Cabin Fever

Beautiful bird!! Congrats!!

If you got such a good deal on them ($20) and didn't want them, you should have offered up on here to help a brother out! That was a great deal!

Already states that in the NYSDEC Understanding New York’s New Crossbow Legislation: Guidelines for Hunters April 11, 2014 pdf file in this post. http://huntingny.com/forums/topic/22319-understanding-ny-crossbow-law/ : Anyone hunting with a crossbow must have: o 1) completed a Standard Hunter Education course offered by DEC on or after April 1, 2014; or o 2) completed a DEC-approved on-line or other training program (e.g., material provided on the annual hunting guide). Hunters must carry a signed self-certification in the field when hunting with a crossbow as proof of compliance.

Does it taste that bad or are you just that generous?? Always wondered how wild boar tasted...

God that must have been thrilling!! Funny seeing this, as I just watched a few turkey hunting videos on YouTube of this same tactic last week!

I take it you haven't read the pdf file in the first post?? There is NO mention of having to take a bowhunter education course, it states: Anyone hunting with a crossbow must have: o 1) completed a Standard Hunter Education course offered by DEC on or after April 1, 2014; or o 2) completed a DEC-approved on-line or other training program (e.g., material provided on the annual hunting guide). Hunters must carry a signed self-certification in the field when hunting with a crossbow as proof of compliance. Also states that you need a "muzzleloader" tag to hunt with a crossbow during the archery season, NOT a bow tag: For licenses, the new law treats crossbows as a "muzzleloader." Hunters must possess a muzzleloader hunting privilege to legally hunt big game with a crossbow during any muzzleloader season OR during open portions of the early bowhunting seasons.

Just want to make sure I am understanding something correctly. If my daughter (15) will be hunting with a crossbow, she does not need to take the bowhunter education course, correct? She took her hunters safety course 3 years ago. She will just need to complete the online or other crossbow training course, when its available? Want to be 100% sure, I don't need to get her into a bowhunter education course.? (Tough to find one locally.) Per the Understanding New York’s New Crossbow Legislation: Guidelines for Hunters: Anyone hunting with a crossbow must have: o 1) completed a Standard Hunter Education course offered by DEC on or after April 1, 2014; or o 2) completed a DEC-approved on-line or other training program (e.g., material provided on the annual hunting guide). Hunters must carry a signed self-certification in the field when hunting with a crossbow as proof of compliance.

Congrats! Looks like a good bird!

Here's a couple videos to help you identify leeks...

Congrats to you both!! Such an awesome experience being there for their first turkey and deer! Awesome first bird too!!

Congrats to you and your son!! Maybe those were lucky backstraps that you had for dinner last night!? New tradition??

You can't just whip that out, without being expected to post a recipe! So cough it up! Sounds good!

I froze ~3 gallon sized freezer bags last year. Used for soup, bone broth, stir fry, cooking canned venison, cooked with shaved beef, etc... I just checked on this years crop. Just starting to sprout. We still had snow ~3 weeks ago at camp.

Why do hens have to be so ugly? A face only a mother could love! Great pics though!

That's awesome!! Sounds like an exciting hunt!

Great job Terry!! A BIG congrats to you and your son!!!!

It was a beautiful morning, very light breeze and no rain! A gobbler has been roosting ~1/2 way up on a hillside. I had a blind set up at the top of the hill and one at the bottom. It's been a crap-shoot, as to which way he has been heading after flydown. Doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason. My daughter and I got setup in a ground blind that I constructed earlier, and got the decoys out, well before daylight. From my numerous scouting trips over the past few weeks, I knew we would probably be within ~75 yards of a very vocal gobbler. For the past week, he's started gobbling between 5:26-5:30am. He fired off his first gobble at 5:28 this morning, exactly 75 yards away, just about directly to our left and slightly in front of us! We could actually see him up on the roost, through some branches! Had the decoys set out ~12 yards in front of and to our right. Had everything planned out, thinking he would see the decoys, fly down, and walk directly across in front of us to get to the decoys. That was how I had it envisioned anyway.... After the first gobble, my daughter said her, "Heart was pounding" and that, "She was as excited as a fat kid in a bakery"! The gobbler sat on the roost gobbling many times (50+)! I only called softly, maybe after every 6-8 of his gobbles. (Didn't want to come off too easy/slutty! ) My daughter kept whispering and asking what he was waiting for to fly down? I told her that he might be waiting for the hens/decoys to go to him. After an hour, he started shuffling around on the roost and I told my daughter to get ready as it looked like he was getting his "landing gear" ready. An hour or so after his first gobble, he finally flew down, but off to the side of the hill. Just like he has for the past few weeks, he only gobbled 1x after touching down and continued walking out the side of the hill, towards the road and property that I can't hunt! Didn't see or hear any hens in the area, so just not sure why he didn't make a bee-line for my decoys! That's just how it goes sometimes! Going back out mid-day, to pick out a spot to set up a blind along the hillside for tomorrow morning... That'll be "Plan C"!! Wish we had multiple birds to hunt, but we have slim pickins in my area! He's been the only gobbler roosting in the area! I've been out ~12 times listening at daylight over the past 3-4 weeks. For that reason, I don't hunt or shoot them myself, so my kids have something to hunt.

OR where you might have put that other ladder stand????

Stopped by camp again this morning before daylight, on my way to work, to get in one more morning of listening before season. The mouthy gobbler was back roosting in his usual spot! He gobbled 129x, between 5:26-6:20am!! Last Sunday morning he gobbled 127X, before I watched him flydown! Funny that he only gobbles 1x after flydown though! Don't know if he has a sore throat or if he's already met his "Gobble quota" for the day?? The weather isn't sounding as bad as they were saying earlier in the week! Low of 42 tonight (warmer than it has been overnight lately), spotty sunshine in the morning, 10-20mph wind, and risk of showers in the afternoon. Might be the best weather we've had during the youth season in the past 3 years! Good luck everyone!

Went out at daylight this morning, but no gobbling in the immediate area. I heard some ~1/2 mile away across the road. Seems like everytime I've gone out in the past 3 weeks listening at daylight, they are roosted in one small area 150-200 yards behind the cabin ~75% of the time. Hoping since they weren't there today, they'll be roosted back in there by the weekend. We don't have many turkeys around, so it's a crap shoot! It can make or break a hunt, depending on which side of the road they roost and hang out on for the day. Picked out a spot yesterday for putting up the pop up blind. Will have a great view of their roosting area on a hillside and the apple orchard where they often times head to after flydown. Even marked the spot where I want to to put up the decoys for maximum visibility. Now, if they just cooperate and give my daughter an easy shot....

Very Nice!!

Geez, a bump from 2 years ago! Must have the memory of a steel trap!

That's awesome! Dude, you make it sound and look too easy!!

Kinda named after my very rustic log cabin. Always wanting to be at camp or thinking about camp, so "Cabin Fever" sounded fitting...

Great footage! Man, that gets the heart thumpin'!!