wolc123

Those look great. Everywhere I try fish tacos in NY state fries the fish and I don't like fish cooked that way. The best I have had, north of the border, is at the South Beach bar in Ocean Beach SanDiego CA.. About a month ago, we were down in Cozumel Mexico for some "real" ones and they were awesome - made with grilled mahi-mahi (those are also my favorites at South Beach). My wife makes them with grilled NY smallmouth bass and they are pretty good, much better than any others I have had in NY.

We are still eating like royalty. Spaghetti with meat sauce tonight (doe fawn). The party will soon be over however. There are only a couple packs of that "fattted calf" grind left in our freezer. When it's gone, we will be eating like peasants again, because all the rest of our grid is from mature bucks. I am saving a couple packs of vacuum-sealed button-buck backstrap, just in case FSW shows up at the casino meet and greet this summer. If you all can talk him into going, I will do my best to make it (bearing that special gift for him, along with a lower jaw from a "probable 3.5" that I would like him to verify). .

I think that a big problem now days, is that the smart phone has put a real hurting on the patience of most people. They are getting too comfortable with always getting what they want, when they want it. I still use a flip phone and never even text, so my patience is ok and tailgating don't bother me much. I usually set my cruise 9 mph over the posted speed on the big highways, and try and stay in the right lane if it is clear. I do run the passing lane sometimes, if the right lane is too rough. In that situation, I will always move over if someone comes up behind me. Otherwise, when folks tailgate me, I just ignore them, and adjust my mirror to eliminate the headlight glare when it is dark. I always pay attention to what is ahead, and only behind if there is lights and sirens. I have to assume that most tailgaiters are very stressed out. Fortunately, I learned the answer to that issue a long time ago, and the name is Jesus.

Part of the reason it is tough to get young deer hunters started in NY, is that the rules force them to use the most difficult weapons first, ie bowhunting. There is even a group dedicated to keeping it that way (NYB). They must be very proud of themselves - more deer for them.

For me it is a little of both. Over the last (6) years I have been hunting mostly the same 500 or so acres. The first couple years, there was another hunter who worked that area pretty hard. He hunted it the whole season from opening day of archery thru the end of gun. He would never sit in a spot for long and was almost constantly moving. Unfortunately, he passed away while he was way too young, and I only got to hunt with him one time. On that hunt, he dropped me off in a spot up along a ridge, and then went back and still-hunted thru the swampy area down below. The plan nearly worked, but the deer that walked slowly by me, just 10 yards away, was a mature doe and they are "off-limits" up there during gun season. The most important thing I learned on that hunt was where the doe hang out, and that has been the key to my killing a couple of bucks in the years since. I have been going up there on 3-4 day hunts, 2-3 times a year. I always keep an eye on the weather, and hunt the area depending on the wind, trying not to spook those does. Each of the bucks that I killed was on his way to check up on them, when I happened to be sitting in a comfortable chair in the right place at the right time. The chair that I use now is the hammock-style that straps to a tree. It has a single pedestal, is very easy to carry, and offers a full 360 degree around shooting ability. I killed my first and largest buck up there from one of those cheap folding camp chairs. It was comfortable, but a real PIA to carry and only allowed about 45 degrees around of shooting. I have yet to see a mature buck, while still-hunting between spots, but have "passed" a handful of small ones, and I did manage to kill a doe that way during the early ML season. The full-sized, scoped, bolt-action, 30/06 rifle, that has been my primary weapon and killed both of my bucks up there, is less than ideal for still-hunting. That situation should improve a bit with the two Marlin lever-actions that I will be using this season (one standard model with 3-9x scope, and the other an open-sighted compact version).

I doubt that very many non-hunters would be content to get all of their meat from the store, if they knew what they were missing out on. That excellent article provides a good hint. I know that I feel a little guilty, every time I walk past the folks standing in a long line and holding a number at the local market's meat counter. Why stand in line and pay hard-earned money for somewhat unhealthy meat from domestic animals and fish ? That from wild ones is usually much better for you and can often be had almost free for the taking. It sure makes me wonder sometimes.

We just polished off a bunch of tacos for dinner, since my prior post. That is our girl's favorite meal for sure and they can really put them away. My wife made a little chicken meat too, but they both went for the venison. They are still in high school. It would be nice if they would help a bit with the harvest, rather than just the consumption, but it don't look like that is going to happen anytime soon. Our supply is holding out ok. I froze the grind from the first two last fall (big button buck and small doe fawn), in zip-lock bags and there are only a few of those left in the freezer. Once that "milk-fed" grind is exhaused, there is a good supply of vacuum- sealed stuff, from a couple of mature bucks, that should see us safely into next season. The vacuum-sealed stuff always keeps real well, and I like to have a deer or so left in the freezer the following year, just in case I get skunked. I am not certain that I could survive without venison. My wife and daughters like chicken a lot more than me, so they might be able to get by.

Someday, after retirement, I might have "the luxury of a lot of time in the woods". At this point, it takes about (4) average sized deer, or roughly 200 pounds of venison, to last my family of four a year. That makes meat my number one priority when it comes to hunting. I really do appreciate those, like FSW who have antlers as there number one priority, because if meat was it for all of us there would be a lot less to go around.

