wolc123

Those numbers look very good considering all the acorns around last season, which made it easy for deer to go nocturnal. I think NY state is doing a spectacular job managing the herd. I feel very blessed to be around in a time of such abundance when it comes to deer hunting in NY. The only thing better is the fishing where again, they are doing a very good job of managing our world-class fisheries, particularly the smallmouth bass (my personal favorite fish and second favorite food after whitetail deer). One thing they could do a little better would be to let us use the crossbow during ALL of archery season.

We had lasagna with venison meat sauce. I think it may be my wife's best one yet. Perfectly cooked this time, the last one she overcooked and dried out a little bit. I cant wait for some leftovers for lunch tomorrow. This was the first grind we have had from my own 1.5 yr crossbow buck last season, after we finally polished off the 2.5 yr buck a friend gave us early in bow season. Yesterday she made crock-pot soup using a frozen roast from that same buck and it was also top-notch. I always like some salad and vegetables as side dishes but there is nothing like some properly prepared venison as the main entre. I cant think of anything else I could eat every day and never get sick of.

I agree that last years numbers in PA have very little to do with their deer management system or antler restrictions. Wait till you hear NY's numbers for last season. A local butcher I know had less than half his normal numbers. Hardly anyone I know killed any doe last season in NY, myself included, and buck numbers were also way down from the start of archery season until the end of ML. That is what happens with record acorn numbers occur like last season across most of the Northeast. Deer can simply switch to "nocturnal", as soon as the human scent starts showing up in the woods. You can't legally kill what you cant see in the daylight. Fortunately, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, provided us with a large, "gift" buck from a friend during archery season, one on a silver platter for me and my crossbow, and another "giant" of a buck for me, right after I asked him for one during gun season. Then he threw in a fine young "road-kill" button-buck from some "hit-and-run" driver, right at the end of our driveway, on the last day of ML season. It was cool to get the chance to compare the flavor and texture of tenderloins from 2-1/2 year, 1-1/2 year, 3-1/2 +, and 6 month bucks, all prepared the same way in the same year. I think PA is doing ok if that was the extent of their drop-off last season. I am going to guess NY was off about 25% in buck and overall harvest numbers, state-wide. The good news is, the harsh winter backed off just in the nick of time, and there are way more deer around than normal right now due to that and the dismal harvest numbers last season. We wont see acorns like we did last year for a long time so this season's harvest numbers should be "crazy-high" across the region. I'm starting to give away some venison now, to make some space in the "still-stuffed" freezer, and we are trying to eat it at least 4 days a week. As a pure "meat-hunter, killer, I always have more incentive to hunt when the freezer is empty or close to it.

I prefer to minimize the challenge to myself, while maximizing my chance for a clean kill on a deer. The crossbow is way better there than a compound and light-years ahead of a re-curve or long-bow. There is nothing cool about wounding deer while "challenging" oneself. You really can't sit back and criticize a crossbow if you never picked one up and actually tried hunting deer with one. Only then will you realize just how much more effective they truly are. A crossbow is an especially good instrument for introducing youngsters to the sport of hunting, and they ARE the future of it. They are also good at extending your "twilight-years" in the field a little longer. Too bad that selfish, little elitist group of bow-hunters wont let up a bit and share a few of their deer with those who may not be so strong or have so much free "practice-time" available. At least we got the peak of the rut, It could be worse like the few other states that still don't allow the crossbow into archery season at all. The tide definitely seems to be on our side now and I would guess that within 5 years, one will be free to use whatever type bow he or she wishes during ALL of archery season.

I'm with Tim on this. Who in their right mind is not against the type of gun-violence demonstrated in Sandy Hook? I always thought he was a good singer since "Indian Outlaw", and this moves him up a notch in my book. His dad was a hell of a ball-player and he has a fine wife also. It sounds to me that you are just not reading the whole sentence and taking part out of context as is so popular by the media these days, stopping short at "anti-gun", while skipping the part where it says: "violence". Everybody makes mistakes, don't worry about it, we are an extremely tolerant bunch here.

