Jaeger

When I had my farm, 212 acres, the most I had on it was 4-5 at a time and on stand. (the "5" was with a father and son together). So, if everyone stayed put, I was comfortable with one per fifty acres. It was a fairly square plot of land with a small panhandle. The flip side was the bigger problem, when it was just me on all that land, I always felt there weren't enough of us to keep the deer moving and usually felt I was in the wrong spot. In the beginning, any loud shots kept me running from one end to the other looking for trespassers!! If you have stalkers or still hunters, then its a whole 'nother story. I could cover the entire perimeter of my land in 1/2 a day. I would never let more than 2 of us hunt that way and only if I knew how the other guy hunts. So, in my area, one per 50 acres. But it was patchwork fields/brush/woods.

Hey, thanks for sending me looking for that forum, I found it and just joined at: http://nytrappers.proboards.com/ It looks like it will be very useful.

Someone on another forum said they may have had issues with loose barrel to frame lockup, anyone heard about this?

Does anyone know of a place in the stamford, oneonta perhaps binghamton area where I can get a big round target butt? I am looking for the type the field archery site had when we were kids. Big 4'-5' round woven mat target butts that sat up on a heavy easel type deal. I see the target face covers, paper and some sort of woven plastic, around but not the woven matt butts themselves. I found one or two on line but the shipping is a killer. Anyone in central NY sell field archery supplies??

I thought I'd be nice and took Schatz out to a secret pond deep in the thick woods for a little frog chasing (her favorite after grouse and chipmunks). Poked myself in the right eye. Stick came right up under glasses and nailed me. I don't know if it was because I was trying to be nice to the dog or because I just spent becoup bucks on a new sight and servicing of my ole' compound, but someone up there has a sense of humor!! Now, 2 days later, I see blury or double when I look at lights at night and the new sight pins just sort of blur together. I know eye tissue is the fastest healing around but still wonder if I should get to an eye doctor. I don't know what they cost and dont have insurance. A little money in the bank prevents me from getting the free health ins. and don't have enough to pay the monthly premiums (but ole' Barak still hits me with his penalty on the tax return!!) Anyone get poked in the eye and how long did it take before it cleared up??

Well I've put off practicing with my longbow all summer for one reason or another and now it too late to get started with the season right around the corner. So I took my old Hoyt Ram Hunter down to the local shop and he spent 2 hours yesterday putting a new serving and draw loop? (is that the right term for the loop that the release hooks into?) on it and sold me a trigger release. We also put a new tru-glow sight on it. Its a Winn archer free flight release. I chose it because of the short barrel puts the hand and string closer to where it is when I shoot off the fingers, feels more natural. It doen't have a swivel so it seems that I'll have to hold my hand just so. The other releases he had had long barrels that made my pull my hand back too far past my mouth and felt unnatural. I am and was a finger and/or tab shooter. How safe are these trigger releases and are they hard to get used to/operate?

The issue with the crank drawing device is that I cannot get it to draw evenly. I may be doing something wrong and am taking it to my dealer tomorrow. I thought I had installed it correctly, even giving one side a couple of twists to even the drawbar up when fully extended and loose. But when I crank the handle, about half way drawn, one side is about 3/4 inch ahead of the other and I'm not sure its anchoring in the trigger bar evenly. The best I can determine is that one side is winding up on itself over the spool and drawing quicker than the other side. I could add some yarn to the serving at dead center over the channel and see where it sits but thought better of it(yarn may get stuck in the serving). So I am bringing it to my dealer to see what he can see. I felt obligated to post this as many thought I was having an issue with the cranking noise. Thank guys, jaeger

Did we decide rage mechanicals 2 or 3blade are illegal or not? Something about not returning forward and being barbed?

Hey, I'm pulling out my old compound and I have 2 blade mechanical Rage 100gr Broadheads on the arrows. Did you guys say the DEC frowns on them or is it 3 blade rages they have a problem with? I know there are several old threads but wanted to get the latest info, new broadheads are cheaper than a ticket.

