wolc123

It looks like spring will be here in two more weeks. Wolcottsburg Wilma was a little late this year.

I would be interested in a Peru Guinea pig hunt. They say they are very common down there and I hear they are quite tasty. I don't particularly care for pork, and have zero interest in a wild boar hunt, but I bet the Guinea pigs would taste more like squirrel, which I really do like (much better than rabbit). I also like the idea of the smaller targets for the greater challenge. I suppose a .17 caliber pellet rifle would work well, but I would probably go with a crossbow and field tips. I will have to look into it after retirement. I am salivating a little right now looking at my daughter's pet one next to me in a cage as I type.

It looks like the yeahs are starting to run away with it now, pretty soon it will be 3:1 in favor of full inclusion if this keeps up. I always knew we had a pretty good membership here overall.

Set up a get together when it opens and I will bring up the broken piece of carbon bolt from my first crossbow kill (4) years ago. Then maybe sodfather will let me off the hook in his investigation.

The key is having what it takes to get it done on ANY day, regardless of weather conditions. Good hearing plays a big part in that. Even on windy or rainy days, your eyes won't show you a deer that approaches from behind. Of those I killed, I have heard about (6 ) first for every (4) that I have seen first, but I am mostly a stand hunter. How has that ratio been for your style of hunting ? I always use ear muffs or plugs while target shooting with a "real" gun, but they are not necessary with a BB gun. Still, engineering controls (ie no noise), trumps PPE (ear plugs) every time.

Not only does that bother the neighbor's less, but it also keeps my own ears in better shape. I use them like radar when hunting, and they often give me the drop on a deer before it see's, hears or smells me. That makes it a lot easier to kill them. I feel sorry for those folk's who shoot guns all the time for practice and can't hear jack squat as a result.

That is a great idea for the bow-hunters, especially the older ones.

They may but I don't. My last straw on those was when I tried to use my dad's battery-operated drill to put in a pilot hole and a lag bolt into a hard maple tree to support a blind over at my folks place about 5 years ago. Naturally, the battery was not up to the task and they had no charged spare at the house. I found an antique hand crank brace and bit out in the barn and used that to get the job done. I have a few plug in electric drill motors that are probably from the 1950's and still work as good as they did when new. Batteries might be handy when you are in a house or shop with some spares and a charger but not so much out in the woods or back in a field.

I did a lot more target shooting with my hunting weapons when ammo was plentiful and cheap. Now that it is scarce and expensive, I only shoot the minimum number of shots from each, to verify the zero each season. Usually that is just (2) or (3) shots, and I can get it all done over the Labor day weekend. I take thousands more target practice shots throughout the year, but those are all sub-sonic from my kids BB-guns. That kind of practice is a lot more enjoyable for me, knowing that it is almost free and does not rile up the neighbors. I am big on the golden rule, and I know I really don't like to hear the neighbors shooting when I am out hunting (because I see less deer activity when they are). In fact, the only time I like to hear a gun go off is when mine is pointed at a deer or something else I intend to eat.

That is what I consider a big advantage of the crossbow and also one which many folks overlook, or even consider a disadvantage. For example, looking back two seasons ago, I unloaded my crossbow into a rag-bag after the morning hunt, then had two bucks show up at almost the same distance for the afternoon hunt, the larger of which I killed. You talk about building confidence about making a shot, it don't get much better than that. Back when I hunted with a vertical bow, I seldom practiced throughout the season, and that almost certainly contributed to some of the misfortunes that I suffered with that weapon. I thank the Good Lord almost every day over the last four years that those days are behind me, due to those 17 days (including the full rut) that I can now use a crossbow in NY state. It would be nice to get the rest of archery season, but I am not complaining much and have done ok under the current rules. It would let me to do more to help control the antlerless population in the grossly overpopulated WMU where I live (9F) if I could get out there after them starting October 1. Killing bucks has not been a problem for me, but it is just amazing how fast those wise old does lead their groups to be completely nocturnal as soon as they detect some early archery pressure.

That does make sense, especially as one gets older and less able to do stuff. My folks have a NG well over at their place and all that they use is free. It would probably make sense for them to get a top of the line stationary generator and use that most of the time, only using line power (which they pay for) when it is down for maintenance. That, and a compressed NG vehicle and tractor could virtually eliminate all of their energy costs. My biggest "project" usage of a portable generator, besides weed-wacking the outer edges of the lawn (I hate those gasoline powered weed wackers), is working on tree stands and blinds for deer hunting. It is nice to have an electric drill, saw, air compressor and welder available for those projects, all of which do just fine on a 5000 watt generator. I have an intense dislike for portable battery powered tools and extra gasoline engines to maintain, so the more plug-in tools I can use the better. I have grown somewhat dependent on that portable generator and would probably still want one if and when I ever get a stationary unit for the house.

It has been over a month now since we ate our last vacuum-sealed BB roast from (2) seasons ago and I am starting to go thru some withdrawl.

In all the excitement after killing that 43" chest-girth buck last year with my crossbow, I lost that silly rope pulley thing. I made up a couple of t-handles with short lengths of chain and metal clips and they work a lot faster for reloading. My cheap, entry-level crossbow is only 150 pound draw though, so the direct pull is not that bad. It was tough on the fingers, until I made those t-handles.

Peace be with you, and I forgive you for the name-calling.

The only time I miss not having draft control on MY JD 4120 is while plowing. I still use my old 1951 Ford 8N on occasion, for that reason alone, if it is dry enough. That draft control makes it a lot easier to plow to a uniform depth. When I bought that JD about 12 years ago, they still used American-made JD Powertech engines in that line. It don't look like they have since the Tier IV regs came out. If I had to get a non-American engine anyhow, then I would probably go with a Mahindra or a Koiti . The Mahindra dealer is just a little further away than the JD dealer, so that would probably be my pick. Back when I bought mine, the JD was cheaper than Kubota, same cost as NH, and had a much higher lift capacity than either. The American engine, and close dealer made the choice a no-brainer.

