3 ms·

Apex predators can help, but in places like New Jersey (and hell, the entire Accela corridor) deer are incredibly overpopulated in places too dense with humans

by JPKab 2y ago

Apex predators can help, but in places like New Jersey (and hell, the entire Accela corridor) deer are incredibly overpopulated in places too dense with humans for apex predators to tolerate. In those places, we need aggressive bow hunting and culling. But the very noisy and politically powerful "don't shoot Bambi" crowd prevents this. You get sick deer and forests entirely devoid of saplings, and therefore at risk.

bitxbitxbitcoin 2y ago
Hear hear. Hunting is ethical management. There are people willfully ignorant to that.
mgarfias 2y ago
Screw the bow. Get a suppressed bolt action .300 blackout or 8.6 blackout. The bow will make about as much noise.
- throwaway_e66m 2y ago
  Good luck with that suppressor in New Jersey [1]. Regarding the cartridge, while I generally prefer high velocity projectiles for whitetails without the silencer, when hunting suppressed I'm on board with subsonic, but IMO the best cartridge for that is big-bore (I personally use .44 magnum, bolt action like you suggest, 300 grain hollow-point at around 1050 fps). At that low velocity, you don't get much hydrostatic shockwave, so might as well make the biggest hole possible for an ethical kill. That lumbering freight train won't stop for anything, smashes right through bones. But even subsonic, it's a lot louder than a bow -- movie pew-pew just won't consistently put down something as big as a whitetail. Also note that at those low velocities, it's difficult to get bullets to consistently expand, so I do lots of terminal ballistics testing to find the optimal projectile and load. For grandparent comment, too bad you have those hunting restrictions -- where I hunt, while this year's regs aren't out yet, for the last couple of years, anyone who wants to can shoot 12 deer per year (of which at most 2 can be bucks). They're trying to put a dent in the population, for various reasons including CWD, although I frankly think it's excessive. [1]: https://www.silencershop.com/blog/post/suppressor-laws-by-state#nj https://www.silencershop.com/blog/post/suppressor-laws-by-st...
  - mgarfias 2y ago
    I shot a suppressed 308 with subs last weekend. The firing pin was louder that the report. I seriously think a bow twang is louder
michael1999 2y ago
Shooting healthy bucks does nothing for disease management. How often do you choose the sickly ones? Predators are so helpful for this.
cafard 2y ago
As the days get shorter, signs go up in Rock Creek Park saying that people should stay away at night, for hunters will be at work. I don't know how many deer they get every season. Somebody on the neighborhood listserv has advertised candle-light vigils for the deer at an adjoining field, but I haven't seen that in a few years.

by JPKab 2y ago

bitxbitxbitcoin 2y ago

Hear hear. Hunting is ethical management. There are people willfully ignorant to that.

mgarfias 2y ago

Screw the bow. Get a suppressed bolt action .300 blackout or 8.6 blackout. The bow will make about as much noise.

throwaway_e66m 2y ago
Good luck with that suppressor in New Jersey [1]. Regarding the cartridge, while I generally prefer high velocity projectiles for whitetails without the silencer, when hunting suppressed I'm on board with subsonic, but IMO the best cartridge for that is big-bore (I personally use .44 magnum, bolt action like you suggest, 300 grain hollow-point at around 1050 fps). At that low velocity, you don't get much hydrostatic shockwave, so might as well make the biggest hole possible for an ethical kill. That lumbering freight train won't stop for anything, smashes right through bones. But even subsonic, it's a lot louder than a bow -- movie pew-pew just won't consistently put down something as big as a whitetail. Also note that at those low velocities, it's difficult to get bullets to consistently expand, so I do lots of terminal ballistics testing to find the optimal projectile and load. For grandparent comment, too bad you have those hunting restrictions -- where I hunt, while this year's regs aren't out yet, for the last couple of years, anyone who wants to can shoot 12 deer per year (of which at most 2 can be bucks). They're trying to put a dent in the population, for various reasons including CWD, although I frankly think it's excessive. [1]: https://www.silencershop.com/blog/post/suppressor-laws-by-state#nj https://www.silencershop.com/blog/post/suppressor-laws-by-st...
- mgarfias 2y ago
  I shot a suppressed 308 with subs last weekend. The firing pin was louder that the report. I seriously think a bow twang is louder

michael1999 2y ago

Shooting healthy bucks does nothing for disease management. How often do you choose the sickly ones? Predators are so helpful for this.

cafard 2y ago

As the days get shorter, signs go up in Rock Creek Park saying that people should stay away at night, for hunters will be at work. I don't know how many deer they get every season. Somebody on the neighborhood listserv has advertised candle-light vigils for the deer at an adjoining field, but I haven't seen that in a few years.