Uncle Nicky

Mornings I'm usually done by 9:30, gun opener I'll hang in until about noon. Usually put in 3 hours on an afternoon hunt. I did the all day thing before, but I just don't have it in me to sit still all day anymore.

I usually check the forecast before I head out in the afternoon. If rain is predicted that night, I'll leave before it's dark. Not a fan of tracking in the dark, and if rain washes away the blood trail, it's a crap shoot the next day trying to recover your deer.

Like it or not, no matter how great of a shot one is or how much we practice, eventually you will lose a deer. In my experience, a good blood trail that disappears is usually a muscle hit, sometimes the deer will die, sometimes it will survive. Sounds like you did everything you could to retrieve it, great effort on your part.

Everything you mentioned so far would be good. Why not make burgers with it also?

They're usually flocked up by now, and try to stay in groups throughout the winter. If a predator separates them, you might catch lone birds this time of year, but eventually they will find the flock and stay with them.

As long as it's on the American side of the lake, I'm fine with wherever.

Me as well, but great moose!!

I'm looking for a high-success salmon charter for next year on Lake Ontario. Does anyone have a captain/boat they could recommend? Thanks.

Thanks. Keeping her still will no doubt be the hardest part of this. She's finding birds & busting flocks, and I'm working on keeping her sitting still with me. Worst case is I will walk her back to a tree and tie her up a hundred yards away if she gets antsy. She's still a pup, so I'm assuming she'' calm down a little as she ages.

2 dogs. The smaller one is some kind of Jack Russell mix, we got her from a rescue, her name is Mia, she's the wifes lap dog and burglar/mailman alarm. The other dog is named Maizy also, she comes from a long line of Virginia turkey dogs, they call them "droppers" (pointer/setter mix, with a little hound mixed in). She's 10 months old, and will be hunting the abbreviated NY fall turkey season with me in 2 weeks, can't wait to get her into the woods and kill one with her. Been training her hard, and she's learning her lessons well.

I don't think that the average gun owner (especially in a rural area such as where this took place) is against concealed carry. I would tend to believe that carrying a weapon on a day-to day basis would draw a lot of unwanted attention from school administration and officials, would be an inconvenience, and most people have the "it will never happen to me" mentality, so they leave the handgun at home.

Unfortunately, I don't think it is possible. None of us want to read these stories, and I'm sure most of us feel for the victims and their families. But I'm sure none of us want to lose our gun rights or give the government any more control in our lives. It's a complex situation, with no easy or judicious solutions.

I will give you my experience. I bought 60 acres in Allegany county near Arkport, 300 miles from my home, about 15 years ago, it's bordered on 2 sides by state forest. The idea being I might want to eventually build a house & retire there. I went into it full steam ahead, posted it heavily (because I was told this was what you had to do), planted food plots. I had an agreement with the fellow I bought it from that we could hunt each other's land, and I got permission from the other neighbor to hunt his 50 acres also. Then, reality set in. Managing land from 300 miles is a daunting task...plants sometimes don't grow, weed control is difficult, and if you do get a good plot, everyone and his brother will find out about it. Even though I had the land posted, locals would come hunt when I wasn't there, and I don't have the time & desire to spend every weekend policing the place, I'm happy just to have them stay clear while I am there and not steal/destroy anything, and in all honesty, I'm not that greedy to press the issue, I'd rather get along than fight over someone coming on my land to kill a deer. I didn't know NY real estate taxes were so high. And the guy I bought the place from sold the remainder of his land to a guy who isn't interested in "sharing" properties (not angry, it's his perogative). I had high hopes to turn a few dollars when the fracking vote came around, but that never materialized. As I get older, I'm leaning more & more to retiring where it's warmer, not into the snow belt. I'll probably sell the place in a few years, hopefully I can log it first and maximize my investment, if the real estate taxes don't choke me out first. At this stage in the game, I might make the drive up 3 or 4 times a year, and half the time I'm doing maintenance of some kind or another. I know this sounds a little negative, but I've had some great time & memories there, and I've killed a few NICE bucks on the property, as well as a handful of turkeys. No regrets. As far as treestands, I don't think setting them up now is going to hurt anything. I have 6 ladder stands on my property, I keep them up all year long. Nobody has ever tried to steal or vandalize them (yet), I'd like to think this is because I've been friendly with the neighbors and not acted like a pushy out-of-stater.

Wives are never happy, no matter how much money you make, how much time you spend repairing the house, and how much time you stay home. Might as well give them a reason to gripe, at least that is my theory.

30 tops- that's crossbow or compound bow.

Only works on the TV shows where they are trying to settle rattle bags & ratting horns

Like many others have said, doe estrus works during the rut, much more so than the other gimmicks like ratting and grunting and doe bleating. In my experience, it brings in smaller bucks, but occasionally a mature buck will drop all caustion to the wind and come in for a look.

Remington 870 with OO buckshot.

I've been tempted a few times, but have never turned anyone in for game law violations. I think if there was a serious chance of injury to myself or someone else, I'd have no choice but to say something, either to the violator or the authorities.

Bought a new treestand (again). If this one gets stolen, I'm giving up and hunting from the ground. Wish list- Garmin Alpha 100 tracking collar for my dog. Starts at $800, OUCH!

Never seen this before, but I never shot a squirrel this early either. Good to know.

SOOO many changes, not sure I can list them all, but here goes: 1) 40 years ago, deer were on the rebound. They were never seen in suburban areas, only on farms or in the big woods. Now, they seem to be overpopulated in high human population areas. 2). Everyone small game hunted. Archery, turkey hunting, and waterfowl, and muzzleloaders were thought of as novelties. 3). It was an odd day when you DIDN'T hear pheasants cackling in the background. 4). VERY few women hunted 5). Very few people hunted from a treestand, and if they did, it was a permanent wood stand built by hand (I DO remember a guy who rigged a car bucket seat to a tree). 6). Clothes were not very warm 40 years ago, boots were worse. Everyone wore Woolrich during deer season. 7). Competition was nowhere as fierce as it is today, not only for hunting land, but "antler envy" also.

It is fatty, yes, but the fat is not "marbled" like you see on a prime beef steak, the fat is on the exterior of the meat, especially thick in the fall when they are bulking up. Grilling anything but the loins is probably the worst way to cook bear or venison for that matter. Add the fact that you should cook the meat to a MINIMUM of 150 degrees to kill trichinosis, and yeah, you're going to get a piece of meat that';s a little chewy. Better to grind the meat or slow cook/braise it (pot roast, swiss steaks, or stew) if you're set on cutting steaks or roasts.

Pretty dog!

My pup is ready (I think), so I am going to have her try & find & scatter the birds for me this year. Just fire a shotgun blast over their heads, that will scatter them also.