wolc123

There are pros and cons for sure, especially if you are in a shotgun-only zone. If you are in a rifle zone, I think the cons vastly out weigh the pros. I live in a shotgun only zone and I used my T/C Omega 50 cal throughout gun season for about 5 years. Usually, I would also carry my short-barreled, open-sighted Rem 870 for backup and that came in handy for a couple "doubles" over that stretch. Not having a quick second shot available is the biggest con. I can say that I hit every deer I shot at with that ML (same load as TF), near my point of aim (about a dozen total), but I was not able to recover one of them due to some poor tracking on my part and a bad assumption of a miss. Fresh snow made me confident of that miss and that is one mistake I will never make again. Do not trust fresh snow to show blood because hot blood will cut right through it, leaving no visible trace on top. That buck was hit through one lung most likely, with no exit wound and expired about 350 yards from where he took the bullet. The shot was on the far side for that gun, at about 175 yards, standing still, quartering away, no wind, from a good rest, with a 7X scope. I wont shoot at another deer with that gun that far unless it is broadside. Energy at long range is another big con of the ML. At 175 yards, it has less than half the energy remaining of a 12 gauge sabot slug, and only about 1/4 of a 150 gr 30/06 bullet. When I found a rifled 12 gauge bolt-action, that would match my T/C ML's accuracy at 150 yards, give me two extra shots, and had a much easier cleanup, the ML started staying in the gun cabinet, except during ML season. It is so nice not to have to carry a backup gun to the stand, and even nicer having all that extra wallup out at long range. 150 yard shots are typical in the broken fields around home, and groups of deer are the norm. The biggest "pro" of the ML is that it forces you to make that one shot count. Personally, I would much rather learn that lesson on squirrels. That is the reason I am switching from my Ruger 10/22 to a pellet rifle for those this year. The relatively silent report is a second reason for that. When it comes to deer, there have been a lot of years when our family would have been forced to eat more chicken, had I not had a second (or even a third one time) shot quickly available.

He will hit 2.5 on Veteran's day, hopefully about 20 yards from my tree-stand. 2.5's are my favorites - just the right combination of "quantity and quality", when it comes to the meat, and perfect for "free" euro mounts versus forking over the cash to a taxidermist for a shoulder mount.

This one had to be close to 40 pounds:

2.3

I took a wopper of a raccoon this morning, in a Duke dog-proof trap baited with cat food. It might be the heaviest one I have ever taken - guessing 40-ish pounds. Hopefully it is the one that escaped by busting the back hinges of a cheap Chinese box trap a few weeks ago. I got a picture of him before the burrying, on the rack behind my tractor. Not sure how to post from my flip-phone. That should save me quite a few bushels of corn this fall. Dispatching them is a little tougher in those dog-proofs, it took me two shots to hit the brain.

If those are 9F bucks, All but the last (1.5) of last year's look 2.5, and this year's looks 3.5.

I would not hunt that property with a North wind (unless you can find another way to access stand #4 from the South. All the stands look good for a South wind with #1 the best. # 4 looks the best for a West wind and #2 looks best for an East. I would also try and not over-hunt any one stand, even if the wind is from the optimum direction for it every time you hunt. Minimizing time in a stand is more important than always being in the "best" one for a specific stand. Your scent will linger in the areas you spend the most time, causing them to be unattractive to deer. Your odds are always best the first time you hunt a stand with an "ok" wind.

Having had few close calls myself, I know what you are going through. It is much harder to not to take life for granted, or to realize who runs the show, until you go through some stuff like that. There is a lot of truth to the saying: "if it don't kill you, it will make you stronger". Without those times of extreme physical trauma, a couple of which the doctors expressed great disbelief that I survived, I would not be nearly as close to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as I am today. In the end, that, and loving your neighbors, is all that matters. I would not trade those tough times for anything. I am glad to hear that you are on the mend and you are definitely in my prayers.

I also hate to see animals suffer, but not so much to do something as dumb as this guy did. Posting it on-line was dumber yet. What may have occurred here is that the trapper checked his traps in the morning, as most do, but the coyote came by later and got caught after he left. Most fur-bearers are nocturnal, so a morning check usually keeps others from observing the trapped animals. Making a set in plain site of a main highway is probably not such a bright idea however. I don't think coyote hides, especially during the summer like this, are worth more than a couple of bucks anyhow, so the arrow damage is no big deal.

