Thought I would Stop By

[Steve D]

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 24^th 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.

[airedale]

Nothing I can say can bring back what you lost Steve but I am glad you and your family are OK. Glad to see you getting back into the groove and back visiting HNY, like you I feel this site has never been better and I ain't going anywhere either.

Here is to much better times ahead for you and family Steve.

Al

[New York Hillbilly]

Let me also welcome you back. I too am sorry to hear about the loss you experienced. Hopefully, you and your family however remained safe from harm. 

As far as this site goes, we are in agreement. While I was disappointed to see most of the people leave, because I really enjoyed reading their posts and seeing their pictures, overall I was glad to see the rest gone. 

You and Al are both correct, in my opinion this site's tone has greatly improved. How long it will be around I do not know, but I too will be here until it is not. Then, I guess I will also fade into the sunset. That is unless we all find a similar place to still meet and share our thoughts and experiences, because I have no plans to  join the other site. 

Again, welcome back!

Edited February 12, 2023 by New York Hillbilly
grammar

[First-light]

Welcome back and sorry about your loss. 

[chrisw]

If donating some hunting items to you would help you get back into the woods I'm sure I can part with some extras I've accumulated over the years? I can only imagine losing everything. Let me know if that would help you get back to hunting a bit sooner, I'd be happy to see what I could send to you.

Sent from my moto g fast using Tapatalk

[Four Seasons]

8 hours ago, Steve D said:

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 24^th 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.

Tough to hear all this for sure. And family always comes first but if you get up North here or down near Letchworth during season and need a stand to get so quiet time I would have no problem offering you that.                                                                         As far as that other site it’s kinda a joke, it’s like the same ones that lived on this site, caused most of the problems here just moved over there to get their hands slapped by 5-6 different mods. Kinda funny that they think that site is going to get all these new members. Not going to happen. It’s nice to be able to come on here and not see the same group hanging up on people that didn’t agree with one of them. This site will most likely be here longer then that one and if not then there will be no need for another site for me. 

[Steve D]

17 hours ago, airedale said:

Nothing I can say can bring back what you lost Steve but I am glad you and your family are OK. Glad to see you getting back into the groove and back visiting HNY, like you I feel this site has never been better and I ain't going anywhere either.

Here is to much better times ahead for you and family Steve.

Al

Thanks Al

[Steve D]

17 hours ago, New York Hillbilly said:

Let me also welcome you back. I too am sorry to hear about the loss you experienced. Hopefully, you and your family however remained safe from harm. 

As far as this site goes, we are in agreement. While I was disappointed to see most of the people leave, because I really enjoyed reading their posts and seeing their pictures, overall I was glad to see the rest gone. 

You and Al are both correct, in my opinion this site's tone has greatly improved. How long it will be around I do not know, but I too will be here until it is not. Then, I guess I will also fade into the sunset. That is unless we all find a similar place to still meet and share our thoughts and experiences, because I have no plans to  join the other site. 

Again, welcome back!

 

14 hours ago, First-light said:

Welcome back and sorry about your loss. 

Thank you both.

[Steve D]

12 hours ago, chrisw said:

If donating some hunting items to you would help you get back into the woods I'm sure I can part with some extras I've accumulated over the years? I can only imagine losing everything. Let me know if that would help you get back to hunting a bit sooner, I'd be happy to see what I could send to you.

Sent from my moto g fast using Tapatalk
 

 

10 hours ago, Four Seasons said:

Tough to hear all this for sure. And family always comes first but if you get up North here or down near Letchworth during season and need a stand to get so quiet time I would have no problem offering you that.                                                                         As far as that other site it’s kinda a joke, it’s like the same ones that lived on this site, caused most of the problems here just moved over there to get their hands slapped by 5-6 different mods. Kinda funny that they think that site is going to get all these new members. Not going to happen. It’s nice to be able to come on here and not see the same group hanging up on people that didn’t agree with one of them. This site will most likely be here longer then that one and if not then there will be no need for another site for me. 

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.

[Steve D]

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.

[First-light]

24 minutes ago, Steve D said:

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.

I had the garage built on property this year. I emailed the insurance company and they told me you have coverage for the building in your policy. I let a couple of weeks go by and something just didn't seem right so I called. I had insurance for a separate garage but only up to 14K. I was like the foundation cost that! We changed the policy and now Im covered for full replacement on the garage. The additional cost per month was about 22 bucks. Very good advice Steve thanks.  

[Doc]

So sorry to hear about the fire. It is a scary thing.

I know that I am of the age and retired, and don't think I would ever get back to normal if we had a fire.

I always thought that it would be worth the time and effort to take a walk through the house and take a video of each room and the contents. That's the thought......Now all I have to do is to actually do it.

[Four Seasons]

19 hours ago, airedale said:

Nothing I can say can bring back what you lost Steve but I am glad you and your family are OK. Glad to see you getting back into the groove and back visiting HNY, like you I feel this site has never been better and I ain't going anywhere either.

Here is to much better times ahead for you and family Steve.

Al

Ya know what I find funny Al?  Where is all this after season bitching and fighting between members now?  Amazes me how the ones that left didn’t realize that many of the ones that left were the problem. Well I guess we can see it now. And with like 5-6 mods for only  maybe 100 active members if that they won’t be bringing it to that site with them. 

[LET EM GROW]

Sorry for your loss, I could not imagine. I am going to take your advice and gather all my belongings on a list and reach out to my insurance company. 

[phade]

Sorry to hear of that. It sounds like a real tough situation. Although I haven’t endured a home fire, our family had a house that flooded and it was a nightmare to deal with. I can only imagine what you are going through.

