wolc123

And the slaughter continues. A week delay, for an FBI investigation on Brett K., might mean 21,000 more abortions will occur in the good old USA. There could be a silver lining though. He may be so inspired against the Liberals, after the Republicans steam-roll him into position, that he will work tirelessly to overturn Roe vs Wade ASAP. If so, we should all be thankful that Dr Ford had that bad dream and that her handlers let her try and convince the world that it was real. The goose is pretty much cooked on this one. One week delay is not enough to stop the confirmation prior to the mid-terms.

The nuisance permits expire on the last day of September and are only good for antlerless deer. Deer can be taken day or night. A center-fire rifle may be used in any zone (at least in WNY). My neighbors prefer a .243 in this shotgun only zone (9F). You can put that tag on the deer, just as you would your regular tag, but if you take it to a processor, you will need a note from the farmer (or person the tag was issued to) for you to transport the deer over the road. The processor will only care that the deer is legally tagged, and a nuisance permit, dated prior to Oct 1, satisfies that requirement.

We need a "tiny rack" thread. I cut a tiny 3-pointer off earlier this week, that got struck by a car and ended up at the end of our driveway. The antlers curve inward rather than out, for what may be the narrowest inside spread that I have ever seen on a whitetail. I will try to get a photo of it with a tape measure if and when such a thread starts. "HuntingNY 2018 lowest scoring rack thread"

I think this is spot on. She simply had a nightmare (probably after she heard that Brett K was nominated a few months ago). That explains why there are no witnesses who can verify ANY of her story. Other people can be in your dreams but they were not ACTUALLY there. I believe that Brett will be nominated and that the democrats will suffer their greatest mid-term defeat of all time as a direct result of their exploitation of this poor woman. Senator Lindsey Graham's passionate speech, during that hearing, will mark the begging of the end of the democratic party as we know it today.

I am still waiting on one of those myself, but I did take one once (about 30 years ago) who's pair measured about 3-1/4".

Thank you for adding His Holy name in yet another thread. That is way better than when I have to be the one to do it every time. There simply can not be too much of Him on a hunting web-site, since it is He who determines the fate of all living things. It is hard to exaggerate how much easier hunting (and fishing) gets, after making that connection. You are damn right that I rely on Him to guide my arrows. The fact is, I rely on Him for everything, including allowing me to draw my next breath. I may have never pulled off a "perfect" shot, but that infamous Texas heart shot, to which you refer, was as close as I ever came to doing it. My definition of a "perfect shot" (in order of importance): 1) Safe shot that does not put other people, property, or animals at risk, 2) Kills the deer quickly with minimal suffering 3) Strikes on the intended point of aim 4) Point of aim is such to provide the largest circular room for error for the given shot angle 5) Shot results in minimal destruction of edible meat 6) Shot does not add mess or difficulty to the "gutting" job. 7) Results in an easy recovery with minimal tracking distance. The only "glitches" with that THS was on #5: The heart was struck up high, costing me a little edible meat (my wife likes to pickle those for me on Valentines day every year, and the expanding bullet took out a neck roast on it's way out. I have heard a few other have pulled off that shot, but all of them struggled mightily with #6. As far as your "thin skin" goes, I am sorry there is nothing I can do to help you there. If you need a break on occasion, I don't see a big problem with that. I do enjoy your posts which seem very honest for the most part. When you take a swipe that hits me (such as your comment "hopefully you don't shoot at running deer, right ?", you need to be prepared to defend yourself. I am certainly not going to take crap like that, and neither are many others here, as you should know well by now. Hence my tip for you: Think a little bit (of how others may react) prior to hitting "submit". Good luck hunting this season. Getting this thread back on track: I hope He provides you, and all NY hunters, with the deer which meet your harvest criteria this season.