I always get best results by letting a 1-1/2 year deer hang for about week with the hide on, prior to processing. The hide keeps the meat from drying out too much and minimizes temperature extremes. I usually remove it the day prior to de-boning. A 6 month deer can hang for 3 days and a 2-1/2 year old or older should go 10 - 14 days. Last season was nice and cool throughout, and we had ideal in-the-garage hanging temps for the 6 month, 1.5 year, 2.5 year and 3.5 year + bucks that I butchered between mid-archery and the end of ML season. On the typical warmer seasons, I skin the deer and hang the quarters in old refrigerators for the required times (same as above depending on age). The quarters don't dry out as much inside the old refrigerators so the hides are not needed, and the temperature is controlled so insulation is also not needed. I cover all the windows in my garage "butcher-shop" with foam insulation and as long as the daytime temps stay in the 50's or below, the meat ages well hanging with the hide on. Any red meat should be properly aged prior to freezing and if you don't do that, you will end up with riger-mortise frozen into the meat, making it tougher. Every deer I have processed this way has had better texture and flavor than the finest beef. I think most folks who don't like venison have not maintained proper control over the butchering process. Cutting a deer up too fast is bad, as is letting it get too warm for too long. Leaving it lay all night with the guts in doesn't do you any good either, nor does a drawn-out, suffering kill. Proper aging after the kill is probably the most important, and most often neglected factor regarding quality of the product. If more folks knew how to properly butcher a deer, I think we would see a lot less emphasis on antlers and more on the meat as it should be. That said though, I still prefer the bucks as they taste the same as the does and usually have a lot less fat to trim away. I feel very blessed to have been able to fill both of my buck tags last season, and receive a 3rd antlered one as a gift from a friend. It is that tastey, little 6-month button buck that is in a class by itself in both texture and flavor however. I usually end up with one of them every other year or so, and I never regret it. Most years the bulk of our venison is doe meat and this is the first "buck-only" year I can remember. Care for the meat when freezing is important also. We always eat the tenderloins fresh at about 4 days. It was neat to get the chance to compare the tenderloins from a 6 month, 1-1/2 yr, 2-1/2 yr, and an ancient buck this past season, all prepared identically. The 6 month was to-die-for, the 1-1/2 and 2-1/2 nearly identical, and the old boy just a little chewier but similar in flavor. Other cuts and grind are vacuum sealed, except for about half of the first deer every fall, where we save a little time and money by just using zip-lock bags. As long as you eat that within about 4 months, you can't tell the difference from vacuum sealing. The vacuum sealed stuff keeps fresh for at least 3 years. I always trim all the fat from the meat (even the grind), and never add pork to the grind. At least half of our family's protein comes from venison every year and we all like it better than just about anything else.

Iron sights still have a place and that would be where fast, close-range shooting is expected. Me and the girls were out with the bb-guns this afternoon shooting cans. We had a Daisy Red-Ryder with open sights and a Crossman 760 with a scope. I noted that I was able to hit cans at 25 yards about 10 times faster with the open-sighted Red-Ryder. My 10 and 11 year old daughters and their cousin did shoot much more accurately with the scoped 760 however. They all preferred the scope.

The problem is that the human hunters are not getting the job done currently with the "legal" tools they have and I have to dodge deer almost every day on the way to and from work. At least one human has been killed in recent years from a car-deer collision in our town. I believe the crossbow is the best answer to the problem of thinning out the deer a bit. I am certain I could fill all my antlerless tags every year with one if I had the whole archery season to work with. Deer go completely nocturnal around here, shortly after the first shots are fired during gun season. I do pay taxes on my land but I also pay for auto-insurance. Proper balance is where it is at as far as what animals I want to see. When the hunters can't keep things in balance, the coyote can help. My situation is further aggravated because the adjacent town (which I have to cross every day to get to my job in the city) bans all hunting. As mentioned in my previous post, I don't care for wild turkeys and there is no doubt that coyotes are very effective at their removal. I would vote for a year-round open coyote season only if the state gave us cross-bow hunters unrestricted access to all of archery deer season. I believe that the local hunters could easily keep deer numbers in check if they had more access to this far more effective weapon (10x or more for doe-killing is my estimate after one season's usage).

