Salmon_Run

Welcome aboard !!!! This local will be keeping an eye out for you.....

Where I am it's hard to do any appreciable glassing and I mostly utilize still hunting and sitting on watch in some know travel corridors. It's always good to try new techniques however and if you have ledges in that side of Route 8 I'd give it some time to try. I have several trail cameras out and the mature bucks are nocturnal by this time of the year. There are always exceptions and give glassing a try for a afternoon or two. It looks like we may be gaining some snow cover in the coming days. I like still hunting with a light snow cover mostly. Glassing might be a great option on some of the cold mornings if you can find some bedding areas and have snow cover. Then one could utilize spot and stalk after glassing. Nothing ventured - nothing gained or learned at least. I just find the deer especially hard to pattern until very late season when they begin to herd up and head towards thick cover for the winter. Their food supply varies year to year and this year the beech nuts seem pretty prevalent. This places them out in the open hardwoods to feed and I se does in the open feeding and being relaxed right near my cabin. Hopefully this draws a rut crazed buck out into the open. Best of luck and keep us informed of your experiences.

The woods are dense enough I've had to walk around just to get a GPS signal when the leaves are on. There is no cell service for miles and when it's blowing snow getting around is challenging at best. It's deep woods hunting, the deer are big and very nomadic.... It's very hard hunting but that's part of the lure.

No idea what happened as he was only 8/10 of a mile from his camp. He should have easily heard traffic on Route 8 if he sat down and listened. It's hard navigating there on cloudy days and there are no far off mountain tops to gauge off of as you are on the side of the mountain. It's easy to get turned around but one needs to be prepared and first and foremost stay calm. I've been in these woods since I was 10 years old and I still can get turned around.

Thank you for your service, dedication and enjoy your day in celebration and remembrance of those before you.

It's very easy to get beyond your abilities in the deep woods. I've sat on watch and seen but a few hunters over the years. It's rugged and very remote and ever changing in nature. I carry a large fanny pack with basic supplies, dress in layers and have comfortable boot for the days hunting. The woods are very mature hardwoods and mixed in wet lands, One can not make a direct line and one has to dodge large rocks, blow downs and dense brush areas. The state land has open up somewhat as the tree canopy has risen but every few years the high wind make blow downs and jumbles of trees that are impenetrable. I love the area but it is extremely hard to pattern deer as the food sources change yearly. We have beech nuts in abundance in some years and not others, cherry trees and a few old apple trees from when the area was a remote farm. get out, explore and above all be safe....

Try a very light coating of "rain-x" like used on a car windshield and buff the lens well after. There is also a product for anti-fog product called "cat crap" that works on lenses and glasses as well.

I'm in Hamilton County and not an oak tree any where around my land or the adjacent state lands. The hardwoods are predominately beech, maple and cherry.

Good luck, where I hunt there is no cell service for miles. I have found myself daydreaming or looking at a map and looked up to see a deer looking at me... Enjoy..

I would say he's right around the 200 mark. There hard to judge unless you do it consistently and have time to compare bear against a know backdrop. A Adirondack bear seldom gets all that big due to their activity, and food available. One see much bigger bears in agriculture areas and other states when hunted over active bait. This is a mature sow of about 275 and note the rounded ears set wide apart, drooping belly and high arch of her hips compared to her front shoulders. She had triplets last year and is a good bear of the deep woods.

Agreed a GPS is great, but I relay on my compass first and foremost. I have a "bubble" type compass pinned to my outer jacket for very general wandering and still hunting and I carry a Silva Ranger compass for actual point to point navigation. I also have the custom printed topo maps I carry. I have centered the area I most likely hunt and they have great details. It's hard to tell someone that the terrain looks vastly different in each season change and with a snowfall. I've never been lost but certainly been confused a few times on dark cloudy days. I've hunted this same area for almost 45 years now and it's still confusing with all the subtle ridges and valleys.

