WNYBuckHunter

Agreed, thats why she will be getting the Bushnell.

if its the 8 i posted earlier in the thread, Id shoot neither of them.

Im not calling you a liar, just asking.

Yessir, not a damn thing wrong with it. Other than bucks, I like to try and stack em like cord wood most years.

For example, this is a picture of me passing on a buck, notice he is broadside in a shooting lane, at 12ish yards, and my bow is still on the hook. BTW, thats one of those mystical yearlings with 4 points on a side lol

I have to ask, did you actually pass on him, or did he just never present a legit opportunity at taking him. I only ask because ALOT of guys misuse the phrase "we passed on him for X years", when in reality, they never had a real chance at him.

Because they think that if they dont shoot that young, tender yearling, their neighbor might, and they cant have that happen. It really all boils down to people that like to talk the talk but have no self control IMO.

That is not what he said

How many more do you want to see lol I have piles of them

First off, DEC has no legit data on the ages of harvested bucks. When you report your deer, the ONLY question about the buck they ask is how many point it had. You know damn well that number of points has very little to do with a bucks age. The only time they ask a question during the reporting process that could come close to determining an age is when you report on a DMP and they ask if it was male or female, and even then, theres the possibility that it could be a buck that dropped its antlers early, but thats an exception, so I could believe their data on the percentage of button bucks killed. Sure, they go out to a few processors and look at some of the deer there, they might even check a tooth or two while they are there, but I will tell you, that out of all of the hunters I personally know, and I know alot of them, only two take their deer to a processor. To me, the fact that so many deer are processed by hunters, makes the DEC's efforts at checking some of the deer at some of the processors, pretty much menial. Until the DEC implements mandatory deer checks, where they can take a look at the majority of the bucks harvested, their numbers on how many yearlings are killed every year, mean nothing to me. If their numbers are bunk, then how can they push a regulation, such as AR, which is completely based upon them? It makes no logical sense. I commend you for your efforts with your neighbors, etc, but you have to realize that the 20,000 acres you are talking about, is pretty small in comparison to the whole state, or even the areas that this proposal talks about. You cant base management techniques for areas of the state that are completely different than your area, on what works for you. The farms I hunt are hunted pretty heavily, and by different groups of guys. Most of them go by no type of restriction, and plenty of them knock down anything with antlers that comes within range. Between those farms, and the neighboring farms, there are probably 2 bucks that surpass 140 taken every year. I wont even mention how many I personally lay eyes on each year, not to mention what I catch on cameras. None of us usually fill every tag we have, but all of our freezers are full at the end of the season, and there are plenty of deer left for years to come. All of this on basically unmanaged land that gets driven almost every weekend, with the rules of "if its brown, its down". Hell, if thats not good hunting in your book, then I dont know what to tell you. Maybe if people would stop comparing their little slice of hunting ground to what they see on the Sportsman Channel, then we would see far less of this type of proposal.

Yearlings are 1 1/2s come hunting season. Generally speaking, button bucks are not yearlings, they are still fawns.

The solution to what though? Pushing your standards down everyones throats? Lets face it here, ARs or not, there are still plenty of deer to be hunted. You want a trophy rack? Buy land and manage it. Do your best to get your neighbors to do the same. If you arent willing to do that, then quit your griping. Im pretty tired of every little thing in life being legislatively molded into someone else's idea of how things should be. I have my standards, I dont push them on anyone. My personal hunting wont be affected, but many other's will be. Enough already.

I use nothing but Vortex stuff, the Venom is $330 through Vortex. I havent looked at Optics Planet or Cameraland yet.

So I think Ill probably go with the reflex sight for both of us. The Bushnell will probably be the choice for her gun, and I think Ill be going with the Vortex Viper or Venom for mine. Im not putting a $350 optic on a kids gun, even though she is a pretty responsible, careful person.

Is your bushnell a red dot or their "first strike" sight?

The AR bill limits you to 4 points on one side for those areas. I could post a plethora of 1 1/2 year olds from that area with 4-5 points on one side. They will still be fair game. I can (and have) posted pics of higher age class 6 point bucks from that area, hunters would be limited on those. ARs also force some hunters standards on everyone. I do realize the possible benefits of ARs, but I dont agree with them based on the cost (not talking financials) of putting them in place. I believe it would be much better to leave the individual hunter with the choice, while using a "soft push" in the right direction.

Yes I know it doesnt cover the whole state, but its not just in low deer population areas, nor is it in areas where the majority of younger bucks are taken. DEC has no real idea of what age class bucks are taken to begin with, but areas such as 8N, etc are known for producing big bucks every year. The farms I hunt are just outside of 8N, and I know plenty of guys that hunt that zone. Lots of great bucks there. In any case, I want to see a one buck rule for the whole state, not just the arbitrary areas where this proposal would cover.

Thats kinda what I was thinking. I was also thinking about the Holo sight because they are very light weight. The less weight Haley is hauling around, the longer she will be able to go.

I disagree. I know alot of guys that whack the first legally antlered deer that walks by, usually a yearling, and then save that other buck tag for ol mossy horns if he walks by. A one buck rule might (and I emphasize might because not everyone will do it) make many of them hold off for an older age class buck instead of taking the first thing with antlers. I feel like its a good way to steer people in the direction they want them to go in, without limiting everyone. The numbers of hunters that take two mature deer per year are pretty low, so you would not be affecting very many hunters each season.

Did you just say hitting a deer with a car is poaching? LMAO wow

So for my daughters birthday, I am buying her a dedicated turkey gun that will fit her better than my 12 gauge does. Im probably going with the Mossberg 500 that has the adjustable stock and turkey choke. It has fiber optic sights already, but Id like to set it up with optics for her so that she can be on target faster, and be able to hit birds at closer range with the super tight pattern of the choke. What would you guys recommend for this? Red Dot? Holo sight? Actual scope? Ill probably be picking up a turkey gun for myself this year, so whatever I get for her optics wise, is probably going to go on mine as well.

I check my cam cards on my 55" TV with a USB SD card reader. It looks ok.

Ive ridden them all, only owned Cats, Ski Doos and an old Scorpion. I have a Polaris 120 for my son, its been good, but I think all of the 120s are made by the same company. By far though, my buddys Polaris Fusion is the worst for breaking down of any sled Ive ever seen. I actually just got offered an 07 Polaris Switchback Turbo for a price I may not be able to turn down.