I am a natural born killer, and killing and providing meat for my family is the main reason I hunt and fish. It doesn't hurt that it is lots of fun gathering meat that way. Antlers don't mean too much to me. I do prefer killing deer that have them as they usually have less fat to trim away, they provide nice grab-handles for dragging, and nice reminders of past hunts when you hang them on the wall.

I used to be part of the anti-coyote crowd but not any more. They do take lots of turkeys, but I always saw then as "feathered-rats" anyhow. Wild turkey is very low on my food preference list, a notch or two below store-bought chicken. I never liked the idea of coyotes eating deer though, as venison ranks at the top of my food preference list. We seem to be loosing more and more hunters lately and many of those who remain seem to be only after "big" bucks. Also, we are seeing more and more farmland disappear, either into subdivisions or just abandoned and let revert into jungle-like cover. These two factors have resulted in an out-of-control deer population. The local deer disappear into the jungles during the daylight, as soon as the first shots are fired. Conventional archery tackle is not too effective on groups of does, as there is too many eyes around most of the time to be able to make the draw without getting busted. A small group of elitist, selfish bow-hunters have managed to keep the crossbow out of most of archery season. That basically leaves the coyote as the best tool available to keep local deer numbers somewhat under control. I also like the fact that the coyotes tend to take out the weak deer first, mostly fawns or rutted-out bucks. That's got to help the deer more overall, and is definitely more in-tune with mother nature, than concentrating on killing big, strong bucks or mature does as seems to be what more and more of a dwindling number of hunters are trying to do these days. If my freezer were not jammed to the gills with venison, I would be a little more against the coyote. As it stands now, he is my best friend to help keep the dents off my fenders, a little landscaping around the house, and some food in the garden. Hail to the coyote.

I don't know of any hunters who abuse alcohol prior or during hunts but I know lots of fisherman who do. If only they knew how badly that affects their ability to detect a strike. Many times I have caught my limit in a boat, where others never even had a bite. I know that was mostly due to alcohol. If the law could somehow simulate the feel of a fish breathing on a lure, it would be more effective than a breathalizer in determining intoxication. I never crack my first beer until I have my limit in the live-well. Bobbers and downriggers are a couple handy tools that help even the playing field for the beer-drinkers. I much prefer to feel the fish take in the lure and I have to be stone-sober for that. That said though, there is nothing quite as satisfying as licking a fresh, raw, "still-twitching" walleye cheek off a fillet knife and washing it down with a big gulp of Genesee Cream Ale. Those sushi-eating saki-drinking Japanese folks ain't got nothing on those of us who are lucky enough to fish and drink in NY.

In my opinion, any rifle other than a 30/06 is lacking something. Like that article says, those big magnums are difficult for most non-professional hunters to shoot accurately. Besides that, they are expensive to feed and can be tough to find ammo for in remote locations What it comes right down to is the old saying: "a fool and his money are soon parted", and there seems to be no shortage of fools around these days.

Food is also my primary reason for hunting and I too do not believe in killing for "sport". "Catch and release" fishing is just the senseless maiming of a fine food source. I would estimate that 3/4 of our family of four's protein comes from game and fish I have killed and I have learned how to do it at reasonable cost, and all legal. There is an overabundance of two species in particular in your region, they are whitetail deer and smallmouth bass. If you get that crossbow, then you will legally be able to take 2-4 antlerless deer and 2 antlered ones each season. You can also take 5 bass a day throughout the open season starting on the 3rd Sat in June. On a good year, my cost for boneless venison can approach $1.00/pound including all input costs (hunting license, ammo, arrows, food-plot seed, fertilizer, and fuel). That is a lot cheaper than we used to produce beef, and it is about as "organic" as you can get and much heart-healthier. Good luck to you.

