Canis Latrans

I'm glad you're having a good laugh! What I think is funny though is your answer and then the answer of two people below with actual experience in the matter, saying I'd be referred from the people you listed to someone else, and they will likely say no because they don't know what the answer is. The fact that you think it's laughable that I would get a bogus answer unless I ask the janitor of these public officials shows you must not have much experience working with government workers trying to sort through the enormous tangled mess that is the laws of this state. Thank you for leaving your advice, I do appreciate it. To the people saying we should demand that these lands are open to bow hunting they are absolutely right. Anyone catch these recent articles about committees to address deer and tick issues being formed in the capital region? They sent out a survey about if and how the town should control the deer population, and the best they came up with was a plan to link hunters to homeowners in the suburbs who are tired of deer everywhere. I actually inquired about this, and asked what the actual deer numbers were, and if I could talk to a land owner about hunting. They replied back they have no idea the actual number of deer, and while they had many inquiries from hunters, they haven't had any residents sign up for the program. It's just so funny, because most people that have dealt with these kinds of committee before know that there is a widespread issue, but know it will probably die here and that somehow this committee will not be able to get anything done and the simple solution of opening up all of the idle woodlots to hunters won't be addressed because of liability or some other cop-out that they could easily fix by a waver or something if it is even necessary. Why is bowhunting in the woods so dangerous, but you can have kids skateboard, bike, play football etc. and there is no liability preventing them from being in the parks?

What about scouting such land? Those saying you can't necessarily hunt it, if it's town owned land with no signs can you get in trouble for simply walking around? Someone would need to be the 'victim' and sign if this is the case.

Thanks for the advice. After looking I have found a few of these places in the tax maps. Most of them are parks, not wooded areas. As far as decent sized chunks of wood belonging to the town, county, or state... I feel like they are public property and SHOULD allow hunting unless it is listed as forbidden. I considered contacting the town hall but to be honest I have little faith in government workers having any idea what they are talking about. I have found half of them just make up an answer on the spot and you will not know whether they have any idea what they are talking about or not. I'll give it a shot though. Any one else ever run into this? If you did, and you inquired to the town hall, what was the result? Thank you.

Hello, I'm looking for information about when town-owned land can and cannot be hunted. I found a small chunk of Town-owned land. It's all woods, but I can't find any information on it. Looking at the tax maps it simply lists the parcel as "Town of XXX" There are no posted signs on it (or signs of any kind), it doesn't seem to be a park etc. Has anyone ran into this before? As far as I can tell if it doesn't say no hunting, isn't posted, and is owned by the town, wouldn't it just be considered public land? I would only hunt with a bow so it's not like I would be a danger or violate any sort of firearms rules if there are any in the town. I'm not posting the town or the land because all of my public land is already crawling with hunters, and my only private land is trespassed on every day. If anyone has any insight or has run into this before I'd appreciate some help. Thank you.

4J Saw a wide racked buck with a doe. I think the doe heard me walk in and either got up from bedding or continued moving away from me. Buck followed her bobbing his head up and down in a strange slow, meticulous walk.

4H Must be into seeking by now but this encounter didn't show it. At 4:00 tonight I had a nice 6 point walk out of where I thought one might be bedding and into open woods. A minute after a doe followed him out. He sniffed the ground a few times but that was it. The doe turned around and they went different directions., He didn't show any interest in her at all.

Guys post the area you're seeing this stuff in, that's what the format is for.

Nov 4th. 4H Still seems like Pre-rut pattern. No rutting movement to be seen, but there are fresh rubs and scrapes around. Saw two different doe standing in the middle of the road on the way home at about 6pm.

No he said they are the only ones doing anything that helps the deer... I don't know what it's about, but the only thing I learned from this thread is that there is at least one clueless idiot everywhere you look. (Not talking about you jjb).

We did this last year, and I want to do it again. In this thread I'm asking people to post the rut related activity in their area in a clear and concise format. In the later phases it's important to describe the activity you actually saw, because it avoids confusion of people using terms such as seeking, chasing and peak rut differently. Over time, these threads will gather enough information specific to this state to help predict future ruts. The below example is what I'm seeing and the format to be used. Lets help ourselves and each other better understand the rut and save it here for next year. If you are someone who has always thought about keeping a journal, but never actually write stuff down, you may be surprised at how much what you write here can help you next year. Area: Capital Region, around 4J Phase: October Lull Description: Limited movement just after sunrise and just before sunset. A few bucks are seen in pairs and begin feeding about 1/2 hour after sunset. A few rubs and scrapes have opened up in the last week. cameras show the scrapes are visited at night.

Any updates guys?

Rob check your messages.

Thanks guys for the info. The more people who participate and the more detailed the info is will give us the ability to accurately predict the rut in the future instead of relying on dubious moon-phase theories and made up heat maps.. Keep the info coming.

I can't believe there is no thread like this. Please could you post what area you are in and what you are seeing in the woods in a simple concise format? Area: Capital Region Phase: Pre-rut? Activity: Lot of deer on side of roads at night, including bucks. Seeing a few scrapes and rubs. Saw a small buck checking a scrape last night at around 4. Haven't seen any chasing or seeking activity. Thanks guys I think this is something that could help everyone!