Two Track

Did a little early bow hunting and turkey hunting there. Did not see much fresh sign then. Haven't been in there for gun season yet this year. two or three years ago I did see deer there - out of range or no good shot to take Sometimes they hangout on the golf courses near my town, but haven't really seen them there lately either. I have seen 20 or so of them a couple miles away on private land south of Stewart and in Washingtonville across from the firehouse. Wife see deer all the time at a friend's house that the whole cul-de-sac likes to watch - they found a safe zone there. Those deer were so close to the windows my wife was counting their chin whiskers.

Hey Elmo, I'm jealous. Stuck at the office all week. Leave something for me in Sterling for this weekend. Heard three shots from the Northern area of Sterling on my way to work, two quick and and about 2 minutes later a single-shot around 8ish. Sound-ed like the same gun for all three. Was that you?

Two years ago I bought a water-resistant blaze orange hooded insulated hunting jacket on clearance at Cablea's for about $60. Sat in the snow and rain last year and upper body stayed dry. Did add a body warmer since it dropped to the 20's plus the windchill. Think it was AGO brand. It is pretty quiet fabric.

Some Photo editing software will auto-load and organize picture for you. You can easily put the where you want by using Windows Explorer. click first image you want to copy Press CTRL + A (selects all the images) Press CTRL + C (to copy, or if you prefer to move them, CTRL + X for cut) Go to where you want to the pictures and paste them ( or use CTR + V) As to the cause, could be camera settings were changed to save images in folders by date, could be your Photo Software settings, could be related to the SD card or Camera index database. If a SD card has a glitch, it will write new images to a new folder. If the camera's index of images (how it names them) get full for the DC100 folder, it will create new folder to avoid saving new pictures with the same name. If you have say img001 already moved to your computer and the camera saves a new picture as img001 and you move that one to same place on your computer, you will lose the first one saved with that name. That is why the camera keeps track of naming images. Never remove a SD card with a camera on. Can (and sometimes does) corrupt the card and the images are lost. Wife did that on 4 GB card. Spent a couple hours recovering the pictures with recovery software for SD card. Same goes for those Android tablets, turn it off before removing the SD card. At least on a PC you can use the Stop and Remove device fro the system tray.

Exactly Doc. Never know where someone might be that entered before you, and have to see where the guy coming in is and make sure he/she can see you so everyone has a safe hunt. I even make sure on days when the last pair of clean thermals is white, that the sleeve and collar doesn't show despite the bright orange jacket and/or vest I am wearing. Back where I grew up the biggest year for hunting accidents was when they issued white back tags. Who knew that some people would just shoot at flap of white?

Maybe some people need to have put this way: Driving a dark colored car at night with no lights on is more-likey to be in an accident, just as hunter in all camo is more-likely to be accidentally shot by another hunter than one wearing blaze orange. Every night I see some car(usually at least 4-5) on the NY thruway without any lights on, or driving with the auto day-time lights (which means NO TAIL LIGHTS). Real fun to come upon in 65 mph zone, especially when they are driving much slower than the traffic. If you hit them, you are at fault. You should have seen them regards of them not having the lights on (I know someone ticketed for hitting another car at night that did not have their lights on. The police said his lights should have been enough to see the slower car that had no lights on at 9:00 PM) The same could be applied to shooting another hunter that was not visible to you who was wearing all camo. Please everyone play it safe and wear orange out there and the harnesses in the tree stands. Let's have hunting accidents down to slipping on rocks and getting a sprain or nicked you-self while field-dressing. That will put hunters in a much better light than reading about "another dumb@$$ hunter shot a squirrel that turned out to be another hunter" in the non-hunting public's eye.

Congrats. My first deer was a doe too. Nice and tender. I just need to get a NY deer. No deer since I started hunting in NY - been having deer tag soup and turkey tag soup for a few years. It is sad taking their life, don't look into their eyes - it doesn't help. I always mentally say I am sorry for taking them, but also thank them for providing meat for my family.

Don't put between sock layers, especially if the base layer sock is thin. It definitely is warmer that way, but I got a burned foot from that - I can take off my shoe and sock to snap a picture of it if you like, blister and all. I was using HotHands brand, non-adhesive foot warmers. I am more traditional is some ways - layering, thermal long-johns, wool socks. But also use moisture-wicking layer on warm days, and some of the newer thermal socks. If in the 20's before wind-chill, I add the HotHands' warmers to boots, gloves, and if get cold enough, put one on lower back. Still using a plain old cell phone and carry a compass and a topo map of the area. For a short morning hunt, the heated jacket sounds good. Battery not charged or runs out and you are a couple miles in and on foot, better have an alternative to stay out there, or head home. But that is just my 2 cents.

