Doc

Somebody want to wake that one doe up. The old eyelids are starting to droop to half-mast ...... lol. Doc

I am shooting home assembled 2117 XX75 Autumn orange Easton aluminum arrows. They're getting pretty darn old now but they still hit where I aim and they still kill deer. Doc

Here in NY that stuff would be considered bait. It is illegal here to bait or feed deer. So you're not likely to get many responses from NYS and other states that have similar laws. Other than that, I'm not sure how many members here have actually had any experience with that stuff. probably not a lot (if any). While I too have experienced the frustration of posting questions that seem to be being ignored, I have come to the realization that not every subject has people within our membership that have opinions or experiences with every topic that might be brought up. Try not to get too discouraged. I still have a topic on the science of scent that I have posted on four different hunting forums over the years without a single reply. Yes it's frustrating, but just kind of the nature of hunting forums sometimes. Doc

I think a lot of the high fence controversy is more emotional than fact-based. I suspect that those of us who have never hunted one of the larger fenced ranches might just be a bit shocked at how it's not as easy as we imagined. Of course we would have to actually go ahead and do it before we knew for sure, but I think it is a lot like many things...... our imaginations get a bit carried away when we picture such things. Having said all that, I'm sure there are some high fenced operations that simply boil down to what has been called "canned hunts", where the animals are basically domesticated livestock. So it is not merely the presence of the fence that determines fair chase. It's just another one of those common sense issues where there is no simple definitions. Doc

I might have been tempted to call the state game management agency and report the find. It all might be very natural and innocent, or it may be a result of poaching or maybe even some disease that is starting to get a foothold in the area. It might be that they would have no interest in the find, but you never know. Phone calls are pretty cheap. Doc

What is with the advertisement running across the text of the original post at the top of the page. I can't even read it ....... and there is no button to collapse it either. This has happened on quite a few messages lately. I don't know whether it is just the way things display on my computer, or my particular browser, or what but it is starting to get pretty annoying. I never see it on any other site. Anyone else getting this? Doc

Was there any other performance changes that you noticed with the new stock or was it primarily cosmetic preference. In other words, how did it shoot before and was there any functional changes due to the stock change? Doc

With that many offences committed, there should be some sort of "Habitual Offender" status that violators reach where they automatically have a healthy prison sentence tacked on. There is no reason to allow that kind of flaunting of the law without leveling some very serious consequences. And I'm not talking about measuring the offence based on the trophy quality of whatever they poach either. When you hit 10 convictions of any sort, it's time to raise the bar significantly on penalties. Doc

Wow! those are some pretty strong words. Legal dog hunters are an exception? Sounds like those people are pretty bad critters. Can't we all just get along? ....... lol. :drink: Doc

That's a baby goat ..... right? .....lol. Doc

And of course that doesn't make it right.

Yes, you're probably right. Seasoned hunters probably understand that these people are lying to them. That doesn't make me feel any better about manufacturers thinking it is ok to lie to the new-comers among us. Personally, I am glad that someone is trying to sensitize these birds about the hazards of deceptive advertising. It's long overdue. Doc

I wonder how many guys buy the antlers or mounts and then claim them as their own? I'll bet there are some. This phobia that everyone seems to have developed over antlers can really drive some frustrated people to do some real wacky things. A lot of guys feel like complete failures if they don't get a buck. Now theres a lot of hunters that feel like complete failures if the don't get a buck of trophy proportions. Sure, that sort of thinking could probably set up a market for that kind of illegal activity. The Saturday morning TV shows have really done a number on the general mind-set of hunters. Everybody now carries the expectations of trophy racks as their measure of success or failure. It's a shame. Doc

It's real hard to predict exactly what the short term and the long-term effects of AR will be. There's so much arguing even between so-called experts. About the only real concern that I have over the whole deal is just how it will impact hunter numbers in areas that are traditionally hurting for deer numbers. A lot of us are enjoying some pretty good sized deer herds right now and we are feeling pretty confident these days that we can have the luxury of picking and choosing. But it must be remembered that there still are areas where getting ANY deer is quite an achievement because of poor habitat (Mature forests) and traditional winter-kill areas. I'm not sure just how well received having AR jammed down the throats of hunters in those areas really will be, and how many will just call it quits if we try to frustrate them out of the woods with excessive regulation that their hunting grounds are not suited for. Doc

Who the heck is buying all these deer heads and what on earth do they do with them? Are these hunters who hang them on the wall and then take credit for them? Doc

