Doc

Re: Read on stand? The idea is to see the incoming deer before he sees you. Flipping those bright white pages doesn't really help with that does it? Also, keeping one eye on your surroundings and one eye on the book is great if you are a chamelion and can get your eyes going in different directions at the same time. I used to get caught up with reading my magazines while on stand until I got busted twice. Now it's one or the other. Doc

Re: What do you do While on Stand There have been times when I have taken along reading material, but like many have already said, concentrating on reading and also concentrating on being aware of approaching deer seems to be a bit at odds with each other. Also, it occurred to me one day that flipping the white pages of magazines or books was kind of like waving a white flag. Somehow it didn't seem right to be sitting there all dressed in my expensive camo while flashing white paper around So now, I just sit back and enjoy all that nature has to offer. There always seems to be something of interest going on. Doc

Re: WEIRD Well, there ya go! There really is no limit as to how far technology will go in the sport of hunting or archery. I can only hope that hunters will develop a sense of when enough is enough. Doc

Re: Why do you hunt? [ QUOTE ] To be out in the woods, enjoying nature. [/ QUOTE ] Is that your only reason?? You could do that just by camping or hiking. C'mon....what's the real reason? Doc

Re: Why do you hunt? Hunting, fishing, trapping, camping and hiking are all inter-related and inseparable for me. All these activities have one thing in common, and that is the connection back to my history, heritage and culture. Yes, in spite of the attempts of some to deny our American heritage and culture, we do have these things. There are few outdoor activities that I engage in when I do not spend some time thinking about historical life of pioneers, ancestors and all those that have come before us. There is also a self-reliance thing that factors into my relationship with outdoor activities. Knowing that I can survive in nature and become a part of it is a very satisfying feeling. It's also an independent feeling of survival without the reliance on others. Even though it doesn't directly relate to today's life-style requirements, there is some level of reassurance and satisfaction in that. Another thing that cannot be ignored is our genetic make-up as predators. Man has many centuries of evolutionary and genetic re-enforcement that causes predatory feelings and tendencies. This is not a bad thing any more than it is for cougars, wolves and other predators. It is just the way humans are. We have some elitist members of our population that would try to bury or deny those tendencies, but those of us who are hunters have a little more honest approach to life and understand this is a part of us that should be celebrated rather than artificially buried into our subconscious. I think the reason it is so difficult to explain and put into words is because this is just the natural way of man and is genetically structured into our being without our ever having to really think about it. Doc

Re: Yes or No? There are some pretty basic problems with this question that I think disqualify it as a hunter referendum on food plots or baiting. First of all, I don't think that food plots and baiting should be discussed as the same topic. There are some important differences between the two concepts that could cause a person to have two different opinions. Second, it starts off assuming that both practices are already legal and someone wants to remove an existing legal hunting practice. That has an entirely different effect on one's answer than if it were a question of whether or not to add these hunting related activities. Third and most important is the fact that the question assumes that this matter has been brought up on a public ballot. I'm not sure how other states handle their game laws, but we don't develop our game laws in that fashion here in NYS. Most of the input for fashioning our game laws comes from the hunting community. The DEC does an awful lot of interface with hunting organizations and then they apply good game management principles and develop the laws internally. With just that one portion of the question being worded in that way, I would have to answer "no" as well regardless of whether I agree with the practices or not. There is no way that I want game management turned over to public referendums. That would be disasterous. Doc

Re: Maines Bear Hunt in Jeopardy Getting isssues like this into a public referendum, is the first step toward getting the issue of hunting into a public referendum. This sort of thing is a management item and should be determined by the trained professionals of the DNR or whatever the fish & game department is called in Maine. While these people are claiming to be distancing themselves from the anti-hunting groups, I will guarantee that the anti's are more than likely well represented in this activity. Doc

Re: Yes or No? Ha!....Good point. That one flew right over my head. We had better make sure that game management decisions are never made in this fashion, or we are all in big trouble. But actually I believe that this happened out in California didn't it? Weren't they able to get some bear hunt or something on the general ballot and the bear hunt got shot down? Doc

Re: Yes or No? Yes When it comes to individual hunters revising the environment to aid their hunting, this is where I draw the line and say enough is enough. Doc

Re: Hiding or watching? I found em'. But now you can see how so many of those critters make it through the season. A hunter could walk right by them and never even see them. Doc

Re: Scent Lock These suits and a lot of the other gadgets and gimmicks on the market remind me of the joke about the guy who ran around the state waving his hat in the air to scare off the elephants. When he was told by someone that there were no elephants in the state, he replies,"See...it's working isn't it?". Most of these products have absolutely no way of proving that they do or don't work. You only have the word of the guy who's trying to make his million dollars off them. While this sort of gullibility is very good for the economy (and my retirement portfoilio), nothing beats just plain old "good hunting techniques". Doc