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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goBXdYIOqUY

I am pleased to report that the 2014-15 NYS Budget – pending final approval by the Legislature - will make crossbows a legal hunting implement once again in New York State. The budget language will allow crossbow use for all small game and any big game season that includes firearms. We will also have crossbow use in the last 14 days of the Southern Zone and the last 10 days of the Northern Zone early archery seasons. In addition, the archery set back is changed to 150' for archery and 250' for crossbows. Unfortunately, Suffolk and Westchester counties are once again eliminated from the crossbow inclusion. More will be forthcoming in an official press release. Congratulations to all and I thank everyone that made the calls, sent emails and wrote letters to get us to this point. Best Regards, Rick McDermott New York Crossbow Coalition www.nycrossbowcoalition.com

I don't think they ever banned selling 10 round mags.....just that you couldn't load more than 7 into them.

How very true...

I have to say, I found that a hell of a lot more amusing than I thought I would. Edit: The Papist / Virgil thing was gold.

About 20 years ago, I became involved with some friends in a friendly, opening day trout contest. The rules were simple. We fished in 2 man teams, $10 per man. The team that brought in the LONGEST TROUT won all the money. The trout had to be taken from the Cohocton River or one of it's tributaries, which ,if you are familiar with the drainage, covers quite a bit of water. We would meet at a given spot at 1:00 PM, measure up our fish, and then play poker the rest of the day.. It was kind of a win/win situation..<grin>... We had a number of different teams over the years, but there were four teams who were there pretty much every year from the beginning. This year we only have enough guys for two teams. Of the original 8, 3 guys are now fishing that great trout stream in the sky, one guy is no longer physically able to fish, and another has moved out of the area. 2 of the 3 guys who are gone passed away in the last 6 months, including a very dear lifelong friend of mine , who was my partner since the beginning. I have another good friend who is my new partner this year, and I am looking forward to getting out on the stream, although it will be bittersweet to say the least. My partner Mike, who passed away last fall, always got as excited as a little kid over opening day, even when he was in his 60s. He'll do doubt be looking over my shoulder next Tuesday as I drift a worm through his favorite pools...

When I hunt big woods, I find that there are two main variables that will dictate whether or not the hunting is good for me. Number 1 is the walking conditions. A perfectly still day without any breeze or precipitation is not good. The other major factor is what the deer are doing. Often for us, opening week in the catskills, the bucks are with a doe in that lock-down mode. Where they are really just lying around in a small area and not moving much at all. And the rest of the does and fawns are often laying around in groups, not moving much either. This can be tough. Espeicailly if we don;t have the walking conditions. Sitting is just not going to be effective at all when they are like this. Using the sign and whatever deer sightings we have in our camp, I usually try to use the first couple of days of the hunt to develop an idea of what the deer are doing and what areas seem to be hot. One other quick point, in the big woods, with minimal pressure compared to other areas, one would think that the significance of opening day isn;t quite so much. And it probably isn;t (compared to high pressure areas). However, I've noticed that opening days do in fact make a difference. We seem to see more deer on their feet, on the opener. Even though we cover a lot of ground, and don;t even hunt the same areas every day, I think our scent gets into the woods and as bucks are making their rounds at night through their home range, they are catching that scent and they become less careless. For what its worth. I've never posted a photo on this site, even though I;ve been yapping for a couple of years. I;m not much of an internet person. In fact this is the only hunting site i visit. But here are a couple of the bigger big woods catskill bucks I still hunted...

don't know if this was posted already or not March 28, 2014 On March 26th the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association (NYSRPA) announced that New York State Police had decided not to enforce “a capricious, ill-conceived and unconstitutional portion of the NY SAFE act”–the seven round magazine limit. According to Guns.com, the decision follows a federal judge’s ruling in December which ruled the seven-round magazine limitation was “‘tenuous, straitened, and unsupported,’ and therefore unconstitutional.” This puts New York State Police in line with the “sensible path taken by the New York Sheriffs’ Association and many local law enforcement agencies in not enforcing” the magazine capacity limit.

