jperch

On a well known NY fishing site a regular contributor reported that right after he shot his second turkey of the year a coyote ran out and grabbed his turkey. He was able to scare it off and got his bird. They are very hungry this time of year. I have seen shot turkeys move around after they have been down for a while, but never move in a coordinated way. Too bad, sorry to hear.

I am sure FSW was just kidding Larry. Of course 2402 deer tested out of 203,000 deer harvested is 1.18 %, confirmed by my six dollar calculator and sixth grade math. That number of deer tested is probably adequate provided that the sample is properly selected. They would want some randomness combined with over sampling in areas that they suspect CWD might pop up. All that is determined by professional biologists and statisticians ahead of time. They can't test every deer any more than every rifle cartridge can be tested for quality control.

I have no idea how many tickets they issue but have been told by a processor to be sure to not forget to report for that reason. I think the tags are scannable? Anyway, I imagine that what they do is estimate the reporting rate for different units and combine these, taking the size of the units into account, to get an overall reporting rate. Almost everyone has access to a computer or smart phone these days, seems like it would be easy to set up a low cost mandatory reporting system, successful or not.

From the report, available on the DEC website: Deer harvest data are gathered from two main sources: harvest reports required of all successful hunters and DEC's examination of more than 14,000 harvested deer at check stations and meat processors. Statewide harvest estimates are made by cross-referencing these two data sources and calculating the total harvest from the reporting rate for each zone and tag type. It's statistics - more than just a guess. I see that the combined archery + crossbow take was fairly steady, which makes some sense to me. The fields around here are loaded with deer now in the afternoons, Cayuga County. They are hungry. I am not seeing many turkeys yet.

I've seen videos on tv where they used this method. Wow, it's hard for me to believe it would work on the skittish turkeys I hunt. More importantly it does seem ridiculously dangerous and I would sure feel STUPID if I used it and got shot. I hunt on my own posted land and run into more trespassers during turkey season than during deer season. No thanks. jperch

Why limit yourself to 30 minutes after sunset? On certain full moon nights with snow on the ground there is enough light to see all night long. Aside from the unfortunate woman who lost her life while walking her dog this year let us not forget about the conservation officer who was shot and nearly perished last year by someone "hunting" after hours. Supposedly that CO was thought to be a deer. I'm sure the DEC officers have no sense of humor about this matter and enforce it strictly. I used to live and hunt in Pa where one could shoot 30 minutes before sunrise. On some cloudy days it could be pitch black and I still heard shots. Crazy stuff, in my opinion. jperch

I have used the plastic signs stapled to pressure treated plywood, then nailed to trees with spikes allowing for tree growth. I choose trees with no future timber value. The plastic signs get chewed on by red squirrels and eventually (just a few years) become brittle and cracked. I will replace the signs with aluminum Voss signs. This from the DEC website on distance between posted signs: Q. How many signs must be used in posting lands and how close together must they be set? A. At least one sign must be set on each side of the protected area and on each side of all corners that can be reasonably identified. Signs shall be no more than 660 feet apart, close to or along the boundaries of the protected area. Since the signs must be conspicuous, they should be high enough, and spaced closely enough to be seen. Please don't turn your property into an eyesore by using more signs than are necessary. jperch

We have a group that has hunted together for many decades and have a camp bordering state land in 9P. It's a nice place to hunt during bow season. During gun season there are large groups who drive all the state land. They have shot and left fawns, throw their beer bottles on the ground and try to get other hunters to leave "their" woods because they are going to drive it. The DEC has tried to do what they can but what happens in the woods is hard to control. On Monday they walked directly beneath a relative who was dressed in orange of course. I gave up gun hunting this area, it no longer felt like hunting to me. I made an effort to find private land to gun hunt on and now really enjoy gun season again. I'm sure that drives can be done in an ethical and safe manner, but I just have not seen it at our camp. How can you drive public land with 15 or 20 hunters when you know there are other hunters already there that you will be interfering with? Other hunters I know have given up hunting this area for the same reason. By the way, 9P is an area with few doe permits granted, this may be the reason they have left shot fawns in the woods. jperch

Remi, you didn't say where your arrow hit front to back. Just behind the shoulder, mid-body, etc. An arrow that is close to the spine can cause enough shock to the spinal cord to cause the deer to fall, sometimes this is only temporary. If you were in a tree stand and you think the arrow made it beneath the spine then a quartering away shot near mid-body should produce a lung hit. As Tommyc said, you should consider how bad the coyotes are in your area. I would probably have waited an hour to two hours then quietly looked with lights for evidence of a lung hit. You have a relatively cool night, that is in your favor. Good luck! jperch

That would be Jack in the Pulpit, I believe. The berries are not edible by humans. A very nice woods plant.