I think you are right that NY politics may have reached the tipping point of being so dis-functional that we might never see full-inclusion. Out best hope may be the split up of the state into three separate entities: Upstate, NY city, and Long Island (apparently most of the folks down there would also prefer to be "unleashed" from "the" city. My best suggestion would be to embrace and enjoy what we have now. The crossbow currently has the best two weeks of southern-zone archery season. There are other fun things to do earlier, like turkey and small game hunting, fall fishing, etc.. It does suck that the crossbow only gets 3 days before the guns come in up in the Northern zone. I think I now understand why that is. Apparently, the NYB had a lot more say over things up there thanks to the political influence of some NYC firefighter who was/is that lobbing group's president. Hopefully, he is proud of himself for keeping all the tourist dollars out of that hard-pressed area, which another weekend of crossbow hunting might have added.

My own wild turkey killing experience is limited to a single young hen last fall. When it comes to non-wild turkey, I always liked the dark meat better than the white meat. The drumsticks from that wild hen were very good eating, especially compared to those from older, wild spring toms that friends have given me on occasion. They were actually on par with those from farm-raised domestic turkey, and a bit better than any of the grocery store stuff that I have had. I can only assume that the eating quality of the drumsticks from a wild spring jake would be somewhere between those from that fall hen, and an older spring tom. I have a couple of spring tags and I would not hesitate to use one on a Jake, if the opportunity prevents itself, just to find out. My experience with eating the drumsticks, coupled with the bugs in the woods at that time of year, has cured me of any desire to pursue mature spring toms. As far as the "young buck" comparison goes, the big difference in eating quality happens between 6 months and 1.5 years. The reason for that is the 6 months old bucks have been primarily milk fed. Since turkeys do not eat milk at any stage of their lives , the young ones might not be that much tastier. Only one way to find out.

Beat me to it, probably NASSCAR fans. I gave up on that sport when they took out the cigarettes and let in the foreign cars.

I can not tell the difference in taste or texture of 1-1/2, 2-1/2, or 3-1/2 year old deer, provided that the carcasses were properly aged prior to processing. The older the deer, the longer the meat should be aged at 33 - 43 F, to break down rigor mortis. 1-1/2 should be aged about 6 days, a 2-1/2 about 8 days, and a 3-1/2 about 10 days. Most hunters have no clue how to properly age venison. If they knew how, their girl friends and wives might not turn up their noses at the venison and might actually encourage them to hunt more like mine does. If, by "younger", you are talking about 6 month old deer, then I agree with you 100 %. They are definitely in a class by themselves in both texture and flavor, and they require little or no aging time to break down rigor mortis. We have been blessed with many button bucks and one doe fawn over the years and all have been top notch on the table. I rarely see my wife happier than when I bring home a button buck. If she had her way, I would shoot them all before they grew antlers, which would also give her some more wall space for pictures and paintings.

It is wrong for me to punch a buck tag on a young one, early in the seasons, because my family depends on venison for most of our protein and the younger antlered bucks (typically 1.5 years old) provide considerably less of that. Being patient and holding out for a 2.5 or 3.5 always pays big dividends in more meat. It is mostly about the meat for me, but antlers are a nice bonus, making cool wall decorations and great reminders of successful hunts in days gone by. Most of my hunting is done in areas where antlerless deer get hammered by farmers with "nuisance permits" before October 1. I can't always count on punching many antlerless tags myself. That makes me be selective with my buck tags, and pass on the young ones early. I don't care much about what others shoot, but I do appreciate others who choose to pass the young antlered bucks. Some years, a young buck that they pass might keep some chicken off our table. I get a lot less selective later on in the seasons. My basic rule is 3 points on a side for the first half of crossbow and gun seasons. A single 3" or longer horn is enough after that. Thanks to the Good Lord, it has been more than 10 years since I had to "settle" for one with less than three on a side.

How was the meat damage on those deer ? I would think it would be minimal with the medium diameter, slower velocity bullet, especially if bone is struck. On the two mature bucks that I butchered last fall, the one my neighbor gave me was hit on the hip, and on the spine with a .243. Both bullets remained in the deer. More bloodied meat had to be trimmed away and discarded on that deer than on any that I have ever butchered (I have done over a hundred total, including a few road/automobile kills). By contrast, my own mature buck last year was struck on the spine twice, one way behind and one forward of the shoulder. Both 12 gauge sabots passed thru after striking bone. A total of three slugs passed thru that buck, including my initial shot, which passed just under his spine and behind the vitals, hitting no bone. I thought the meat damage was going to be intense on that one, after taking those three slugs. I was surprised when it was minimal, probably less than a pound total. Only a little trimming around the three bullet paths was required. The two slugs that hit further back were copper-jacketed, pointed-nose Hornady SST's, fired at a hundred yard range. The one forward was an older Federal solid lead sabot, fired at point blank range as the buck was pulling himself back up with his front legs. After seeing the meat damage from my neighbor's .243, I took it off the list of rifles I would consider for deer. I have never had excessive meat damage with my 30/06. I am still waiting to see what my new 30/30 will do. My guess is that it will be less than the 30/06, because the same diameter bullet is slower (probably half way in between the speed of you .30 cal carbine bullet and the 30/06).

