Two Track

NeverSeenNorHeard I know what you mean. My dad built a new two person stand on a friend's land for them to hunt from together. My dad is not the best carpenter. Hope he added more under-floor supports since I saw it under construction. The floor plywood sheet was about 1/4 inch thick and was flexing a lot with one person in it. His friend was in a serious tractor accident that he almost died from and now walks with a cane. At least the ladder is more of a walk up than a climb up for them to get in it. Since dad is now over 65, I don't think a fall will be something he could recover from as well as he use to. He is still young and very active for his age (plays tennis, on a softball team, etc). He knows he is getting older, but has not slowed down yet. I am 2 states and 5 hours drive away from him. So have to hope it all goes well when he is out there.

The deer I have taken were all stand shots. That was private family land that we could drive out in the orchard and drop the 70+ lbs steel stands off by the trail that accessed the abandoned woods road. That was fairly level terrain. Since moved here and gained a few pounds, I am not carrying that 70+ lbs stand up and down hill on public lands. Or leaving it set up on public lands and finding someone else sitting in it. If I was hunting on private land that was monitored, I would set one up just before season and take it down when done hunting. You can see much further from the stand and see over pile of brush or bushes that may be concealing a deer. May be safer in a stand from hunters on the ground taking a shot by being above them. Just don't take a nap in a stand and fall out. If it is very windy or raining, I stick to the ground. I am not very comfortable with a swaying stand in the breeze, or a slippery ladder to climb up/down.

Started tagging along around 4-5 years old for occasional rabbit and pheasant hunt, and an occasional deer hunt. About 9-10 I tagged along on bigger rabbit hunts with my dad, uncle, a couple of their cousins and uncles with their beagles. I was probably 11 when got to hunt with a .410 single-shot for rabbits. Started deer hunting around 14-15 years old. Hunted through college and a couple other years. Just had no where to go and no place to safely store a firearm until a few years ago. Gun hunting off-and-on for ~ 34 years. Been learning the turf and rules in NY for about 5 years now. Was much easier when could hunt on the old family farm, which has been sold off, and other friends lands. Since then I moved to NY and they moved to NC and Ohio. Now trying to learn the hots spots and patterns on public lands.

beside licences and tags: fresh batch of hand warmers and toe warmers fuel for backpacking stove scent lures sawyers and if can find them .300 savage rounds not saying something else may come up that I will "need" Have to leave some for ideas for b-day presents since mine is during fall hunting season.

There is one that has been spotted a couple times recently in my town, of course I can't shoot it here. a few miles down the road is huntable state land - no firearms until after Nov.1 there. The piece closest to town is a archery only zone. So it will be awhile before we can take a crack at him. My daughter spotted another bear a couple towns over when she went to put in volunteer hours at a riding stable. Not sure if that one was close to an area that is open to me to hunt. So there are at least 2 in my county that have been spotted over the past two weeks. edit to cleanup mis-typings. Working with one hand down - yellow jackets nailed my dominant hand last night. everything is taking longer to do.

That is why they are part of the greatest generation. Still capable of doing things that can impress those who came after them, and what they accomplished in the prime of their lives.

Watch where you keep a compass. I went to take a reading to plan my return path in unfamiliar territory to align my map. The map did not match the trail's direction of travel I reached while bush-whacking. It felt like the wrong direction to go, but the trail does double back on itself due to terrain and then links up to another trail. Luckily I ran into two local hikers that guided me out and knew an old fire road that was not on the map that saved 30 minutes of additional hiking to reach the parking lot. I had to go pick up one of the kids which added to my anxiety of being lost. I was very glad to run into those hikers. Got home and checked my compass. My compass was pointing the wrong direction. Examined the pocket of my vest and found how the compass got reversed. The lower pocket had a magnetic insert in the flap and had been open. This caused it to rub against the outside of upper pocket the compass was in and reversed the polarity. Before leaving I recommend leaving a map marked with intended destination with someone as the emergency contact. This way if you are late (or need emergency assistance), a search can be started using a known place you are suppose to be at.

