wolc123

For the Senate bill, I just did an internet search of the NY state bill number and a link to the Senate website came up. A quick site registration was required and it all took about 5 minutes. I imagine the same thing would work for the assembly bill.

I sent an e-mail to my Senator in support of this bill last night. Hopefully we will find out in April, that it has passed, otherwise I will have to start working out with my old compound again. That will also give me plenty of time to pick out a new, higher-performance x-bow for my own use, and enable me to pass on my entry-level "two week special" to my daughter who will be "legal" if the bill passes.

I will miss the personal attacks and insults. Not that I enjoyed dishing them out, but I certainly don't mind receiving them from time to time, especially when I am attacked for things like my faith in Jesus Christ and for giving Him most or all the credit for the many hunting and fishing successes I have enjoyed in NY state over the years. This has certainly been a "target rich environment" in that respect, compared to some of the national forums I participate in. I did read the rules carefully, and they look to be pretty good otherwise. I especially appreciate it that there is no written or implied attempt to minimize or eliminate talk about Christianity in the forum. Happy Easter, and keep up the good work.

My wife and I each lost dear friends over the last week, finding us spending last night at the wake and memorial service. One thing those two had in common was a complete faith in Jesus Christ. That takes a lot of the of the hurt out of the loss, as we know we will be seeing them again someday. Now entering this Easter season, my prayers are that your family will enjoy that happy, everlasting reunion, someday. Christ purchased all of our tickets, up there on that Cross, some 2000 years ago tomorrow.

They definitely are a good looking gun. A neighbor had one in .458 Win Magnum that he let me fire once and the recoil was surprisingly manageable. No doubt it's heavy weight helped a lot with that. If I ever did buy one, that's the caliber I would go with. If you are going to go big, why not go all the way? All of my non-muzzleloading rifles are Rugers now, and my next one will likely be an American in .243 caliber. That will only happen if one or both of my daughters develops an interest in deer hunting over the next few years. They are not quite old enough yet, but they sure like eating venison and it would be great if they would help out a bit with filling the freezer and not just emptying it. I can only dream of that day now however. Until then I will just keep doing what I can with my old M77 30/06.

Corned beef and cabbage is the best part of St Patrick's day. We have had it 3-4 times over the last week and I think I have finally had my fill for a while. For at least 4 months anyhow, when we will make our annual trek down to Gettysburg PA. Ororke's on Stienweir makes the best I have had and they serve heaping portions every Thursday thru Sunday year-round at a very reasonable price. We are back to the regular mostly wild-game fare now, with baked largemouth bass fillets, and mini-potatoes on the table tonight. Bass are the perfect fish for baking with just enough oil to keep them moist. They are better that way than walleye (dry out due to less oil), but not as good fried. The vacuum sealer makes them taste as fresh today as those we ate the day they were caught back in mid-September. The trick to vacuum sealing fish is to dry the fillets with paper towels prior to vacuum. I have also tried freezing before vacuuming, like they recommend with the instructions on the sealer, but that does not work as well. It is a lot tougher to get rid of the air pockets between fillets after the meat is frozen.

It sounds like a sensible change, especially the "full inclusion" part. Allowing the crossbow to be used during the early part of archery season would be very effective at getting the doe population under control in some of the overpopulated zones where the DEC has been struggling. Eliminating the need to draw, with the deer in close, eases the task of killing a doe from a group where several sets of eyes need to be fooled. That gives the x-bow a significant advantage over a conventional bow. The silent report also gives the crossbow an advantage over a muzzleloader at that time. Requiring the archery course to use one makes a lot of sense, since the crossbow kills the same way as a regular bow (by cutting), not by shock like a gun. The full inclusion part will likely put more hunters in the woods, especially the young, old, women and physically handicapped. It really isn't cool to discriminate against these groups as the current regulations do. Hunter numbers in NY have been falling off for a while now and this should help stem the tide of that a bit. Wanting the woods all for yourself is shortsighted when it comes to the future of our sport.

I think you would be hard-pressed to find a part of the state with a better combination of high bird density and low hunting pressure. Look for public land near corn stubble and/or ask those landowners for permission. In that general area last Memorial day weekend, at each sunrise it sounded like there was at least one gobbler on every hilltop, and I did not hear a single shot. With the lame excuse for a winter we just had, there should be even more birds around this year.