Congratulations. Bet your grandfather was proud too. He will probably the story to his buddies and say how proud he was of you. Enjoy all the times you get to hunt with him. I only had couple years of small game hunting with mine before he really couldn't hunt anymore and he passed on a couple years later. Take pictures of you together on your hunts - those pictures will treasured in the future. Enjoy the nice lean tender venison. If you can, you may want to keep the antlers. I have my dad's first buck's antlers and those are spikes on a skull cap. I have had them since I was about 4 years old when he got that deer.

It is much easier to spot someone when they are wearing blaze orange. In my opinion, an orange hat is not enough. If they are against a tree effectively blocking view of their head, but the shoulder and part of the ribs (covered in well belended camo) is exposed, how do you know they are there? You could have entered the same woods from different directions at different times and never spotted each other. I could only see one guy from two different angles that was hanging in a stand on Saturday because of his orange hat. The rest of his camo blended in with the leaves and surrounding brush. I was 3/4 up the slope across a stream behind him and he was near the bottom of the slope. 90% of the time I could not spot him to verify he was still there. I am not saying it was the victim's fault for getting shot, you do need to be sure of your target. But if you are not visible to others, it does make the safety aspect more difficult on the shooters part. Anyone notice that youth and their mentor's for small game and deer gun season are both required to wear blaze orange? Head, chest and back. I don't get the big deal about not wearing orange especially during gun season. If you take a fall and are wearing all camo, how can you be found if you need emergency assistance? What is there to say that at somepoint someone will take a bad spill and either hit their head and be knocked unconscious, or pass-out from pain/bloodloss. If happens to hikers, it can happen to a hunter.

Never had bear before. No bears where I grew up, so I debated on it. First spotted the bear it was headed into pile of downed trees and thought great... a den. It came out the otherside and turned towards me. The closest shot would have been a headshot. Then it turned 135 degrees and headed up the slope. Watched it pause, lay down, and then clean its paws while on its back. I snapped the pick when it got back up. It winded me 2 minutes latter. The pic is cropped and zoomed in. Lots of rocks and boulders around, so I was mindful of possible richot. I was out with a smoothbore shotgun ground hunting. If I took my grandfather's rifle, would have had no issue with the range. I was also making sure there were no cubs around. If it came back when I had tuna salad for lunch, it would have been put on the menu. There were only two others in area I was hunting in the northern parts of Sterling. There were two shots from the otherside of the ridge at different parts of the day. Not sure how many hunters were in the upper parking lot. Two weeks earlier saw a buck near where the bear was. This may be an interesting spot to watch.

congrats, on that nice deer. That spot sounds like a keeper. What's the GPS coordinates? Just kidding on the GPS. Cross the hudson enough for work. Not crossing it on my time too.

really nice buck. Congrats.

worked lated so ended up sleeping through the alarm. Woke up at shooting time. Someone got a buck in 3P and was loading it up at 8:15 as I drove by. Heard maybe 5 shots all day between 8:30- 4:20. Not much moving in the piece I was in: two squirrels and a small bear

Hikers need to keep their dogs on leash. Saw one guy turn his labs loose 2nd weekend of deer season at trailhead on state land open for hunting last year. Two of the labs were yellow. Signs posted warned that is was hunting season and year-round dogs must be kept on a 6 foot leash or shorter. This was no hunter - wore normal clothes, no firearms. So he was not bird hunting. Stupid acts like that could lead to: Sorry mister, thought that was a small deer with an abnormal tail. I have been on three different state lands an watched people do this. Almost had one guys dog come up to me. Even at Stewart State during deer gun season which is limited to hunters only for the three weeks of gun season, seeing hikers with dogs off leash - for example, wearing a day pack, light blue jacket, khaki pants, and sneakers with the empty leash in their hand while the dog trots ahead. Did they get their dog kicked out of the dog park? It is just three weeks that the place is restricted. You loose your dog hiking that is off-leash (illegally) and now expect to have anyone you come across help find it or get search party to find. I am not against sharing the place for recreation, just acts of stupidity and breaking the rules designed to protect everyone. Like keep the hikers and dogs safe from accidental shooting and others from being bitten by their dog.

Live in the 'burbs but not hunt there. Houses too close, have a LEO and a judge as neighbors. We have a flock of geese that took up residence in center of town in a park - a safe zone for them. I drive to one a few state lands within an hour from home. Sometimes driving looking for a spot for an hour on state land on top of that.

