16. ga hunter

i just got back from our annual northernzone grouse opener while the weather could have been better the hunting was fun. my cocker put up 11 grouse and 4 woodcock in less than desirable rainy/drizzle conditions. while the woods are still pretty full with leaves only 2 shots were afforded on the grouse and niether me or my father were able to connect. the scenery was beautiful and the dog tired out by the end of the weekend. will post some pictures later

hmm my idea of a "new truck for hunting" would be a dependable model at least 10 years old from a southern state to avoid the rot issues. that i would then outfit with needed items such as winch a good set of varring terrain tires and maybe a selectable locker. all for well under 50k maybe thats just my blue collar wrench turning side but if i were to spend 50k plus for a new truck i don't think i would be taking it up the seasonal roads in janury and febuary grouse hunts like i do now.

eddie i got mine from the va hospital in sarycuse originally and have had it replaced both in batavia and canadagiua without a problem

it could be feasable not to drop from what i've read growing rubbing velvet and droping are all controled by testosterone spikes that are brought on by changes in the temperature. growing a set next to the non shed ones however i think is far fetched seeing that the pedicles they grow from would all ready be occupied by old set.

g-man you might be suprised but unless a towns discharging firearms laws states bows as well it would not be considered a firearm while target shooting.air rifles as well. went through this last year when a lady was shooting random cats in the nieghborhood with her air rifle while my kids were playing. was told by both sherifs and the state troopers that due to the wording of the law in my area they could not do much as bows and air rifles are not firearms unless being used to hunt. penal laws and game laws do not coincide. same goes for domestic violence situations in the state, they can and will take all firearms but are not able to take bows or air rifles eventhough just as deadly.

yea right now most are on the outer edges of it till slugs start to fly then they go deep. i'm hoping to get a canoe soon myself opening access to even more secluded hideouts. i have had a couple ocasions on nice deer that i could not shoot due to recovery issues.they on dry ground me on dry ground but deep water between. the duck hunters out there can be very helpful also...most are friendly and have good knowledge of the area

well with your swamp hunting experience im sure you will be fine. there are many areas that hold deer within the swamps its getting to them that most won't do. satelite images really helped me out quite a bit looking for areas first then exploring them.

dry woods in those areas you will not find. but if your willing to put in the time you can learn to find nice deer and dry areas within the swamp. the years i have spent there i would guess the average deer hunter uses 15-25% of the land not venturing more than a couple hundered yrds from the roads if you are serious you wiil need to invest minimum in a pair of hip boots.

grouse hunter in 8p yes the mild spring may be good for them but the lack of snow seems to hinder them more than anything that i have noticed

after turkey hunting this am we did some work around camp shot some clays and while heading out noticed a hen with 4 chicks near the road edge the males were drumming like crazy this am too

i find it funny how everyone keeps saying how hard it is to get kids interested. i for one don't think its any harder than when i was a kid. granted im only in my 30's but both my son and my daughter are interested in hunting and the outdoors. i think the key is to do things other than hunting with them like camping real camping like in tents not campers hiking bird watching ect. teach them to build the firte let them participate. some of my friends say how hard it is with thier kids that are older but they don't do anything till season .

i hear the babysitting but it is rewarding when your done ussually just make sure i have a bunch to do around the house before i fire it off. and it drives the nieghbors crzy smelling it going allday.

the still target world champions from the nwtf probably get shells for endorsing or what not i use just plain lead in either 4's or 6's and pattern nicely to 60 yrds. would never shoot that far seeing i belive turkey hunting should be up close and personal. also alot of turkey loads are overpriced in genral do your research look at balistics from the man. many of these turkey loads can be had cheaper if you know how to read a chart.

agree with wny you will want to go with a double walled unit for ease of use and winter usability. single walled units have alot of heat loss through the wall whenn outside temps are down. i prefer wood fired myself but can be a labor intensive operation that way.

they ar efine just don't overload them is all.