I never used a face mask except in really cold windy weather to keep warm until I moved to NY. I picked up a netting type of face mask because my face was getting so many bites and bugs heading for the eyes when started turkey hunting in NY. I keep it with me in case it is buggy during warm parts of deer season. Of course the deer I took before I moved here were all stand shots, 12 feet up a tree in hunter orange coveralls and hat. Probably never saw me up there any way on those flat lands. Had a fox come up to about 20 foot of me while sitting on the ground against a tree, orange hat and vest, no paint or face mask. Didn't seem to notice me until pulled the gun up to my shoulder and leveled it at him. Then the fox paused a second and veered away from me. Fox was not legal game there, but I was not gonna let him get close enough to bite. Movement is key. Keep it slow and at a minimum. Reality TV is real. It is just that the premise and basic discussion is planned in advance with ad-lib's kept in the final cut to make it more realistic.

I once heard of someone hunting under their pine apple tree in NY. I have yet to see one of NY's pine trees sprouting apples. Seen a few apple trees in the woods, but not by the pines, so I guess you know how that guy's tree came to be.

Done. Will have to see if can get wife to do one. I am working and she and our daughter are staying with a friend at the beach. She may be disconnected until she gets back to civilization. Anyone know how long this survey is up for? I have some friends that may fill it out too, but they are away for the weekend.

found a old glass oil lamp with a cracked base as a teen while rabbit hunting on old family property. It was down a slope from where a house once stood. My uncle use to find medicine bottles, glass ink wells, etc from the 1920's or so. My dad has pottery pieces from a 18th or 19th century shipwreck that pieces of the plates and bowls wash to shore after some storms. No flatware yet. I have collected some Native American pottery shards from a plowed field. The village location is not known but the burial ground is about a mile away. My dad use to work with the farm's owner before they both retired. We were invited to see if could find anything before planting started. Those items are still stored at my parents house. It is pretty exciting when you find these things. Hopefully will have time in the future to start looking again.

My gear varies a bit with the weather and where I end up hunting. If close to vehicle: license head lamp mini maglite pocket knife (back up to the hunting knife on my belt) 1 liter of water spare gloves hot hands large hot pad pen compass map of local area FRS radio cell phone apple game calls rope deer drag trail marker tape lighter hot seat or backpacking stool game cleaning gloves contact drops whistle for signaling in emergency small first aid kit Further out or sitting all day add the following: back packing stove & fuel Back packing pot another liter of water 2nd apple ramen noodles freeze dried cider packet insulated cup eating utensil crackers granola bars sandwich extra knit hat extra set of warm gloves glasses & contact case If snow is expected slip-on ice crampons like Yak traks

Welcome to the forum. It is not listed yet, but one of the hunting clubs around Poughkeepsie offers the bow hunting safety course. Their was a two day class on a weekend, they check your stance and release using a bow, and have a blood trailing session to track down a "wounded" deer as part of their training. If classes fill up, another place for the gun portion of Hunter Safety is the VFW post in Pearl River, Usually takes a couple week nights. Even if only planning on Archery hunting only, you have to take the gun portion to get the small & big game license. Then you can purchase your Archery tags for deer. The most versatile firearm to use in the Hudson valley will be a shotgun. Some of the state lands are shotgun only and others do allow rifle.

A friend of mine became sensitized by an attack from a hive of wild bees when the tractor stirred them up a few years ago while discing up the back end of a field.. He was rushed to hospital by ambulance for treatment. Now has to carry an Epi-pen and seek immediate treatment. I am lucky that I am not that sensitve stings, so I do my best to avoid them. Found a ground-bee's nest under my canoe the other night. Been staying away until I get something to take care of that issue. Have to keep the dog way from there too. She is mildly sensitive, Her snout almost doubled in size last time she discovered a nest and tried catching them. She also had at least 8 stings on her body too, tufts of fur standing straight on her sides where she got stung. Had to dope the dog with benedryll at vet's instruction.

If you put the pole in the water, reel it in, or a seen putting lure or bait on the line for a child or take the fish off for them, you are considered to be fishing and maybe ticketed by an ECO/Game Warden. One of the places we camp, we also take the kids canoeing and fishing with some friends of ours. The rangers sometimes spot check people fishing for licenses. I usually end up helping the kids bait and fix their lines when they mess up casting. We have up to 5 kids fishing between the two families, and 4 usually do something that requires our help(mostly the girls, either due to their age, or squeamish about touching the worms or fish). We try to keep 2 licensed adults with the kids, usually me and a friend's wife.

My understanding for fishing is, if the person fishing is too young to possess a fishing license, they need to be accompanied by a licensed adult. Another away to picture having a licensed adult mentoring a junior hunter is the junior driver licenses. They first are required to be accompanied by a licensed adult for safety reasons and be able to take over if the need arises.

