Jennifer

It's a 'lottery' system and random. You could have ten guys in line buying them the same day at the same place and every one of them has the same chance of getting one, or not.

Red, white and blue. Maybe with some feathers sticking out for decoration!

Back on topic.... I used to release them with the DEC in the 90s. I don't know if they still do it that way, but if it was before season, we would release them in the daylight hours to give the pheasants a chance to disperse. Sadly we had to really get onto a few guys that were obviously hanging around to illegally pop the birds after we left. Said they were grouse hunting, and yeah maybe they were, but we weren't in overly gouse-y habitat and they were acting like they were just hanging around. I digress... During season they are usually released after official sunset (which is legal quittin' time), but before dark (again to try and give them a chance).

Good grief, not red! Some of us turkey hunt...

All of my friends on the west coast beg me for NY maple products. You can't go wrong!

My story is sadly another story where the scary part is other people... I was 16 and my first year big game hunting with my dad. Back then tree stands weren't always as safe as they are today and my dad was worried that I'd have trouble with his safe tried-and-true climber (he was probably right, I'm a skinny thing) so we did a lot of still hunting. There was a good foot of snow on the ground and we were hunting a side-hill on a property that we had permission to hunt. We couldn't take doe so when a big doe came up and stood broadside to us 15 yards away we could only admire her. She wasn't paying us any mind, instead, she was watching the road and houses way below, where a school bus was dropping kids off at the farmhouses below. She kept glancing down at the houses, then behind her, back and forth, and we were watching behind her too, in case a buck was following behind her and was just catching up. She stood there for some time when all of a sudden there was a chorus of firearms touching off, and the sound of slugs slapping up through the woods toward us! Anyone that's heard a deer slug slapping through the beech brush knows what I'm talking about. One struck nearby, and several more whistled past us. The doe took off, with more slugs following her, and my dad practically tossed me behind a large tree before hollering down the hill at the kids shooting. Needless to say they tore back off down toward the houses. As my first year out deer hunting as a kid myself, it left me really shaken and the scene will always be in my memory. The terrible part of this story is that my dad and I dress head to ankle in blaze orange, and if those kids could see the deer they certainly should have been able to see two tall people in blaze orange.

when i got my tags this year they told me there not printing any your going to have to go on line and read the regulations there New York Hunting Guide Digital Edition | eRegulations.com papabear Yes. They are making huge budget cuts everywhere. I have family in the DEC and it's pretty depressing to hear.

They would, however, have the authority or contacts to make it the law to post signs explaining the law on the shelves where the products are sold. At least that would make those that use it aware that it is in fact, illegal in this state. This seems like a very reasonable thing to do... not that they have the money to do it right now. But the idea is solid. The state of NY already requires similar signage in other aspects of retail; e.g. have you noticed that in garden centers they are now legally obligated to post signs in relevance with using chemical herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers in your lawn.

Hah!! I wonder if I'm the only lady to have grown up hunting all her life, and only recently gotten her husband to come along...?

No one in my family got tags this year for 9x, 9T or 9W. 5.9cummins, I hear you and agree, though it is a bummer that we can't afford to travel out of the area.

The other problem is that even on a large piece of land, developing only 30% of sometimes DOES fragment the land up in a way that may render it nearly useless to hunters. I own some acreage, myself, but there are now houses all along every border and because the way the land is cut, I can only legally discharge a firearm on about 30 square feet in the smack middle of it!! Otherwise I am within 500 feet of a dwelling, and not everyone will grant permission...

I respect that! Eat what you like! We do it mostly for financial and (I am whispering this part-- don't want to start a debate!) ecological reasons. It's just my husband and I. I actually really love meat! My best wishes to you and yours as well.

One is fine for us; we don't eat meat daily and a single deer is a blessing that carries us over for a year.

Same for 9X, sadly.