I don't think the state should be getting into the business of setting fines according to trophy size. It kind of sends the message that we are not serious about protecting the rest of the herd. It kind of says that it is alright to poach deer as long as the antlers aren't too big. Yes I do understand the point about the monetary value of a record or near record deer and have to sympathize a bit with that as a criteria for fines. And poaching for profit should carry a steeper fine than other motives but that's where I think it should all stop. One high level of fines for market motivated violations and another tier for other offenses. Yes, market hunting can and does have an extra impact on herds, and really needs to have heavy consequences as deterrent. I just don't like the idea of getting trophyism embedded in our legal system. It cheapens the value on the rest of our wildlife and makes a public statement to that effect. Doc

All things in their proper time. Right now I am enjoying the warmth of the summer and all the summery things that there are to do. Somewhere around August, I will start to work the archery equipment a bit. Oh, I'll periodically get the rifles out on the bench and burn up some ammo throughout the summer. And around late September we'll start checking out the trails and stands and try to see what the deer are doing. The practice sessions will lengthen a bit as the weather starts cooling off and the bugs start thinning out. Until then, I'll just keep on lovin' life, soaking up the sun, doing my fishing and camping and working out in the garden and such. Fall will come soon enough, and I'll be ready for it. Doc

I really can't get it down to any one item as being the most essential. Everything I take has some vital role in the actual hunt, and it all has essential interactions in order to make the hunt possible or successful. Even right down to the folding stool that I take along that provides enough comfort to keep me on stand that critical extra amount of time. Heck, even a sandwich, bottle of water or candybar can wind up being essential to the hunt. Doc

I love it when they start putting all kinds of different restrictions all over the state. They make it so you have to hunt with a gun in one hand and a regulations book in the other. I like the idea of management being tailored to local conditions ..... that is the right way to do it effectively. But on the other hand, some of these states make hunting so complicated that you are almost bound to be innocently breaking one law or the other without even knowing it. And is the herd really being managed better because of all these local variations? ........ I guess you have to hunt there in order to answer that. Doc

Yeah, all deer drives are not created equal. I have done little two-man pushes that really amount to having one stander and one guy basically still-hunting through a patch of woods toward the stander. Generally speaking any deer that get pushed are not really running full tilt, but rather are just getting out of the way. It still is not my chosen way to hunt, but I will admit to having done this style of drive in the past. And then there's the whooping and hollering gang attacks on a patch of woods that basically is just a circus where everybody shoots and then they go look to see what fell down. Running shots are generally the order of the day. When I see or hear those things forming up I generally run for my life out of that piece of woods. And I mean that literally. I have seen some orderly, well planned and well executed drives that put getting a deer behind safety as a priority. I don't have a problem with those. It's not for me, but then who cares. My problem is that for me hunting is me against the deer, and nobody gets my deer for me. I don't want any help. I don't want to be part of a pack trying to take down the deer. I just want to go out there and do my own thing and then take whatever credit or blame that results. I don't want "my share" of the burger, steaks and roasts, and I don't want the party atmosphere that goes along with it all. When I want the comraderie of a gang of hunters, I will take part in that back at camp, or in our kitchen before or after the hunt. That's just a personal view and attitude. Other people can do whatever they want and I don't care as long as I don't wind up innocently and accidentally finding myself on stand in the middle of one those circus-style drives. When that happens, there is only one thing to do ...... find a big ol' tree and hug the ground behind it. Doc

If you're shooting broadheads, you really don't want the group any tighter or you'll be buying more arrows ..... lol. Doc

No thread about hunting ethics is complete without somebody mentioning deer drives. What do you all think about that practice as far as being ethical? Any opinions? Doc

There are so many different possibilities that could be responsible for herd deterioration, or lack of movement, or herd relocation that it would be impossible to guess the right one here on a forum. But I think a good bunch of the possible reasons have been listed here. On the question of baiting, is it possible that someone nearby is doing a better job of baiting. That's one thing I have always wondered about legalized baiting. The idea of baiting wars between neighbors is kind of like food-plot wars. Each one competing against the other ....... not to hunt, but rather to pull and hoard as many deer from their neighbors as possible. Any possibility that is what is happening there? Doc

Getting a bit carried away with this AR stuff ..... eh? I think I knew this would happen. I dare say there are quite a few places where that minimum will never be met. And this may not be the end of it. Doc

That really doesn't look right. I've seen deer with a little cud stashed in the cheek, but that is ridiculous! Doc