Rattler

I love a good fight for what is right. If it comes with a decent salary, I'm in.

Why do you think they need to kill them all off? Controlling the population is all that's needed and opening an opportunity for bow hunters is a good thing. The money the area would take in from it would be big too. It should be looked at with the idea of creating a long term outdoor opportunity, not an extermination. NY's DEC is really dropping the ball on this one. I don't see why bow hunters should be ashamed of what we do either.

I agree it's not 1960 anymore. Many things have changed. They all got worse. But hunting didn't create any of their problems. They have hunting on Long Island, right? The locals allowed the problem to get real bad in Princeton, NJ after years of denying bow hunting there. Sharp shooters were brought in using AR's, night vision, suppressors and bait piles to kill the deer at night. (None of which was legal for any hunters in NJ) They charged taxpayers $1000 per deer, and left many of them to rot. Nobody ever verified what they did with the meat either. Maybe if the public was more informed of these facts, bow hunters wouldn't be seen as a "never" with regard to the solution. NJ Bow hunters would've paid well to do it for them. It's all about control! The rich bass turds living there hate hunters and want to be able to control everyone in their town at all times. I don't see how that's the best thing to do. Why is it considered gospel that bow hunting would never be allowed there? It has to be sold to the public, and based on the facts, with a lot of determination, I'll wager it could be accomplished. They may just have to wait until the problem is so bad it cannot be ignored. Fighting the implementation of sharpshooters would have to be a top priority for bow hunters though. I'll also bet there are plenty of organic food eaters on S.I. that would be interested in supporting it if they could have a chance of getting the meat. Sharpshooters are NOT the solution, they are part of the problem.

Most people don't think of Staten Island as NYC, or even a part of it. It used to be very rural and people used to hunt there in the 1960's. I used to visit relatives there and they did all sorts of hunting, fishing, trapping and even clamming on the Raritan Bay shores. That was before the Verrazano opened, which they referred to as the "death of Staten Island". Special permits could be issued for restricted areas and nobody without a permit could enter the area. The media would have to ambush you at your car. I for one, would look forward to educating the morons in NYC who have no idea why controlling the deer population on S.I. would be a wise thing to do. I would very much look forward to changing the citiot's narrative on deer hunting. I have no fear of debating people who have no idea what they are talking about. But, I would worry about vindictive retaliation from those who lose the debate and let their hate get the better of them. I guess I would just leave the face net on and adopt my "Rattler" moniker when on camera. I'd take the chance for a shot at a nice 12 pointer.

That's why it's called "The Catskills".

LOL! No, the dead deer cause the problem.

I blame the coyotes!

The year long investigation they referred to was a different guy who was a serial poacher. I think he was busted last year.

Just to get back to the O.P. here. It should not be illegal to hunt deer on Staten Island with archery equipment and the charges filed against this man are ludicrous. There are real criminals running around that place and the law is not doing crap about them. If he had a bow license and wasn't using corn in the woods, give this guy a ticket for hunting in a no hunting zone and using a crossbow and leave it at that. If deer hunting is not allowed there soon, the people will soon regret it, as the overpopulation will cause real problems at huge taxpayer expense. Check out the history of Princeton, NJ if you doubt it.

When I was born, the US flag still had 48 stars. Do the math.

I've taken two in the last 10 years and seen two others outside of the season.

I find this NY status to be quite humorous. Spruce Grouse are quite plentiful in states where they have habitat they like. The species itself isn't "endangered", because it thrives in the right environs in many states. It's just rare in NY state. It's status in NY could be more accurately labeled as "unusual". Conservatives could be considered "endangered" in NY state, especially since Cuomo has said they don't belong here. Sounds like open season with no limit to me.