The best time on a small mountain lake is sunrise in May. It is incredibly peaceful fishing then, especially without a noisy outboard, just using the oars of a rowboat, or paddle on a canoe or a kayak. I especially like watching and listening to the beavers play on the water at that time, and the turkeys gobbling up on the surrounding hilltops. After the sun gets higher, the wind picks up, and the other folks get out on the water, the attraction fades quite a bit.

duplicate

I do some jig-tying, and it definitely seems like certain colors are more prevalent in some areas when it comes to the hair on the front side of deer tails. I prefer "brown" for a crawfish pattern jig, for use on my favorite fish, the smallmouth bass. Most of the deer in my neck of the woods have more black than brown. I make a minnow pattern jig from those, using the black for the top and white for the bottom. Those work well on walleyes, northern pike, and lake trout, especially when tipped with a live minnow. I have never noticed any difference in the coloration of the white hair on the back of the tails, I suspect the yellow ones might just be piss-stained. I also plan to tie up a few squirrel-tail versions of my minnow pattern, for use on lake trout up at my in-laws Adirondack camp. The trout up there are mighty finicky, not falling for the bucktail version, which works well up on lake Ontario. After years of trying on the open water, the only one I even had a bite from up there was a 12 pounder pulled thru a hole in 12" of ice a few weeks ago, on a jigging rapala tipped with a minnow head. I am thinking the softer squirrel hair might fool those lakers in that gin-clear water when the ice is gone. As far as the tail position of deer, I have noted three primary ones: Straight up means they are scared, down means relaxed, straight back means horny and ready for some action. In between positions occur when they have not yet made up their minds between those three. They use the tail as a flag to communicate with others of their kind. The tail up is their primary visual signal of danger, while the snort is their primary audio signal. The fawns learn pretty quick what those mean: time to "high tail" it to safety. I usually see buck fawns with does for about 6 months, but doe fawns stick around for another year or more, until they have fawns of their own.

My wife cooked a squirrel and a couple moose steaks in her new programmable crockpot, along with potatoes, onions and cream of mushroom soup. The combination was pretty good, and better the rabbit/squirrel mix we have often had. I always like the squirrel better in that mix but the moose was about equal. Our youngest daughter liked it so much that there is not a whole lot left for my lunch at work tomorrow.

We also did Applebee's tonight. I thought the cedar salmon was great. My daughter was quite pleased with her kid's meal (macaroni/cheese/chicken), especially the Oreo Sunday. The wife had some type of taco combo deal that was pretty good also. I might have been a little short on the calorie count with just the salmon & vedgies, but ended up ok with a tall draft beer and after cleaning up their leftovers. The food quality and service were good and the prices fair.

Congrats to your son on his first buck and that is a fine looking mount. I always regretted not getting my first one mounted, a busted up 7-point. I didn't have the cash to do it back when I was still in school and my dad was not all that into hunting. He is a skilled woodworker and he made me a nice little plaque to attach the antlers to. Many years later, my friend had large buck mounted by a taxidermist who did a poor job, using a form that was much too small and looked way out of proportion with the huge antlers. A few seasons later, he killed another large-bodied buck with a smaller rack. This time, he took that, and the larger racked mount to another taxidermist. That guy made him a great shoulder mount from the fresh cape and the big antlers, and a European mount from the smaller antlers and the fresh skull. I ended up with the left-over mounted cape, to which I attached my first buck's rack. My dad made me a beautiful walnut plaque for the back, and it turned out pretty good. There is nothing wrong having shoulder mounts made from smaller antlered deer. To me, it is more about "special" antlers than it is big antlers. Obviously the first one is special, probably more so than the one with the largest "score". For me, the first one with a bow was worthy (coincidentally another 7-point), as was the one with the most points, and the first one at camp. It is important that the cape/form size be in proportion to the antlers and your son's buck looks just right in that respect.

sorry, duplicate

Sorry, triplicate (computer must need lubrication).

We had tacos with ground venison last night. That is definitely our girl's favorite. Hopefully they will be able to start helping me fill the freezer in a few years as they sure are good at emptying it.