Congratulations on that shot Wooly. How far was she? What is the speed and poundage of your Horton? Did your bolt pass thru and what type of broadhead did you use? I was ok with my shot location on that young buck that your getting sick of seeing, but not so much with the bolt penetration of only 7-1/2". I wont be taking another shot over 50 yards with that rig if I can help it. When and if NY gives us a little more time in the fall I will probably upgrade to a 330 fps or so model which should give a clean pass thru at 60 yards. Killing does was one of the biggest reasons I got a crossbow but unfortunately, none came into range for me last season. p.s. you are dead on in your assessment, I am a goofball and I would rather be lucky than good. The more I pray and read the good book, the luckier I get. Happy hunting and I am glad to see you have joined the crossbow fraternity.

Those of you seeking them "Jesus" arrows are definitely on the right track. If you get your act together there, you will be richly blessed as I have been. "Jesus" bullets work good also. Check out the rifle season buck he blessed me with last Thanksgiving weekend, right after I said a little prayer to just see a buck. That one was a long shot also (about 350 yards from what I can tell from Google maps). He dropped right in his tracks after taking a 150 gr Federal Classic into the rib cage. Not the biggest rack, but the largest bodied buck I have ever taken by a good margin. I estimate the dressed weight at about 240 lbs, since I could lift my own 200 lbs off the ground while only bringing his front end up on the other end of the rope and pulley. As far as the anti-crossbow bow-hunters go, just try looking at the bright side. No one is even talking about taking regular bows away, and you will certainly be able to continue using then if you wish. A few more hunters in the woods might actually be a good thing in the long run if we hope to continue our hunting tradition in NY. If you loose a little strength due to injury or old age, you will still be able to participate in archery season. Lots less "practice-time" is needed with a crossbow, and time gets valuable as you get older and start families, buy homes, etc.. To those who feel obligated to ridicule my own shot choices whether it be too far or too small a deer, etc., I do appreciate your advice and will take it into consideration. I wish you the best of luck in your own future hunts and I encourage you to read the all-time best seller which contains the best advice you will find in any pursuit. Keep the advice coming.

I had frequently heard that a crossbow is similar to conventional bows in effectiveness on deer. After getting one last spring, practicing a bit, and hunting with it in the fall, I learned just how much more effective the crossbow really is. First is range, where I feel comfortable doubling what I could do with my compound, after just one season. Second is practice time savings. For me to shoot 30 yard groups that I could cover with a pie-plate took months of practice with my compound. The day I assembled my entry-level crossbow, I was shooting 30 yard groups, from a rest, that could be covered with a quarter. If you want to do a cheap test on that one for yourself, get a cheap, scoped bb-gun and see how much tighter of a group you can shoot from a rest than you can offhand with open sights. Notice the shot-placement in my previous post at 59 yards (thru the heart just below the valves). I don't know if Robin Hood could do that with a bow and that was my first shot ever at a deer with a crossbow. I will admit to some help from above on that shot. I had just taken my eyes off a wooden cross that stands behind our house, prior to that buck's appearance on the last morning I could hunt during crossbow season. When it comes right down to it, it don't matter so much what weapon I use, how much you practice, or how skilled I am, them deer are going to end up right where the man upstairs wants them to go every time. Why wouldn't Jesus help me kill deer with a "cross"-bow? I also heard that crossbows were very front-heavy and poorly balanced, but the little one I bought is well-balanced and handles offhand as good as my Ruger 10/22 carbine rifle. I would be very comfortable using it for offhand shots up to about 40 yards and can hold a 6" group like that without ever getting a "flyer". Eliminating the need to draw with a deer in close is the great multiplier in crossbow effectiveness. Many a deer has been put in a high-alert state by an archer drawing his bow. That makes it particularly difficult with groups of deer. With a crossbow, you can just "slo-mo" it into shooting position without ever alerting a group of deer. Non-alert deer are much less likely to "string-jump", which likely causes more wounded and non-recovered deer during archery season than any other cause. All this adds up to the crossbow being about 10x more effective on deer than a conventional compound bow, in my estimation. Allowing hunters to use a weapon that is that much more effective would greatly add to the state's ability to control the deer herd. That is the real reason why it wont be too much longer until the whole archery season is opened up as it already has been in most other states. I never understood the logic of wanting to challenge ones self at the expense of the deer, hunting with things like long-bows and re-curves, but I support the right of people to chose those if they wish. There are plenty of deer to go around. The deer in my neighborhood become pretty much nocturnal after the first shots are fired during gun-season so the crossbow is the best way for me to put legal game in the freezer, and to help the state control the herd.

