Elmo

I usually order my ammo online from MidwayUSA.

Doc, there are no bag limits but there are date limits. For example, unprotected species such as woodchucks you can hunt with no bag limits any time of there year where as coyotes you cannot hunt from April to September. That's 5 whole months that is crucial to it's repopulation because that's when the mothers are rearing the young. I don't see coyotes as having an impact on deer populations because while they do eat their share of fawns, I think the bulk of their diet would be rodents and other small game. Lastly, as far as participation, I do not have a actual count to go by but from the interest I see from this forum, I see white tail hunting at the very top by far with coyote hunting as the second most popular group, albeit a distant second.

I see your point, Doc but I don't completely agree. If we have no effect on population then why does the DEC set bag limits and date limits?

Don't recall ever seeing them there but that's the Dick's I'm referring to. I refuse to buy firearms from there and advise others not to as well.

As Mike pointed out, the original question to this thread is not why one hunts but the contradictions in the logic. Contradiction #1. Explaining that we should hunt predators because they're eating all the small game and deer and then turning around and explaining why we should hunt small game and deer because they are over populated. Mike explained this very well with the fact that predators also kill off native and endangered species. Contradiction #2. Trying to manage bigger and healthier bucks but yet we tend to kill the bigger healthier bucks which means the weaker bucks are the ones that end up passing down their genes.

Now why didn't I think of that?

Don't know about Monroe county but the Dick's Sporting Goods here in Westchester won't sell any ammo that can go into a handgun without showing a handgun permit. I specifically asked about 22LRs and they wouldn't even sell me that. The problem with major chain stores is that they typically hire the average joe to work in their stores. These workers are not gun experts so their knowledge of the system is limited. My brother bought me a rifle from Dicks before as a gift and it created a fiasco. Before they realized it was a gift, we went through the paper work. (Us city folks have to register our long guns) The worker there didn't know how to fill out the form so I had to literally teach him how to fill it out.

Oohh..sled. That's a nice idea.

Without property, lodge, or cabin, my hunts are limited to driving out in the middle of the night, hunt all day, then drive back at night. This limits my hunts to public land an hour or so from the city. For the most part, I will most likely be hunting alone this season. I want to be able to stay in the woods and hunt deeper but within affordable means. I figure back country camping would allow me to do so.

Wonder if any of you guys/gals camp out with tents while hunting. I'm thinking of doing so but wondering if it would be too cold and dangerous. I looked at some 4 season tents and they all range in the $400 minimum which is well over my budget. Plus they're usually heavy and bulky for one person to carry in a back pack along with camping and hunting gear. Can I get away with a simple 3 season 1 or 2 person bivy? Or am I just out of my mind? Are there any tent suggestions?

Welcome, Max. Always great to have fellow hunters from the city. I'm in the Bronx myself. Check out Blue Mountain Sportsmen Center in the northern tip of Westchester County. They have all sorts of outdoor ranges there at affordable prices. http://parks.westchestergov.com/blue-mountain-reservation/sportsman-center

Many state land specifically state you can't target shoot there. Make sure to check the regulations of each property before doing so.

Ron Paul

Can I vote for Ryan and not Romney?

Mike, PM sent.

3 mass shootings within a months time. Some thing strange is definitely in the air.

Thank you, Mike. This was a perspective I never thought about.

Hunting for beer after 5 PM only makes you a drunk. Hunting for beer before 5 PM makes you an alcoholic.

I mainly enjoy camping to be isolated from the hustle and bustle of civilization and enjoy the peace and traquility of nature but I also enjoy camping to test myself against nature. To see if I can survive out there in the wild. I don't go as often as I would like to because I don't know enough people who camps in the same style and can coordinate a time to do it with. This year, I haven't gone at all.

Enjoyed the responses from everyone. Don't get me wrong. I love hunting and continue to do so. It's more of what and how I hunt and what I should be doing more of to contribute back to nature.

I'm getting a dead link, Virg.

I'm not sure how the actual mechanics work but the end results works more like the focusing of a camera. While in takes some playing around, you'll still get decent readings here and there by making the necessary adjustments. #1. If there are branches and leaves galore between you and the target, you don't really have a shooting lane anyway. #2. I was hiking the other weekend a saw a deer's head popping out from a bush. I couldn't get an obvious read so I "tagged" a tree that looked like it was 10 yards in front of the deer and about 20 yards to the left of it. The reading said 120 yards so I figured the deer was around any where between 120 and 140 yards from me. For a rifle, that 20 yards isn't going to make that much of a difference. For bow, your range of error will be smaller since the deer will also be a lot closer.

I have this model. It works fine and is very accurate. The problem with...and probably the reason why golfer hate it is that it has a large focus point. Now, keep in mind that this is the only rangefinder I have and used so I don't know how good/bad others are. In the middle of your view is a small box which is sort of like the bullseye which you will place on your target to get a reading on. This bullseye is fairly large so if you're trying to read a lonely tree in the middle of the plains, you will have absolutely no problem at all. If you're trying to read the last of several trees that are line-up in a row, it might pick up one of the other trees since the box will overlap all the trees. Golfers are trying to read a tiny flag pole and the rangefinder is probably picking up the ground that's several yard behind the flag. Ranging a target through rows of dense brush might be difficult. Out in the open, I tested it for accuracy and if it has a clear path, it is very accurate.

The media is also focusing on how easy it is for a couple of crazed maniacs to obtain guns legally and kill people and never talk about how thousands of sane and calculated criminals can obtain guns illegally and kill people. So much is focused on the fact that 12K people are killed each year in america by guns. I really want them to seperate that number to those killed by legally purchased guns and those that are killed by illegally obtained guns. I bet you the difference in the numbers will open a lot of eyes.

He was finishing a race which is why he got right back on but I would still check to see if the deer is okay even if it's a quick glance.