubt there's any legal concern from snapping a twig (a few inches worth) in the park since it's probably no different than a biker/hiker breaking a limb that overhangs a trail. I don't generally hunt over scrapes so I use them to just increase activity and hope to spur daytime movements as the phases start to kick in that last week in October. If I am hunting a scrape in particular, I'm downwind of it 50 yards or so...mature bucks will most times scent check it downwind. I may set a cam on one of the mock scrapes this year just for fun. If I come across a scrape that suddenly appears late in October, I'll swap dirt from another scrape on another property. It really works well. WNYB...I think you are near Mendon Ponds Park? If so, that might be doable for you to grab some dirt/licking branches from there...much cheaper and much more effective imo.

Dove hunting is one of the best, if not THE best, ways to get youths into hunting. Lots of action. I vividly remember dove season opener in Virginia growing up. Absolute blast. Talk about hooking a youngster.

Rock picker or a couple of teenagers with good back muscles might help that rock situation.

This one was through Cornell Co-op extension since they are about one mile from the plot location.

I'll take this every day for a food plot soil sample. First time in...ever.

I wonder how much that little venture cost them? LOL Thanks for letting me know, I hadnt heard they brought it back here. Probably no difference. Theyre not producing at the same facility in the u.s. as they were prechina. The machining/whatever you want to call it is right around the corner from their offices now. They had to retool anyway because of casting changes to the bowholder. The price hike probably mitigated any loss ( from the return). they likely lost their butt in 2010 just from lower sales and warranty work. The china models are junk junk junk. The new prices are insane.

I've taken 95 percent of my deer from ladder stands. I use about 35+ ladder stands each year. Some are quite close but set based on wind. I hunt small lots (5-10 acres) in farm land and getting in, in the morning, quietly and quickly, has been integral to success. I have never been able to be set as quick in a pre set hang on or a climber. I throw the bow in the sling and over the back it goes and I'm perched within 10 seconds...no bow rope....not sticks to navigate, etc. Loud or long climbing time in the a.m. in small lots are a waste for me. I have plenty of hangons and they typically get set higher in areas that need it, such as inside corners on field edges or required vantage points. Climbers usually when I'm hunting a high-risk area where I don't want to leave a stand. I'm planning to hang and bang a few sets this year...not exactly my favorite but a few primo trees that are not climber friendly and I'm not willing to leave a set there. LW fits the bill....but it's also quite a bill $$$-wise now. I've started to like the rapid rails ofer the LW sticks. Just more comfortable.

Heck, I've gotten 6 dmps the past few years in 8h...four on my tags and then two consignments. Plenty of does to go around in my neck of the woods, but that's also going to bring in the mz season here. My hunting partner and myself have taken 15 deer in the past two season on JUST tags that we got via hunting (no damage or nuisance permits). Last year seemed to be the first year I've noticed lower overall doe numbers via unscientific observation in 8H. It certainly wasn't a huge drop, but it was noticeable...I'm sure it's still above the DEC objective.

Yes, be sure to post there. There's quite a few very talented k9 trappers in that area and a little to the North. I'm sure you'll get responses.

His g-2s might turn out pretty tall. I don't think he'll have huge g-3s...that said there's still a good amount fo growing time left and the mass will start to fill in.

I'm for it, and I do not believe its "propaganda". Lack hunting skills? Nice... I've seen huge improvements in the buck size and action in my area, 3H. I'm far from a horn hunter, but its great seeing some larger racks running around, where a few years ago that really was not the case. I have not taken a buck in many years, mostly by choice. Last year after taking a doe we were at the local butcher, ED Grund in Cochecton. Ed said not only are the antlered deer being harvested have larger racks, but he deer themselves have been quite larger. To the point where the boxes he'd normally use to pack up the customers meat are now a few sizes larger. John, I agree and hunt not far from you in Fremont center. Our area has a few clubs and we don't shoot does, and small bucks. We have been doing this for many years now and it hasn't helped. May be the antler restriction law will make a difference, I hope anyway. But if the locals shoot the deer when we aren't there will this really help? That can be the only reason there's no mature bucks in our area they are shot by the local who don't follow the rules.Dave why would you NOT shoot does?? that doesnt make any sense to me... Yeah, might as well shoot yourself in the foot if it's causing the ratio to get too high. That causes much less daytime buck activity...more does = less competition, less travel, etc...especially when you start getting above that 1:3 to 1:4 B/D ratio on land that is within the carrying capacity.