Every year we sadly see this, luckily he was found in the morning alive and well. Any time one enters the deep woods be prepared and have the basics for navigation and survival. He was only 8/10 of a mile from his camp. I know this area well and if one panics and walks the wrong direction they can travel about 75 miles and not cross a road. This section of woods can be greatly confusing and if he stopped and was prepared he should have easily heard traffic on State Route 8. Be safe out there.... Hamilton County Town of Morehouse Search: "On Oct. 28 at 6:25 p.m. DEC's Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from Hamilton County 911 requesting Forest Ranger assistance in regards to a missing hunter in Hoffmeister, town of Morehouse, off Alderbrook Road. The 30-year-old male left unprepared for an evening in the woods. Three Rangers responded and searched the area with assistance with Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) and Hamilton County Sheriff's units until midnight with no success. Sixteen Forest Rangers responded to continue search efforts the next morning. On Oct. 29 at 7:30 a.m. two Forest Rangers located the subject on the edge of a wetland, approximately 0.8 miles from his camp and in good health. He was walked back to his camp when located by Rangers and declined further care."

I've noticed deer movement on the increase this week. The weather change and rut has them moving along now. I like hunting late season with light snow cover and the peak rut timing. I'm headed North tomorrow for the hunt. Best of luck out there...

Good luck, all of these tips are great. It's part of the excitement to learn new areas and one day you'll believe that you've master this land and the deer will then do something totally new dependent on wind, food or their sex drive. Enjoy the experience and wander this parcel in the off season to see what develops.

This should get things moving !!!

I've hunted since my youth for the reasons of heritage, enjoyment, sharing with friends and relatives of time away and in the woods.

I believe the season (prime) will be delayed this year due to the very mild weather. In September it looked like an early fall, but since then its been very mild and unseasonable. Headed into camp in a few days and hope to be there until December. Last year a blizzard hampered my activities just before Thanksgiving Day. Good luck out there !!!

Coachdad said it well. Deer need food, water and shelter very day and look for those on your plot. Then enter the rut and bucks begin scrapes and searching for does in heat. Food - shelter - sex...

I started as a construction worker (residential) when 14 years old, worked in a local hospital as a radiologist runner, I did masonry labor, learned welding, built some dirt modified race cars and was headed into self employment after college in one of the skilled labor fields. My "dream job" was to be a ranger or conservation officer but at that era it was nearly impossible to get in the door. My father who also did construction stressed to learn a trade and then get a job with security, paid retirement and health benefits. I did just that and never looked back, now I can remodel my own home, do odd jobs on the side, and was able to build my own camp in the Adirondacks.

Retired at age 55 from 32 years of law enforcement, worked those crappy shift and holidays and missed a few season along the way. The early years are tough but soon enough one gets seniority and I was able to bid good days off and shifts. But worth every minute, now every day is Saturday ,I have full medical coverage and direct deposit..I took every civil service test available in the early years and started in a small town police dept. and after two years transferred to the county sheriff's office and made Lieutenant for 2/3 of my career.

Get out there tomorrow and GOOD luck...

You never know what might swim by you out there.. I don't think Capt. Sully is flying any more so you might be safe...

I enjoy "Meat Eater", some of Jim Shockey's Yukon shows, and "Dropped" with the Keefer brothers. I DVR them and scroll through the commercials so they don't drive me crazy. I mostly watch and enjoy the camps and scenery shown. I remember a few years back a guy, I believe from Utica, did a New York hunting/fishing show and he was hysterical. He tripped, got lost often and fell out of a drift boat all on video. The editing was amateurish at best. The shows were so funny and they were short lived on local cable..

Best of luck to her this fall. Those scars are earned when you get them that way. She looks like she took it in stride and kept on going...good job raising a daughter that bounces back at things life throws at her; it speaks volumes to her and your character. Wishes to her for a complete healing and a big buck in that scope before season's end....

Welcome, I am sure you'll consume lots of that coffee while sitting at your keyboard right on here. It's most often entertaining, educational, and fun....every once in a while it gets crazy and then you sit back and enjoy.... Brew up a pot and enjoy!!!