wolc123

No

I think we passed that point three or four years ago, based mostly on folks voluntarily passing 1.5's. I have not personally harvested an antlered buck, with less than three points on a side, since 2012. The real problem is that too many hunters have too narrow of a focus, thinking it is all about the harvest of big antlered bucks. That "trophy" mindset does not sit well with the non-hunting majority. They are much more supportive with folks hunting for the meat, and even more so, for helping to keep the population under control, reducing auto collisions and landscape/crop damage. Personally, I would like to see NY go to 3 bucks, for those who purchase gun, bow, and ML privledge, and I think the non-hunting public would concur. Bucks cause more car accidents than does, and more landscape damage, especially when it comes to pine trees.

The number one lesson for me last season was that squirrels dont snap twigs. Not paying enough attention to that sound, on a rainy morning on opening day of gun season, up in the northern zone, cost me a golden opportunity on a big Adirondack buck. I was in the right place at the right time, with the right gun. Ignoring that sound, about 2 seconds before the big buck popped up from this gully, 15 yards away, cost me a shot. I have never seen a deer move as fast as he did, when he saw me lift the rifle from my lap. The only small consolation, was that I was able to punch my buck tag on opening day in the Southetn zone, a month later.

Happy birthday Turkeyfeather.

That reminds me of the ditch that runs near the back of our place. It usually runs about 2 ft deep, during deer season, and about 8 ft wide. I have a productive stand about 20 yards from it, and have killed severel deer (and one fall hen turkey) that were on the other side when shot. All but one of the deer dropped dead across the water. Getting them over to my side often involved at least one wet foot. I dont want to build a bridge across it, because that invites tresspassers. The year after my last soaker, on a freezing cold day in 2017, I propped up a 16" wide, 12' long, white oak plank against a tree near the stand. Now, I can just lay that plank across the dich, and walk high and dry over to the "kill", no matter how high the water is in the ditch. I have not tried it yet on a deer however. I didn't need it on the turkey either. She flew up into a tree on my side, after taking my load of #5's. A couple pellets must have caught her lungs, because she soon splashed down near shore on my side where I finished her with a point-blank head shot.

If you use oak, white will last longer than red. Old telephone poles work even better for the main beams, if you can find some. I would use 3, one under each side, and one under the center. We made a few snowmobile crossings this way, and they lasted quite a few years. I even drove my Ford 8n with loaded rear tires across the three pole one several times.

Was it a 1951 ?

I have had several come in from downwind, as I was sipping hot apple cider from my thermos cup. That includes one 182 pound field-dressed 3.5 year old buck that must have liked the smell so much that he came in to it on two consecutive weeks.

It looks like one deer found some turnip greens way out back last night. By the looks of the tracks, three or four must have been feeding in the front patch, where there is still some corn left on the adjacent stalks. They were also going for the wheat in front of the turnips. It appears that the turnip greens were the preferred forage last night anyhow. I was encouraged to find more deer tracks than coyote tracks when I cross-country ski'd around the plots today. My neighbor has been doing well trapping the coyotes. I think he is up to 5 or 6 so far this season.

Happy birthday wooly.

IH made standards (farmalls), and automatics (cub cadets). Other than tractors, it has been a long time since I drove a standard. The last one I had was a 5-liter Ford mustang, that my brother in law gave me for a field car, about 10 years ago. My mother in law has a newer, standard Jeep 2-door, that I would like to drive. I wouldn't want one as my daily driver, but they are fun for occasional use.

Smooth, refreshing, no bitter aftertaste, and goes great with leftover stuffed cabbage for lunch:

Not sure about a whitetail done like that, but a muley, elk, or caribou would be cool. How is the material cost, and time required compared to a standard shoulder mount ?

Rarely, but when I feel a sinus headache coming on (usually at night), the prompt use of a nettie pot completely eliminates it. That happens to me once or twice a month, and is no more frequent during wood heating season. Oddly enough, one hit me last night, which sucked because I accidentally left my nettie pot up at the in-laws Adirondack retirement home when I was up there a couple weeks ago. It took me a few minutes to fabricate one from an old cider jug, but it worked great and headache is gone, just like with the store bought one. We do have a big humidifier that uses about 2 gallons of water a day, when the woodstove is going. It uses less than a quart a day, when only the two forced air furnaces are running. Does your buddy have a humidifier ?

It sounds like you found the problem, and I think the zip tie would be a good idea to help prevent a repeat. We have had furnaces issues thru the years, but seem to be past that now. Our main furnace was an inefficient 1980 model, that started having ignition issues around 2010. It had a pilot, that was always going out, especially when it was real windy outside. We nearly doubled the size of the house, and added a second high-efficiency, electronic-ignition furnace, for the addition, in 2001. That one has always been completely trouble free. We had the old, 1980 one replaced with a similar new one, in 2014, and have had no trouble since then. The real key to making NY winters enjoyable, when it comes to home- heating, is a wood stove. Neither of our modern furnaces have to work very hard when it is real cold out. We added a woodstove in 2002, and that heats the whole house very well, as long as the outside temperature is below the mid 30's. It gets too hot inside, using it when it is warmer than that out. Thanks to the woodstove, the colder it gets, the lower our gas bill. Nothing feels better, when it is below zero outside, than sitting in front of a wood fire with a cold beer.