Nothing gobbling where we hunt in 9x; due to work constraints we've only been out three days so far but it's quiet out there. We did get one hen worked up and mad at us; came within 10 feet of me! She was as mad as could be, but by herself. Yesterday morning three times that we called we had foxes come right in to us looking for the turkeys. I think that the birds are a little 'late' this year as spring is 'late'. I wonder also if having predators run in to the call has put them off calling?

Feeding wild birds is a great joy in my life. We don't have TV so if it's daylight and I need some down time, I will just watch the feeders for a while. It never gets old!

Doc, There are actually now 7 accepted subspecies of Canada goose-- crazy huh? "Lesser" Canadas are also known as cacklers... Cackling Geese. They look like a shrunken Canada Goose. Check out this photo: http://www.oceanwanderers.com/CAGO.Subspecies.html

This happened to my dad three years ago. My dad had just called me on the radio to help him track; He shot a buck and the deer ran for quite a while, but the track and blood told us that he would pile up sooner rather than later somewhere. Unfortunately he had just a bit too much adrenaline in his system / was a good fighter, because he went further than we expected. We were very patient and tracked very carefully for quite a while. We reached the edge of a posted 'wildlife preserve' that a local business owns and could go no further. We were certain the buck had expired on their property, however we could not get permission even if we agreed not to carry any weapons onto the land. My dad and I were just sick over it. A family friend was in that parcel less than a week later doing some surveying (obviously with permission) and found my dad's buck, less than 30 yards from the property line. There won't be year that goes by that my dad and I won't feel upset over losing that deer.. respect for the animal and what it represents is very important in my family. There are a lot of things that happen in the woods, and sadly there are a lot of slobs or lazy hunters that don't try. But I'd be really heartbroken if anyone thought we didn't give that buck our best shot.

Hear hear! I agree. The memories created with loved ones and friends in the woods (seeing things together is much more fun than trying to describe it when you saw it alone!) are more valuable to me than antlers are. My favorite memories are the ones where we see critters other than our target species too.

Yep! One of my favorite tactics on the ground in a favorable travel area is to sit on a 'junk pile'... that is, an uprooted tree ball or other such natural areas that will break me up and obscure my form.

WildCat, how depressing. Though this is not necessarily hunting related.... When I was getting my license this year, there was a guy at the counter purchasing a youth model rifle for his 8 year old son; I know because he was talking to my husband and I. We thought this was very nice until he said that they feed wild birds in their yard, and 'lure the birds in so that their kids can shoot them'. Talk about teaching kids bad ethics from the get go! I used to intern with the DEC and I also have been active with birds and rehab so I know very well that what they were doing was illegal (non-game birds that are native are protected by federal law). even though I didn't know anything about the guy, I reported it to the DEC, and told them that if they needed to they could find his information on the paperwork he had to fill out to purchase the firearm. I figured they wouldn't care and wouldn't go through the trouble, but to my surprise several weeks later I got an email from them saying that they tracked the guy down and that he lives in PA, and that they turned the case over to the PA game commission.

I wear orange from head to ankle, a full 'pumpkin suit' and I have experienced that breaking it up is a really good compromise. Movement will still get you busted, but if you are still and aren't silhouetted deer will have a very hard time making you. I just used black fabric paint to create random black marks like branches and some 'blobs' to help break up the orange. Sorry you got busted-- happens to us all at times! Best of luck next time.

Not sure how accurate that is. I live in a 'white' area and I'll tell you we have at least 24" out there right now!

This photo has been all over the internet! Even Outdoor Life doesn't know where they are from for sure. Check it out. http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/big-buck-zone/2009/10/nebraska-mystery-bucks http://www.bowhunting.com/blog/post/2009/10/27/A-320-Buck!-Could-it-be-true!.aspx

The wind has been miserable here too. We're getting 30 and 40mph gusts, 20+ sustained, and you're right Doc. It swirls around in the hills and hollows so you can never really 'work' it... just gotta hope that it doesn't work against you at any given moment (but it always seems to, haha!). I haven't been in my stand in the last week and a half. I wish I could hunt where we think they are bedded but it's in amongst houses and down across the PA border. This wind and snow has them hanging low in my area it seems.