Shooting at turkeys past 40 yards with lead has nothing to do with being an "expert" hunter, being an expert doesn't change the laws of physics. The Winchester ad with the Doofies boasting about a 66 yard shot makes no mention of which Longbeard loading they were using. The shells come in 6 flavors, 4, 5, and 6 shot, in either 3" or 3 1/2". Size 6 lead runs out of gas pretty quick after 40 yards and you can forget about making a clean 66 yard kill with it. Size 5 fairs a little better but it's going to take a lucky shot. The 4's will do it energy wise, but good luck getting a reliable pattern. The 66 yard shot was almost certainly with 3 1/2" 4's, and it was a lucky shot no matter what anyone says. That's if it even happened, wouldn't be the first time the truth got stretched to push a product. Winchester has developed arguably the greatest lead turkey load of all time, and paired it with one of the most deplorable advertising campaigns ever seen. Guys that buy into the advertising, especially the ones who have never even bothered to pattern a turkey gun in their life, are going to wound a lot of birds with these by trying to be turkey snipers instead of turkey hunters. They are an amazing shell though for people who recognize their limitations. That brings up another point, expert turkey hunters call their birds in close for a clean kill. They don't take pot shots at turkeys from the next county over, and they are willing to acknowledge the days when the bird has won the game and will walk away with a smile on their face just the same.

A *LOT* of editing.

Awesome, too bad a couple of those monsters aren't fresh!!!

Here's the link, GreeneHunter. Cut and paste was the best I could do. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/opinion/kristof-a-nation-of-takers.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=0&gwh=85DDEA5A14984DAEDFC47BC8C4B4F216&gwt=regi I guess it came out as a direct link after all... I don't often agree with the views of the NYT or its staff, but I think Kristoff has a good point in this op-ed. Gaming the system has become the American way, from either the bottom or the top. The rest of us are left to pick up the tab.

Nice set from yesterday's 5-minute shed hunt, #8 and #9 for the season: Both in sight of the truck!!! They were about 40 yds apart, I dropped the first one next to the second to take the ATL:

Thanks Sam!! I had another great day on Tuesday and found 7 more for the day including my new biggest to date. Also went out on sat and got two more. Sat Finds I'm heading back out tomorrow and i hope to get a few more good ones. I think this might be my last weekend really looking. I usually look while turkey hunting but don't find much in the areas that i turkey hunt. Good luck to anybody still looking!! John

http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/96187.html

OMIGAWD..!!..What a masterpiece...It certainly made my day...

You bet! Climbing aboard that tractor and fitting the ground and basically "playing farmer" can be one heck of a rewarding feeling of accomplishment when you look out across your finished food plots and see wildlife taking advantage of your efforts. Sure that is satisfying. I certainly can see the attraction. Did some of that myself years ago. Making harvest choices based on the best management info that you can find is also part of it and equally as satisfying. About the only thing we have to remember is that we don't have the right to push any of those activities on those that don't happen to be as enthusiastic about those kinds of activities. The only time I get a little sour on the QDM mindset is when I sense that holier-than-thou attitude peeking through from some who think that just because they dedicate a pile of time and money toward these activities that somehow those that don't are something less than "true" hunters. I don't have a lot of use for that kind of thinking, and I don't believe it has a place in hunting. Fortunately that sort of thing is rare (so far).

Most people will connect this to hunting and hunters. And that is not entirely without merit. Many hunters discard carcasses in this manner. Many hunters litter in other ways, including the crap/toilet paper debate we had on here. Then as a group we turn around and complain about access to private land. Makes me laugh because some hunters complain, claim they are from the farm, the antis are city people who don't own property, etc... But no farmer or landowner wants carcasses dumped on their land unless it is their personal cattle boneyard... Introduce me to the farmer who wants carcasses dumped on their property - I thought the coyotes and crows were out of control and hunters were the (heroes) to the rescue of the people of NY? Dumping 200 carcasses doesn't draw coyotes and crows? This had too many things with the word 'hunt' in it: game farm; game dinner; bowhunting organization. These were grown men. Plus the fire men who transferred the birds are questionable. 200 left over birds for a game dinner? Do you know how much a game farm pheasant costs? It is required by law to have a receipt, when the birds are alive at least, possibly when they are dead too, but I am not sure. Many questions here. It seems every time hunters congregate they get into trouble. The Holly squirrel competition and the Greene County Crow Down have generated national attention and TWO legislative bills in NY state. Those bills might not go anywhere - but not only did they achieve action in both houses, those bills have multiple cosponsors. Maybe you all are more successful than me, but I cant get 99% of the lawmakers to read an email I send them, yet the antis get quick and serious action. Another example of the same exact thing is the two mute swan bills filed when the DEC announced its management plan for comment... I admit the NYS Trappers convention in Frankfort has fur handing demos every year, and no complaints have been made about disposal or anything else (to my knowledge). There surely are other 'group activities' which do not ire the public majority. But often some of them do. Another thing to look at is the age of the offenders - I believe they were in their mid - fifties and assumedly club officers. Perhaps they also served as hunter education instructors and/or ran youth outreach or their club does. Is this the blind leading the blind? All they had to do was put the carcasses in a bag and put it in their (own) dumpster or garbage can or take it to the municipal dump - end of story. Another thing: its one thing to breast a bird or two - but when you are talking 200 birds you are leaving A LOT of meat if you only breast the birds or take only the breast and legs. These are precisely the type of hunters that talk about all this experience they have and how they got the world by the tail but don't know squat. I think right now - March 2014 we are experiencing a rash of bad public relations we have not seen for some time. As a result the anti-hunting movement is profiting and expanding. We have irked people with Onondaga lake - including the way the local news reported the situation; hunting contests; the federal sportsmen's heritage act; the Conservation Councils stance on Quiet Waters; Finch Land: and the reintroduction of Gray Wolves and other issues they support, oppose, or drive. Meanwhile most of us act like we are the majority and we hold the cards, well we don't.

