Daveboone

Saranac makes world class stuff, reasonably priced, but I can do without the "fruity" types. Black and Tan is my favorite, but tough to find. Old reliable Guiness is my go to beer, with the advantage of being amazingly low in alcohol which lets me have a couple extra. I am in to beer for the love of beer, not an alcohol buzz.

Wisdom dictates not handling any firearm at any time after having a few...little need to actually justify the reasoning.

I would inquire with your pistol permit office. They let me do a transfer from a friend to me directly through them without a FFL. It maintains its registration through the process. (I actually did it twice).

Plenty of thermocell refills. I usually slide a new pad in about 1/2 way through the shift. A big mouthed pee bottle will be handy!

Whatever gear you choose, try it all out before the trip...preferably on another overnight. Even the "best" gear can end up useless if it isn't seriously tested to purpose ahead of time. You may want to try some of the larger and little used game management areas the state offers. We used to overnight in Happy Valley for a w/e of hunting, which was easily done from the car.

And I agree totally that the perpetrator has gotten way too much media attention...which the terrorists hope for. Somewhere out there is some poor twisted young mind looking at his new terrorist "idol", and wondering how he can join him in martyrdom, just as my kid used to watch Ken Griffey and hope to swing and hit like him.

And here is the funny part...I don't feel the recoil is all that bad out of the .300. Shooting 180 grainers out of a Ruger 77, my handloads...off the top of my head I cant quote the exact load, but it is in the upper 25% of capability. The 45-70...I load a 350 Hornady at about 2100 fps out of a telephone pole of a Browning single shot. The 350 is lighter than what most like, but it works dang fine. What I like about it as opposed to the .300 is that it has sure fire penetration with very little collateral damage...much like what I like about the round ball out of a muzzleloader. For me, it is a specialized close range (75 yards or less, usually) bear banger. And lets face it...it has a hell of a lot more personality than the other.

Again every other major paper, magazine and website has used this guy to sell themselves (yes, news is a business), and Rollng Stone cant? And the magazine- just as Time also reports on music, as well as politics, etc., reports on much more than just music. I "get it"...but many out there despite what they think, don't see their own manipulation. Adolf Hitler Charles Manson and Saddam Hussien (sic?) all shared Times cover... Interesting that no one here has read the article. Again, I have no interest in it myself, so I don't buy it. Even more interesting is the labeling of the magazine as "low quality" while never having read it. Sad, and that...is a shame. And I apologize for that statement, because I would think a discussion about current events can be about that, without slamming the individuals opinion.

Jack O'connors Big Game hunts is one of my favorite reads, with stories of his trips throughout the world, but one of my all time favorite books is "Horn of the Hunter", by Robert Ruark. He writes of his first safari, and you feel like you are there with him, and he is splendid company. Elmer Keiths "Hell, I Was There" is his biography, from infancy in Montana at the turn of the century (18th to 19th), growing up cowboying, hunting and shooting, guiding, and his adventures hunting around the world. Great stuff.

I don't get the hoopla. The kids face has been on every newspaper and major magazine for months, the picture used is a stock picture widely printed, the cover printed story statement certainly isn't glorifying. Myself, I have bought the magazine a number of times in recent months, and find it still to be an excellent source of info on music and politics, while not bowing to political correctness. I regularly see it on newsstands, and ALL magazine are suffering from declining sales (especially hunting fishing oriented). Myself, I wont buy this months for lack of interest in the primary articles. What I do find disturbing is that magazines such as "Mother Jones", that used to be far more politically controversial, now are more mainstream than the evening news.

I bought a 300 win mag about 10 years ago, being assured it was necessary for bear hunting. My first year bear hunting I shot , horribly mangled and killed...though not immediately, a small bear. a six inch chunk of three joined ribs and a lung were left on the ground where it was hit. The bear was about 170 lbs, about the same weight as a fair NY deer. It was the last thing I shot with it. I stick with my 45-70 for tree stand hunting and bears (four one shot kills, dropped on the spot without unnecessary carnage) or my .308. Far lighter than any .300, more than enough range for anyshot offered in NY, available in a short action, much more inexpensive ammo. There are folks who preach never too much gun....there sure as hell is.

This is Daisy, my 18 mon. old Rottie and almost constant companion, looking much more serious than she usually is.

Just please expect the same sort of group size expectation for yourself from your handgun that you would expect from your rifle before you take to the field with it. I have seen way too many handgun hunters who are happy with dinner plate size groups at 25 yards, and think they are prepared for 50...even though they wont take to the field with their rifles until they can keep a group under 2" at 100. I used a 18o grain soft point with good results. Test heavier bullets carefully through your revolver. The heavier/ longer projectiles may bind the cylinder.