You and I are probably within 30 minutes of each other in 8H. I know you said your focus isn’t on hunting and that gear storage could be a challenge. I have tons of gear and storage and I’m sure you getting away for a few hours here and there may refresh your soul during such a time. I have rifles and bows that are quality and high end that I’ll likely never take out of the safe again and you’re welcome to have them for good. Plus clothing and the whole 9 yards. The offer is there should you want to consider it.

[DirtTime]

Man, very sorry to hear about the fire. I hope at some point you are able to get past the depression and get back out hunting again.

 

As for this forum war issue, I think people need to grow up and just let it go. There, here, someplace else. Who cares in the grand scheme of life. Go outside and do something because you're going to be dead a lot longer then you were ever alive. 

[New York Hillbilly]

5 minutes ago, DirtTime said:

As for this forum war issue, I think people need to grow up and just let it go. There, here, someplace else. Who cares in the grand scheme of life. Go outside and do something because you're going to be dead a lot longer then you were ever alive. 

Excellent advice!

I am not sure what the mentality is that drives those who hated this site so much, and created so much angst when they were here, to continue to come back and try to stir the pot. It really is twisted! 

The "war" is seems has only been declared by those who left. I'm not sure if for some reason a handful of those who left are desperate to take this site down entirely, or if it is more personal than that.

My opinion is; to sincerely wish those who left the best, and avoid being drawn into the drama by those who keep coming back looking to drag this site and the remaining members down. As my grandmother used to tell me as a kid when it came to dealing with troublemakers, "just ignore them". 

Let's keep the energy and vibe here positive!

 

[nybuckboy]

On 2/12/2023 at 7:25 PM, chrisw said:

If donating some hunting items to you would help you get back into the woods I'm sure I can part with some extras I've accumulated over the years? I can only imagine losing everything. Let me know if that would help you get back to hunting a bit sooner, I'd be happy to see what I could send to you.

Sent from my moto g fast using Tapatalk
 

I can probably donate some hunting gear and would be happy to Steve. You and I have agreed on a lot of discussions over the years. I am truly sorry that this happened to you and can not even begin to relate to such a disaster. Let me how I can help.

Rob

[Wildcat]

Steve,

Unfortunately, I had the same thing happen in May 2015..   The house was a total loss and we also lost some pets that were in the house...   Brutal!!

My only saving grace is that some of my gear was at camp, so I had a base to build off of..

I echo your comments on having a list of possesions in your house...   Hopefully you never need it but doing it from memory is difficult and heart wrenching after something like that happens..  Taking a video of the inside of the house can help as well.    and yes, make sure you have replacement value...

Tom

[airedale]

5 hours ago, New York Hillbilly said:

The "war" is seems has only been declared by those who left. I'm not sure if for some reason a handful of those who left are desperate to take this site down entirely, or if it is more personal than that.

You are absolutely right, these folks that had nothing but derogatory remarks about this board can not stay away and I can guarantee some are up to no good. The Fat Boy along with other malcontents have been hanging here around the clock, he certainly is not here posting anything to contribute to the board, which when I think about it he never did anyway. LOL! Should have been canned years ago.

Any post about the other board should be deleted immediately, problem solved.

Al

[DirtTime]

My final thought about this forum issue, people are lurking around and doing the 'he said/she said' from both. If people that are die hard to this forum weren't they wouldn't know what was going on in other places. It gets brought up here A LOT! I don't have much to say on any hunting forums anymore, each year there's less and less hunting talk on many of them. I enjoy the live from the woods threads and would enjoy them a lot more of people who weren't hunting didn't have to chime in with unrelated topics and ruin them. As I said before, get over the whole thing and move on with your life and stop worrying so much about greener or lack there of grass.

[Four Seasons]

11 minutes ago, blackbeltbill said:

  Like Rob above,I am on both sites as are a number of others.  No problem  with being on an additional site.   I still contribute  here and with 5 Followers- my varied content is read by plenty.

   Neither mod here reigned  in the Deer Vial man. Ever..   

  Plenty of good people  here to post up Threads for.

   Rob is right- there is no Greener Grass- just an additional  opportunity  to check in with good people on a additional site. 

  

 

And yet you were one of the biggest mouthpieces on this site saying how bad it is and it’s going to fail because nobody can join and yada yada yada and then you try and pull people off of this site to go over and join that site?  And you see nobody had to real in the deer man when 99% of the time he was just defending himself against the jealousy and the pack mentality of the group that left. You also have noticed that there is no bitching and fighting on this site after that group left. Yet they always try to blame it on some off season crap.                                                          And one can only read so much on the subjects of Turkeys. 

[airedale]

5 minutes ago, Four Seasons said:

You also have noticed that there is no bitching and fighting on this site after that group left.

And that is what is sticking in their craw, they believed Bill's and a couple of other's doom and gloom forecast yet the board is humming along running smooth like a Swiss watch. Take it from someone that has run a couple of message boards, It is all about usable content not numbers.

Al

[Four Seasons]

13 minutes ago, airedale said:

And that is what is sticking in their craw, they believed Bill's and a couple of other's doom and gloom forecast yet the board is humming along running smooth like a Swiss watch. Take it from someone that has run a couple of message boards, It is all about usable content not numbers.

Al

And the biggest shit stirrer of all comes on here a posts crap and then runs right back over there trying to get those over there that left to get engaged also. One only has to go over there and skim thru a few of Bill’s posts to see even a few of them telling him to screw off about the other site. 

[Paula]

Steve, sorry about your bad news.