Elmo

Nice tool. Thanks!

I'm a very analytical person and the autopsy reports are very hard to refute. The dude needs to give it a rest. I mean when your own private investigater quits on you, that should tell you something. The PI publicly admitted that it was a dead-end investigation.

I guess I don't know enough hunter or hunted enough to personally experience hunting accidents and I hope that I never will. I'm on the paranoid camp. This is why I avoid Spring Turkey.

Was able to convince my older brother and my girlfriend to take the hunter's safety education course this weekend. He was always hesitant to go because he's dyslexic and embarassed about it. I did a lot of "come on, he won't go unless you go" and "come on, she won't go unless you go" back talking. Oh...sneaky me. They both came out of the class really excited about it and both scored 100%. My brother wanted his oldest daughter to take the course too but she had her SAT prep class to go to and I offered to drive her since her dad will be at the hunter's safety education course. While waiting for her at her class, I realized the Queen's Archery range was only 5 minutes away so I went. First time on a bow. Fun stuff. First picture was my best 4 shot grouping from 10 yards out. When I picked up my niece from her class, I took her there as well. She kept talking about wanting to try archery ever since she read "The Hunger Games". She fell in love with it as well. Second picture was her best 4 shots from 5 yards out. I think I'll buy her a recurve for X-Mas. She likes the way they look and understands they're harder to shoot. That's three possible future hunters in one weekend of work. ;D

I second that. I don't know about putting it in ice cream though. Spontaneous Combustion isn't good at all. It's just pure heat. I can take heat but why when there's no flavor? Sriracha's my top choice. Tabasco is pretty good to but I can't decide right now if I like Cholula better than Tabasco.

I notice your fixed your message. Welcome aboard.

Anyone bowfish the Delaware River? I saw some major size carps there the last time I went camping in the area. I don't have access to a boat so I would have to rent and the only places I know just rent canoes or kayaks. I figure I won't be able to stand on a canoe without tipping it over and wouldn't shooting the bow while sitting put you at an angler that will make the arrow skip like a rock? Are there any other place near NYC that one can bowfish?

Over the weekend, I justed pulled out an old Bear compound bow that my older brother bought when he was a teenager and stashed it in my dad's basement. $50 to restring it and fix the sights. The draw length is an inch to long for me but I figure I should put it to some use rather than let it sit in the closet. That's the only bow I'll have (it's still in the shop) and I'll use it to start practicing. I have not used a crossbow or a bow but personally, the only reason I would go from rifle to bow is not to extend the season but rather purely for the enjoyment and challenge of shooting a bow. As a matter of fact, my goal is to start on the compound and graduate to the recurve. I see no reason why I would go for a crossbow.

Doc, you should watch Rocky IV all over again when Rocky trains by dragging a tree trunk up the side of a mountain. [Drago - He's not human. He's like a piece of iron.]

I try to run at least twice a week (4-5 miles each time) and then I play softball every Sunday. Doubleheaders each time and it's a fairly competitive league. I have to admit though, I haven't ran in like 2 weeks. Gotten lazy. I run outdoors as much as I can. During the winter, I run indoors at the local gym and I squeeze in a hour of weight lifting. I also play dodgeball during the winter. Don't laugh. A lot of my female friends wanted some sports event during the winter and they needed some guys. I've recently competed in the Warrior Dash. I want try the ToughMudder but I need to learn how to swim first since that requires some swimming. I'm also a big believer of barefoot running so I always run with ViBram FiveFingers except for softball which I wear cleats.

I use the Remington Core Lokt. I also use Remington (.22 36 grain HP) for my rimfires. For shotgun I use Winchester Super-X Rifled Slugs and Winchester Xpert Steel Shot #6. In other words. I go with the inexpensive options. I'm cheap like that.

At least I'm glad I'm not the only one. I can't walk 10 feet without a squirrel running right pass me on my way to work in the city but when I head to the closest public state hunting land, I won't see a single one all day. I shoot with the Ruger 10/22.

Once you get past 200mm the lens that reach that far are usually pretty expensive. Nikon has a 70-300mm lens. I don't know how good that is. Again, I'm a Canon person. You can also get a teleconverter. It's an attachment you add to the base of a lens. I reduces the speed of the lens but it essentially acts as a magnifying glass and doubles (depending on the teleconverter) all existing zoom. You should also check out Tamron and Sigma lens as well. They make lens for both Canon and Nikon without the glossy brand name. I'm also not sure if you're talking about the same 70-200mm I'm talking about. If you see a 70-200mm at F2.8 (the F2.8 is the operative number) for $150 you grab it before whatever drug the seller is on wears off.