the o ring works ok but you can really get them tight group wise by bedding the fore arm to the lug with an aluminum cyl. also most of the have interferance near the back of the forearm that can get sanded down where the spacer meets. these singles can be made to shoot alot tighter than 2-3" if your willing to tinker with them

you would be supprised but in alot of places target shooting with a bow is not against the law no matter what the distance

i agree with a youth hunt for deer they have them for turkey pheasant and waterfoul with little resistance. i belive it will give the youth a chance to hunt deer without the normal gun pressure and a calm heard. i know when i started hunting i did have a chance at a deer for quite some time. i htink this youth season could possibly get some hooked if not oh well what is it really going to hurt. and as far as the deer getting spooked there are small game hunters in the woods during all of bow season anyway and the deer are unphased by them shooting. i know some of the bow hunters aren't though by remarks i have recicved while bird hunting with my dog. i think some of the problem with declining numbers of sportsman... well let me reword that to "hunters" is the me me me attitude that many seem to have now adays and not the way people are living life now adays i know both my kids will be sportsman i take them out with me and introduce them to the outdoors they participate in the training of my cocker spainiel and see most of my kills. while i know others that DON"T take thier children out with tthem due to the fact that they might not be able to get thier big buc k with a youngster in tow.

what are you shooting out of it? i have a marlin slugs will kick like a mule but shot is bearable. if its an actual slug gun you may find that there is allready a piece of bar in the stock which can ve replaced with the kickstop

yes in years past the squirrels could be taken anywhere in nys lawfully and be presented for weigh in at 500

i would buy and or build a 4 wd camper more than likely from a van or make a truck into a walk through. would have redundancy on all systems ie. electrical fuel supply the propane system on board air ect to minimize down time due to break down.front winch slightly over sized tires for ground clearance just enough room to pack in 3 men and a couple flushing dogs.so i could travel to where i wanted to hunt. there is more than enough state land in new yuork alone to stay busy for a very long time trying to see all of it

when carrying a rifle for deer its either a springfiled 30-06 that was sporterized in the 50's or an 8mm of the same fate but kinda prefer the german gun

this is true however i currently live in a trailer so i don't really have room for a large sized gun dog at the moment. i have never hunted over a pointer before so i don't really know. growing up my father always had upland trained black labs so i guess it was just natural for me to get a flushing dog and being that i often hunt alone it also come in handy having the birds flushed at a good range for shooting. the biggest thing is training your flusher to work at a respectable range. and im not confident enough in her training yet to have her working with a ranging dog. im sure i could keep her in but also don't want her thinking it is ok to be working at some of the ranges i have seen pointers at. maybe somet ime in the future i would consider a pointer just not now.

headed down to cattaraugus county this am with my cocker spaniel to go aftewr some grouse. ended up having a great hunt she worked excelent really covering the ground put up 2 grouse at our first stop i missed both. went to another cover and she put up a hen pheasant before i even had the gun loaded beautiful shot opportunity though and another grouse missed again. then worked around a pond and connected with a grouse bailey dead hunted excelent and brought bird to hand in a short time,although she had ripped out the tail feathers. went and found them where she had pulled the dead bird out from some brush. we then hunted our way back towards the car but saw no more grouse near the car she pushed a turkey out infront of us i don't thinnk she knew what to make of it. we both had a really good time and there is nothing better than watching your dog qaurter through the brush while she zeros in on the birds very rewarding to see even when you don't take the birds.

in the pines they are loafing ussually midday or late afternoon. you don't really need a dog just makes it easier. the best places to find them are the super thick brush and briar tangles that are around the ones we got this week end were full of choke cherries. if you don't have a dog the best way to flush them is to get up close to the brush or go through it if you can walking a few feet and stoping often. they are not as spooky a bird as most people belive and will let you walk right by them you need to make them nervous to get them to fly. this is why it is important to stop often and occasoinally shuffle your feet. the thought on shuffling your feet is that fox and coyote will lurch backwards just before pouncing.