Steve D

As occupied as I am I still try to keep an eye on the push for more gun control. I recently reached out to Gillibrand and Schumer voicing my opinions and concerns after their recent announcement of plans to expand background checks. I also inquired what if anything was being proposed to address the issue of crimes being committed with illegal guns by and illegal possession under the current laws. Gillibrand has not responded. This is my response from Shumer. They just don't get it. Dear Mr. Thank you for contacting me regarding gun control legislation. Like you, I believe the right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Constitution's Second Amendment. While I respect the Second Amendment to the Constitution, I believe that we have a collective interest in keeping guns out of the hands of those who want to harm the innocent. I believe it is possible to strike a reasonable balance. I have long advocated for faster and more accurate background checks so legal purchasers can receive their guns quickly while ensuring criminals do not illegally purchase and possess firearms. After the tragedy at Virginia Tech in 2007, I took a leading role in passing the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Amendments Act through the Senate. This legislation, supported by the National Rifle Association, authorizes funds for states to compile required background data into the shared NICS database. Ensuring that this information is comprehensive and up to date will better prevent criminals from illegally purchasing and possessing firearms. I have also fought to create new opportunities for law abiding citizens to exercise their right to use guns. That includes working to expand hunting grounds in NYS by creating a financial incentive to allow private landowners to allow hunters to access their property. Again, thank you for contacting me. Please keep in touch with your thoughts and opinions. Sincerely, Charles E. Schumer United States Senator Please do not respond to this email. To send another message please visit my website at https://www.schumer.senate.gov/contact/email-chuck . Thank you.

Great Video and congratulations

Great pictures and video. Brings back many fond memories chasing cottontails, snowshoes, and grouse int he Tug Hill area and the north country with some good beagles.

There are many agencies including public adjusters that may help you with your claim for a fee which usually is a percentage of the amount they recover on your behalf. The amount they negotiate with insurance companies may or may not be the full amount you are entitled to under your policy limits. What we have learned is that regardless of your coverage; insurance companies are only willing pay out what they determine the value of your property or possessions to be worth which usually is considerably less than what it would cost to replace. The biggest misconception everyone seems to have is having coverage for example of $350,000 thinking they will receive that amount if something should happen. While someone may be paying for $350,000 of coverage it does not mean you will receive that amount in the case of a loss. Insurance agents and Insurance companies push for coverages but never really define the scope of those coverages and what they could mean to the insured. The average policy holder including myself never take the time to completely understand their policy. We put our trust in insurance agents and insurance companies assuming if we ever need it, we are covered. Depreciation seems to be one of insurance company’s favorite terms and they use it to the maximum of their ability. Insurance companies are not our friend regardless of what we think. They are only interested in profit margins achieved by collecting premiums and paying out the least amount possible to claims.

Thank You Paula

As luck would have it our basement flooded for the first time in 25 yrs. last summer during the days & days of rain. At that time I thought that was the worst and two weeks later it flooded again. It really sucked for sure but was no comparison to the fire. We left the house with the cloths on our back and stayed at a hotel for a month before we could find a “small” place to rent. Since then we have done nothing but fight the insurance company on the house value, the contents value, gathering what things could be salvaged and removing debris from the house. I really appreciate your offer along with Chris, Four Seasons, nybuckboy, and others but truthfully will not be in a position to hunt, trap x-country ski, fish, or reload for quite some time if at all. Maybe someday but not in the near future. Thank you also Rob. There isn’t much of anything anyone can do. Right now, it is pretty much a wait & see game. We can only do what we can with what we have and take it one day at a time. Sorry to hear that Tom. We hear of fires all the time on the news but one can never grasp the magnitude of such an event without experiencing it. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone except possibly our insurance adjuster. Right now and for the unforeseeable future our focus is trying to rebuild a life. Building prices are extremely high and trying to buy an existing place with the real estate market the way it is becomes a real challenge. Houses seem to be moving at a fairly fast pace at prices way above assessment values and land values have doubled & tripled.

One thing I would like to pass on to anyone reading this is to check your homeowners' policies. Insurance companies are not your friend. Make sure you have full replacement value on your policy. Also have an accurate and up to date inventory of every item you own regardless of the value. If the need should ever come it would be well worth the effort to have an inventory on file in a safe location.

Thank you both for the generous offer but hunting is not in my immediate future. We are renting a small place with just the basic necessities until we can either re-build or sell our property and move on. No room here to store anything and it is tough to plan for the future with the way the real estate market and construction costs are. Everything seems to move at a snail's pace, and it is hard to accomplish anything with all the red tape involved in every step of the process.

Thank you both.

Thanks Al

Hi everyone I haven’t been getting on here much over the past year. Been checking in from time to time but not posting. As most of you know from previous posts I have been a avid hunter my entire life. I especially love to bow hunt and enjoyed gun hunting, trapping, predator hunting, cross country skiing, camping, reloading, and just about anything else related to the outdoors. That all changed on January 24th 2022 when we lost everything we owned in a house fire. In addition to losing all of our possessions and memories I lost every piece of hunting equipment, clothing, and anything hunting and fishing related I had acquired over 25 years. 2022 was the first year in my life I never hunted or even bought a license. I am not even sure hunting again will ever be in my future. It has been a long hard struggle and it isn’t getting easier as time goes on. We are just getting to the point we can think about rebuilding but if we started tomorrow it would probably be the end of the year before completion. The forum has sure changed over the past year for the better I think. Sorry to see some leave but others I won’t miss at all. Everyone has their reason(s) for leaving but don’t quite understand how another hunting community originating in New Jersey can maintain an emphasis on hunting in NY. Hopefully the members from here will keep it on course. I for one plan on staying here even though it has been suggested this site will go away in the upcoming months. This has always been my go-to site and will remain so to the end. I won’t be joining the other site regardless of what happens here. I hope to contribute and post on occasion but the majority of mine time will be spent trying to rebuild the life that we once had. Cherish all your times in the woods regardless if they are good or bad. It can be all gone in a second.

Rare white deer spotted in West Seneca (wkbw.com)

100% correct. Only 44% of the 13.1 million registered voters even voted. We have no one to blame but ourselves.