22Plinker

yeah but those had a sticky surface that would actually catch the bug. I went back to check these boxes and there is nothing like that here. several of the boxes now have spider webs in them but nothing to capture bugs.

So the official response from the DEC, whom never actually went out to investigate these mysterious boxes, is that they "may" be mosquito catch traps set up by the department of health. If they are indeed "traps" then I think someone needs to have a talk with the designer... as traps are usually designed to actually TRAP something and keep it from escaping. A giant open box doesn't really meet that requirement of a trap

My plan was to go out Thursday and Friday (weekend as well) but I was lucky enough to get picked for Jury Duty this week so I guess the earliest I am getting out will be the weekend.

Normally I would take my marlin 22 using CCI HP 1260fps, and the kid would take his mossberg 500 with #5 or 6 shot. This year i picked up my own Mossberg Turkey Thug edition and plan on using that early on in the season. I have also switched to the new Browning BPR .22lr. It's a 40gr hollow point at 1400+ fps. I did some consistency testing with various brands and was pleasantly surprised at how accurate the BPR was switching between 50 and 150 yards with the BSA scope. CCI mini mag HP is always my backup ammo.

I gave a quick look around out to roughly 30 yards from the area. I didn't see any trail cams but that isn't to say they didn't hide any someplace I didn't find. I did get a call in and talked to an officer that didn't know of any environmental studies in the area but she would pass it along to local law enforcement to go investigate the scene. They took my number and have since responded to my email. Hopefully a response will be coming shortly.

I have not heard back from the email yet and unfortunately I am serving jury duty this week. I'll try to get a call into them at break time.

Actually they are uniformly opened to the west with the tops behind them. I'm going back today to get exact GPS coordinates and emailing region 7 tonight. I'll call them tomorrow to check up.

LOL. That is where that pic was taken. That little pull off just north of Potter road, off into the woods about 100 yards and 300 yards north of the parking area.

No. They are empty. I'd guess at maybe 10x15 inches. Maybe 8 inches deep. The tops are placed directly behind them. Each box has a small stick wedged into the ground on the sides of the boxes. I flipped one one over and there appears to be nothing significant underneath the box or the lid. Nothing appears to be attached to them either.

I was scouting an area of public land I intend to make bushcraft ground blinds at and came across these black wooden boxes. There are fifteen total. What do you think they could be?

Just sent you an email. That would be perfect for my son who just bought a 30-06.

Applied and got first choice of 7F. The kid was so excited about picking up his new Ruger 30-06 he walked out of the store without getting his license.

I am not overly concerned with the opening of the email as much as I am that they got my email reportedly from this site.

Has anyone else gotten an email from this person? It says they got my email address from HuntingNY.com. is this something to be concerned with? The rest of the email read as follows:

Decided to go out with the kid for some red squirrel hunting and came across this nice shed. It is very recent because I was in the same spot less than 48 hours before and it wasn't there. We looked for the match but didn't find it. Before anyone mentions it, yes I know I don't have to wear the blaze orange. I do it as a courtesy to the other people that are out there training their dogs.

I had a similar conversation with a woman who had been abused by her husband. The conversation was regarding the difference between discipline and assault. She asked me the same thing, if my son should fear me. No I hope my son does not fear me. I hope he has a healthy fear of consequences, enough so that it could affect his judgment prior to doing something stupid. If that fear happens to be my hand paddling his ass for mouthing off to a teacher or the serious face-to-face he would get for running over a police officer... so be it. I would expect my son, or anyone for that matter, not to just out right fear me. My counter to her argument is that you can tell a child a hundred times not to touch something that is hot, but eventually they will do it and they will get burned. What is it that stops them from doing it again... satisfied curiosity or fear of the pain it caused the first time?

I have seen some on my clothes but fortunately none on the skin. As precaution i always ware layers and tuck and tape the ends to prevent crawlies from going up the pant legs. Going down from the top is harder to prevent but if i know i am going into a "bad" area known for ticks i sometimes will put duct tape around the waist. Ultimately it just comes to a good self examination when you get done with your woodsy outing. Armpits, groin, back of the knees....for those of us who are heftier than others, under the belly...even the arse. Its sounds silly to talk about but 2-3 extra minutes of prevention could save you a million times that in life long hassles. EDIT: As a side note, I have tried OFF and Skin-So-Soft that specifically says it prevents ticks from biting and from what I have witnessed, they don't prevent them from crawling around on you.

Not yet. I was looking at the DEC Interactive Map but I am noticing some differences between the Region 6 & 7 boundaries on the Interactive map and the PDF map of the region boundaries. According to the PDF, Happy Valley is in the northern territories, but according to the Interactive map it isn't.

March 20th is just around the corner and I have yet to bag a rabbit this year. Seen some... missed some... just generally haven't had good luck down in Region 7. Is anyone willing to part with decent prospect areas in Region 6 (south west portion of the region) that I might check out this week and hopefully get lucky? The kid has Tuesday off from school so hoping to double the chances.

Went out Saturday afternoon and today mid-morning to sundown. Picked up several red squirrels, a few starlings that were chasing after some robins and two crows that were going after a nasty deer carcass that died in a large standing water hole. The excitement came from watching a large group of 9 or 10 deer cross a trail in front of me. I know where I am setting up my blind this fall.

Out of curiosity, what is the real heart of the issue preventing dove hunting in NY? I know right now they are not considered a game bird so no season is assigned to them. Other than getting that wording changed and adding them to a particular hunting season, is there a movement to stop dove hunting...other than the typical "I hate hunting and you are evil monsters for killing wild animals" folks?

Just curious if anyone goes out of their way to hunt starlings? Every year we have about two dozen red-wing blackbirds and a dozen starlings. They get so aggressive they attack the robins and song birds. Never seen them go after the bluejays, cardinals or woodpeckers though.

Thank you wildcat and wolc, both comments have been very helpful. Wolc- Yeah I use squirrel for all of my trout flies and spinner tails. I tried using bucktail for a couple deep nymphs and never got a single strike. Similar color patterns but different action in the water. Now bucktail jigs i've had amazing luck with walleye but never tried using squirrel for them, primarily because the hair just isn't long enough for what I use them for (with exception of a couple monster fox squirrels I've seen). As for the white color honestly I don't think I ever really paid much attention until the other day. This one that followed up the pack was so bright white it was all I could do to NOT stare at the tail. Noticeably whiter than the four in front of it. My first guess was just dirty from laying down in the dirt and leaves but that last one... I'm telling you it was just obnoxiously white.

Thank you very much for that quick response.

I haven't gone deer hunting in about 24 years so what I am about to ask I may have known at one time but forgot, not sure. Q) Is there a particular reason some white tail have an obnoxiously white tuft of hair while some are more aged yellow/brownish? Is it just dirty or is it a sign of age? Q) Is there a particular reason why some deer have tails that are straight up and some lean back more? Q) At this time of year (beginning of March), when deer move in packs are they often the same gender or mixed? Q) how long do Fawns stick with the doe? I ask these because while I was out today shed hunting and also looking to pick up a few more red squirrel tails for jig tying, i saw a group of 5 cross my path. The last one in line had a massive obnoxiously white tail that stood out like a sign screaming "LOOK AT ME!"