Daveboone

Easy to overthink this. There are alot of good ones out there, we have and use daily both Lodge and Griswold. I do prefere the ground flat bottom for cleaning, and they are a bit more no stick. Be sure to get one with a cast iron lid at the same time. Check out flea markets/ antique shops. there are plenty out there.

What type of ML? Most inlines you have very little to worry about. As previously mentioned, a piece of tape over the muzzle is a good idea. When I had an inline I also would put a piece of duct tape over the breach. If it is a traditional side hammer, different story. In a light mist, percussion caps usually are ok. Otherwise you need a "Cows Knee". Google them. It is a leather or treated cloth drape that goes over the lock and is held in place by quickly released strings. In the old days, if it rained, you stayed inside.

wtf?

That is great! Wonderful watch to start the day.

absolutely no matter what, I would never sell a vehicle for anything but green cash in hand in person.

I agree with the sentiments about the political scrub, but having the political section at least steers folks so inclined to that mind set to that location which we can then just bypass and continue to enjoy ourselves.

When NY started our ML season way back when, it required an external hammer and open sights. I dont remember if patched ball was required. It was intended as a true primitive arm season like archery. Over time the allowances (for scope, inline, etc) changed with demand from the sportsmen, as well as a way to keep /get more hunters in the field. There are only a fraction of the hunters out there now that there were forty years ago. That said, I have gone full circle. I started with a traditional hawken style rifle, moved to several different inlines with glass. I shoot my ML quite a bit. I never was happy with my inline performance, and last year sold my last one. I absolutely shoot my cap and ball rifles more accurately and consistently (I shoot at my hunting ranges, totally disregarding supposed "potential" ranges)than I did my inlines. Last year I got my first flintlock, and fell in love with it. There is a steep learning curve with them, but if you put in the time and have a quality lock, you have no 2nd place to percussions. I am building my first traditional flintlock now which will be a 58 cal. long rifle, example of an 1760s era everyday rifle would have been. I was bumming not to have an opportunity durinjg ML season to use it, but have taken several deer in the past with my cap and ball rifles so no big deal. Anyway, I wish NY had a true primitive rifle season...iron sights, patch ball. I love the late season, but no longer have southern tier access.

Just like some of the vets are very happy to talk about what they did...sometimes in horrible places, and some just want to forget about that time of their lives.

But at the same time...I have some who never want to touch or look at a firearm again...Just the thought of them can take them to a very dark place they want to forget ever happened....

When very small I well remember all the dads in the neighborhood getting together to throw horse shoes. Most all of them had tattoos, a number of them walked with limps or back injuries, though all were still young men. All were WW2 and Korean War veterans...the service truly was a unifying factor for all of their generation. I have the continuing honor of assisting a surprising number of these veterans, and have been privileged to hear some amazing stories. Not all of them of course were combat vets, but they all played a part.

Frustrating year. I had all NT ML week and last week off for hunting. Never saw a deer during ML, which is unusual but it was very warm with some heavy rain, and my week actually was interrupted to only having about half a week to hunt. NT I knew we had plenty of deer around, but they were not showing. My neighbor has great bedding areas, and he saw deer almost daily. I foolishly passed on several good does a week ago ( I dont like to shoot them out of a group) and had a clean miss on a very off balance shot. I really was just figuring out where and when they were about when I finished up. If the long end of season ML hunt is permanent for ST in december, I will have to figure out somewhere south. I love hunting the late season.

All of my percussion and flintlocks I lower the hammer to release the spring tension, and also on my bolts...which I can close the bolt with the trigger held back, so the firing pin is not cocked ( Mauser/Mauser clones). My hammer fired guns...winchesters, falling block, Marlins..the same. My centerfire revolvers I would never store cocked...even if unloaded, but in my mind a handgun is useless if it isnt loaded, so regardless the hammer is lowered. Of course, rimfires you do not want to dry fire, and probably modern centerfires in general it isnt necessary but you can harmlessly dry fire them to do the same.

I have often found/seen deer on cold clear days in relatively open areas sunning themselves.

Dont rattle it! I have owned Mossbergs, Remingtons, Winchesters, Brownings and Ithacas. All rattled to some extent. That said, some of it I am sure was engineered in to be sure they didnt bind.

I am a .308 man. The Mauser m18 is a fantastic rifle that has been out for a few years now. Just bought one last year. Bolt with removable magazine, the best dang trigger I ever pulled, three position safety, synthetic stock that doesnt look like crap...LIst price is around eight hundred bucks, but I found mine for under five on Gunbroker, delivered to a local shop.

Meat should absolutely be fine.

You have a stand you know produces. have patience and sit in it. You can not predict what five second period a deer may choose to walk through....usually five minutes before or after we are there, or the five seconds our nose is in the cell phone/etc.

I am pretty careful about what I buy, and am not easily swayed by hype. That said, the biggest disappointment I ever had was with a Henry Rifle. I love single shots, and I love the .308. I thought my dream rifle was created when they came out with the break top single shot a few years back. I saw one in person at Runnings at a good price, with easily the prettiest wood on a stock rifle I had ever seen. It had the most god awful heavy rough trigger pull of any firearm I have ever had, and had an incredibly high failure to fire rate. I am a pretty mechanical, and nothing I love more than taking a firearm that isnt a "shooter" and making it so. This rifle was a dead end. It utilized a horrible system with a single spring for both the hammer and trigger. I spent a lot of time on the internet looking for cures, tried a number, and did not get what I wanted. This was a very wide sped problem with this rifle. Luckily I was able to trade it for what I had in it. On the shooting forums, many owners sent them back to Henry and returned them with the same problem intact, so I didnt see the point in that route. After the fact, Henry did a recall supposedly to fix the problems. After that, I doubt I will ever buy another of their firearms.

Not sure what you are referring to in the NZ ML season. This year it started the same time period (which floats a bit depending on the weekend of the month...this year a bit later) as it has for years. It is scheduled earlier in the season than in the southern zone due to NT deer yarding up and literally being sitting ducks in alot of deer yards late season.

I would be sure to confirm from a known source the minimum caliber. At one time the minimum caliber for handgun hunting in new york was 35 cal. I know that of course there are many single shot handguns that shoot .30 cal. rounds (30-30, .308, etc) so that well may be old and obsolete, but when I used to assist with teaching NYS hunter safety classes this was a common question.. and like I already mentioned, may no longer be true.

I just found this thread...What a great adventure, and it is great that your wife is a good sport too to enjoy it...even if it is on a limited basis, with you.

A few hours...nothin. I make sure I eat well in the a.m. and hydrate well. In the pm before going to my stand a candy bar snack and hydrate.I dont want to move in my tree stand any more than necessary. If I am going for a few hour walk/still hunt, I will likely bring a snickers bar and a bottle of water to enjoy as I find a good look out. Now, on a bear hunt when I am going to be in my ground stand for maybe eight hours, I will bring a couple sandwiches made up of leftovrs, some cookies and at least a bottle of water.The only problem with that is I am guaranteed to have a critter show just as I am getting into my vittles.

Most anyone that processes deer will be happy to take you hides, but they will not pay for them. They dont get very much.

Unseasonably warm at the start of the season. Historically most deer are taken opening day/week end, when the most people are out. My game camera is showing plenty of deer, just moving at night when it is cooler.

Difficult to tell with that angle...the head looks awful big, so I am thinking it isnt a monster. I also am thinking a fat sow around 225 ish.