Rebel Darling

RoadKill44, please allow me to expand on your idea... I think the part of the MBRB plan that makes suburban/urban hunting palatable in sensitive areas is that it's not an "open season," but a restricted and monitored opportunity in otherwise non-hunting areas, administered by a reputable bow hunting organization. From what I can gather, it seems that the greatest obstacle is working with a locality to open "non-hunting" areas to administered hunts with vetted bow hunters, and that would be beyond the purview and capability of DEC. I'll provide an example. Along a stretch of I-87 in Albany County, between exits 23 and 24, sits Capital Hills at Albany, a municipal golf course. During the fall, it's typical to see deer carcasses along the side of the interstate, and that's putting it politely; this route is heavily traveled. There are often groups of does grazing along the side of the interstate. There are no hunting opportunities (that I'm aware of) in Capital Hills, which is owned and operated by the City of Albany, but there are tons of deer (I used to work there as a teenager). There's an abandoned back-nine that is perfect deer bedding, with many old oaks and ridges, and water, etc. Without specifically petitioning the City of Albany to allow a restricted hunt with vetted hunters an additional season would be lost on this opportunity. Now... pair your idea of a late-late season (or when the golf course is closed during regular/late season) with an administered hunt through the cooperation of the DEC, the City of Albany, and, say, New York Bowhunters, and I think we've got a serious proposal for deer management within Capital Hills. Thoughts?

If you give it a go, please keep me posted on your results.

NYB Region 4 Rep. Ed Gorch replied, and boom... If interested in hunting some preserves in the Albany / Hudson River Valley areas, you can reach out to The Nature Conservancy: http://tnceny.huntmanagement.net/ There is a link for Western NY at the bottom of the page. I think there is room for working on access to more urban area hunts in the Albany/Troy/Schenectady area, though, particularly in creating a portal that can place landowners in touch with bow hunters.

Yeah, I totally missed the question. I'd like to attend a deer management seminar to learn if I have something to contribute. It will also enable me to "see for myself" or to hear it "straight from the horse's mouth," so to speak. I attend as many town hall meetings as I can for the same reason. Maybe it's mostly curiosity, or a desire to be involved, and informed as much as I can. I've found that turning the TV off, which we did a decade ago, has freed up so much more time for "investigative" pursuits, or indulging my curiosity, or participating in a variety of communities, such as this one here on this forum. And for just getting outside. My "small talk" has suffered, though. But if I were forced to prioritize, paying the mortgage, car payments, utilities, etc., and making sure I'm employed to bring in that money sit atop deer management. Family and friends above those. If I wasn't required to earn money, who knows where my interests would lead me...

Yargh... Thanks!

I brought a soil sample to Agway this morning, and they tested the soil for me right there. Walked out with the lime I needed. I'm unsure if all Agways will test soil for free (these folks are really helpful), but it might be worth a shot to call ahead. It could save you time and money, and get you going quicker.

Southern Tier 2X Smash... Only after did learn it was 8.0... Tasty, and dangerous. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Perhaps part of the issue is an individual's ability or inability to defer to a presentation of a course of action that doesn't match up with their expectations 100%. I've had a pair of potent beers, so please excuse the intrusion of opinion, but somewhere along the line, we (and that's a general we) blurred the benefit of compromise. Many of the organizations exist as another level of representation because of a loss of trust in our first tier, our elected officials. That might play into an inability to defer to "experts" and/or officials. Please excuse the ramble... I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

Hi, Doc. In short, I agree, and I plan to reach out to NYB Region 4 rep, Ed Gorch to discuss membership and to inquire about their urban management hunt listing on the accomplishments page. I hope to learn more of the specifics of both how it's structured and its current status. I also plan to post what I learn on this thread. Man, was I was glad to read that there already is an organization out there that has set up an infrastructure that can administer, and may have already administered an urban management program... It's so much easier to help roll the wheel, than to build it out spoke by spoke.