I think that Dr Ford believes what that she is saying, but that it was really just a bad dream. That is why she can not name the place or the time when it occurred, and why she can provide no evidence of anyone else to support her claims. The two others whom she mentioned were there have each submitted sworn statements, that the events she described did not occur. That is the thing about bad dreams: it is only the "dreamer" that actually experiences them. She may have dreamed of Judge K. and the others, but they were not there in real life. The real result of this event is the full exposure of the evil democratic vultures who have been feasting on this poor women's carcass, and who are attacking a very humble and honest Brett K. This will result in a huge backlash during the mid-term elections, just in the nick of time. Hopefully, these attacks will embolden Brett's conservative leanings, and he will work tirelessly towards overturning Roe vs Wade. Senator Grahm's speech was awesome.

Pointing a gun at person is a very dumb move, especially when done intentionally. Thank you for confronting those idiots. I had my hair parted by a slug one time, and I felt that shot before I heard it, so this is a sore subject for me. That time, the guy was aiming at a deer that was in-between us, so his aim at me was not intentional. Many get blinded by deer when they see them. That is why I am most comfortable hunting at least a few feet off the ground, on flat land when there are other hunters in the area.

That is easy to say, if you place little or no value on the meat and/or get lots of chances to kill standing deer. Our family depends on that meat for our own survival, I work a lot of hours thru hunting season and don't get a lot of time to hunt. I practice shooting at moving targets throughout the year (thousands of shots). I can usually get pretty close to the hair I am aiming at, even if the deer is running as fast as it can. My shot at one last year struck an inch or two forward of where I intended, but still got the job done. That shot gave us just enough venison to make it thru to this season. Here are a couple of friendly reminders for you: # 1: Rather than pointing out the spec in your brother's eye, consider the log in your own. #2: Think a bit about what you intend to post before hitting "submit"

Thank you for you honest reply to my questions. I am of the same opinion, except for the "luck" part. I asked those questions because I am struggling a little more than usual with the "pass or not to pass" decision this year, for two reasons: First, my wife has plans for the long Thanksgiving weekend that do not allow for any hunting. That might push me to use my tag on even the first 3" long spike, tiny-bodied buck that wanders into range on opening weekend of gun season. For me, the worst outcome of hunting season, is an empty freezer, because our family depends heavily on that meat. Secondly, Due to the "2018 Hunting New York challenge", I would be more inclined than usual to let a smaller antlered buck walk. Fortunately, one of those "new" developments pushes towards the "pass", and the other towards the "kill", leaving me right where I have been for a few years now: First half of the season(s): 2.5 year and/or 3 or more points on a side - kill. Second half: Anything goes. Have you ever killed a small antlered buck and had a later opportunity to kill a larger one, but you could not because your tag was already punched ? I remember reading that one popular member here had such a situation (I think it was during archery) last fall. I do not remember if he had any regrets about that, but the fact that he posted it, leads me to believe there may have been at least a little. Since it has never happened to me, I can not say with certainty, if I would have regrets. On a normal year, I suspect that I might. This year, I probably would not. At least we will have a little bit of "free" food and my wife will be happy about her "family-time" plans. I also understand why passing small bucks is no big deal for those who put little or no value on the meat.

The Senate hearing has been pretty interesting s far. I have been watching and listening to it live, while working on a big project that I hope to finish before hunting season. I also see that Saturday night live is back "live" this week. I wonder who will get the role of Dr Ford. I think Sally Struthers would be perfect.

Two things that I count myself extremely blessed to have never experienced are: #1, Passing a small "legal" buck, and not being rewarded with a larger one later during that same season (the fastest was about 2 minutes later) #2, Killing a small buck and seeing a larger one, that I could have taken, while hunting later with only doe permit(s) left. For those who have experienced either of those situations, I would like to know: 1.) How did you feel about it after the season ended ? If you could go back and shoot or not shoot that first little buck, would you still have done it ? I am very thankful to have no "regrets". I will admit that most of the wind flows out of my sails for hunting, after my buck tag is punched, and all of it does when a year's worth of venison is secured. That is probably the biggest reason why I have never saw a larger antlered buck after punching my tag on a smaller one. I have seldom put in enough time and effort later to make it happen. As far as why bigger ones have always showed up after I pass smaller ones, only He who controls the fate of all living things knows why that is, I suppose. That is just one of the reasons why I always try my best to stay on good terms with Him. p.s: I consider button bucks a "gift from God" because they are the tenderest, tastiest animal in the woods. It sounds like at least one unfortunate member just don't know what he is missing.

