Daveboone

Stillwater can get very rough and treacherous very quickly. If going in by canoe, it isnt unusual to get stranded in windy weather. Tie everything in very well and keep the life jackets on. There are some big deer up there, but you will earn them. I agree with the old school line of thought that a gps is a helpful tool, but no where near as reliable as a map and compass. Bears are not a big deal generally up there, but keep a clean camp site in case one is hanging around. It is beautiful country up there, true wilderness hunting. You will be able to sign in at the boat launch for particular camp sites (required, actually).

Old Ted loves to have the camera around, so of course it catches him at times not exactly at his best... I myself am not a fan (though I love "Srtranglehold)) of his sportsman persona, but I do think he calls it as he sees it, and stands up for it. I do not like at all his "in your face, take it or leave it" style. I did hear him speak in person to a very mixed audience on an anti drug -family values theme, and came away very impressed. So although I dont care for him personally, I do respect him. We could do worse for a spokesman...he could choose to be quiet.

I dont understand why so many folks mention the blood trail so much with Powerbelts. Other than with archery and 12 gauge slugs, I have never in 30 years of hunting needed or noted the blood trail for a firearm shot deer. I certainly dont think they leave any more or less an entry hole (45 caliber) than from my .308, .300, 30-30,or 8x57.

I have killed a number of deer, all with one shot, with the 245 gr. powerpoint with 100 grains of 777. The compromise of easier loading to me outweighs the marginal improvement in group size with sabots at the range I allow myself. It worked particularly well four years ago on a 205 lb southern tier buck.

But want it for what? 410 shells out of a short barrel are ineffective for...well, anything. For home defence the .45 round certainly has much more energy. That being a given, the gun is oversized for that, and one of many other handguns would be lighter and more compact. They are a novelty, good for show and nothing more.

Having grown up in and around Syracuse, I had to laugh when they described Syracuse as on the shores of "pristine" Onondaga Lake. ew. Heids and the Dinosaur were both very nicely represented, but darned if I could find anyone who had even ever heard of Mothers Cupboard.

I have been a long time subscriber. It is not a hunting magazine, it is about NY outdoors: anything from focuses on particular outdoor areas, to wildlife, influential outdoor people, the environment, etc. for the very low annual price, I think it is worth it, and my sister gets an annual subscription for xmas that she loves.

I would much rather have a late muzzleloading season. Give me snow. A season following the regular season would be my preference.

Yup.

I prefer to hunt a light rain or drizzle. or sleet. The critters are also uncomfortable and frequently move at all hours, keeps the scent down and the deer tend to keep their eyes lower too. Needless to say it makes still hunting quieter and more effective.

We finished a long week end up at our camp on the Tug Hill. The weather was perfect, bugs few, and only a few showers in the evening Sunday. For the first time since we have had it, a bunch of family was up for an overnight. we roasted beef in the coals, picked blackberries until we saw spots in front of our eyes, and were up late around the campfire doing the good old family bsing. Thick french toast for breakfast, camp fire weenies for lunch, and coyotes in the hills for music. Life doesnt get much better.

I am, and have been for about 5 years. It is a very well run club. They have a number of leagues throughout the year, including a .22 rimfire rifle indoor league. No magnums or rifles other than rimfire are allowed. I do not belong to any leagues due to time constraints. I mainly shoot for my own recreation on the week ends that I am working down near there. They have open houses several times a year, normally the week following the Syracuse Gun Show. They have a pretty good web site, if you check it out.

Ya ya to what Doc says. No matter what region, (Alleghany, Catskill or Adirondack), not being able to bait or hound bears, almost all taken are stumbled onto by luck. Some folks live in areas with native neighborhood bears, of course, but they usually arent going to tell you about them. Many Adirondack campsites though, are frequented by bears, and if you could figure out regular routes of bears to the parks, I would think it would be an edge.

I find 777 much more reliable in ignition than Pyrodex, especially in very damp conditions. As well, I always found Pyrodex to be little better than BP in line of clean up. It does buy you some time, but you still can have a hell of a mess if you dont clean up promptly.777 is almost carefree for clean up, and in very damp (or wet) conditions have never had a fail to fire.

I have been a long time fan of the Deerslayer, and own two Model 37s. I hope the new Ithaca co. does well, but I have a tough time seeing where slug guns as such fit into things today. Here in NY almost all counties are switching to rifles, and most any centerfire deer rifle will have much less recoil and much better accuracy than a rifled slug gun can.

Each gun after each use, and they are sprayed with a storage protectant when put away for the season. About once a year I go through the safe and give everything a good cleaning and a bore patch of hoppes.

An awful lot depends on where you are. And lets face it, for most people any bear is going to be a splendid trophy, especiallly one out of NY. The average NY bear as I recall is between 175-200lbs. That is probably a 3 year old bear, or so. Where I have bear hunted in Canada, the avg. bears taken are in the 175-200 range also. There are always more smaller bears than big ones. Even NY has BIG bears, with bears well over 500 taken. They are also very hard to find. It will be alot easier to find a pretty average bear with a very nice hide than a big bear with a so so hide.

I love black powder for its sure ignition, but have you tried 777? Amazing. Simplest clean up, much more forgiving than black powder(well, totally forgiving!), and none of the bad habits of pyrodex. I switched about 5 years ago and never looked back.

I have never understoood boresighting. Within 5 shots I will be centered on paper, with a few more shots to zero. I know way too many people who consider bore sighting the same as sighting in. baaaad thinking.

Big does can leave big tracks, just like big women. I tend to look for a lone track (of course, an adult track with fawn track + does), and older bucks dont usually use the same trails. Of course, rub marks along the trails tend to be a clue. So I usually look for a large lone track, and try to follow it until I find more identifying features.

Yup. A turkey. I had a couple very similar shots on mine, but they revealed just a tad more.

I wanted to simplify and return to the real hunt. I also love the slow process of preparing each shot. I may use my NEF inline for hunting, but my heart and pride is with my Lyman Great Plains rifle.

although my gun safe and closet and room corners overflow, I primarily hunt with my Ruger .308 and a NEF inline.

I carry a cell phone only for emergencies, I wouldnt dare interrupt any of my hunting buddies hunts with texting.

I have a Honda Rubicon. I dont have a chance to do much trail riding, it is mainly used for hauling and camp work. Generally, no ATV riding is allowed on NY state land. It may be allowed on town or county roads through it though, depending on local agreement. Check with the counties ATV clubs to clarify.