Exercises are probably the most important thing you can do. I have kept two bows around for quite a few years. I usually start drawing the older one about 6 months before hunting season. I start with about 10 reps right hand, and left to maintain symmetry (I only shoot right). I do that every other day or so, and a month prior to hunting season, I am usually up to about 40 reps. My older compound has a slightly lighter peak draw weight but significantly less let-off than the newer one that I use for hunting. By the time hunting season rolls around, pulling and shooting the new one is a piece of cake. I start shooting that one on the range about a month before hunting, and scale back the exercise reps a bit. I do not stop the exercises when hunting season begins, nor do I stop the range work with the bow. Using a real bow to condition your shoulders is the most effective way to target the right muscles. An old bow will save wear and tear on your hunting bow and are easy to find cheap at garage sales and such, if you don't already have one. Another good idea when you are out hunting in the cold is to stretch your arms on occasion, just be sure to scan the area carefully first so you don't end up spooking a deer while doing it. Finally, you can switch to a crossbow when that gets legal at the end of the season. Not only will can that completely eliminate shoulder issues but it does that at just the right time, in the colder part of the season, when shoulder injuries are more likely. As far as the proper way to draw a bow, I have always locked the opposite elbow before drawing. If you only do this right handed, you are asking for shoulder, spine, and neck issues, as your muscles will develop asymmetrically. Getting into shape, alternating with left and right draws can help minimize that. Obviously you don't want to "dry-fire" your bow during these exercise draws. That means you more than double the workout on every draw, as the restrained limb extensions during the controlled release build up your shoulders more effectively than the compressions during the draw. Thanks for the reminder as it is almost time for me to get the old bow out and get to work.

Welcome to the site. No doubt you have experienced some of the best hunting and fishing in the country here in NY. Thanks to liberal DMP tags and some great fishing, it does not take much in the way of skill or knowledge to keep your family fed off the fat of the land up here. After watching many of those Alaska shows on the TV, it looks like they struggle more up there with that than we do here. Also, our scenery is nearly as good or better, especially up in the Adirondacks. PA is not bad either as far as the scenery goes. We travel across that fine state for a few nights in Gettysburg on our way down to Virginia each year. Now there is a state that is fine to visit, but where I would never want to live. The same holds true for Florida, California, Alabama, the Carolinas, Oregon, Colorado or many of the other states I have spent some time in the last few years.

When it comes to getting a shoulder mount, one way you can get fast, cheap, and good, is if you learn how to do it yourself. Otherwise you will most likely need have to sacrifice at least one of the three. Most of us would choose to sacrifice the "fast", and that is the boat you find yourself in now. I have had 5 professionally done, by 4 different taxidermists. The guy that did my last one, two years ago, was the fastest at 5 months, with very good quality work, but also the most expensive. The previous guy (retired) did two for me, each taking 11 months to deliver. The quality was a bit lower, but so was the cost. The guy before that (retired) was much cheaper, about the same quality, and took 9 months to deliver. If you have family or a good friend in the business, you might be able to use that connection to get fast, cheap, and good. I was fortunate on my first one with that. My great-uncle, who was a "museum-quality" taxidermist, retired a few years after that. Not everyone has the same "likes" when it comes to judging a mount. Up close, the one my uncle did does not have the "details" of some of the others when it comes to the eyelashes, colors inside the nose, teeth, gums and such. From a distance however, it is the most life-like of any I have seen. He had a real talent for setting the eyes at just the right depth, and the ears at the right angle. That buck almost looks as alive today as he did when he really was, about 30 years ago.

Saturday was too windy, but Sunday morning was ok in the squirrel woods. The snow and ice was loud and crunchy while walking. After taking a seat in an area with lots of tracks, a grey walked by after about a half hour, and I got him thru the lungs with the .22. Nothing more, so I will need to throw a few venison steaks in the crockpot with him to make a meal for our family of four. At least my daughters will get to taste some squirrel if they want to. He had a real nice long tail and I am looking forward to making some jigs from it. The prior weekend, I caught a fine Laker thru 12" of ice, on a jigging Rapala tipped with a minnow head, up at the in-laws Adirondack camp, finally verifying that they do exist there. I have tried spoons and bucktail jigs up there on the open water for the last several years, with zero trout action. Hopefully that softer squirrel hair will be just the ticket to entice some strikes when the lake thaws out.

Nothing eats coyote carcasses at my place either, not even crows. Anything else is usually gone in a day or two, including deer, coons, foxes, squirrels, rabbits, possums, and even skunks. I just plow the dehydrated coyote carcasses under in the spring. I did see a guy trying coyote meat on a youtube video and he did not look very happy about it. It must be exceptionally bad tasting.