It has been a tough battle in NY to get the little bit of archery season we have now. There is a small group of bow-hunters who continue to fight hard against it. The tide is against them now, but they continue to resist. I also expect them to back off and accept defeat within the next couple of years. Eventually they will wear down to the point where they struggle to hold and draw their regular bows and the crossbow will give them a few more seasons afield. It is also a fine way to introduce youngsters to the sport. In the mean time, you really don't have to spend a ton of cash to get a good taste of crossbow hunting. We have the "peak- rut" part of archery season, and even a base-model x-bow ($250) is roughly 10 times more effective on deer than a top of the line compound. Check out this 59 yard shot I made last season with a little 300 fps, 135 lb draw model.

Woodchucks will soon be emerging from their winter homes and they can provide some fun shooting. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding some farmers who will let you shoot them out on their hay-fields. There are two "happy times" for woodchuck hunting. First is in the spring when the hay-fields start to green up, but are still short enough to provide good visibility. Second is early summer when the hay gets cut, exposing them again. Woodchucks damage fields and cause damage to equipment. Many farmers have been injured or killed when their tractors broke thru a woodchuck den and tipped over on them. Woodchucks might even make decent cat food. My favorite weapon for them is a .22/250 rifle which is designed specifically for hunting them. A hollow point bullet striking them at center of mass will not leave a mark on their body, but explode internally causing massive tissue damage and instant death. A .22 rimfire will work, but often result in the chuck getting back into its hole before expiring. A shotgun loaded with #4 or 6 shot is another good option to put them right down if you can get close or get between the chuck and his hole. They always run for their hole when alerted. I have shot them out of the hay-mow in my barn with a .410 shotgun as they run for the holes they have dug under the barn. If you manage to get a "mamma chuck" in the late spring, the little ones will usually emerge several days later seeking milk and are easy plinking then with a semi-auto .22, or you can make pets out of them as they are kind of cute for a little while. If you are interested in nearby places to hunt chucks, try looking up "hay for sale" on craigslist. It is a lot easier to get permission from a farmer to hunt chucks in the spring than it is for deer or small game in the fall. Once you get your foot in the door, it can lead to other opportunities. Spring turkey season is also just over a month away if you are into that. You are going to have to wait until September 1st or so for most of the rest. Lots of good fishing around that area in the Niagara River, Lake Erie and such before then though, and cats love fish. Hunting and fishing are almost the same to me, both involve killing and eating and I am a natural born killer by nature.