5 out of 6 ain't bad... I've yet to be 100% satisfied with an organization that has more than one person involved. Ha... And, since the idea here is to establish or take part in an urban deer management hunt in the Albany area, I'd like to learn more about their efforts towards that end. Question: Grampy, would you be opposed to a longbow only urban hunt? If not, I think there is, at least, some common ground in getting an organized urban hunt proposal together and maybe the NYB would help.

I decided to search around a bit, and dug into the New York Bowhunters website (http://www.newyorkbowhunters.com/). Listed under their "Accomplishments" page is a section titled "Other Legislative Accomplishments." One of the bullet points within that section reads as follows: Since I'm new at this, I'm not yet a member of New York Bowhunters, but am considering membership in short order. If they've started urban deer management hunts in the Albany area, I'd hate to appear a clueless "Johnny Come Lately" and would like to learn more about their effort, and - of course - where to sign up... Ha. Is anyone here on the forum a member of New York Bowhunters? I'm very curious to learn more about the organization. Judging by the listed accomplishments on the website, the organization appears very active, and I'd like to be a part of their stated mission.

Hi, again, Mike. Perhaps there's a misunderstanding of intentions here, so I'll be as clear as I can: I'm not looking for a "fair deal." I'm not interested in dove hunting at this early stage in my hunting life, and since, as you pointed out earlier, I do not live in NYC, I'm likely unable, as I pointed out earlier, to help you organize NYC hunters. This is why I continually wish you luck. I was, however, looking to help in a way that I could by simply providing basic information of which I was aware, namely that Borelli took a seat in the NYC Council, and that a single republican candidate is running to fill that seat during a special election to be held on April 19. I also answered subsequent questions you asked. I also added an aside about my experiences in dealing with many boards of elections, and that, unfortunately, derailed the original conversation. For the record, and this is for the benefit of anyone who uses the urbanresearch maps: that link will take you to district demographic information from 2012, confirmed data on the most recent census. The link to "See the list of candidates for..." will take you to ballotpedia, but for 2012. You can look up information on ballotpedia for current candidates running in active elections, but that information is not always the most current due to the reasons I've stated in prior posts on this thread. Good luck, Mike! - over and out

Hi, Mike. I was happy to "man up" as you put it, and provide you with the name of the sole candidate running for the special election seat, which, to get the official list of candidates, only required that I call the Richmond County Board of Elections. Twice. Best of luck organizing! PS - Linda Rosenthal is a Member of the Assembly...

I think the point I'm making on elections is that a Board of Elections is an official, taxpayer funded location for all administration of and information on state and local elections. I shouldn't have to use a search engine to learn about who is running for an election. As a voter, that information could and should be readily available on a board of elections website, be it local or state. A board of elections should be one of the first links offered in any search for a state/local election. In my line of work, I need official documents as well as the information contained within, and I don't think it is too much to ask of our government to make that information readily available to all. Anywho... Here is the link to the login page for the service I run: http://www.nystatewatch.com/ Best of luck in organizing!

The main reason I'm in this thread is that you asked a question, and I knew the answer. The thread popped up in my "Recent Topics" feed. And... I'm a helpful kind of guy. I knew the answer because I run a legislative information and intelligence service based in Albany. I live across the Hudson River in Rensselaer County. In my experience it is difficult to learn who is running for state office when district lines are contained within a individual county. The State Board of Elections does not make that information available on their website because they consider it a local election, even though the candidate is running for state office. Some "local" boards of election do not make this information readily available on their websites, which is both ridiculous and time consuming for the voter. District maps are fine, but it's who wants to sit in that seat that really matters. This, in my opinion, is an area that can easily be improved upon and should be without delay. But this is beside the point of this thread... Are there any NYC-based hunting organizations? Basically, people who are already grouped in numbers that would sign letters to legislators... I'm in the dark on that front... I don't know that I can help beyond basic info here, but when I can, I do help. Good luck...