The real "sweet spot" for range with archery equipment is between 15 and 20 yards. With closer shots from a tree stand, the shot angle is a little steep for a good "double lunger" broadside shot. 25-35 yards is the range where "string-jump" is a concern, especially if the deer are alert as they often are if they get a glimpse of your draw or if they are responding to a grunt or rattle call. In these situations, a low heart shot is a good point of aim because they will almost always drop down when they hear that bow release, especially in calm, light-wind situations. If and when you develop confidence and ability for longer range shots (35 - 55 yards), string-jump is a lesser concern because that is beyond the whitetails "danger-zone" in which they react quickly to the sound of a bow's release. I have killed about a dozen at less than 55, with archery tackle (vertical and crossbow) and just one at slightly beyond. That was on a dead calm day and that buck never flinched until the arrow had pierced his heart. I have also struck and lost four with my vertical bows (I remember those more than the recovered kills) , and all of them were hit at a range of 18 - 25 yards, (3) in the shoulder blade and one too far back. The primary cause of those bad hits (which all happened more than 15 years ago) was "string-jump". I wish you the best of luck this season and everyone is right about it being a great time to be in the woods. The limited effective range of archery equipment adds difficulty but not as much as the reduced hunting pressure (and lack of gun-shots) removes.

One good thing that came out of the Cuomo / Nixon fight (especially if you are not a NewYorker) is that Cuomo promised that he would not run for President in 2020. That single statement will likely cause him great harm in the race if he changes his mind. There is not much tolerance for "flip-floppers" in American politics these days. As far as Hillary winning the popular vote goes, probably no one mentioned it because most on this site know that Trump did not waste money on states that were not up for grabs. I bet Hillary wishes that she hadn't.

When you buy your NY ML license, you will get a single either/or tag. If you also purchase an archery license, then you will get an additional "antlerless only" tag. To purchase an archery tag, you need to take the NY archery course. During the late ML season in the NY southern zone (there is no early ML season there), you may take up to three antlerless deer in most zones with your ML, because the regular season buck tag becomes an either/or tag during that season. In some grossly-overpopulated zones, a non-resident can take up to (9) antlerless deer. That would include (2) DMP tags purchased prior to October 1, and (2) more after Nov 1, (2) transferred from other hunters, and the (3) tags previously mentioned. No one, including state residents are allowed to take more than (2) antlered bucks per year in NY. I think they should at least let residents, who buy a gun, bow, and ML license, to kill a buck with each. I doubt that will happen any time soon as there are actually a few trophy-hunters calling for a "one-buck" rule in NY. Things get a little more confusing up in the Northern zone, where there is an early ML season and it runs concurrent with the last 7 days of archery season. Up there, the crossbow season runs the last 10 days of archery. Some of the Adirondack zones (one across the road from the camp I hunt) do not allow does to be taken during ML season, while others do (like on our side of the road). Most zones do not give out any DMP's, so the only way to take a doe is with a crossbow, regular bow, or ML in most zones except those mentioned above.

The fixed-blade broadhead range testing went ok today. It took a bit longer than I expected to get my 300 fps crossbow dialed in with 125 gr field tips (I ended up needing to adjust dot site down one half turn and left a quarter turn) at 20 yards. At that range, the Muzzy hit almost the exact same spot as the field tip. The Wasp struck an inch to the right and the Allen was 1 foot low (right on the bottom of the foam block. Out at 40 yards, using the the middle dot, the field tips and the Muzzy were right on. The Wasp hit an inch low and three inches right. It took me about 10 minutes to find the bolt with the Allen, in the weeds next to the target. Again it struck way low and way left. Needless to say, I will not be using them on deer. Now I see why Walmart had them so cheap last year. It seems that they must be a lot heavier than the 125 gr they were marked. When I was checking thru my inventory, I noted that one of my three remaining "used" mechanicals was still in decent shape. There was no nicks or bends in the blades or the forward cutting tip. I cleaned it up, honed the blades back to "razor" sharp, and added a new o-ring. My quiver will hold that and a couple of Muzzys on my first hunt up in the NZ in a little under a month.

Prayers sent for him and his family. Thank you for sharing this here. Reading this will probably cause many others to be more careful. I know it will me, and I am a bit behind on my own firewood this year. Your concern for the girl is admirable and she is fortunate to have you around to give her some of the guidance she will be needing.

It is definitely my kids favorite place. Our power was out at dinner time so I was afraid to open the freezer door for a pack of venison. I had no idea when it would come back on. The power company said 6:30, and they hit that almost to the minute. My wife has to deal with Texans frequently and she always points them that way. They always say that is the most "authentic" Mexican food they can find in Western NY.

I never tried the drowning thing but a dozen or so that caught the shotgun lead never released any scent. I stand just far enough from the cage, so that the wad does not push in the wires too much, and I make sure that the pattern is centered on the head. Maybe you were a little far off when you shot the "sprayers". I am not much of a turkey hunter, but they say "patterning" your shotgun is important for that. It sounds like it also is for us "skunk-shooters".

