BellR

Well, got in and checked my can yesterday. Some pics of birds and about 100 shots of rain drops. Blah.

Pretty sure this one is what I am going to make it from as long as it doesn't get bid up to much... http://www.ebay.com/itm/ALABAMA-DAMASCUS-STEEL-BILLET-BLANK-BLADE-KNIFE-MAKING-SUPPLIES-150-Thick-/261957726523?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cfde5b13b I love the pattern of it.

We saw a brute of a bear cross the road last week when we were in there... probably 300+ lbs. It was a ways down the road and crossed fairly quick, but I could tell it's belly was only about a foot from the road.

Sort of. It is on the border of the Everglades, and depending on the season parts of it range from high and dry to 2' under water. The area I found the bear sign in was a LONG ways in, about as far from the entrance as you can get. To get there, a lot of the trails go through cypress swamps. When we were there last weekend there was about 1' of water, which the Tracker can handle, but once it gets to be much more than that I get a little nervous since we don't have a snorkel so if we hit a deep patch we may be in trouble.

Right now I'm down in FL, but I have a camera out down here if that counts. Trying to find out if the bear that is hanging around a spot we know of in Picayune Strand WMA has cubs. If not, I'm really hoping to get a shot at it this year. Going down to check it this weekend as long as the water isn't to high and we can get in with the Tracker.

Not true at all. Some of the best meat I've had from a gator came from the jowl. The tail is good as well, but unless you are talking about the jellyroll (tenderloin) usually there is quite a bit of connective tissue and it needs to be tenderized. Another of my favorite cuts are the ribs. Put them in a foil pack with a couple slices of bacon and some seasoning and throw on the grill. We have also had the whole arms/legs marinated in Italian salad dressing over night and grilled up and they came out very good. For the other assorted meat we trim off, we generally make sausage out of it. As a rule of thumb, you never want to break open any organs so I have never tried the liver or heart, but otherwise we try to make use of ever bit of meat on the carcass the same as deer.

Or with a kitchen mallet. Either works.

I'll try to take some pics of the process this time. For the life of me I can't find the post of the knives, but I also thought I had put some pics in one.

My favorite way to make it is coconut crusted gator bites. 1)Tenderize gator 2) Cut into 1" cubes 3) Coat with flour 4) Egg wash 5) Coat with shaved coconut 6) Wait 10-15 min so the coconut sticks on well 7) Pan Fry 8 )Make a sauce by heating about 1-2 cups of OJ to a boil with a little salt. 9)Once it start to boil add chopped basil and then some heavy whipping cream until it is good and thick. 10) Serve and enjoy.

So, does anyone else here make custom knives? Last year I made each of my groomsmen custom hunting knives tailored to them. I'll have to dig up some pictures of them...I knew we took a few of the finished products. I am about to start up again, since after seeing how nice they came out the wife has made a few comments about wanting one. The plan is: Damascus Steel - Raindrop pattern (probably, maybe another pattern) Blade design will be similar to a "Sharpfinger" Handle will have a pinky hole Copper bolsters and pins Queen Conch shell for the handle Sheath will be made from gator leather that we just finished tanning A quick sketch of what I'm planning:

Nope, it is a lottery. Basically everyone puts in for them and you have a chance of pulling them. Last year, in the group of hunters I am friends with we had 8 people apply and got 3 sets of STA tags. This year we had 10 people apply and got 1 set. You might get lucky and draw them your first year applying or I know a guy who has applied 8 years in a row and gotten none. If you're seriously interested in trying for FL gator next year (application starts in April for hunts in August and September) you should start a thread in the out of NY hunting. I'd be glad to talk about the process and give advice on applying in FL.

This one might not be to bad. If you draw the right set of tags, you might very well be able to get a local guy to not only provide gear but also guide service in exchange for one of the tags. It has been getting harder and harder to draw some areas, and I know if anyone on here had tags for the Stormwater Treatment Areas for this year I would gladly guide in exchange for one of the gators. That way you get your trophy and don't have to pay more than the tags and travel and I get meat for the freezer. My wife drew county tags, so we will probably have gator in the freezer, but tags for the STAs are a sure thing.

That's a sweet pic. He should submit it to the field and stream trail photo contest they are always running.

For me it's Elk, Mule Deer, Moose and Bear. Pretty much have only hunted small game, turkey, deer and gators. I do love gator hunting, and even after we move back up to NY I'll probably be spending the $1000 on out of state gator tags and visit FL once a year.

Nope, instead we get to pay the social security bill of the generation who F-ed it up, stole all of the money out of the accounts for years and never paid it back and by the time we go to retire there is nothing left. Sweet.

So let me get this straight... you expect the x-bow hunters whom you blatantly tell that you are somehow "better" and that x-bow shouldn't share your "special" season to turn around and fight for the rights of your season? Do you see the error with the logic there? Perhaps if bow hunters were less petty when it came to keeping the season for only bow hunters you would be getting more support. Right now, asking the x-bow people for their votes sounds kind of hypocritical.

Or perhaps you could change yours to, "I feel as though everyone should be forced to trophy hunt because that's what I want to do."

Well, looks like this got passed. I pulled a quota permit for Picayune Strand down here in S. FL, so I'm hoping to fill a tag. Should know next weekend if the one we saw tracks of last fall is still around as long as nobody finds my trail camera. I know most members are from NY... anyone else going to try for a FL bear?

I don't know. I'm hoping the apples will do okay this year though. The orchard at my Dad's house where I usually hunt only had one tree that was producing well. Late frost got the rest I think.

A woman and a man for that matter should be able to get the leave she/he has accrued. Getting pregnant is a choice. If you cant afford to take the time off from work, you probably shouldn't make that choice.

Yep. I don't think ANYONE should get Christmas, Ramadan or Chanukah off if they work for the government. A private industry can do whatever they like as far as I'm concerned since that is the decision on an individual as to what days they want to give their workers off.

So you have a problem with our constitution? The judicial branch and the supreme court is one of the three main parts of our government and what they did was done under their power as it has been established. I'm confused why you think 1/3 of our government shouldn't have the powers the constitution gives it.

Yep, they should also lose their job. If you can not complete your job duties for whatever reason, why should they pay you? If you don't get a job because of your religion it is discrimination and illegal, if you refuse to do your job because of your religion then you should have no protection. The constitution guarantees that you have freedom to practice your religion, not bring that religion to work with you and force your employer to make concessions due to it.

Ugh. You are free to practice your religion, but if that interferes with your job it's time to find someone else who will do it. If I told my employer it was against my religion to do my job they would fire me and find someone else, why should they be any different? Maybe you can get a job with a church.

On a humorous note, did anyone see the news story of how the ISIS flag was supposedly flown in a gay pride march. The news covered it for a good 20 min trying to see how ISIS would support gay rights before someone actually noticed that instead of Arabic on the flag there were just lots of outlines of sex toys. It's amazing how quickly they found a new topic to talk about. Highlight of my week.