WNYBuckHunter

Generally, the bait and shoot program is used in residential areas and parks near them where hunting would be considered dangerous. They mostly use local PD sharp shooters to do it. Its been done in the Rochester area in the past. Im not sure if they still do it or not.

The discounts keep getting better. I usually wait until late January or early February and get some smokin deals. Mind you, things have been picked through, but they usually have lots of good stuff still. A couple of years ago I got my ScentLok jacket and pants for $60.

Correct, multiple DEC officers have told me the same thing, as long as you are off of the maintained part of the highway.

Doc, substituting the word gun for the word crossbow in that statement is NOT what I said. I never said that I think "that deer hunting weapons should be changed to minimize the need for practice", I said crossbows should be allowed in archery season. Whats your point? Like I said, you are just trying to make what I said into something it wasnt and isnt. You sure have a twisted way of looking at things. You say that you hold people to the letter of what they said and then start an argument based on what could be substituted into what they said. Which way is it? Are you sure you dont vote Democrat?

Ive been hearing a bunch out this way too, I cant wait to go after them.

I dont see a problem as long as you have permission and arent shooting out of your truck or across a road or shooting them at night. Spot and stalk hunting can be great fun.

Youll have a tough time, but give Dick's a call, they should be able to do it and there are 3 or 4 different ones within a half hour drive of Avon.

I doubt it, they use their own discretion when keeping your name out of a complaint. Just speaking from personal experience.

And a gun would be higher yet .... eh? Look, I'm not trying to put any twist on anything. I'm only interpreting your remarks the way any reasonable person would have to. There is nothing about that prior comment that you made (or this response either for that matter) that doesn't pertain to guns even more-so than crossbows. So either you believe in what you are saying or you don't. Which is it? Do you believe in it just a "little bit" but only up to the inclusion of crossbows? I think everybody understood back when bowhunting was first legalized that adding challenge to a deer season by using primitive equipment had some risks of wounding losses. That risk still exists today. If we want to eliminate the risk, we must eliminate the special season and the weapons in it. Your idea of including more and more technologically advanced weapons until you no longer have to see "deer run through the woods with an arrow hanging out of its back or hindquarter" can only lead to one end. That end is a goal shared by others ever since the bow season was created. You can't expect to raise that point and not have someone point out that you have conveniently but artificially stopped short in your argument. Doc What part of "archery equipment being implemented in archery season" dont you understand? A gun is not archery equipment. Its your typical game of trying to put words in someones mouth or some meaning that was never there in the first place. I did not stop short in my statement, it was pretty clearly cut.

I was given one of those one year and never used it. I sat in it once and got rid of it. Too small for me.

I am not saying they should add guns into bow season, you are trying to put that twist to what I said. How did I know you would be the first one to spin it into some kind of attempt to bury me? Just for giggles, Ill play along. What are you saying? That you enjoy seeing deer run through the woods with an arrow hanging out of its back or hindquarter? You like hearing all of these posts and questions about wounded deer? You are against archery equipment being implemented in archery season that can more effectively kill a deer in the hands of someone that lacks the time to properly practice? I dont want to hear an answer that consists of "people, especially bow hunters should practice more if they are going to hunt", because we all know darn well that doesnt always happen and will never happen 100% of the time. Im not saying that 100% of shots on deer with a crossbow would be perfect, but Id be willing to say that the percentage would be higher than with a vertical bow.

Well, unfortunately its that time for me when deer season is coming to a close. I dont have a ML and am not bothering with the bow for the late season this year. Hopefully I can get the deal sealed on a deer or two. Ill be out on all day hunts both days. It looks like it could be a great weekend to hit the food sources, as we have a big storm rolling in from the Southwest Sunday evening. The deer should be on their feet getting something to eat to tide them through the storm. After this weekend Ill be pulling my stands and getting the last couple of things ready for coyote hunting.

And, to top it all off (this will probably start up a whole new argument), Id rather see those guys that dont have time to practice with a vertical bow, pick up a crossbow and have the ability to make an accurate shot on a deer rather than injure a deer due to lack of practice.