This Adirondack mountain 8-point buck I took last Thanksgiving weekend was the largest-bodied deer I have ever harvested. I weigh 200 and could only get the front of the field-dressed buck up off the ground, with a rope and pulley, before I lifted my own feet off the ground. We ended up using my father-in-law's atv to make the lift and even that spun the tires a bit. My guess is about 240 lbs field-dressed. This buck carried a lot of weight in its hind-quarters for that time of year (post-rut), probably due to the bumper crop of acorns up there last fall. The shot was also the farthest I have ever taken at a deer, and it looks to be about 350 yards per the "google maps" scale. I was up on a ridge and shot across the valley below. I plan on getting the exact range this spring with gps on Memorial day weekend when we go back up to camp. I marked my shooting position and the tree he dropped under (in his tracks) when struck by the 150 gr. Federal Classic, 30/06 bullet. I had practiced with the rifle, in preparation for a Western hunt, at ranges up to 400 yards. Ironically, my Colorado mule deer buck that year(not quite as heavy) was a much closer shot at a little under 100 yards. Range does not intimidate me too much and every time I have pushed it a bit (except one time with my ML), it has paid off. The ML buck (basket-racked, 1-1/2 yr 8-point) was probably struck near where I aimed with my 50 cal in-line. He was quartering away at 175 yards. He showed no reaction when struck and there was no hair or blood on fresh snow. After the shot, he took off across a creek, and a road. I followed the tracks for about 400 yards, but lost them in a big golden-rod field. I incorrectly assumed a miss, but my neighbor found him a week later, about 50 yards beyond the farthest circle I took after I lost the trail. I am guessing the bullet clipped one lung and all the bleeding was internal. That weapon (50 cal pyrodex ML) just lacks the energy for a good kill at that range and I replaced it, for most hunting in non-rifle areas, with a blot-action, 12 gauge shotgun. Now that sucker packs a wollop at long distance and is every bit as accurate as the ML, plus comes with 2 extra shots. My longest kill with that was a big doe at 163 yards and it literally knocked her off her feet at impact. I am guessing that the energy it delivers at 150 yards is at least double that of the ML. My crossbow buck last year also pushed limit a bit on range and I have taken considerable flack for taking a 59 yard shot. I think the main reason for that is that most NY'rs have no idea how much more effective a scoped crossbow, fired from a rest, is compared to a conventional, vertical, compound bow. I probably wouldn't take a shot at a deer at that range again with that crossbow however as the penetration, with a 3-blade 125 gr mechanical broadhead, was only 7-1/2". Fortunately, the spot I hit was good (with some help from above I am certain) and that marginal penetration took it all the way thru the heart, resulting in a dead buck in less than 40 yards. Here's my bottom line on range for deer hunting with various weapons: 30 yards with my compound, 50 with my crossbow, 75 with my 16 ga. smooth-bore shotgun, 125 with my ML, 175 with my 12 ga. rifled shotgun, and 375 with my rifle.

Maybe not as stupid as you imagine, if your life depended on it. If you had a hungry bear after you, would you rather have a 30/06 rifle and a couple .270 rounds or a 270 rifle and a couple 30/06 rounds? Fortunately, I haven't tried it, but I don't see why it wouldn't work in a pinch.

I have Ruger M77's in .30/06 and .22/250 and they make a very good pair, covering everything from woodchucks to moose. If I was limited to a single gun, a .270 would be a better fit, as I don't hunt the big stuff too often. I don't ever see a need for a rifle bigger than a .30/06 in my future, so my next rifle will likely be a .243, which will give me a finer adjustment in the fairly broad range I already cover. When it comes to similarity in performance, you cant get much closer than a .30/06 and a .270. The good thing is, you will have whitetail deer covered extremely well with that pair, if that is your primary quarry. A .243 would be a better pick for you, or even a .22/250 or .223, as a second gun, if you also go after the smaller stuff. If you see elk, moose, or grizzlies in the future, then a .300 mag would be the way to go for your second gun. One of my hunting partners loves his .270, and I sometimes ask him for a couple spare rounds when I am low on 06 ammo. Those smaller bullets will still fire in an .06, as the cases are the same, but I wouldn't recommend it. Obviously you cant go the other way and squeeze the .30 cal bullets down the .270 cal bore.