Back in scouts as a youth, before the water filters were around, we treated water with iodine tablets for 30 minutes before drinking. Suspect water was double-dosed. Lovely flavor that iodine. Canteen still tasted like it 10 years later. Haven't used it in a very long time. Use a new insulated canteen these days. Now days filter it and boil it if suspect water for viruses or bacterium. Chemical polluted water, just move on to a different source or find a fresh spring. I have carried a gallon of water while backpacking. it is heavy, but I knew i had good water to start with for drinking and a couple meals. If buddying-up can use a collapsible water container (2.5 gallons or so) and put it on a rope. Water in the middle and each person holds an end to disperse the weight. That is how we hauled 5 gallons or so from a clean source 2 miles up and over a mountain to a dry campsite. Speaking of washing pots and pans, get all the soap out. Know someone who had "blueberry" pancakes for breakfast that didn't quite taste right. The blue was from the powdered soap that was not rinsed out of the pans. There were no constipation issues by anyone who had the "blueberry" pancakes. If cooking over a wood fire, coat outside of pots with soap before cooking. The soot comes off easier. Clean sand can be use to scour a burned pot or pan if don't have a brillo or scrub pad - done that one. Never knew that aluminum griddle wasn't always black before that. Apparently, it was just never thoroughly cleaned before then. Just washed it afterwards and re-seasoned it.

Maybe add reward signs for tips that lead to conviction of trespassers? Too bad the old foot-traps for bear are illegal. Then could have put up a convincing sign warning of bear traps - they might have kept some people out. There are a lot of @$$hol3$ who think they have to right to do anything they want on anyone's land with anyone's stuff when they see fit. God forbid you touch something of theirs though. I have solar lights missing from the front lawn, missing driveway markers, and a pulled-out stave for a small tree. And this in right in town. Even had my daughter's scooter missing for a few days down the block. One of the neighbor's cousins borrowed it from the yard. Apparently this not a new thing for those cousins to do. Kids that don't respect other people's property, may be the beginning into these trespassers hunting other people's property. They have to be taught properly from a young age.

Small strip between Route 17 and 87S has portions open to bow via Sterling Forest permit. A nice chunk of that is swampy from looks of it. I once saw deer following a car over on the Overpass just North of Tuxedo. The deer know they are safe on that side of the Thruway. Some also hang out with the horses by Exit 16. The rest of Harriman you can shoot as many you want all year long as long as you have film or storage space available on the camera you are using. Just can't eat the pics for nourishment.

looks good enough to hang in my yard.

Oops I took time off the following week. Guess it should be a little quieter then. Got to finish the yard work this weekend then somewhere between 2 Play productions, a family event and getting my son to a college interview. Snow sounds good for finding fresh tracks or following a blood trail. Time to get the snow tires on.

In the past 5 years (that is all of my NY hunting), looks like less deer in 3P and 3M. Or at least on state land. We have had a couple bad winters and lots of previously known game trails blocked by trees dropped by hurricanes Irene and Sandy. I am seeing more deer showing up on the edges of town, or in center of town. Two weeks ago saw nothing moving and little sign, but saw 20 or so deer on private lands that are posted. Same deal for turkeys. Saw 4 deer laying down in the sun in someone's back yard too. Wife sees deer and turkey hanging around a pre-school at a synagogue all the time and in cul-de-sac where some of the local anti-hunters live. They may just be hanging out in areas they know are safe from hunting and heading back to the woods and fields at night.

Check stations are disappearing everywhere. It was a good place to hang out and see others successes, swap stories, and tips. Even get an official weight of a field dressed deer at them. The guy running one of check stations got a kick out the time dad and I went hunting together and I had gotten the bigger of the two bucks we brought in. In Amish communities, you would think they would still provide a check-station since by their religion, no phone or computer usage. How could they report their harvest otherwise?

There are people still listed on the rolls who have died or moved away over ten years ago. It really doesn't help in reducing voter fraud. Old folks seem to work the polls every year. ID's to verify who you are shouldn't be a bad thing. Wonder if the state used electorial college style voting by county would have made the difference?

You can see a larger area from a stand to cover by rifle or good slug gun. As stated before, more-likely all shots will go to ground within your sight range, no guessing where they will end up. Ads a safety measure. Just like ground hunting, avoid skyline shots. Use a safety harness to stay safe. If decide to use a stand, make sure gun is empty (chamber and magazine) before hauling it up/down. It is colder sitting in a stand. Ground hunting you can move around a bit to generate some warmth. If wet out, be careful go up or down from the stand, can be slippery. Of course, whose to say there is no slick spot or slippery rock to cause a fall when ground hunting - been there and done that. I have hunted both ways. Only taken deer from a stand so far, but if it was gun season already, would have taken a buck 40 yards away when I was looking for turkey on Saturday. This weekend I have an appointment (the bow in hand) to be waiting for him to come by again.