My situation is very similar. It has been more than 10 years, since I tagged one with less than three points on a side. We are usually very busy at work during hunting season, so my opportunities are typically limited to weekends and one or two vacation days (if I am lucky). At the same time, my family of four depends on venison for the bulk of our protein and I am the only one who hunts. Prior to gaining access to some decent hunting up in the northern zone, I was basically a "brown-down" guy. Now, I generally pass those with less than three points on a side, during the first half of the seasons (archery and bow). That said, my passes are few and far between, and I could probably count them on two hands over 35 years of hunting. I did not fill my gun tag last fall and I passed a 1.5 year old six-point. That was because the only time he offered me a shot, he was standing on posted land. He was pointed towards my dad's property, and had walked from it, but breaking the law is not in my nature. Like TF, I have also not seen too many "slobs" while hunting, but have bagged a few thru the years, including a 3.5 year old with a 46" chest girth with my crossbow last year. The long Thanksgiving weekend, up in the Adirondacks, is my favorite time and place to hunt. The only way I can really enjoy that, is if I pass ALL bucks at home in the southern zone on opening weekend of gun. The vast majority of the antlered bucks that I have killed, were on opening weekend of gun season, in the southern zone. Thanks to the wonderful hunting up north, It is highly unlikely that I will ever again take one again, then and there, that is not at least a 2.5 year old. Since the question was about "bucks": any button buck is a "shooter" for me, if I have a tag, and there is not a larger antlerless deer in range. Several have joined their momma in "deer heaven" (our family's food supply) thru the years. I have personally killed about a dozen (including my first gun and bow kills), but never a doe fawn. Those "fatted-calfs" are always a welcome treat on our family's table. My wife and daughters litteraly jump for joy when they see me bringing one in because they are so tender and tasty. Those of you who abhor killing them have not a clue what you are missing. The farmers around home really hammer the local antlerless deer, prior to October first, when their nuisance permits expire. Because of that, filling DMS's later is no easy task, and most of our venison has always been from antlered bucks.