We used to fill burlap bags with speared suckers until the state took that away about 15 years ago. That was lots of fun and it is a shame that today's kids will not get to enjoy that sport. I'll never forget my last time out, when I was able to take two big "lake-run" suckers at once with a single jab of my spear. They were laying side-by-side, on the bottom in a shallow, calm pool below a rapids. My uncle used to grind the fillets and make "sucker patties" which made pretty good fish sandwiches in the spring. We always waited for that first "warm rain", every spring that would get the suckers running up the creeks. We also used the scraps and leftovers for fertilizer on our apple trees. After the suckers finished their runs, the carp would come up in smaller numbers but bigger fish. They had such tough scales that it often took several spears to penetrate sufficiently to get them lifted out of the creek. I never did try eating a carp, they were strictly "fertilizer". I remember my first poles were bamboo, and just a few years ago, that's what the rangers gave our young girls to use at a park in the Blue-ridge mountains of Virginia. It is a lot easier for a kid to learn without a reel. It's tough to beat a cane pole for blue-gills in ponds. I also like to mess around with the guys in the fancy bass boats, and cane poles would be good for that. I have a 1950-something mercury 5 hp (the kind you have to spin all the way around to go reverse), on an old green, beat-up, 1960-something Sears, 12 ft row-boat. My "trolling motor" is a set of oars. I sure get some looks from them dudes in the fancy, metal-flake bass-boats, when I start pulling in bass, one after another on home-made lures, while they cast frantically with their fancy modern equipment, usually not getting a bite. A cane pole would add to the drama, over the little light-action spinning outfit I use now. I thought about going with a Zebco 202 closed-face reel on an old white fiberglass rod with a cork handle but the cane-pole would be even better.

I liked the one where Indiana Jones pulled his pistol on the "expert" knife-fighter. I also liked it where the German dentist shot the crooked sherrif in the belly with his pistol, then walked back in the bar to finish his drink in "Jnjango". There was lots of good gun action in that movie. Another I liked, was where the kid blows a big hole thru the center of the Philadelphia mafia hit-man (played Ed Harris), from the back, with his dad's side-by-side shotgun. There's just something about the bad guy's getting what they deserve, and never seeing it coming, that is pretty cool to me. That last movie "A History of Violence", also contains my all time favorite movie line. That occurs when our hero (the kid's father) walks into a PA bar, looks at a big Yeungling sign, and say's to the bar tender: "Ill take a Genny Cream". That's my favorite beer and I guess it was the actor's also. He asked for that the line to be added to the script. I think that movie may even have taken an Oscar that year.

Who's looking out for the vegetables? Living plants all over the world are being struck down in their prime by "killers". Where do you draw the line? When you cook a plant, you render it dead, and even if you eat it uncooked, your digestive tract kills it prior to re-absorption. "Thou shall not kill" is a commandment, and this ignorant woman does not understand that it means "people killing people". He is even ok with that if it is justified. God gave us plants, animals, birds, and fish to eat and the Bible is loaded with examples of that. Remember Jesus filling the fisherman's nets to capacity with fish, until they started to break and the boats couldn't hold them all. Now here is a guy, who by Biblical definition, never did no wrong. I do see where God might have a problem with folks senselessly maiming fish with "catch and release", or folks killing deer just for their for antlers. Now "Killing for food", surely he is all about that. I make sure to thank him every time I do, that's for sure. He has blessed me there so much that it is seldom necessary for our family to visit the grocery store. I am especially thankful to be a "killer", and so are my wife and kids. I definitely prefer to do my own killing over having other folks do it for me.

My two daughters are getting close to legal hunting age, and I will probably set them up with a nice, light-weight .243, bolt-action (likely a Ruger, maybe a Savage). Even if the girls don't take to hunting, that would give me a good middleweight, between my 22/250 and 30/06 Ruger M77's. I will set it up with a quality scope with good light gathering ability like an old Redfield Illuminator or similar. That would make a perfect gun for popping coyotes on moonlit nights, and also a great carry gun for tracking whitetails in the Adirondacks. I also miss my old Marlin 30/30 lever a little for that duty, but I get a lot more use out of the 22/250 bolt I traded it for, on woodchucks, and the heavier 30/06 bolt still gets the job done on the deer. If both daughters take to hunting then one will get a Marlin 30/30, lever. Right now one has a Daisy "Red-Rider", and the other a Crossman 760 BB gun and they are both developing into pretty good shots. A "shooter" M1 Garand would be nice for a little target shooting and just for the nostalgia aspect. No gun is more responsible than that for us still being able to speak English as the primary language in this country. That sure beats German or Japanese.