Pygmy

Whatever he is, the lack of a beard means he is not a legal bird in the spring season... With those massive, knobby old feet, I think he is domestic, anyway.. Probably some Amishman's yard bird.

The winter flocks are dispersing as the hens pick out nesting areas... I saw single hens in two different areas the last two days.. This morning I went past a field where there have been 40-50 birds daily, and there were only a half dozen of them out there.. Chronologically, they are right on time.. Dispersal usually takes place a week or so before our season starts.. Keep in mind there are no "set in stone" schedules for such events...They tend to be trends and can vary somewhat due to weather.

Good luck...I have limited experience with decoys, but with what little experience I have, I have not had good luck with jake decoys, or any gobbler decoys for that matter..I have run off several longbeards with jake decoys.. Birds seem either to IGNORE them or shy off from them.. I prefer to take the KISS approach, and use one or two hen dekes, and I have had the best results with feeding decoys (like the bobble head hen) rather than alert decoys.. As I said, my experience with decoys has been limited, so I don't claim to be an authority on the subject.

Good luck with your deer tags, AZ Girl... Unlike here in the east, drawing tags in AZ is not necessarily a yearly event, even for residents. However, if you DO draw a tag, chances for a GOOD one are excellent... A buddy of mine drew a bow tag a couple of years ago after about 16 years of applying..He killed a 340" plus bull.. He said it was truly the hunt of a lifetime...He was into big bulls daily for about 10 days until he killed his bull..

Do you hear that RUMBLE ? That's John Wayne rolling over in his GRAVE.... ....

A week from today I am heading north to Ontario for thier gobbler season, which opens April 25th.. I love the hunting up there...Lots of birds, different terrain.. There are very few posted signs, but it is understood that hunting private land requires permission from the owner.. My buddy who lives up there gets us permission on several properties and in 12 years of hunting there I have had no problems with interference of other hunters while I was working a bird, which is a big problem here in Steuben County.. The beer is excellent also...<<grin>>...

There are advantages to being a "switch hitter".... It doubles your chances of getting a date on any given Saturday night.... ....

Pretty fish, Joe..Thanks for sharing....

I love possums.. They ain't too bright, but they are ALWAYS grinning.. I caught many of them in my miss-spent youth, just by running them down and picking them up by the tail... A few years back, when I was down in Georgia hunting wild hogs, I tried to run down and catch an armadillo ( possum on the half shell)... I learned that armadillos run MUCH faster than possums, or at least much faster than slightly overweight , middle aged Pygmies...

Larry....I admire your restraint....hehehehe... You are a GOOD Doobie...LOL.. Eagle...All of my experiences with the Remmy 700 series have been positive, but the last one I bought was my Mt. Rifle in the early 90s.. Your post is not the first one that indicated that Remington quality and customer service has gone downhill in the last few years. All of my experience with them has been positive, but it's been 20 years since I bought my last one.

I have probably read some figures regarding survival rates, but I don't remember the figures.. I do know that a hen turkey who hatches 12 or 14 poults ( very common) has done a good job if she makes it to the fall season with half a dozen of them surviving... From that I would GUESS that poult survival is less than 50%... If you figure from EGG to adulthood, considering nest predation, it would be significantly lower..

I don't believe that cold/wet weather draws predators... What it does is to cause the poults to die of exposure if they get get wet and chilled while they are still in the down stage... They are very susceptible to dying of exposure until thier down is replaced by feathers...That is about 2-3 weeks.. Also, although it is not rare for hens to be incubating this early, it IS earlier than normal.. Studies have shown that the average hatching date in NY is June 11. Considering the appx 28 day incubation period, most hens would start to incubate in the first couple weeks of May. My informal records over the last 40 years indicate that in an average year, gobblers seem to work best to the call in a period from about May 8 to May 15th.. I believe that this is the time when the MOST hens are on the nest... After that time period, renests begin to be a factor... My experience indicates that a specific gobbler is as likely to have hens on May 31 as on May 1st... You just have to be in the woods that one or two days when he doesn't have female company..