He is cleared of the 16 state felony charges, but not the federal charges relating to the letter he sent to himself regarding "lynching". This story is far from settled. It might help heal the racial divide that has been flaring over the last 10 years or so. It is especially good to see the outrage from Chicago's mayor and police chief. If and when he apologizes for what he has done, it will be a watershed moment in America towards ending both racial and same-sex attraction discrimination. Now that the Trump / Russia thing is over, the press has plenty of time to cover this story.

We are getting mixed messages here. The NY Bowhunters website works but the forum has been down for months and still is. Does "neutered" mean taking away forum ? Their misinformation filled "stance against crossbows" is still there on their website. The specific "misinformation" I am referring to is the "increased wounding rate with the crossbow". Nothing could be further from the truth than that. It appears that the NYB stance was/is almost entirely founded upon selfish elitism. Their stand against the special youth gun weekend is another clear indication of that.

It might be a reasonable price to pay to dig the grave of the Democratic party's chances when it comes to the 2020 election.

There is a new Runnings store moving into our area in a couple of weeks and I will check those two Leupolds out. It looks like they carry them and their prices are a little better than Amazon. Hopefully, they will also have some type of grand opening specials.

That is good to know. This scope is going on my primary deer wacker, so I don't want to mess it up. Do you think that either the Leupold V1 2-7 x 33, for about the same price, or the VX 2-7 x 33 for about $ 20 more would be a wiser purchase ? Nikon is out of the running because I had a bad experience with one of their binocs and I would prefer to stick with American products if possible. I see that Leupold has discontinued the Rifleman 2-7 x 33, which would have been perfect. The 3-9 x 50 version of that model would not fit properly on my gun, plus it looks like hell with that huge objective.

It looks like the doe preferred the first buck (8 point), which is why she headed for the deep water when the 11 pointer showed up. It is cool the way that the horse fools them all and lets you capture such good footage and easily follow the "action". I imagine that the horse odor overpowers any human scent that might otherwise alarm them.

I know how that feels. My own 14 year old daughter out-shot me yesterday evening on the billiard table. She beat me at 8-ball for the first time. She shows lots of potential and is learning fast. I was trying to even the odds, by using a bar-stool as cue, but I should not have underestimated her by that much.

It is great to see you back FSW. Thanks for straightening us out on this CWD nonsense. We do not agree on everything but I am with you 100 % on this CWD fear-mongering and that NY needs a year round open season on the coyote for ALL people. I will save a pack of bb backstrap for you if you make the casino meet and greet as a token of thanks. How was your vacation ?

Possibly, age has taken its toll. Many of the members may have worn out their shoulders, etc, and have therefore decided to give up their NYB memberships and their fight against the crossbows. I can not find anything on-line that indicates why their forum has been down for so long. Reading the NYB "stance against the crossbow", that can still be seen on the remains of their website, is rather comical. The fella mentions "increased wounding rate with crossbows". That directly contradicts my own personal experience, which has been 100% kill (4/4 and all dead within 40 yards with an entry-level crossbow, compared to something significantly less with a vertical bow). In reality, a wounded deer is far less likely with a crossbow because with that weapon, the deer never gets a chance to glimpse the hunter making the draw. Eliminating that fast movement of the draw, with the animal in close, greatly reduces the chances of making a bad (wounding) shot. When a deer gets that glimpse of the draw, they immediately transform to a state of "high-alert", which makes "string jump" a far bigger concern. A relaxed deer is much more likely to be in the same spot when the bolt strikes as it was when it was released. I believe that the real reason for the apparent demise of the NYB forum is that their opposition to the crossbow is based primarily on the selfish elitism of a small group of "compound-only" archers. Folks can only be "hoodwinked" for so long.

Because it has been more than 14 years since a group of at least 50 New-Yorkers consumed a deer that was CWD positive, and there has been no reported negative effects, it seems highly unlikely that it will EVER jump the human barrier. Also, FSW often argues that the deer hunting has improved in those states out West where CWD has been around a lot longer than that. While the latest outbreak of CWD down in PA concerns me a little, the rest of the data indicates that your fears are mostly unjustified. In the link that RH&F posted, there was a study relating soil type to the spread of CWD, with high-clay soil less likely to facilitate its spread. Maybe we have enough clay in our soil here, such that it will never be a big problem for our wild deer herd. That might help explain why there has not been a single case reported in NY since 2005, while cases in other states continue to increase. In that same link, a study was mentioned where monkeys were fed CWD-tainted venison. The study showed that CWD does not "jump the barrier" to that primate. The bottom line is: both the deer and the humans (also "primates") are pretty safe here in NY for the foreseable future, when it comes to CWD.

I think it comes down to the definition of new life starting at conception rather than at birth. The overturn or Roe v. Wade would make abortion murder, and that is a Federal crime. Science and Religion have always agreed that new life begins at conception. It will be good when this gets straightened out at the Federal level. NY politics are clearly a lost cause with so much misguided representation from downstate.