Hey thanks, exactly perfect timing for this post. Just lost a bid on a 20" barrel walnut stocked LHR Redemption on gunbroker. Price went around $500. Some guy is selling the original walnut 24" Redemptions for $900+!!1 I just have to wonder if its worth paying more to buy an original LHR Redemption? My main concern is that the walnut stocks provided by Thompson Center may not be a great as the original LHR's. But now anything is fair game. It looks like it is the exact same gun, reasonable since the LHR founders were former TC employees. Guess they cashed in and sold their rights to TC. The best part of this is now TC will be able to supply any accessories to people who purchased the original LHR Redemptions! I am now trying to decide, Original LHR Walnut stock or new TC. Tough decision. I just noticed that even the advertising copy is almost exactly taken from the old LHR copy. The only difference I can see, is that they do not offer a 20" barrel model. Now 20" is pretty short for a Muzzleloader but the redemption has a longer breach area for its strike system than does say CVA's etc.

Did originally purchase the .375 with dreams of an australian water buffalo hunt. Hasn't panned out yet, got a elk hunt planned 2 years out. But loading the 350's to get a better idea of the recoil of a custom big bore I have on order. I didn't want to go out and buy a 45-70 with 400- 500 grs bullets. I find a great deal of difference in felt recoil (vs calculated recoil) when the recoil number is due to weight vs. velocity. For example, given the same recoil number, I'll take the heavy bullet load over the faster velocity load. I can deal better with the shove of the heavy bullet and not so much with the sharp jab of a high velocity load. And yes, I do know the recoil velocity is the culprit, not just the recoil energy.

I'm on all private land, but some dogs (including mine) are fairly free to roam. I keep watch on her but it's the others I worry about. Pre-baiting sounds interesting. If it stays warm enough, I could also wait until one of our crew gets a deer and set up near the gut pile. I forget, do I wax and redye my land only traps? Or is it the other way around wax the water traps? I have the stuff to do it.

30-06 remington 7600 pump with a leupold vari-x 1 1-4 and Federal Low Recoil 170 grs. A big fat doe that dressed out at 170lbs.

Correct, I think. The ladder method you are referring to, can you please explain it in detail? Does it use multiple shots, say 3-5, at each specific load to check group size? Or is it something I'm not appreciating? I think we are talking about something similar, it's just I haven't heard the term "ladder method". But I've only been in reloading for a couple of years and only have one buddy who reloads. The method I read about used only one shot at each specific load weight.

I've been using the typical method of looking up which powder seems most efficient grains/load density/velocity in several of the manuals with the bullet I want to use and work up the load .5 grains at a time. This has worked very well but is very time counsuming and can get VERY EXPENSIVE with expensive premium bullets. I read an article on another forum about picking your bullet and powder. Loading 5 rounds at the bottom end load, and 1 round each at increasing powder loads. This method is to look for where in the load range the bullets start to cluster while stringing vertically. The method is to shoot at 200 or better yards and use the first 5 rounds to get sighted in. allowing the barrel to cool and avoid hot spots during the session. Then firing the remaining rounds and watching the vertical string. The rounds should group or cluster at a certain load range over several grains and then keep stringing upward. Its in this cluster powder level that the most accurate load will be found for that powder and bullet. It needs 200 yards or better to be able to see the stringing/cluster pattern and certainly saves bullets firing 3 at each load increment. I have not tried it yet, but it certainly sounds interesting. My main problem is our local range maxes out at 200 yards and if the gun bullet combo is particularly accurate, it may be hard to discern the cluster pattern in the string of shots. Going to give it a try with my new 235's and 350's in .375 H&H and the 240's in 30-06, woodleighs all of course!!

Across the road in 40, I haven't seen many bucks yet but worse I haven't seen any rubs anywhere yet. Velvet to horns now. There should be some rubs around shouldn't there?

That's what I'm thinking. The best I could do would be to check traps twice daily, say morning and late evening. It's pretty rural and I know most of the local dogs/owners. Hunters all. So I'll put the word out, they want the coyotes gone as well.

Straight from the Crossbow page on the DEC site: " Crossbows may not be used for hunting in Suffolk, Nassau, or Westchester counties."That is in the "General Crossbow Regulations" part of the crossbow page before they get into detail about the deer hunting special regulations part of the crossbow regulations page lower down on the page. So, no, I read it as crossbows are not legal for any hunting in those areas.

Good luck today. Our thoughts and prayers will be with you. Deer season just can't come fast enough! See ya out there!!