BLT

In high hunter pressure areas of the Southern zone, the ML would likely be less effective at controlling antlerless deer numbers than a crossbow, despite it's greater range, because it's "boom" would tip them off over a much larger area, making more of them go nocturnal quicker. Even though I voted yes to full inclusion, I am ok with the way things are right now. I would not be, if I did not have access to free food and lodging and some good hunting up in the Northern zone. Up there, I can at least get out for three days in mid-October with the crossbow. I always switch to the ML over the last 7 days of the season up there, to take advantage of the greater range, but that is a low hunter pressure area where an occasional "boom" has little effect. I also look forward to a little early-October squirrel and rabbit hunting in the Southern zone this fall, which I would not mess around with if I could hunt deer with my crossbow then. I do feel sorry for that sad minority who are so strongly against full inclusion. You know they are getting upset, when they get irrational and start making stuff up like "30-40 wounded deer with a crossbow for every one with a vertical", or "that little short piece of aluminum shaft I found attached to a broadhead in the deer I killed with my bow's neck had to come from a crossbow". Most folks would realize that aluminum shafts fell out of favor long before crossbow's got legal in NY. I killed my last buck with my vertical bow, about 8 years ago, with a jugular vein shot. It was not intentional, and he would have taken that arrow thru the lungs had he not reared down and back at the sound of my release 25 yards away. That is my favorite thing about the crossbow - no string jump whatsoever shooting at completely relaxed deer. It is hard to overestimate how much easier it is to hit something that is in the same position when the arrow strikes as it was when it was released.

I think a monthly poll would be good, that way we could see what way the issue is trending with the members. I only remember one other actual poll on the issue and apparently no one is able to produce any evidence of it. Does anyone have any explanation as to why that may be ? I recall about the same 2:1 ratio in favor of full inclusion that we are seeing in this poll right now. I also like the way this one is worded, for it or against it with no middle ground or gray areas to murky up the water.

I only know for sure what my own numbers are and they certainly do not jive with that. I only released three bolts at deer with a crossbow and all three dropped dead within 40 yards. Of the dozen or so arrows that I released at deer with a vertical bow over many seasons, (2) may have missed, (6) were recovered kills and (4) were hit but not recovered. Of those (4) losses, one died for sure (too far back) and (3) likely recovered (shoulder blades with no penetration). I have a pretty good idea why my own kill percentage is at 100 % on deer with a crossbow and why I was never able to get close to that with a vertical. First, eliminating the need to draw with a deer in close has totally eliminated "string jump". It is a lot easier to hit a relaxed deer where you want to than an alert one. Second, It is much easier to hold a tight group from a rest than it is offhand. And finally, a telescopic site makes it much easier to hit the individual hair on the deer that you aim at. For sure, the main reason the Crossbow has never let me down (on a deer) is because: What other weapon would Jesus prefer that I use ? He apparently has better places to put grouse than "Deer heaven" (our family's food supply) though. I missed one of those with my first crossbow shot ever at a game species. I am completely helpless as a hunter on my own, and totally dependent on Him to keep my family fed.

It looks like it is getting back towards 2:1 in favor of full-inclusion again. No real surprise there I guess.

The problems with the whole-house NG units is that they cost more and are not as handy for other projects. (4) outages in (10) years does not seem to justify the additional expense and reduced versatility for me at least.

Would you rank the deer hunting in NY as better or worse than that in NH ? Would you consider yourself more of a meat-hunter or a trophy-hunter ? I am a pure meat-hunter, if there ever was one. I have been to most of the lower 48 states, but have only hunted deer in one other. The mule deer that I killed in CO was horrible tasting, so bad in fact, that it took away any desire for me to hunt deer out of state again. NY has it all when it comes to whitetails, from the hefty and delicious corn-fed specimens from the Western NY hills and fields, to the elusive Trophies surrounded by breath-taking scenery up in the Adirondacks.

The one I use would be just about right for you. It is 5000 running watts and 6250 peak. You can pick one of those up for around $ 500. It easily runs two full sized fridges, a big freezer, a sump pump, a big screen TV, and a couple lights. I came home from work an hour early on Wednesday and ran it for the 5th hour of a 6 hour blackout, that was caused by the high winds. The power company expected that outage to last up to 12 hours, but they are almost always overly conservative with their repair estimates. For hookup, I usually just run extension cords to everything and that works out pretty well. The first one always goes to the sump pump, and the second one to the big freezer (it still contains about 2/3 of our year's supply of venison at this point). When the wife and kids pester me enough, I give them a TV and a light or two. Our woodstove easily heats the house, so I never bother putting power to the gas furnace. Our's has a couple wheels and a handle, which make it easy to roll around for yard work and stuff. I use it throughout the year to power corded weed-trimmers at the far edges of our yard, and for various projects around the farm and woods. That usage, an oil change once a year, and stabilized ethanol-free gas, keeps it ready to go at any time. It has given me zero problems over (10) years of ownership, and has the Brigs and Stratton engine. It will run about 8 hours on 3 gallons of gas. Over that (10) years, I only used it about (4) times for actual power outages and none lasted longer than 8 hours.

I have always struggled around home, killing does compared to bucks. Several local farmers hit the antlerless deer pretty hard on their nuisance permits, prior to October 1. That always pushes the buck to doe ration about even, and makes the surviving does tougher to kill during hunting season. Because opportunities are so low, I can not recall ever passing a shot, that I was 90 % or more certain I could make, on a doe at home.

Sell it and get a crossbow. A lighter, symmetric pull is a lot easier on you muscles and joints as you get older.