Looks like you're getting the hang of that reloading stuff, Culver Ol'Boy... I'm looking forward to seeing some pictures of some nice tight groups that you shoot with them. Don't get too hung up trying to wring every last FPS of velocity from them..Anything over 1500 FPS that is accurate should do the trick..

Actually, Elmo, in the hundreds of hours I have spent hiking around Steuben County, often on public roads ( albeit secondary roads like town and county roads) I was only questioned once about carrying a rifle. I was walking with my two dogs along a county road with my Garand slung on my shoulder. A car came down the road , slowed and pulled to a stop. The driver was one of my neighbors from a few miles up the road, a retired state trooper.. He said " Is that an M-1 ?"....I replied that indeed it was... Then he said " Is it serial number XXXXXXXX ?" I looked and said "Nope"... Then he said " Well, is it serial number XXXXXXXO ? ". He still remembers the serial numbers of the two rifles that he was issued in the Army in the late 1950s... Welcome to Mayberry, Elmo.... .....

Yeah, Steve, but what about those PUMACOUGARS that the state released from thier black stealth helicopters..?.. They are EVERYWHERE, hanging from tree limbs, hissing and spitting and SCREAMING LIKE A WOMAN..!!.. And of course, there are those deadly saber toothed cottontails.. ....

I seldom spend time in the woods without a firearm . If I am working I usually carry a handgun. If I am hiking I usually sling a centerfire rifle.... I favor one of my milsurp rifles, because the weight of the rifle increases the value of the workout... I have hiked many hundreds of miles with a Garand M1 or a military Mauser slung over my shoulder or across my back. The chamber is empty but the magazine is loaded in case I encounter something that needs to be shot. Would I shoot a coyote or bear in self defense..?.. HELL yes...!!... But I suspect that I am more likely to need the firearm for defense against two legged varmints , or perhaps a domestic dog...

Joe....Was the corned goose a whole bird or was it boned/fileted ? Sounds interesting.I have made corned venison many times in the past. I generally use an intact muscle group from the hindquarter, like a sirloin tip. Possibly I could use the same process/recipe that I use for venison on the goose.

My two deer rifles happen to be a M70 lightweight in .280 Rem and a Remmy 700 Mountain rifle in 7mm08... What a dillema....<<grin>>.... I suspect I could hunt the rest of my life with either one and have no complaints..

I had a nice morning on the Cohocton tribs... I saw a fisherman here and there along the roads , but only ran into ONE guy while I was actually on the stream. The main river had LOTS of pressure, because they stocked it Thursday and Friday.. I landed 8 trout....One was about 10", another was about 12"... The others measured from 13" to 20 1/2 "...All either wild or holdover fish from waters that are not stocked.. Gorgeous brown trout...All fat and healthy fish... It was a great opener....

I'll be fishing somewhere on the Cohocton River drainage. I prefer fishing the unstocked tributaries. Much lighter fishing pressure and wild or holdover browns and the occasional brookie.. However, with the low/clear stream levels I might have to hit the main river instead.

Got me all excited when I saw this post... I thought it said FORNICATORS wanted...Sorry..My mistake.. I knew it was too good to be true..

Good luck with them...I hatched some years ago under a banty hen..They are about the size of a quarter when they hatch..Pretty cool.. Hope to see pictures when they hatch..

Nice report, Noodle.. Sounds like you had a great day. I assume you were fishing your center pin,,,What baits/lures were they hitting ? I drove across the Rt 81 bridge about 1:00 PM Sunday and saw a drift boat just downstream of the bridge fishing... Could that have been you ?

Nice rig, Culver.... I think you made the right decision avoiding the brake.. I'd rather have a little more recoil than the extra muzzle blast. She's a good shooter, for sure...Nice groups. Personally, I like the laminate.. Much more attractive than a piece of plastic, in my opinion. Of course, you know what they say about opinions.....<< GRIN >>....

Eddie....I can tell you from hard experience that it is MUCH more fun to party than to study in college... It just isn't nearly as productive.... ..... Hopefully he'll have a good experience and work things out.. Good luck to him...