Cabin Fever

Been reading the blog and actually just signed up for the newsletter by email! Good stuff!

You mentioned a few months ago that you guys were considering making an instructional video. Any updates with that? I sent you a PM earlier about this, but heard nothing back.

Another awesome hunt and video!! Thanks for sharing! Always look forward to your videos!

I called the regional office and spoke to someone there. She wasn't the least bit pleasant on the phone either and acted quite annoyed by my question! (Note to self... Do not call the DEC again!) She said that it's considered a firearm, so those regs apply (No treestand). I told her about calling the other office and was told that it wasn't considered a firearm, but I didn't have much confidence in the other person!

My 15 year old daughter is looking forward to hunting with a crossbow this year. After thinking about things, I began to wonder if it's legal for her to hunt from a treestand? 12-15 year olds CAN hunt from a treestand while bowhunting. 14-15 year olds CAN NOT hunt from a treestand while hunting with a firearm. OK, so where do crossbows fall in here?? Can she use a treestand or not?? http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/46245.html 14 and 15 Year Old Hunters Can Hunt Deer and Bear with a Firearm Here are the requirements for junior hunters to hunt big game with a firearm: Youth must have completed a course in Hunter Education and Youth must have a Hunting license. Adult mentor must be a parent, legal guardian, or a person who is 21 years or older and is designated in writing on the Mentored Youth Hunter and Trapper Permission Form (PDF) (24 KB). Adult mentor must be licensed to hunt big game and have 3 years of big game hunting experience. Adult mentor must maintain physical control over the junior hunter at all times while hunting. This means the mentor and junior hunter must be close enough to talk without the aid of a radio and must be able to see each other. Both the junior hunter and mentor must remain on the ground while hunting; you may not use a tree stand or hunt from an elevated platform. Both the junior hunter and mentor must wear hunter orange visible from all directions: shirt, jacket or vest with at least 250 square inches of solid or patterned orange (the pattern must be at least 50% orange) OR a hat with at least 50% orange. I called the DEC and spoke to someone there. I may have well called my wife's hairdresser and asked her opinion!!! I explained my question and concerns. She said, "Well, I don't see anything that says she can't, so why not? Plus, it mentions treestands in the crossbow regs, so you must be able to hunt from a treestand with a crossbow." I said, "Because she's 15, and there are different regs for youth for bowhunting and hunting with a firearm." She said, "Buts its a crossbow, not a firearm." I said, "Then why do we have to buy a muzzleloader license to hunt with a crossbow?" This went on and on.... She just kept running around in circles and gave me NO answers!!! I swear, I felt like I was talking to someone clueless at a customer service call center in India!!! Guess I'll call the local ECON officer and ask him, since it is ultimately up to him, whether to ticket someone or not!

I just emailed the link to a guy that is always using the excuse, "It's too early". LOL

With my kids hunting with me now, I feel a lot better with them using ladderstands. I feel more comfortable in them too. Starting my transition to all ladderstands. I do feel that they stick out and are more noticeable than hang ons, but I've seen some great looking camo jobs that brush them in well.

Kills me to hear hunters complain about the early opener, "Oh, it's too early to bowhunt. They shouldn't have opened the season early." (Too warm, bugs, still thick with foliage, deer won't move, blah, blah, blah!) Yeah..... Tell these lucky hunters that!!

You're not the only one this has happened to. http://huntingny.com/forums/topic/24646-problem-with-some-dmps/

Considering hunting some public land. I understand that the stands have to be labeled with the owners name and contact info. For the ones that have to do this, do you just write on the stand with a marker or are there tags that you can use that won't wash off or ..... ? Hesitant to write my cell # on the stand as a contact, wondering what some anti-whack-job could do with my cell # if they wanted to?

Congrats! Both in 1 day! Bet that'll be a day to remember!

Whats the ball park average one could expect to get for renting or leasing tillable land to farmers for various crops per acre? Curious how much it would generate to put towards taxes or land payment? All hypothetical...

Rain, rain, go away, and come back someother day! (Like tomorrow, when I'm at work?)

Glad all ended well for you! Damn, that must have been some pretty scary stuff! That's one of my big fears! Always keep that phone and compass on ya!!

Congrats to you both!

NICE!!

Very cool!! Congrats to them both!!

Damn wooly! Those are beautiful pics! Have you ever considered selling your pics to magazines?

Piebald at 1 1/2. Piebald at 2 1/2.

I just saw that yesterday myself. What will they think of next! LOL

Love all your videos and always look forward to seeing new ones! Great job! Provides great encouragement that coyotes can be taken during daylight hours!

That overhanging branch is key! I've been making and using mock scrapes for years. It's my favorite place for trailcams and have gotten many great videos over mock scrapes! Love seeing how the deer interact with the overhanging branch! Even though the scrape itself doesn't appear freshened, it certainly does not mean it hasn't been visited! Only a small percentage of bucks freshen the scrape itself, but they all seem to give some love to that overhanging branch!

Just ran into this problem with my son's DMP (printed on the new camo paper)!! Been trying the report, but I had no idea where they were getting the tag #'s from as they didn't match up. Noticed that the images in the upper corners of the tag were only 1/3 there! Went online to compare to a DMP image online, and sure enough, there's suppose to be a DOC# printed in between the images that never made it onto the tag!

I'll be taking my daughter out. She took her first deer (doe) last year. She was really hoping for a buck this year, but it's not looking good. Haven't been seeing much at all on the property. I've been out 7x bowhunting so far, but have only seen a doe and 2 fawns. Trailcams have been pretty pathetic lately too.

I built my tower stand a few years ago, using Elevator brackets. http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/Elevators-4-Pk.-4X4-Double-8-Brackets/0000000006518?utm_source=googleps&utm_medium=shopping%2Bsearch&utm_campaign=google%2Bproduct%20search&gslfah&gclid=CjwKEAjwns6hBRDTpb_jkbTv1UYSJACBhberXGsBTtZuDtSURDiVuBpFaxGxLIELxkkdHEaEbBJCtxoC82jw_wcB Made it easier for someone like myself that has no carpentry skills! LOL Always wanted to enclose mine, but never did. I just secure a pop up blind on top every year before hunting season. Works great, especially for taking kids along, which is why I built mine.