I have killed all the deer I shot at with my ML (50 cal T/C Omega loaded with 100 gr of pyrodex or 777 and a 240 gr bullet), totaling about a dozen. For several years, that is all I carried, even during the regular gun season. I stopped carrying it during regular season after I failed to recover one of those kills. That single un-recovered deer, which I found more than a week later, almost completely eaten by coyotes, put me in search of a more potent weapon for the regular season. The ill-fated shot was at a range of 175 yards, from a good rest, at a standing-still, quartering-away buck. I had practiced at up to 200 yards and was confident in the shot. There was about 4" of fresh tracking snow which gave me even more confidence in taking it. At the shot, the buck showed no reaction of a hit, but jumped into creek he had paused at, while in pursuit of a doe. I watched him climb up the opposite bank and run across a field and a road, showing no signs of distress. I walked to where he stood at the shot, finding no blood on the snow, or hair. I still assumed a hit and followed his tracks on the opposite side for several hundred yards before loosing them in some heavy cover, then I spent a few hours circling and grid-searching to no avail. Only then, after finding not a drop of blood, did I assume a miss and give up the search. A week later, I ran into a neighbor who was hunting across the road who told me: "I saw that doe you missed come running by my stand". When he said nothing about the buck on her trail, I knew he was dead, and I found him with the help of the crows a short time later, about 50 yards past my widest circle and about 400 yards from where he was struck. Most likely the bullet had struck near my point of aim (the odds of it hitting there are greater than anywhere else right?), traveling diagonally thru his chest, and damaging one lung. That distance is also consistent with a single-lung hit. The accuracy was there, but the energy was sadly lacking at that range. I learned two lessons from that loss, First, 175 yards is beyond the effective range of that weapon from an energy standpoint. Had there been a bit more available on impact, that buck would have at least shown some signs of a hit, or left a little blood on the fresh snow. Now I use a rifled, bolt-action, 12-gauge shotgun that is just as accurate at 200 yards, but packs more than double the energy, along with 2 extra shots (our zone is still shotgun or ML only during gun season). I also assume every deer is hit, even if I cant find blood or hair. Even if I run out of daylight, I will get back on the trail in the dark with "bloodglow". My longest recovered kill with that ML was about 75 yards, and except for that single mishap, it has never given me trouble. The only way I would consider a shot over 125 yards now, with a ML, would be if it were powered with smokeless powder. There is no significant advantage with more than 100 grains of powder using black-powder or a black powder substitute. With smokeless powder, there is no such limits, and longer range shooting should not be an issue. Personally, I would not consider the purchase of a smokeless ML however. No sooner than I did, the state would likely close that "loophole". I am content with keeping my shots at under 100 yards and only using it during ML season. If you do decide to shoot at a deer much over 100 yards with a black-powder or black-powder substitute ML, you would be well advised to make sure it is standing broadside, and your aim is behind the shoulder.

The post-rut mule deer buck I shot in the high desert of Colorado was awful. You could taste the sage flavor in the meat. A very far cry from the corn and acorn fed whitetails we have here in NY. Oddly enough, post-rut bull elk that we have taken in the same general area have always tasted very good, maybe even a bit better than your average whitetail. I suppose a mule deer buck taken earlier, or a doe might not be as bad, especially if they had access to better feed. Our outfitter out there loves to come over to NY for whitetail because they are so much tastier. In fact, I don't know anyone who would choose mule deer meat over whitetail. I also prefer the coloring, the antler shape, and the challenge, of whitetails over mule deer. I am thankful that the mule deer does not inhabit our state. The other side of the Mississippi is a fine place for them. I would welcome elk and a few more moose however as there is nothing wrong with that meat.

I am looking forward to a little grouse hunting next weekend up in the Adirondacks. Time to get the old J Stevens side by side 16 gauge, and the # 7-1/2's packed up. I saw a lot more up there on deer hunts last fall during the ML and Thanksgiving weeks than the year before. With the mild winter we are having, the population should still be in good shape. They are fun to hunt and I cant think of anything better to eat. My wife and kid's are starting to get sick of venison and fish, and a couple grouse would be a welcome change. I can't stand turkey or chicken, but even I would take a grouse over a another venison backstrap right about now.