If you feel the need to read a book in your stand, you can't go wrong with the world's all time best seller. I read a couple pages every morning (before the sun comes up), and I bring it out, up in the stand, a time or two each season. I can say with no doubt, that it allowed me send (2) deer to deer heaven (our family's food supply), and it probably helped with (3) others. I saw a neighbors truck, containing two "probable" donations, backing into our driveway from a blind out back while I had the Bible in hand. I did not kill any of my own deer that year, so our family would have had to eat a lot more chicken were it not for those two larger than average sized deer (9 point 2.5 year old and 2.5 year old doe) The third "probable" was a stout 2.5 year old buck that I killed with my crossbow on one of two days that I read from it in the stand that year (I think I may even have recorded the last verse that I read, prior to releasing the bolt, in the 2016 crossbow harvest thread on here). The second largest antlered buck that I ever killed (a fine 3.5 year old 8-point) was the one that most clearly demonstrated the power of that book. I had killed a button buck (imagine that) in the morning on opening day. When I got up to the house for lunch, my wife told me that a friend had called and she wondered if we wanted another "twin" to the one I had just hung up in the garage. Reluctantly, I made the short drive and hung it there, right next to the other one. With all the shooting behind our house that morning (only one of which was mine), and with a fair amount of meat hanging in the garage, I was not overly exited about an afternoon hunt. It was a beautiful warm, calm day though, and I still had my buck tag. I decided to grab my Bible and my grandad's old Ithaca 16 gauge, and head for a stand in the middle of the woods, across the road from our house. I had not heard any shots from over there in the morning, while it had sounded like WW3 on our side of the road. I got up in the stand about 2:30 pm, and immediately opened up the Bible and started reading (no reccolection of what chapter or verse). The hours passed and all I saw were a few squirrels and another hunter, dressed in blaze orange, sneaking silently thru the far side of the woods. As dusk approached, the Bible slipped from my hands and fell to the forrest floor, about 12 feet below. I glanced at my watch and noted that there was about 5 minutes of "legal" daylight left. Not really needing more meat, I decided to pack it in a little early, but I left my gun loaded, as I very carefully climbed down. I know that is a big-time safety violation, but I never claimed to be "perfect". As I reached to pick up the Bible, a flock of turkeys landed right on my position in the little patch of brush below my stand. Suddenly, the big rack, head and neck of the buck appeared from behind a bush, just 10 yards away. Swiftly I raised my gun and centered the crosshairs of the 1.5X Weaver on the base of his neck. The shot put him down there in his tracks. I looked at my watch and there were still 2 minutes of legal light to go. It was pitch black by the time I dragged his carcass to the edge of the woods, and I was very thankful for the lights on my loader tractor. Had that Bible not mysteriously fallen when it did , those turkeys would have spotted my blaze orange camo from a mile away. The big old smart buck's luck ran out when his line of pawns was breached in that little patch of brush. Sometimes lately, I feel a little guilty when I bring the Bible out while hunting. It almost seems like that is not giving the deer a fair chance. That is the main reason I only do it once or twice a year. I do not like distractions while hunting, and that includes phones, radios, games, and books. I like to focus all of my senses on the task at hand. Last year, a phone cost me about 60 pounds of meat. My buddy used his finger to text me, that he just knocked a buck down, rather that on his trigger to put it down for good. He does not like venison himself, and the year prior he had shot me a nice button buck, so I could not get on him too bad, but I doubt he will make that mistake again. The worst thing I could do up in a stand is listen to a radio, I-pod, or anything other than the sounds of the woods. I use my ears like radar in the stand and I probably hear 3 deer first for every 1 that I see first.

Evil spirits are surely relevant to this. It is their leader, the devil himself, who is pulling the strings of these women who are coming forward with allegations against the judge. The slaughter of 3000 human fetuses per day in the USA will not go on much longer, if the Supreme court tips 5-4 towards the conservative side. That has got to piss the devil off big time.

This is a tough one for the Democrats, because it is 4 to 4 right now on the Supreme Court, with 4 of the current members having been selected by Democrats and the other 4 by Republicans. Brett K will tip the balance toward the Republicans to 5 - 4. Since the majority rules on the court, that will put all 3 branches of the Federal government firmly in the hands of the Republicans. The retiring Justice (Kennedy) was also a Republican selection, so it may not seem that bad right now. The real problem for the Democrats, is that the next two oldest justices are also likely to retire during Trump's current term. That will put the Supreme court firmly out of reach for the Democrats, for a long time. It should come as no surprise that they are resorting to all kinds of dirty tricks at this time. They really have nothing to loose (except maybe the midterms).