I have only a couple handfuls of black raspberries worth in my yard. Hope production picks up next year. Part of the problem is deer are eating the raspberry plants and the tops off my radishes. Need to get a fence up. The deer ignore my dog, my brother-in-laws' German Shepard, and my neighbor's lab. The old blueberry bush that was already there when bought the place has very few berries and they are all green. Had more berries on it last year. Not much hope there this year. Cut out some old growth that was over an inch thick and 7 foot high. May be time to give it the axe and just get it out of there. Its too close to the house any way. My parents, who live a couple states south of here, are done for raspberries and blueberries, and are full swing in Blackberries. If could have stayed another day, would had some blackberry cobbler for desert. Got the fresh strawberry and raspberry jam from the recent trip to parents. Later will get some blackberry jam and mush. Brought a quart of fresh blackberry mush home. Try it warm over vanilla ice cream - its good. Found blueberry/huckleberry bushes while turkey hunting and then got stuck in the wild blackberries using an old trail that got overgrown with them. Would have been easier to back track instead. Had to cut my way out from there. Will have to pay them a visit later for some fruit.

playing Nintendo's Duck Hunt again?

I would add a few more items: head lamp an extra flashlight with spare batteries (it really sucks if you have a hardware failure with a flashlight at night) pocket knife for camp use or backup to hunting knife. fire starters Bear bag rope (for a drag, clothes line if clothes get soaked, hang bear bag, etc) small butane or propane stove with fuel (just in case too wet to start a fire to cook over) knit hat and gloves for warmth just in case weather is cooler than planned for **extra wool socks - feet sweat, water gets in boots, or can be used as mittens in an emergency prepare your outer clothes with Sawyers for tick control, and/or pack some Deet or other insect repellant. If slinging you gun, check all swivels and sling. If anything looks iffy, replace it. If you will not be close by each other when hunting, maybe a pair of FRS radios if cell service is not available. I would recommend doing a couple practice runs of set up and packing up gear and carrying it. This way avoid any weight surprises. See what is heavy and find a lighter replacement before you go. Light poncho instead of a rain suit Cast aluminum instead of cast iron pan or if cooking freeze-dried or other quick-cook foods, titanium pots/pan. freeze dried instead fresh fruit (apples, bananas, etc)

Tail looks a bit long for a woodchuck, which is why I was leaning towards muskrat. A better pic would make it a bit easier. If the pic was from Louisiana, it could be a nutria. Nutria are smaller than a beaver and about the size of a groundhog/woodchuck, but with a longer tail than the woodchuck. http://nutria.com

I am leaning towards muskrat or otter - is there water beyond the tree line?

For wet/damp weather, LL Bean Maine hunting boots. Rubber bottom Leather uppers full bellows tongue thinsulate lining gore-tex lining Have had mine for 20 years. They need to be re-soled. Tread is almost non-existent at this point. Just don't kick with them, too soft. They are quiet to walk in.

It was ok for Cheney to go Dove hunting. The Press and public had no issues with that. Only problem was with him shooting his hunting buddy. After a few years, hunting is wrong and no one should have guns. How things have changed in about 1 decade. Did we have a massive population die-off that allowed this to happen? As long as Kendall is hunting legally and ethically, she should continue.

Wife had a doe run into the side of her vehicle two years ago. She had slowed down because of a car stopped with flashers on in front of her. That car had just been run into by a deer too. Both deer left the scene and so did the vehicles. This was about 3 blocks from our house. Had a close call on the NYS thruway on way to work in 65 mph zone last month. Deer came down a slope and skidded to a halt 3 feet from the yellow line as he saw me come around the bend. That was about 3 seconds before we would have collided. Saw one follow a car across an over-pass and another take the same exit off the Palisades parkway that I took.

For true video editing, it needs more processing and RAM memory than you get for most $300 laptops. I would recommend 4 GB of RAM in it for the video editing. If you need to purchase a word processor like Word, you could go more on the laptop if you use the free office suite by Open Office (http://openoffice.org) For most things, Open Office is a good substitute for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, unless you are a power users of those applications. GoPro Edit is not written for Chrome or Linux operating systems, so you have to look at Windows or a Mac (yuk). Mac's are a lot more money. The little tablets running Chrome and Android are fine for web surfing and checking email, but not great for writing papers unless you get an external keyboard that works with it. You could also look for a used Windows 7 machine for word processing and GoPro software.