Mucho Grande Burrito at El Ranchito. Almost as good as a venison taco. We are down to our last few packs of grind, so the rationing has begun. October 10 and the opening of NZ crossbow season didn't get here quite soon enough to prevent that.

Between the eyes can be a little too far forward, depending on the shot angle. The spot you want to hit, with a .22 rimfire, is the intersections of an "X" formed between the eyes and ears (imagine lines connecting the right eye / left ear and vise-versa). The bullet should enter perpendicular to the the skull at the intersection of that 'X". You will know you hit the right spot if the animal begins violent uncontrolled flopping right after the shot. If opossums are the culprit, a second "double" lunger is a good idea. They have a tiny "pea-brain" and often play their name if you miss it. If you catch a skunk, a shotgun load of # 6's to the head from 10-15 yards upwind always does the trick and keeps them from releasing any spray. I have heard that throwing a blanket over the cage, then drowning also prevents spray with them. I would be afraid to get that close to a cage with a live skunk in it. NY state allows landowners to "take" - meaning kill, "damaging" coons, opossums, and skunks WITHOUT a permit, however taking "nuisance" coons does require a DEC permit. You can google the DEC table of these details, which was recently posted here on another thread. I would say a "crapped-up" garage constitutes damage that would be acceptable by most conservation officers. I am sure there is a current or former member or two here who may disagree. What would we talk about without such folks who are very concerned for the well-being of the cuddly little furry animals and don't give a crap about you or I. The DEC does require burying or cremating the animals immediately, if they are "taken" prior to the opening of trapping hunting/season. After that, you can just chuck them out in the field to feed the buzzards (unless you want to skin them for the quarter that the hide might fetch at auction).

I use my range finer to place ribbons at 50 yards, in various directions, around all of my stands, several weeks before the season opens. That is the maximum range that I would shoot at a deer with my current crossbow. With my vertical bow, I never shot at a deer over 25 yards. If I still hunted with that, I would use the range finder to place a second ring of ribbons around each stand at that range. I might have to do that anyhow, depending how this afternoon's practice session goes. It is nice to have those known range markers at your hunting locations. Live deer seldom hang around long enough to give you the time to use a range finder on them. Speaking of that, it is time to put the batteries in my range-finder and crossbow red-dot site, find my foam block target, and go sling a few bolts off the back deck. October 10, opening day of NZ crossbow season is coming up pretty fast. I used my last mechanical broadhead on a 46" CG buck last season. I am too cheap to buy more, at the current high prices, so I need to determine which fixed 125 gr broadheads: Muzzy, Wasp, or Allen, hits the closest to my field-tips at 50 yards. If they only hit well to 40 yards (or even 25), then I will move that ring of ribbons in a bit to compensate. 2/3 of the bucks that I have taken with that crossbow and mechanical broadheads were inside of 25 yards anyhow.

I looked into the "ISIL" / "ISIS" thing a little bit, and it appears that using "ISIL" disrespects Israel more than using "ISIS". I guess it should come as no surprise then, why Obama preferred to use "ISIL", and why he was unable to contain the expansion of this group during his administration. Thank God that unpleasant period of American history is firmly behind us now. I wonder if we would have seen the American embassy in Israel move to Jerusalem, and the US recognition of the legitimate capital, had Hillary been elected.

I was looking at a wheat/soybean/white clover plot today, that I put in a couple days before Labor day. I went kind of light on the wheat and I do not see any of that coming up. It was from an old bag, so the seed may have been bad. The soybeans are up around 4 " and the white clover is up about 1/4". Each of those looks like close to 100 % germination. I never tried oats, but I hear that the deer like them more than wheat or rye. I am not sure if they can make it thru winter like wheat and rye can however. I am hoping that it stays above freezing until November, because I know that deer like green soybeans more than almost anything else and my wheat looks like it might be a total loss. On the plus side, at least without the wheat stealing the nitrogen, the white clover with soybean nurse crop should max out the available nitrogen for followup corn plots.

Wow, that is a lot of gun for a NY state black bear. I guess it just goes to show that it don't matter how much gun you use, you still got to put the bullet in the right place.