I am the same way. I do most of my ice fishing in the Adirondacks, on President's day weekend, when the ice is usually at it's thickest. I am really looking forward to the next one. They stocked the lake with brook trout, up at my in-laws place. Normally, we only catch smallmouth bass thru the ice up there, and the occasional perch. Those warm water species don't put up much fight in cold water. Trout are a lot more fun then, and I hear that the brookies are very good eating. It has been about 50 years since I tried one. I fell thru the ice with a snowmobile one time, when I was in my teens, working on a trap line in early-winter. That was enough of that for me. There is no way I am taking a chance of a repeat. The fishing might be better at early ice, but for me, it ain't worth the risk.

Sounds awesome, can't wait to see the pics. I have a couple 16's that were my grandfathers. The Ithaca model 37 is my favorite smoothbore for deer. An old J Steven's side by side, choked improved cylinder and modified, is my favorite rabbit and grouse gun. Hopefully, my dad will pass his Browning sweet sixteen to me some day. About 35 years ago, he let me borrow it, the Sunday prior to deer season, and I went 2 for 2 on grouse with it. Those were the only two shots that I ever took with that gun. 16's have always been my favorite shotguns. 12's are fat and ugly and 20's are too spindly and pencil-like. I have definitely killed more game with 16's, than with all other gauges combined. I am glad to see that they are making a comeback.

Merry Christmas huntingNY friends. My favorite part was "Silent Night", in German at our old village church yesterday. Our daughters and mousers had fun opening presents this morning:

Ralphie needs a big loop:

Remember that "Big-Game Hunter" poster that Kelly and some of the other players did back in the Super bowl days, all dressed up in hunting gear ? The only thing they were lacking back then, was a head coach with a killer instinct. They rubbed PETA member Marv Levy a little the wrong way with that poster, and I think it was intentional. This photo of Murphy with the buck is a good indication that today's team does not suffer from that malady, and might actually have all of the ingredients to bag the big one.

The concrete pad should be done after the pole barn is up, because it will interfere with the sections of the poles that are below grade. Those are fabricated from pressure treated lumber and extend below the frost line. Usually, dry concrete is placed below and around and the base of the poles. It might make sense to clear the topsoil off the site of the pole barn, while you have the dozer, then fill it back in with 2 inch crusher run stone, to a height of about 6 inch less than your finished concrete floor top. When I built my 36 x 50, a couple years ago, I left most of the floor stone, except for a shop area and one of the two 10 x 25 porches. I like the stone floor for parking tractors, boats etc.

It is definitely going to be stuffed cabbage. it will be the "real" style cabbage rolls, made with ground beef, over at my parents house. Mom usually has the extended family over. This year, it will be just my wife and I, and our two daughters. We had planned on staying home, but my folks are adamant about us coming over. I like my wife's stuffed cabbage a bit better. She makes it the "lazy" style, using ground venison, and with all the ingredients just mixed together. There are no actual rolls, so it is easier to make (hence the "lazy" description). It is also easier to eat, and the venison makes it more heart-healthy than when ground beef is used. I also prefer the flavor of venison over beef. It looks like we will be having lazy style at home over New years. It wouldn't bother me to eat my favorite meal every day, and I feel very blessed that the top two women in my life still fight over making it for me. One of the advantages of sharing a birthday with our Lord and Savior, is being able to pick the meal. I am thankful that it won't be chicken or turkey.

I leave mine in year round and only remove it for cleaning. I tend to loose little stuff like that, if I don't put it back where it belongs. One year, I used my Ruger 10/22 as a single shot, because I misplaced the rotary clip. Eventually, I bought a new one and soon after, I located the original. Now I keep one loaded with high velocity hollow points and the other with std velocity solids. I also had to use my Matlin 512 slug gun as a single shot thru most of one season, because I dropped the clip into a ditch below a tree stand. Fortunately, I found that also. Good thing I did, because I have needed that quick second and third shot a few times in recent years. I prefer integral magazines over the detachable clips, because I consistently loose those damn things.

The instruction manual for my T/C Omega recommends using it. I suspect its purpose is to reduce corrosion. That said, corrosion is surely a lesser concern with Blackhorn 209 powder than it is with black powder, pyrodex, or 777. The convenience of the pellets, coupled with ease of cleanup with foaming bore cleaner, will likely keep me using 777 for the next few seasons. My current supply is nearly expended, but I will definitely be buying some more prior to next season.

The problem I had with the loose powder was that it would stick to the gorrila grease that I use on the breech plug threads. That dont happen with the pellets, and they can be reused on the target range. Cleanup with 777 pellets has got a lot easier for me, since I started using foaming bore cleaner and a bore snake.