The 400s will, but they are a little more pricey than the 391s. The 391s will handle 3" loads, which do fine on turkey.

I hear ya, but I know guys that dont put much, if any shooting time in with their bows either. There are more slob bow hunters out there than most of us think there are.

I gottcha, and I too, watch guys that spot the fields near my house or where I hunt. As long as they arent doing anything illegal, I dont bother them. I too pass smaller bucks in the hopes that I see them again in a year or two. I have had issues with a couple of road hunters jumping out of their trucks to try and take a crack at deer in my areas while I was sitting in my stand. Had it happen a few years back while I had my crosshairs on a deer waiting for it to clear a bush. Slobs can be a real pain, but I try to give people the benefit of the doubt until they give me a reason to think differently.

Right, thats not legal, and the guys that do that are usually the same ones that dont follow the hunting rules either because they dont know them or just ignore them.

The biggest difference besides the price is the Beretta is gas operated, not inertia driven. They just require a little more cleaning, but if you are letting a $1k plus shotgun sit around dirty, you dont deserve to own it lol.

I never said those were my only priorities lol, just my new weapon priorities.

Im not a dust it off and hunt kind of guy. I shoot everything I own more than most guys. Youd be surprised at the number of rounds I put through my Encore between last deer season and this year, my 223 has seen between 500 and 600 rounds and it hasnt seen a predator season yet lol. If I didnt have to replace the string on my bow this year, it would have gotten more of a workout than it did, but I still shot it quite a bit before season. If had a crossbow, you can guarantee that it would get a heck of alot of use before I ever took it into the woods.

If you are spending the money for a Benelli, take a look at Beretta. The 391s and 400s are nice shotguns and can run a few hundred less than a SBE depending on the exact model. You can get a rifled barrel for the 391 for under $300 right from Beretta, so for what you would spend on an SBE, you could have a nice American made 391 with a deer barrel.

gjs, I lived in Ohio before I moved back here in 2000, Clermont/Hamilton counties to be a bit more specific. Lots of great hunting there, good public land and better access to private land than here. That area holds some huge huge deer, and their ag levels are pretty similar to what we have in the finger lakes and western NY region. I didnt take hunting very seriously when I lived in OH, looking back, I wish I would have, but I didnt. Now, the way I see it is that I am not one to limit people, and would like to see crossbows be put into the category they should be in, with archery equipment. I also see them as the tool that can lead to a shortening of gun season in NY, which would be great for the herd and better the hunting experience for all involved because the deer wont be holed up in a swamp every minute of daylight because they are ducking bullets and running from deer drives for a month. Add in a one buck per year rule and extend bow season and you have a good recipe for great hunting. BTW, it will be quite a while before I buy a crossbow, I have other things on my list that need to come first, like a new bow, my ML setup for my Encore, another Rem 700 setup in .308 or 30-06 and a new shotgun. If I buy one of those per year, it will be 5 years before I buy a crossbow, maybe 6 because by then it will be time to replace my bow again lol. I do have to admit, I picked up one of the Excaliburs at BPS this past weekend and it sure was nice.

Right! Also, I think that some people tend to forget that deer are a public resource and that just because the deer spend time on their land, they are still not their deer.

I saw a good bunch yesterday and have seen some grouping up and moving together in the lat two weeks. Late season is here and the rut is over, just my opinion.

Never said you would poach a deer. If a person spotlights on my property I will ask them to move along and I will take down their tag number. It would give the police a good place to start! Your analogies don't work for me, unless you have night vision you need a spotlight to kill a deer after dark. This is how "I" would handle it and I know many others that would do it the same way. I wasnt trying to say that you thought or said I would. My analogies work fine, you have to walk into a bank to rob it, no? How about this one, its like saying a Corvette owner breaks the speed limit consistently. As far as how polite you would be to me, well Id be polite right back to you and probably tell you that Ill let you know if I were to see anyone poaching deer on your land. I would then go about my business of viewing deer.