Uncle Nicky

Noodle casserole with smoked bluefish, tomato salad, & watermelon. Peasant food fit for a king!

I have no doubt of it. The show is probably sponsored by Moultrie or some other feeder maker. I HAVE seen deer & other wildlife come out to a feeder a short time (hour or two) after the feeder goes off, but that's because the timer was set to go off right at daylight or a couple hours before sundown. I've also seen deer that are conditioned to hearing a truck with a salt thrower drop corn on a ranch road come out shortly after, but again, this is in Texas brush country, where food is at a premium. Not so much in agricultural areas where they can pick & choose most of the year.

If deer are starving or have little browse, then the sound of a feeder spitting corn may condition them to come eat, especially if they have competition for food. But they are pretty much creatures of habit, they will usually wait until almost until dark to come to a food plot, later if they feel pressured.

All of NJ, MD, parts of PA, most of the southern states, and TEXAS. And probably a few I can't remember. Follow the rules, and if you don't like baiting where legal, don't do it. But it's a lot cheaper & easier than food plots, with the same results. It's not so much about hunting over the bait as it is keeping wildlife in the area.

I did a lot when I was younger. These days I worry about heart attacks, falling out of trees, slipping on the rocks....so I try to have a partner. Same thing on out-of-state trips, I like having another auto driver these days. But obviously you are now dealing with another hunter or two, which generally means compromises. And of course there is always fall turkey hunting with Maizy, the best hunting buddy a guy can find.

I sometimes wonder about the girl in the MTV video, and what happened to her. I didn't find much on her in a Google search.

Honestly, I don't know anywhere in the U.S. where that's legal for whitetails or mulies. Might work in Texas for Axis deer, definitely would work for hogs wherever legal.

I've made it before, but not for a while. It's probably the best way to make bluefish.

I have some experience with this, all legal. Nothing beats corn. Deer love it, so do turkeys, and a lot of critters you don't want showing up as well. Fill a feeder and you are good for a couple months, and get a solar battery charger so you don't have to replace batteries on a regular basis. Wildlife will eat your corn, but they also know humans are putting food out for them, so they are wary. If you are targeting deer, does and small bucks will hit it during the daytime, but good luck getting an old buck to come to it during the day. It takes a while for wildlife to find your feeder and start using it, but once they do, they are usually hooked. Much cheaper, a LOT less work, and easier overall than dealing with food plots. But if playing in the dirt is your thing, have at it.

Smoked bluefish, before & after. I will make noodle casserole with some, and fish dip with the rest.

140 is just BARELY on the edge of safe, thermometers are not always 100% accurate, and the CDC is recommending higher temps for wild game (bears). If somebody wants to risk getting sick, that's their business, but at least make sure you cook the meat to medium well if you plan to feed it to your family or friends. When I had my processing business, I flat out refused to make jerky or smoked sausage out of bear meat or wild hog meat. I know I pissed some customers off, but to me it wasn't worth the risk of making them sick, their family sick, or possibly contaminating equipment.

Everything you always wanted to know about trichinosis, I don't think the CDC has any agenda. Obviously something can get into a farm-raised hogs food to cause trichinosis, but outlawing the feeding of raw-meat garbage to hogs seems to have decreased the cases dramatically. https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/trichinellosis/gen_info/faqs.html

All the ones I killed were definitely deep in the "bush" and not primarily garbage eaters, baited with donuts, old meat & fish racks. It wasn't so much the taste, it was less bloody tasting than whitetail, but a little tough & chewy. It could have something to do with the meat being cooked to the medium well stage (I don't think 140 is enough to safely kill trichinosis). For the same reason, I wouldn't chance making smoked sausage or jerky out of bear meat, but to each his own.

It is tough to say if it will ever happen. North Jersey has a BIG bear problem, every other year someone seems to get killed or injured there due to a bear attack, but the antis are relentless in getting bear season stopped or modified. Being as NY is run by a liberal government (same as NJ), I don't see a lot of support for baiting or bear hunting unless a lot of people are injured or complain about nuisance bears. They almost voted hunting bear with bait & dogs down a few years ago in Maine, that would have been a huge mistake IMO. I've killed 3 in my life, and really have no desire to shoot another one; the meat is OK, a little chewy. I don't need any more mounts or rugs in my house, I'd rather let someone who has never killed one get an opportunity to kill one. I definitely noticed an increase when I had my camp in western NY, but I let 4 go in the last 3 years I owned the camp, even though I had a tag.

Congratulations! When I first clicked on this link I thought you were going to tell us that you had just gotten out of a cold swimming pool, but this is even better news!

I have open sights on my AK, but I only hunt hogs with it, a lot of running shots at close range.

Caught them in South Jersey. Not every outing is that good.

Last night it was spaghetti & crabs

I have a friend who breeds mountain feists, heck of a nice guy, actually lives in the corner of NJ where PA & NY all meet. I have hunted with his feists and others (in Georgia). He has actually written a book on training feists for squirrels, if you are interested I can tell you how to get in touch with him. As a rule of thumb they are very good house pets that behave well in the house, but turn it on once they get in the woods. Small dog = small feed bill & small turds in the yard. They are mainly used for treeing squirrels, but will run a raccoon up a tree as well. They range close (unlike a hound or cur, which will take off & leave you in the dust when they get on game). I want one in the worst way, but unfortunately I'm not set up for another hunting dog. My understanding is that most breeders DON'T want these dogs becoming mainstream housepets (like a lab or golden retriever or cocker spaniel), to keep the line as close to what they are bred for, which is hunting squirrels. Training isn't especially difficult, just teach them the simple commands and keep them in the woods after squirrels, and instinct should kick in if the dog has what it takes. Good luck!

It really all depends on where the deer dies & what my access is. If I do pack one out, it's nothing fancy, just a burlap bag slung over my shoulder. I'll make 2 trips if I have to.

None of us know the whole story here, and I don't think you've gone into much detail... If this is someone you were "mentoring", I would lay it out to him that you went out of your way to help, and unfortunately you don't have the time & resources to keep coaching him. Maybe one more lesson in scouting & suggest some decent public land spots he can scout and hunt on his own. Point him in the direction of some internet sites where he can either get tips on hunting or access public land information. If he wants to hunt badly enough he will either get a bicycle or bum a ride from someone else to get there. If he's just plain lazy (or cheap), I'd tell him unfortunately the lease is for paying members only. And that you aren't running a taxi service and only have enough guns & scopes for yourself. If he's just a dick and trying to push you around, I'd bring him one more time (to a different location), get him all set up, head home, and turn off your phone. The walk home will give him lots to think about, and probably take you off his Christmas card list. If he's somewhat of a jerk but you still want the friendship (strange as it sounds, I have a couple casual fishing/hunting buddies like this), come up with some boundaries ON YOUR TERMS and stick to them. He'll either accept it or move on, and either is a win as I see it.

Luckily, my vacation days are somewhat flexible. Plans fell through on some days, but looks like now I'm taking off last week of October & first week of November. Deer hunting isn't the priority, but I'll have to rest my dog a few days, so I'll probably get in a few sits bowhunting somewhere. I chuckle at these rut predictions, it's like clockwork, deer move first week of November, and a week before & a week after. We love to over-complicate things.

Marinated wild hog loin cooked on the grill, rice pilaf, local squash & tomatoes, & Fentimans ginger beer.

No, that's a Jones cap. I have one of these in orange, I think it's about 50 years old.