22Plinker

My son and I went out for his first time ever and my first in over 20 years. It was a small piece of land (just over 700 acres) and I knew we wouldn't be far from the vehicles so we packed light. used only pockets and no backpack. Only thing on our shoulders were rifles and folding chair. Our total equipment list: 6x8 plastic tarp (each), roll of twine (each), 25' paracord (each), fixed blade knife (each), fire steel (each), bottle of water (each), protein bar and bag of beef jerky (each), small first aid kit (each), few pairs of nytrile gloves (each), (2) hand warmer (each). We were dressed for the weather with several layers and water proof outers and hats. Our selection was specifically taken for the environment and weather conditions.

Son and I were up in 6k from sunrise to noon. Only half dozen people in the area. Hope that is the norm and not just because of the weather. Got a very quick peep at two scrawny doe (could have been the same one twice, not sure), but no horns that either of us saw. Hopefully the wind isn't as bad as being predicted for tomorrow so I can get back out there and beat the kid to the first kill of the season... we have money resting on this

It's been just a tad over 20 years since I have gone out deer hunting, since my grandfather got too sick to venture out. Back then we always went out in his back fields and hunted his own private land. We never had to worry about other hunters, just the occasional person that would be out there looking for a wounded deer that stumbled onto his property. This year my son and I are going to try to fill the freezer. While talking to him about some methods and tactics it dawned on me that I am lacking in a fairly vital area of knowledge. Etiquette. I know if you see another hunter you should keep your distance and avoid making a scene, but what if you don't see the hunter? If you pull up to your favorite spot and see one, two or more vehicles... do you park and risk crowding an area or go to another spot? The area we are planning on going to opening day is just over 700 acres divided up the middle by a seasonal dirt road. There are many small rolling hills and creek beds so my plan was to go up until we find an area with no other vehicle in eyesight. Do you leave a note in your vehicle? One of my former bushcraft mentors always suggested leaving a note on your dashboard when going into the woods. This way if something were to happen people have a starting point to go looking for you. Similar to hunting, do you leave a note for other hunters to know what direction you are going... hoping they do not walk in along your path? I'll probably have other questions to ask in the near future.

?!?!?!?! Not that I am a bow hunter, but I couldn't even fathom leaving any of my rifles outside for any period of time. Hell I went into a crazed rage when I realized I had dropped my new Mora somewhere between where I breasted this mornings grouse and my truck.

I remember seeing a toilet on an ATV trail that skirts the edge of Happy Valley Road. It was at the base of a hill within a stones throw of a small creek. On the other side of Altmar there is another ATV trail that has a working pay phone in the middle of the woods. Very odd looking the first time you come upon it

Took the kid out this morning to compete with the other bird hunters. Managed to bag one grouse. Wish I had gotten a pic before we started cooking. Bacon wrapped and pan seared, slow cooking in my "secret sauce" with some veggies. OMG it smells so good

Other than word of mouth from a hunter who is obviously not going to give away his secrets... I would suggest taking some time to do a bit of online research. Check out the NY DEC Interactive mapping tool (google search) which brings up a vast amount of public land available to hunting. I suggest when you open it up to click on the "layers" button and check the box below goose hunting areas, I think its DEC Zones or something.... it shows the region boundaries. Second, once you find a decent place on screen... take a look at it in googlemaps. This will show you a relatively recent view of the growth of the area. woods, fields, swamps, rivers etc. See if the county or the DEC offers topo maps of the area. Many Oswego and Oneida areas have topo maps linked to the county page. At this point you should have a decent idea of where you are going and what is there. Take a day trip to walk around and scout the area. Just remember bow season is open now

Just got this notice today. Being that it's an area I often frequent for recreation other than hunting, but have often considered scouting... plus I know some of you folks visit the area as well. Just thought I would leave this here: http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/108026.html

Never was very good with a bow outside point-blank range. Looks like rain is going to hit my area later in the day so I'll definitely be out in the morning looking for a fluffy bunny-or-6

something similar happened a few years ago down in Florida. That one was attributed to bath salts.