Based on the results of many, many people Longbeards are probably the best lead shell ever developed. I've got a couple boxes of 3" 5's I plan to use in my backup gun this year. Once it warms up a bit and the wind stops blowing 20mph for a few minutes I'll get out and pattern them myself, but from what I've seen I'm confident it will be the best lead patterns I've ever had. That said, lead is lead. Keep your shots to 40 yards and you will have dead birds. Don't listen to the Doofy brothers and their 60+ yard nonsense.

One thing very different about ADK deer is that they are not as easy to pattern... their range is usually very vast. They seldom rely on the same watering spot, food source or even bedding area... etc. I have found that bucks will stay high early season and come down off the hills and mountains when the rut starts to kick in... I like to hunt streams, creeks and river edges or even beaver flows when I can. I have always had better deer sign there... especially if the waterway passes through a swampy, marshy area or through a dark hemlock bog. Caught many a buck laying on a high spot in those dark wet hemlock woods. Put the time into an area to learn as much about it as you can. Take note of where you are seeing the most activity and what is different about that area than the rest of the woods. That difference could be the key to finding deer in similar areas.

Cool stuff Pygmy... I have lost a couple really close fishing and hunting buddies which changed some of my annual fishing and hunting trips... Somehow things are not the same when I fish or hunt the places we use to frequent... but I always think about them whenever I'm there. Be nice if some things just never changed.

Lots of forage. It is just 50' up. Lol. Would be great if NY ever decides to stock giraffes lol

Great tips guys. Discussions on this type of hunting are my favorite on the forum. As stated 6 miles in is a lot. My treks are similar to NFA's (1-3), yet I am in catskills high peaks. If you are covering that type of ground without covering more than a couple of sets of tracks, my advice would be to hunt a different section of the 'Dacs. I didn't connect with a deer for my first 9 or 10 yrs. But once I got my first, the whole situation changed. The next 10 years were awesome.about a deer per year. Its like success be-getts success. Hunting big woods is as mental as it is physical. Stay confident and when it comes to sign, believe what your eyes see. No sign no deer. StiLl hunting are area void of sign is a waste of your time.

I've heard mixed results on longbeards. I honestly don't like their ad with the Drury brothers claiming to shoot out to 60+. Those shots are not ideal for the average hunter, and an ad like that will have the weekend hunter thinking it's a good ethical shot. 40 and under and I'll stick to my hev-13

That's very similar to the way I do it, Joe...Very quick and easy . It works a little better with the small to average sized 'heads than with those big 1-2 pound yellowbelly slobs we get from Seneca Lake. A few years ago, a buddy of mine turned me on to filleting the big ones with an electric knife. That's also very quick and the big ones seem to fry up a little better filleted than whole. My parents both loved bullheads, and I grew up thinking they were equivalent to nectar and ambrosia, whether fried whole or filleted. Spring just ain't SPRING without a couple good messes of bullheads. They are GOOOOOD !...Make you wanta slap yo MOMMA !

We used to have a couple of high horses. Or maybe they just looked high because I was little at the time. I suppose low horses don't count .....eh?