Thanks for the reply. My wife just stuffed peppers with a pack of venison grind for a crock-pot recipe. I won't be able to enjoy the leftovers, until tomorrow, because I "volunteered" for 2nd shift duty at work this week. Our supply is dwindling fast (especially grind), so I hope to fill a tag early. I probably will not be too selective. A 3-pointer got hit by a car right at the end of our driveway, the night before last. If it hadn't appeared to take so much road damage (had a busted leg, guts hanging out, and tip broke of of its only brow-tine), I probably would have got a tag from the police and cut it up for grind. It had an average-sized body, but a very narrow rack. The beams curved inward, instead of outward, a possible record for the narrowest spread 1-1/2 year old. It is a good thing that a car got it instead of me. It would not have done me much good in the 2018 whitetail challenge. Three pointers seem to be in the gene pool around here. I killed a few when I was younger, and my next-door neighbor's nephew killed one, that I had passed with my crossbow a few weeks earlier, on Thanksgiving morning 2016. I heard his shot, less than 50 yards from the edge on one of my corn plots. That one had a tiny body, not bigger than a few of the buttons that I have taken thru the years. Fortunately, it's big brother showed up for me about 2 minutes after I passed it. I know there are some folks who regret passing deer, especially when they end up with "tag-soup". I could probably count the number of legal bucks that I have passed, in 35 years of hunting, on both hands. There has not been a single time when I was not rewarded with a larger one later. I had to say "legal", because last season I passed the only buck I saw during gun season, and I ended up with tag-soup. The glitch there, was that the buck was on posted land, during the whole time when he offered me a shot. Fortunately, that happened on a Saturday morning and my "rough luck" convinced me that a change of some type was needed. I decided to skip the morning hunt the next day and take the family to Church instead. Guess what happened about 2 hours after the Lutheran Church service, when I walked out back for a "mid-day" hunt: - many folks will call that just a "coincidence". One thing is for sure: Our family would have been forced to eat a lot more chicken, were it not for a constant stream of "coincidences", over the last 15 years or so. I use to only consider a season as completely successful, if I filled both of my buck tags. Now, I have changed my tune a little. The grind from that 1-1/2 year old doe was a lot more tender than that from the older buck that I took with my crossbow. Now, I will consider a season a complete success if we end up with enough meat to last until the next year, even if all of it comes from does. p.s.: if you blow up the picture and look real close, you can see that is not a bullet hole in the side of the rump. A full tilt running shot at 50 yards, forward on the shoulder blade, dropped her dead in her tracks. A little disappointment was that the shot cost me a neck-roast, which I had been looking forward to all year. Hopefully, I will remember to make one this year. Good luck to you deer hunting this season, whichever weapon you do it with.

I know that horses eat a lot. Back in the 1940's, when they provided the primary power on our farm, several acres of land were required for each in order to feed them. If a wild population were ever established, here in WMU 9F, I would not have to travel to hunt them. I would hunt them, even if they tasted bad, in order to save my food-plots for the deer. Much like I kill raccoons (for fertilizer) right now. I can not imagine any situation where I would spend any money to travel and hunt horses, unless they turned out to be really good eating and we ran out of whitetails. At this point, 3.5 whitetail deer per year provide the majority of the protein that our family of (4) requires. We didn't need that much, when it was just my wife and I, but our daughters are consuming a little more every year. It must be doing them some good based on how well they are doing in high-school sports. I also supplement that with "free" fish from NY waters. I limit that severely because of health advisories and try to keep within the guidelines that are printed in the back of the DEC handout that they give you when you buy your license. It is too bad that lake Ontario salmon and Adirondack smallmouth bass are so "toxic", or I could probably get by with one or two less deer every year. Our whole family loves fish. My folks raise laying hens, over in the adjacent town, and they provide us with all the eggs that we can eat. We do grow some fruits and vegetables on our farm, as do my folks. We do get most of those from the store, along with some chicken and pork on rare occasion. The kids had a couple of rabbits as pets, and now they have two cats and a guinea pig. I would love to try eating a guinea pig, and I hear they are very popular in Peru. As far as dogs go, I think they are on the Biblical "do not eat" list. Also, I have noted that even crows will not eat coyote carcasses, so I can only imagine that a dog would not taste so good. How is your crossbow situation going ? I am a little concerned with mine because I had to make a big adjustment when sighting it in last week. I will make sure to try it again a few more times prior to my first hunt up north on October 12. My muzzleloader was right on the mark however so I am good to go up there on October 13th and 14th. We are in half-way decent shape right now with venison (five packs of grind, about dozen roasts and two packs of backstrap) left in the freezer. It won't be the end of the world, if my crossbow will not perform to my satisfaction, and I have to fish all day on the 12th.

Keep with it, you will catch on in a few more years mountain man.