This last week there has been a horse led pheasant hunting tournament going on at Three Rivers WMA. They will finish their final round on Wednesday. While out squirrel and crow hunting today i flushed 11 of the colorful little suckers. Largest group was 4 with duo and singles the rest. Talked to some of the guys releasing and he said they released over 200 birds. All the horse traffic has got the dear all wound up and even saw a pair of roughed grouse along a treeline near a pond. IMG_2387.MOV

Mine says friday - sunday rain with temps in the mid 60's not that i have much faith in the forecast this far out.

wintergreen dip with a fireball.... interesting combo

Got out of work a little early today and decided to check out my favorite area. Saw some sign of what I believe to be coyote near the gut piles I've been leaving. Tagged these two before it got too dark. Saw a good number of deer in the fields close by. It's looking promising ps the black one had two wicked scars on its flank, you can see in the pic they looked like old boy fly marks

I had the same idea about building bushcraft blinds on public lands, so I called my local region office to ask what the specific rules are for this. You "legally" need a permit to leave any man made materials on State Forest or WMA land overnight. I asked if I could build a structure using all natural materials with only using hemp twine to tie it together. Their reply is that hemp or sisal cordage would be ok to use since it rots when left out in the weather. All other materials need to be taken out at the end of the day. This may very well differ by region or individual public land area. Just sayin

From the pics... your cardboard blinds are more like luxury condo's

The scope on my 783 looks just like the Bushnell on my sons Ruger but it doesn't have any corporate stamp on it.

I am hardly an expert deer hunter, the last deer i took was just over 20 years ago when i would go out with my grandfather. However, this year my son wanted to "upgrade" from small game to deer. He specifically wants me to cook a venison roast Anyway, to the point... He shoots a 30-06 Rueger American and I just picked up a Remington 783 chambered in .270. Years ago i used one of my grandfathers .243s. All of those will kill a dear just enough... not too much and not too little... just perfectly dead. The Remington i got at Cabela's on sale for $299 with a $40 mail in rebate. The scope is a generic 3-9x40 but you can't beat an entry level rifle for $260 plus tax! and .270 ammo ranges from $14 per 20 rounds to $40 per 20 rounds. 30-06 you are going to average just over $1 per shot. (good reason to get into reloading)

I have fished the small ponds down there. Caught a couple small bullhead. Never saw any trace of deer while there but saw a metric ass-ton of groundhog's around the ponds.

do you realize this thread is 4 years old?

My son and I are from a Region 7F (Syracuse) and looking for a small area, close by, in the northern region that we can explore and make a regular hunting location. Does anyone have any information, good or bad, regarding this area? Size wise it looks perfect for us, and a quick look at the topography looks like it has great potential.

I am really loving this Browning BPR ammo. That extra bullet weight and velocity makes a noticeable difference.

First of the year.

Unfortunately isotopes don't work quite like that. If it was short lived then it would need to be manufactured, sold and used in a very short time. Typically "VERY short lived" is a classification of isotopes with a half life in hours. "Short Lived" have half lives less than 10 days, and "Long Lived" is greater than 10 days (typically weeks or months). Isotopes with lives in years or greater are technically classified as "Long Lived" but have specific regulations depending on their emitted energy. As a rule of thumb an Isotope is no longer radioactive after 10 half lives. While this isn't always true, especially when you talk about massive quantities of a material... it is true for quantities that are more commonly found in both nature and Nuclear Medicine. As for the tracking part, it is possible to track isotopes with multi-channel analyzers (geiger counters that can differentiate between multiple energies). Unfortunately the distance they can be observed depends on the device and the activity of the isotope. It would take a massive activity at an exceptionally high energy with an exceptionally narrow angled device to track an isotope more than 100 feet. Example: Working in a Nuclear Pharmacy i accidentally dropped a vial that contained roughly 1.75Ci of TC99m (a commonly used mid energy isotope used in nuclear medicine). That activity was about 500 times the average administered dose to a human for a scan. That vial was easily found using a geiger counter at 30', but was immeasurable 100' (or outside the building walls). Now that I have bored everyone... back to our regularly scheduled programming

Nice find. I never would have thunk it true. So I assume they have been coming back from time to time to check their traps so obviously the deer are ok with it since i've seen them in the area. Perhaps this will bode well come november...