A few things from an analytical POV: The group is biased: In no uncertain terms or quotes, does the group credit data that supports their claim to factors outside the AR rule. This is misleading and deceptive. They want you to believe AR is THE factor that's making the supposed positive changes that they want to promote. It's not...plenty of other actions and environmental changes have contributed to the data results. The only exception is the mention for Sullivan Co. in passing. It's a false sense brought about by confirmation bias...akin to seeing a dog streaking across a room acting crazy a minute or two before an earthquake...and then people associating that action with the idea that animals can sense earthquakes before they happen. The writer: Even poorer job reporting....unless the bias was purposeful. The writer should have been aware that outside factors and changes in the environment have not been addressed in the article. And, seriously, how many times are you going to announce Dave is king of the free world? I see multiple mentions of him being the grand-puuuuba of the coalition. That's just poor writing and editing. Who are sportsmen, exactly? Is it some official group? Makes it sound like the hunters of NY are speaking in a single voice. I didn't know that group had that power.

I'd already be planning the trip....

The Saturday opener was designed to increase opportunity for both the working stiffs and kids. The kids component was a big factor in that decision. I am all for supporting kids in hunting. I just think this situation simply doesn't give them the right (realistic) circumstances. I compare it to playing football for the first time....with flags. Then the very next time you go out...it's tackle football....there's no weening period like growing up as a kid and growing into tackle footbal. It's youth hunt and then the real world hunt. It's kind of hard to put on paper/online, but I just think that when you think of introducing kids, it needs to be done in a thought out manner. I think the youth weekend is just the "easy way out" without much effort or realism. It also doesn't require the parent or guardian to do what they should be doing....mentoring the kid in hunting....and sometimes that means swallowing an operning day or two to sit with them and show them the ropes.

That's up to Mosanto (I think that's who holds the patents). I'm sure they CAN do it...but they probably haven't been able to justify the ROI or the fact that it may leech profits from their own leading products. I strongly doubt any other company will publicly release it. Mosanto controls RR products.

This is purely for my own knowledge, but do you hunt with a bow?

If you buy a super sportsman (bow mz reg) you get your reg season buck tag, an antlerless statewide tag, and an either sex tag. So...three tags. They want to remove the ability to take does from the tags because they want to control them via DMP. I'm assuming that means with all this in effect, you'd get a reg season tag and a buck tag for bow/mz....how the dmp/antlerless tags would be handled...I have no idea. Maybe we get a third DMP?

I do like the way they are attacking the DMPs...if they compensate for the removed tag (because they want to take down the does), they will likely replace it with the avilability to take another DMP in areas that allow for it - at least that's what I assume. I don't see them removing a full tag without some sort of compensation because it would reduce the take...which appears to go against the grain of their changes. I do understand the intent of the youth weekend...but I just worry that there will be many "one and done" hunters bred from this experience since it's not realistic. That and I wonder how much emphasis there will be on taking any legal deer vs. the mature buck mindset. I learned a bunch as well growing my chops in hunting...that first deer was a real trophy to me. I did it just like my father and everyone else in the hunting party...openign day of the "adult" regular season. Lots of memories there. Unsure if that same experience would translate into individudal hunting forays designed just for kids.

The youth hunt is 3 days....the ML is 4 days and does not even include a weekend.(as proposed). I am betting most of us wouldn't even know the ML is going on unless you are lucky enough to be able to hunt during the week. Part of me thinks I would like to see the neighbors doing it a little to chase the bucks over to the areas I can hunt...lol Three day youth and four day mz is seven days of pressure - any way you slice it - bang sticks going off. At that time of the year the sun is up early and down late (relatively). Hunters will be hunting morning and evening shifts...especially those evenings after work. In farmland, that means hitting those cut corn fields and the small woodlots. The same lots that bow hunters are in...regardless of getting the extra time in the woods. To be honest, I'd rather have the current opener and no MZ jammed into Oct. But, the biology supports it, so I can live with it. Just not a fan. I wonder if we can bring both weapons in the field... Part of the allure for me when hunting, especially as a kid before I picked up a bow, was the opening weekend and feeling like one of the guys. The "everyone gets a trophy" philosophy has carried over into hunting and now we need special weekends to give attention to kids - when as a parent - that's your responsibility or that of the hunting mentor. Not saying things are the same or that the intent is wrong...just that I think the approach is off the mark. I love the education efforts that are documented...creating a mag for the kids, etc. That goes a long way. The tag structure is interesting...but...if there is an overpopulation of does causing the MZ hunt...people will likely be able to get the necessary tags to come in and hunt it. I imagine that since they'll be taking away the statewide antlerless tag for bow/ms hunters, that they'll have to replace it somehow with another DMP draw? Otherwise, they're eliminating a bunch of potential does being shot by the group since you're removing a full tag from the aresenal per hunter.