Yesterday afternoon, I read an article that discussed a partnership between bow hunters and the twin cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. The cities were looking at ways to reduce the deer herd in their metro area. The reasons for the desired reductions are familiar: damage to vehicles, damage to horticulture on both residential and public grounds, and general nuisances associated with unchecked, large, and some might say bold, deer populations in urban and suburban areas. Enter the Metro Bowhunters Resource Base (MBRB), ta-da! The MBRB organizes and administers bow hunts in in the Twin City metro area in locations that are, well, sensitive to hunting, and in use by the general public. From the MBRB about page: The MBRB also administers its own skill-based proficiency test that plays a part in the type of hunt an applicant may engage in: standard and sharpshooter. I imagine that proficiency determines the area an individual hunter would be allowed to apply to hunt. From the article that I read, the MBRB also acts as a resource to place deer-disgruntled landowners in contact with available bow hunters. I'm unsure of how that selection is handled. Perhaps a lottery of their "sharpshooter" applicants. Has anyone attempted to organize bow hunters in their "metro" area in a fashion similar to the MBRB in MN? That is, have you or any bow hunting groups or organizations that you are part of, or know of approached a municipality to present and propose a structured, organized metro bow hunt within municipal/county/metro boundaries, specifically at parks, golf courses, etc.? If so, would you share the response you received from the municipality? Would you also share the proposal? I'm very interested in fleshing out this idea and perhaps making a pitch in the Albany / Troy / Schenectady areas. This is a low-cost (perhaps revenue generating), low-impact alternative to sharp-shooters, trapping, birth control, etc, and I think that an organized front with a structured and detailed plan delivered by experienced and conscientious bow hunters would be the best approach, oppositions notwithstanding. Thoughts? Experiences? Suggestions? Your thoughtful and constructive contributions are appreciated. Thanks very much... -- Link to the MBRB about page: http://mbrb.org/mbrb/mbrb-p04.htm Link to the MBRB page on how to engage the MBRB: http://mbrb.org/mbrb/mbrb-p10.htm

Part of the difficulty in learning about who is running in elections in NY for state office is that the State Board of Elections only posts information on candidates who are running in districts that cross county lines. If there are candidates who's district boundaries are within the boundaries of a single county (Assm. 62, part of Richmond County), the State Board of Elections considers that race a local race, even though the candidate is running for a state office. Great, right? It gets a little more confusing, of course. Richmond County's board of elections is under the auspices of the NYC Board of Elections, because... As far as I can tell, there is one candidate running in the special election: - Ron Castorina, Republican

Ahhh... Yesterday I deleted a fisher cat photo from my trail cam behind the house here in Sand Lake. Wish I kept it to share... The camera snapped the photo about 2:30 a.m. If I get another, I'll be sure to save and post.

Borelli took a seat in the NYC Council. There is a special election for that seat (Assembly 62) during the presidential primary on Tues., April 19. I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

This past weekend, I felled a few trees around a natural clearing to enlarge the clearing. I also cut a number of saplings that shaded the ground, leaving enough for new shoots to grow out from around the trunks. I selected two trees on either side of the clearing for stands, depending on wind direction. The deer were already walking along a trail that leads them to the clearing, which also has a depression that holds water long after the rains. This weekend, I think I'll take the leaf blower out and blow the leaves around, with the hope of clearing some spots for dormant seeds to sprout. I'm unsure of when is best to set the seeds for a food plot, but I'd like to supplement the natural growth with some cover, perhaps clover, which is in short supply up my way. Hoping for some more good weather to last through the weekend... Oh, and I also have a ton of wood to chop now. A great release from a week's long hours.

Good looking mount... Nice work.

No issues with residues, or harm to the pin or cam?

Here's an example from Dead Down Wind: http://www.deaddownwind.com/shop/Products/Totally-Odorless-Oil__2005.aspx

Does anyone have experience with odorless bow oil? I'd like to add some lubricant to the cam pins, which have a faint squeak when drawing the string. I've also read that vegetable oil is a suitable alternative, but I'm curious to learn of other bowhunters' experiences using one, the other, or both. Thanks in advance...