OT: The Thread About Nothing

[BenedictGomez]

i figured firearms are the most popular/efficient method.

They are and it is, but "popularity" of hunting method has nothing to do with legality of hunting method.

There are plenty of places where only archery methods may be used for safety reasons, and Staten Island would certainly be one of those. You cant have people shooting rifle projectiles capable of 2,000 foot ranges in a developed area like that. An arrow traveling to a 30 yard target, however, is perfectly safe.

 

[Billdo]

They are and it is, but "popularity" of hunting method has nothing to do with legality of hunting method.

There are plenty of places where only archery methods may be used for safety reasons, and Staten Island would certainly be one of those. You cant have people shooting rifle projectiles capable of 2,000 foot ranges in a developed area like that. An arrow traveling to a 30 yard target, however, is perfectly safe.

You know there would be some idiot doing it in an unsafe manner. There's always some dummy who ruins it for everyone else.

 

[JimEIV]

Fair enough and most of that makes perfect sense. My only question is can bow hunters really make a difference on Staten Island in particular? It seems to me that even if it were legalized, permitted, guided, or what have you, there are a variety of obstacles not present in rural NJ, PA, or NY. Food and lodging being the most obvious to me.

Apparently all this is moot anyway because the city's vasectomy plan seems to be quite effective thus far. I wonder what trapping or darting (I'm assuming this is a term) a buck on Staten Island pays?

Still, shooting bows in a backyard in Paterson is hilarious to me for some reason. One of these days I'll get around to learning how to shoot something.

I love shooting. I started at 4 years old and started competing at 9 years old.
I come from a family of archers. It's really worth a look.

But on the hunting...

Most whitetail deer hunting is done by locals. There are really no infrastructure needs. No one is going to spend money to come hunt Staten Island from much further than NJ. But those who live within an hour drive of a small woodlot will gladly pay the NY State licenses fee and a local permit fee for the opportunity to hunt....

Now think about that for one moment.

People are willing to pay for the opportunity. In the sterilization scenario, which really does not work, the municipality is going inccur a major expense.

Say a municipality can charge a $50 fee for a special permit, say they institute a rule that says any participant must have a certain amount of liability insurance to buy a permit and say the municipality picks the exact spots that are open and how many people can hunt there...this is how many of the municipalities run "special hunts" in NJ. The municipality actually creates a revenue stream and solves a problem as opposed to incurring an expense with an extremely high likelihood of failure.

In the hunting scenario I can tell you approximately how many deer will be removed based on the number of permits sold and historical success rates before the hunt even begins. These type of programs exist all over New Jersey and many other suburban and urban places. They are usually conducted quietly as not to drawn the ire of activist. They work and I have personally participated in a few such programs.

But another issue with sterilization is without adults males to breed adult females, an almost impossible scenario to create, but even you could, male fawns would start to breed adult females. It happens in captivity all the time.

 

[Jack Be Quick]

I love shooting. I started at 4 years old and started competing at 9 years old.
I come from a family of archers. It's really worth a look.

But on the hunting...

Most whitetail deer hunting is done by locals. There are really no infrastructure needs. No one is going to spend money to come hunt Staten Island from much further than NJ. But those who live within an hour drive of a small woodlot will gladly pay the NY State licenses fee and a local permit fee for the opportunity to hunt....

Now think about that for one moment.

People are willing to pay for the opportunity. In the sterilization scenario, which really does not work, the municipality is going inccur a major expense.

Say a municipality can charge a $50 fee for a special permit, say they institute a rule that says any participant must have a certain amount of liability insurance to buy a permit and say the municipality picks the exact spots that are open and how many people can hunt there...this is how many of the municipalities run "special hunts" in NJ. The municipality actually creates a revenue stream and solves a problem as opposed to incurring an expense with an extremely high likelihood of failure.

In the hunting scenario I can tell you approximately how many deer will be removed based on the number of permits sold and historical success rates before the hunt even begins. These type of programs exist all over New Jersey and many other suburban and urban places. They are usually conducted quietly as not to drawn the ire of activist. They work and I have personally participated in a few such programs.

But another issue with sterilization is without adults males to breed adult females, an almost impossible scenario to create, but even you could, male fawns would start to breed adult females. It happens in captivity all the time.

Thanks for the measured and insightful response.

 

[BenedictGomez]

You know there would be some idiot doing it in an unsafe manner. There's always some dummy who ruins it for everyone else.

Absolutely possible, but statistically unlikely. By that logic we should ban driving because some kill people via DWI.

Hunters are very responsible people in general, and hunting deaths are extremely rare. In fact, most "hunting deaths" are not from people getting shot (pretty rare) or taking an arrow (almost unheard of), but from people falling out of trees because they didnt use a safety harness.

 

[JimEIV]

Thanks for the measured and insightful response.

I take that as a great compliment.

I tend not to talk about these things in public or openly. They seem to create massive division.

But it was ingrained in me from practically birth that when I do talk about these things, to remember to always conduct myself in a civil manner.

My dad still always says to me remember that you are an ambassador every day. By that he means a lot of things but in general he means hunters need to conduct themselves to a higher standard. Not just in hunting but in everything as to never be labeled "buba" or even worse "asshole"

He gets a little preachy with young hunters cause he believes how they conduct themselves will determine the future of hunting. He thinks there is the majority in the middle who are niether hunters or anti-hunters who will decide the issue and our job is to be dignified and civil to convince the majority that we are truly worth their trust. So I try to be the best ambassador possible to archery.

 

[JimEIV]

Absolutely possible, but statistically unlikely. By that logic we should ban driving because some kill people via DWI.

Hunters are very responsible people in general, and hunting deaths are extremely rare. In fact, most "hunting deaths" are not from people getting shot (pretty rare) or taking an arrow (almost unheard of), but from people falling out of trees because they didnt use a safety harness.

People are getting a lot better at this. When I started bowhunting people would make fun of you for "tying yourself in" as they use to say. People said things like you're more likely to hang yourself. Amazing how far we've come in that regard. Treestands in general are amazing compared to what they were . I sometimes forget to use my harness and drives my wife insane.

 

[BenedictGomez]

I've always hunted from a blind, partly because I'm a big chicken, but mostly because it's so much more incredibly comfortable than being in a stand. But I did buy a climber because there are places I'd like to hunt where you cant leave a blind. Now I need to practice with it on some trees in the yard.

 

[JimEIV]

If I had a place I could leave a blind up I would. In fact I did when I was hunting private property. I enjoy ground hunting. There are a couple of pieces of public land near my home that I sometimes go to before or after work and usually hunt on the ground from a blow down or other natrual cover. But I would say 90% of the time I'm in a tree.

 

[BenedictGomez]

hunt on the ground from a blow down or other natrual cover.

I would like to do more of that. I have a park permit that's a very large piece, I think I'm going to try some still hunting this year too. Walk a bit, sit behind a tree, walk a bit, etc...staying quiet.