I am currently dismantling a couple big old barns that my great-great grandad built back in the 1880's, that were made from American chestnut. (That was the most common wood in these parts back then). I "wood" have liked to save them, but the roofs and foundations are shot. I am using some of the interior (grainery) wood, roofing and smaller hand-hewn posts and beams for interior walls in the new barn. I am also trying to save the larger hand-hewn posts and beams, some of which I might use for a "log" style ground blind some day. A new metal pole-barn is several times less expensive than repairing and roofing those old structures. The old, unpainted, weathered siding makes great cover around blinds and stands. It blends in very good with the fall woods. I fooled a 3-1/2 year old buck out of one last year, and a 2-1/2 the year prior, along with several mature does. The deck on those stands are only 6-8 feet above the ground. Those unfortunate deer had no clue what was hiding behind that old chestnut. I suppose a little "evercalm" may have also helped a bit on the older buck last fall.

I would not rule it out if it was legal. Even in America, armies have been sustained by eating their horses when times got tough in days gone by. Horse meat remains popular in some countries today. I have no particular love for horses myself, and have witnessed them break up several of my good friends marriages. One of my divorced buddies refers to horses as: Hay-burning-(starts with "s")-makers.

Don't get caught hunting horses. Killing them for food has been illegal in the US for many years. I think Canada and Mexico may still allow it however.

That looks a lot like the ridge that ran along-side of the dirt lane to the old off-the-grid cabin that my in-laws use to rent for a long-weekend every October, near the NW edge of Adirondack park. The incline angle and height looks nearly identical. Usually, the weekend they rented fell on opening weekend of ML season, although a few years it was a week later, on opening week of rifle. About 6 years ago (a ML year), I hiked into the woods parallel with the lake, to an oak ridge where I had heard deer snorting while I was out fishing the year before. Shortly after sun-up, a big doe led a group of 5 or 6 other antlerless deer up onto that ridge. She stood broadside, about 25 yards away, and I shot her behind the shoulder. She walked a few steps closer, standing right at the edge of the cliff. The other deer just stood and watched. It almost seemed like none of them had any clue what was happening. Her knees started to wobble and she fell over and down the cliff. I reloaded, except for the cap, an butt-slid down the cliff after her. I had not known at the time that the lane to the cabin was right at the bottom. The doe was laying right in the middle of it, and starting to lift her head. I put a second shot into it to finish her, and gutted her right where she laid. My sister in law still gives me a little crap about that (she jogged past the pile a little later that morning). She was a little turned off when I carried the warm heart and liver into the cabin, as they were all sitting around the table eating breakfast. My father in law was also a little concerned, fearing the the owners of the place would not want to rent it to him again if they saw the mess. No worries for me, by the following morning there was not a trace of that gut-pile left. The vermin and birds cleaned up every last scrap. I did make sure that I placed a bucket under the carcass, out in the boathouse, and cleaned up every last drop of blood.

Nolt's in Lowville is also very good. I think they charge around $ 48 to cut and wrap an average sized deer. They have a big cooler. They are closed on Sundays, but open the rest of the week. If they were closer to western NY, I would never process another deer myself. All the joints around here get at least $ 75 for the job. I will certainly never bring another one back unprocessed from up north, after all the tics I had to deal with on the last buck I brought home and processed myself. My in-laws live up there now, so dropping off a deer at Nolt's, or picking up the processed meat is no big deal for them, whenever I kill it. I could not take that last buck to Nolt's, because we were driving home on a Sunday, and that was before they had moved up there. It usually takes them 10 days to complete your processing, after rifle season opens, (they are quicker and less busy during archery and ML). My in-laws live about 45 minutes north-east of them, and it is well worth the drive. There is a very good supply store with the same name next door, so they are always looking for an excuse to drive down there. They also do bears at a reasonable rate. There was a fat one next to a pile of deer in the skinning shed, on a very warm late morning during ML season, when I dropped a doe off there a couple years ago. I dropped her off on Monday and they had her done and packaged (all ground except the backstraps and tenderloins) (5) days later on Saturday, so I could pick up the meat on my drive home.