Mammals Commonly Causing Conflicts (in alphabetical order) See Definition of "Nuisance" and "Damaging" Animal Take if a Nuisance Take if Damaging Property Take if Threatening Public Safety Bats Please contact a DEC Wildlife Office or a NWCO when dealing with bats. Some bat species are protected and require experts to identify them. For some helpful tips on safely removing a bat from your home, visit the little brown bat webpage Beaver (More information on handling beaver conflicts) DEC permit needed - refer to note 3 DEC permit needed - refer to note 3 n/a Black Bear (More information on handling bear conflicts) DEC permit needed If destroying livestock or an apiary, no permit is necessary to take a black bear; however, you must promptly notify the nearest Environmental Conservation Officer (ECO) to make arrangements for delivering the carcass (find an ECO near you). Also, DEC may issue a permit for a landowner to take if there is proof that the bear is causing property damage DEC may issue a permit for a landowner to take if there is proof that the bear is threatening public welfare or safety. Bobcat DEC permit needed DEC permit needed n/a Chipmunk Yes Yes n/a Coyote (More information on handling coyote conflicts) DEC permit needed Yes DEC may issue a permit for a landowner to take if there is proof that the coyote is threatening public welfare or safety Deer DEC permit needed DEC permit needed n/a Eurasian Boar (More information on handling wild hog conflicts) Please contact a local DEC Wildlife Office Fisher DEC permit needed DEC permit needed n/a Foxes - Red Fox and Gray Fox DEC permit needed Yes n/a Hare - Snowshoe/Varying DEC permit needed Yes, refer to notes 1 and 2 n/a Marten DEC permit needed DEC permit needed n/a Mice Yes Yes n/a Mink DEC permit needed DEC permit needed n/a Moles Yes Yes n/a Muskrat Yes, refer to note 2 Yes, refer to note 2 n/a Opossum DEC permit needed Yes, refer to note 2 n/a Otter, River DEC permit needed DEC permit needed n/a Porcupine Yes Yes n/a Rabbit - Cottontail DEC permit needed Yes, refer to notes 1 and 2 n/a Raccoon DEC permit needed Yes, refer to note 2 n/a Rats (except Allegheny woodrat) Yes Yes n/a Shrews Yes Yes n/a Skunk Yes, refer to note 2 Yes, refer to note 2 n/a Squirrels - Gray, Black, and Fox DEC permit needed Yes, refer to note 2 n/a Squirrels - Red and Flying Yes Yes n/a Voles Yes Yes n/a Weasels DEC permit needed Yes, refer to note 2 n/a Woodchuck/Groundhog Yes Yes n/a Birds Commonly Causing Conflicts (in alphabetical order) See Definition of "Nuisance" and "Damaging" Animal Take if Only a Nuisance Take if Damaging Property Blackbird, Red-winged No If destroying crops, may be taken without a permit during June - October, for all other damage refer to note 4 Canada Goose (More information on handling Canada goose conflicts) Federal permit needed Federal permit or DEC authorization needed, refer to note 5 Cormorants (More information on handling cormorant conflicts) No Federal permit needed Cowbirds No If destroying crops, may be taken without a permit during June - October, for all other damage refer to note 4 Crow No If destroying crops, may be taken without a permit, for all other damage refer to note 4 Ducks Federal permit needed Federal permit needed European starling Yes Yes Grackle No If destroying crops, may be taken without a permit during June - October, for all other damage refer to note 4 Great Blue Heron Federal permit Needed Federal permit Needed Gulls (More information on handling gull conflicts) Federal permit needed Federal permit needed House (English) sparrow Yes Yes Pigeon without leg band Yes Yes Pigeon with leg band No No Snow goose Federal permit needed Federal permit needed Mute swans DEC permit needed DEC permit needed Turkey DEC permit needed DEC permit needed Woodpecker Federal permit needed Federal permit needed Reptiles Commonly Causing Conflicts (in alphabetical order) See Definition of "Nuisance" and "Damaging" Animal Take Anytime Take if Only a Nuisance Take if Damaging Property Take Under Special Circumstances Snakes No DEC permit needed DEC permit needed Contact a local DEC Wildlife Office Turtles No DEC permit needed DEC permit needed Contact a local DEC Wildlife Office Notes The following notes apply to specific areas in the tables above. Note 1 - May not use ferrets, fitch-ferrets, or fitch to take Note 2 - If taking during the closed hunting or trapping season, the animal must be buried or cremated immediately Predate: Note the three columns in the NY State DEC table that I copied above: One for "nuisance" - a permit is required there, just like in the table you posted. The second column is the key here: "damaging". That is where the downed corn and coon tracks comes in. Case closed - Verdict (for the masked bandits) : To quote one of my favorite artists " "One Dying and a Burying". The third column about "a threat to public safety" is apparently non-applicable to the raccoon.

That table is for "nuisance" coons, which is a seperate category than "damaging" In my case, the 5 bushels of corn down on the ground (or even a single ear) surrounded by coon tracks ought to be plenty of "damage" to satisfy most game officers.

No I deer