Oh, I keep forgetting. Check out this site: http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/dx-dream-team.htm

1. to get a better idea of the picture quality, click on the pictures themselves. When this site shrinks it to fit, it makes it a littler blurry. 2. First rule of thumb. Prime lens (no zoom) will always give you better picture quality then zoom lens. Unless you simply can't, your legs are the best zoom. Second rule of thumb. If you're going to use zoom, don't get one with a large range. In other words, a lens with a 18mm to 100mm zoom will not be anywhere as clear as a one that is 28mm to 100mm. Not everyone is willing to spend a small fortune on a lens so you have to ask yourself what are you willing to sacrifice. 3. The "F" is the speed of the lens. That's where the money goes. The lower the number, the faster the lens. Fast lens allows you to capture fast moving objects in low light situations. The pictures. The 1st pic was of a squirrel on my way home. Its was 10 feet away and I was at 185mm. (I try to avoid going all the way because lens cause tend to distort a tiny bit at max zoom) 2nd pic was taken by my girlfriend 10 feet behind the 3rd base bag at my Sunday softball league. I cropped the picture. She only had it at 115mm zoom. 3rd picture was at a Mets game. This the 9th inning so 10PM at night. I was in the walkway if you've ever been to CitiField. That's also at 185mm. The last picture was at one of my friends games. He is the offensive coordinator for a high school. This was a night game. I was standing at the 35 yard line. The last 2 pictures are not possible with a slow lens.

I'm a Canon guy so I don't know much about specific Nikon lens. The first thing you need to specify is how much are you willing to spend? $1000.00 is the cut off mark that seperates the pro level lens from the rest. Also, what are you planning to use it for? Saying long zoom isn't enough. Are you shooting nature/animals? If so, what kind? The deer 100 yards away and the hawk 400 yards away are two completely levels of zoom. Will you be shooting a son/daughter's soccer game? For that you need a super fast lens to deal with the action/speed. Even more so if it's a night game. I shoot a lot of sports and nature. My bread and butter is the Canon 70-200mm L F/2.8 IS (the original version - they came out with an upgrade 2 years ago). The Nikon equivalent is the Nikon 70-200mm F/2.8 VR. (They also came out with a VR II in 2009) This lens isn't cheap but this is what the extra money gives you:

Hunting October Whitetails was great! I wonder if there's any videos that informative for coyotes?

I'm actually turned off by videos of hunters who are rolling around and laughing after a kill. Sure, a congratulatory fist bump might be in order to celebrate a successful hunt but taking the life of an animal is no laughing matter. Nothing against those who do it nor am I condemning it. I equate it as a joke that didn't pick up. I just don't see what's so funny.

huntography, Got your vid in the mail today. Went right through it. Good stuff. I like the photojournalistic/documentary feel of it. You really captured the essense of the hunt and the character and spirits of the people. I didn't like that some kills were not caught on tape. I also would have like if you got some of the more experienced hunters to share some of their methods and technics a little bit. Overall, you definitely got something unique and good going on here. I look forward to the next season.

Doc - If you never change the settings on your scope then maybe a fixed power scope might be better for you since they're always clearer. Basic concept. The more glass light has to pass through, the more distorted it becomes. Variable power scope/lens has an extra glass in the middle.

I look through the scope with both eyes open and only shut my off eye right before I put my finger on the trigger and get ready to shoot so I don't foresee too much of a problem with targets surprising me up close. I also start out at the lowest power and dial up to what I need.

I think the 10/22s are still over $200. I agree though, great gun. I'm hoping to pimp mine up a bit by installing a bull barrel by summer's end.

In photography the prime lens (fixed zoom) does indeed give you the best picture quality by far. I don't see why that would not hold true in scopes as well.

Thanks for post, huntography. I'll definitely take a look at your videos.

Being from NY, I of course would like to see more hunts based in NY. Most DVD's I've seen are based in Texas, Georgia, or the midwest or western states. Also, if you do a search for deer, waterfowl, or coyote hunting you get a million hits. If you do a search for many of the over looked species like coons, squirrel, or woodchucks you'll find none. Apparently there isn't a market for it but then again, there isn't any competition either.