I have bought several homelites, Poulans, McCullochs...none lasted or were reliable. I finally anted up and bought a Husqvarna (sic?), and it has been totally reliable and trouble free. Both actually were used. My 20" bar I use for felling, but it was too heavy for extended time for limbing, smaller trees, etc. I found a barely used 16" at a local equipment shop for 150.00, about 1/2 price of the new. Chainsaws definetly are worth buying the best you can afford, and a quality 16" saw can do alot of cutting. Stihl and Husqvarna owners are both very vocal as far as which is best....both are very good.

I agree that if the gun has a removeable barrel, a replacement bbl may be the most practical way to go. You may even be able to find one with the variable choke on it already. For a competent gunsmith though, I doubt the installation would be that expensive, and they should be able to quote an accurate price. Not my first choice, but Gander Mtn. does theservice around here.

When I was in the market for land, before I found what I wanted pre-built, I was looking long and hard at Dura- Shed. They are stick bilt sheds/outbuilding built to your specs from their base plans. A couple of my neighbors used them, and were very happy, and I was very impressed. At the time, a 24/24 building with a gable roof, and 2nd floor was around 13,000 (7 years ago). They are online. They are rough finished.

No substitute for pre season scouting: crops, orchards, etc. Of course, the Old forge area doesnt have much of that, and most of the bears in the area are there for the easy garbage, tourist pickings at campgrounds. Once tourist season ends, they disperse a bit. most bears in the ADKS are incidental to deer hunting.

On a canoe trip in the Adirondacks (on the Bog River Flow, if I remember right) , one portage had a former great camp along side. On the point at the canoe landing was a terraced area with memorials for race or show horses. The memorial plaques were there in the early eighties, but the last time I went throug in the mid 90s, they had all been pryed off .

For a great deal of the Tug, the deer yard up. They migrate into wintering "yards", or off the hill. My camp is located right on the edge of the hill, and when the snow starts in earnest, they move through the area to winter in the lower areas west of the hill. I love driving the accessible side roads as spring breaks, to find the herds. Theresa is a beautiful area. I guess it is off the Tug Hill itself, but it certainly knows winter just the same.

I wont have electronics with me in the field. It distracts from what I am doing. Hunting. On the otherside, I do love my lunar calendar and sunrise sunset apps on my tablet, which help me plan my time. I have made use of satellite photogrophy to eyeball areas from above, more to look for hidden roads, builldings and ridges. When I am in the woods, If it has a battery, it can and will fail.

Doc, It is north country hunting....I have no problem filling my freezer, but you will work for your buck. Right on the edge of the plateau where I am, the deer population is very healthy, but it is big woods hunting (but much better than say, in the ADKS. There is little agriculture for numbers. I dont hunt turkeys, but they are around. Again, not much for crops, but alot of overgrown apples. There are alot of grouse, and snowshoe bunnies.

.JPG]Here is my camp. Western Tug Hill. I have 10 acres, but border on two sides 900+ state and county. I was just there this week end. Only about a foot of snow there right now.The end with a door will be getting a 16x8 4 season porch this summer. I have no public services, and like it that way. Propane for cooking and lights, wired for generator throughout but usually only need it when it is very hot in the summer for fans.

We have been burning pellets for almost 20 years. We start the stove as soon as we need to heat, and kick in the boiler about thanksgiving through easter, when its coldest. We put our own stove in, which is easy enough BUT...make sure to meet local codes, and be sure to connect you vent properly. We have burned many brands of pellets. Our last stove ( A Breckwell) was awesome, and burned any brand we poured in it without a hitch. Our new stove (Jamestown) puts out more heat, but is finickier- I think the auger motor isnt as strong, and binds on dust and long pellets. Even though premium pellets meet the same BTU ratings, as mentioned, they do vary in quality, which i find more affects stove function than heat output. We do have a preference for soft wood also...lighter ash, doesnt need cleaning as much. Be aware- many folks dont care for the pellet hauling, dust and clean up that you still have, even though tremendously less than burning wood.

Kind of an old thread, but ... I have been to Lindsays Sporting Camps, just over the line from Maine in NB. This year is my 5th, and many other hunters I see yearly have been back many times. Great food, comfortable, the guides work hard. Bears are not generally huge,there allways being more small and avg. bears than huge, but each time I have been there a 300 lb plus bear has been taken, and two of my 4 have been better than 250. I have heard complaints often of guides favoring repeat hunters, but I also know that repeat hunters request stands they have been succsessful at, which is fair My best bears were shot at the same stand, and I certainly will ask for the same spot again. As well, new hunters usually take several days to acclimate to the style of hunting. Guides do not need to be reminded that each new hunter is a potential repeat hunter.

Even with a climber you can hang the gun, and I have many times. leave the cord extra long so when you get to your desired hight, there is still slack in the rope. Just gently lift. Same going down.Gently lower the gun until it is lying on the ground and proceed. Otherwise, use a sling . Then I prefer it across my chest.