With all due respect, the part of his post I responded to was: "the guy said he likes to over burry his traps for k9s said the crater causes the yote to commit to the pan better causing a complete foot hold." He was talking about setting for coyotes, I was wrong in thinking it was domestic dog proofing, I think you were overthinking it thinking he was refering to the "dogless" type of trap.(unless you were referring to the previous line about dogless traps, sorry) Sometimes I read, or respond to a post too fast!! Thanks for the pan tension information. I'm worried about using propylene glyco type antifreeze in areas of domestic dog populations, it attracts them and is poisionous to them. I go with one of the others. I'll be trapping in the hills along stream beds and deer trails, last year thats where they were with all the snow. Down by the streams it's not too rocky, mostly pine cover. But up in the hardwoods it's all rock, so I'll use some drags. I would still like to hear about how to set for coyotes in areas of domestic dog populations though.

When all I shot was factory, I'd buy a box of each brand in the weights I wanted or close weights (150/165's in .30, for ex) and see which the gun liked best. Now that I am partial to a particular bullet manufacturer, I mostly reload my own. I also load to the lower side of the permissible loads. My expected shooting is typically under 100 -150 yds, so I don't need all the flat trajectory, noise and shove of full power loads. I will on occasion buy the Parzi (sp?) ammo to have some cheap ammo to shoot for fun. The soft points also look like they would work very well if you want really low cost hunting ammo, say around $17 box/20.

I had a similar problem. A neighbor sold his land to NYC and when a stand of mine near the border fell down, he immediately built a permnenant wood stand nearby (on the land he sold) overlooking my property. I did not call the DEP, but someone he chased off the city land did. The city cops stood and watched as he took the stand down. (and found several other permenant stands he built on the public land) He put up and left up a metal ladder stand on the public land as well. It dissapeared over the winter. Tresspassing is a problem best nipped in the bud. Especially if it is on land you control(have permission to hunt). I'd call the DEC and let them deal with it. We complain about the ECO's a lot, but in these situations, that's what they are there for, to deal with people breaking the rules and interfering with our hunting and enjoyment.

Actually, nyslowhand, my gator ran Better with weight in the bed, sort of the same as with a 4wd pickup, get better traction with some weight in the bed. Most have stake holes to put some 1x's and raise the sides, like any load covering it or roping it in helps too. But I've never ridden a pure atv so my experience is limited. The added weight of the utv helps in pulling trailers I think, like pullling a boat with a pickup vs a yugo. More stability i would guess. And the added weight helps when using a winch to move trees, etc. out of the way, though the reverse may be true too, I needed a 4000lb ramsey/warn to reliably unstick my gator. My gator was about the same dimensions lenght and width as most of the large atv and smaller than the reallly big atv's so it might have been more manuverable. Gosh, I miss my gator.

Well, I picked up a pair of aluminum frame, synthetic looking deck and straps with one crampon under the ball of the foot this weekend at a yard sale for $30. I am going to give them a try early on to see if it suits me. I know, start with cheap stuff and may get turned off altogether. Usually when something cheap doesn't work I go more expensive to "fix it"..that's why I broke!! Seriously, though they are just an initial experiment for trapline use. I'll get a better pair, and quieter, if I like the idea and get out some.

I loved my gator as well, but the parts, esp tire sizes are typically John Deere, you have to get stuff from them or special order, not a tractor supply. The polaris, at the time I bought 6 years ago, was way too noisy and the kabota's and bobcat's were too expensive. Most people around here go to the Kawasaki Mule (my gator had a kawasaki engine by the way!!). Reasonably priced and hard working. Things to look for are good engine braking for down hill creeping, ease of tilting the bed, for unloading rocks and overweight deer, overall physical size try to keep small models, they will get between trees and under branches better. Also, play with the 4wd engagement if it uses on, see which you think is easiest for you to grap quickly. Things to avoid, any race type vehicle. They may look cool, but in the woods you can barely go over 20-25mph without bouncing your teeth out. They have fewer places to store and mount stuff. Final recommendation, factor in a warn or ramsey 3500-4000lb utv winch with a wireless controller, you'll need it someday and it comes in handy for everything from winching up deer stands, deer up a tree, moving trees out of the way. And you can even use it to get unstuck!! Just my opinion.