If you want the bear, it's OK to hunt the area where you saw it. Just don't shoot it IN the den. I agree you want to be sure it doesn't have cubs, because they would still be small this time of the year. Bear meat is very tasty, if you get one that has been eating food in the forest and not frequenting a garbage dump. It also requires a fast cool down when you shoot the bear to avoid gaminess. This is very important during bow season when it's warm. It often requires skinning the entire bear as soon as it's shot and still cooling the meat with some ice as soon as possible to keep it tasty. You must remove all of the fat prior to cooking it too, as the fat tastes bad. Dragging a big bear requires help and having a rug made will cost you $1000 plus depending on the options you choose for it. Good Luck.

A 20 gauge isn't too much for Grouse. Within a few weeks I switch to a 12 gauge O/U with Imp Cyl/Mod chokes and # 7 1/2 shot. Low brass shells are fine and they never blow the bird up. This bird will be oven roasted as soon as I get about 3 more to go in with it. BTW, if you ever bite into a steel pellet, you will never want to use it on game again. LOL!

Seems to be a lot around my area this year. The crop was full of "Hawthorn apples", or Haws, too. IMHO, the Ruffed Grouse is the tastiest game bird going.

Sorry for not listing them prior. The top rifle is an 1893 Marlin with a 24" octagon barrel in .30-30 manufactured in 1910. It shoots real well and has a great trigger. Bought it at an estate auction about 10 years ago. The middle one is a T/C Hawken I built from a kit in 1982 in .45 caliber. I've taken a lot of deer with it and still see no reason to get a different muzzle loader. The bottom SxS is an exposed hammer 12 gauge that is of relatively new manufacture and was gifted to me years ago. I really don't know much about it as it has no maker's name or other info stamped on it. I was told it is an Italian Guild gun from the Val Trompia region of Italy and was made in the mid 60's. I have never really tried to find out much about it and have been happy just letting it be a wall hanger up till now. It shoots well when I do shoot it and my choke gauge says it is Mod and Full and sports 28" barrels. It's kind of fancy with the engraving (which I'm sure is machined, not by hand) and chrome lined barrels. I think the mystery of the gun is one of the things I like about it. Anyway, this year this is what I will be limiting myself to. Just making believe I'm hunting in the past. Just adds a little fun to the sport again. After 48 years in the field, ya gotta do things to spice things up again. Sorta what you married guys have to do with your marriages, or so I hear.

Besides the recurve bow, I will be going back in time this season with the firearms.

Today was the Grouse hunting opener in the Catskills of NY. I like to give them a sporting chance till they wise up. Hence the single shot H&R .410

I don't know why people think it's hard to find ammo for a .35 Rem. Any ammo store can get it fast if they don't have it in stock and you ask them to get some. Every little gun shop around here in the Catskills has some. Dick's has it too. Online sellers of ammo all have it. Stock up on some. How often are you going to shoot it? Mine maybe has 10 rounds put through it in a year, and that's in a busy year. I must have 200 rounds of factory ammo for it and about 100 reloads with lots of empty brass waiting.

I've never had a misfire in my Marlin 336 in .35 Rem. The .35 caliber rounds were never popular in America, but they are becoming popular now.

I have a 336 in .35 Rem that was made in 1964. It has a Leupold 2x on it and I use it for bear more than deer. But it is carried when I hunt in areas where shots will be less than 100 yards. I have taken a few deer with it and it does the job very well. It is very accurate and has a great trigger, which they all did prior to the advent of the "Lawyer Triggers" that followed. It's one of the rifles I own I would never consider selling. I reload all sorts of rounds for it, even some using 158 grain hollow points designed for a .357 Magnum with velocity lowered to about 1700 fps. It has real nice walnut too. Just very fond of this oldie.

Snowflakes on the ground in the woods already?

Saw a bear track near a den hole and it looks like a bear has been using it, but no bear today. Did see a doe and two yearlings that came within 10 yards of the stand I was in at the time. She knew something wasn't right but didn't spook, just walked off after a few minutes. Everything is good to go for the bow opener.

I don't think the Remington ML is a bad product. All ML's have their safe limits.