Well, I'm 63 and started bowhunting at age 16. We hunted mature oak woods in the Bristol area. It is true that back then if you got a "party permit" that you needed 4 or 5 hunters on the permit. But it was a different time, when there was an entirely different philosophy about harvesting does. It was not at all unusual to see groups of 20 does together during gun season. Our equipment was much more primitive and we didn't have tree stands early on. Bucks were very hard to come by, especially during gun season. I think I saw my first buck during gun season at age 20. My point is, at least in the area I hunted, the population was quite high for the habitat. But the herd was way out of balance and the opportunity to take does was dictated by the party permit system. The "typical" buck back then for that area was smaller than today's bucks. Most were spikes. Things are much better now. Most hunters can fill their freezers if they put in the time and bucks with larger headgear are at least possible for those who care about that. It's fun to see a large buck but what remains of our camp still is primarily interested in obtaining venison. jperch

My experience is that any place where jewel weed grows well there is ample poison ivy beside it to keep it company. jperch

Very nice video, thanks. Looks like she had a nice hatch. jperch

During turkey season how far the sound of a shot carries depends a lot on the tree foliage. Leaves make excellent sound absorbers and by the end of the season sound does not carry nearly as far. jperch

This gives a whole to meaning to "Pick a spot". jperch

When a fawn walks directly beneath your tree stand during archery season you can often still see the feint spots beneath their newly formed coat. So I am guessing that means the old hair has not fallen out at that point. I don't know when they actually lose this hair but I suppose two coats of hair is warmer than one. This is probably an advantage for deer of smaller body mass. This is just speculation on my part, guess we would need a deer biologist to chime in. jperch

YES, and this is even more important when shooting most mechanical broad heads. In my opinion one should not take a shot at a deer with mechanicals unless you are fairly confident that you will get an exit hole. I have observed many entrance wounds with mechanicals (mostly mine but also others I hunt with). It is common for the entrance hole to be just a round bullet shaped hole as the blades have not had a chance to deploy yet. The exit hole is usually massive. So, for me, shots are limited to broadside or nearly broadside. This isn't about just killing the deer, it's about an easy recovery. jperch

It is hard to beat their lifetime warranty. I own 3 of them, never had a problem. Shotgun scopes with heavy slugs take a beating. It's a good investment. jperch

Wow. I took my hunter safety course from one of my high school teachers. A different teacher took myself and other students rabbit hunting and fishing as we didn't have cars or boats. Any large group like teachers, or hunters, will have misinformed members, or just members with contrary beliefs. I am grateful for the outdoor opportunities we have in NYS. Hopefully I will have a few more decades to enjoy them and I think the future is bright. Land access is a growing problem for hunters, maybe the biggest problem. When I was younger we worked a couple of weekends in exchange for landowner permission to hunt. Now I own my own hunting land, I am not wealthy but I made it a priority. I deal with trespassers. A few people have asked permission but never once has anyone offered to help out. I think lots of landowners would be open to such an arrangement. jperch

I own a property that has very rich soil, almost muck. All kinds of native plants grow well. I had seen evidence that someone was planting something on my land which made me nervous to be out by myself cutting firewood or just walking. I don't live on this parcel and people know it. I had a state forester out to give me advice and showed him some of the empty plant containers, etc. A couple days later the regular DEC called and asked if they could put some trail cameras on my property. Of course I said yes and told them that they were welcome any time. I don't know if they ever found anything out. In general I have found them to be very helpful and professional. They also helped me out on a timber theft issue years ago. They are the pros. Here is a "funny story", as it turns out. My GF lives on a different farm property and one day she sees a small buck running out in the open a few hundred yards from the house. This is her property and nobody has permission to hunt outside of family. The buck is shot and goes down. Hunters appear from a hedgerow. She jumps in the truck by herself and tears up the hill through the mud to give the hunters hell for trespassing. As she gets there she sees a group of 5 unknown guys with guns and suddenly realizes "Oh s@#$, what was I thinking..." The guys were told to leave, it was testy but things went ok. I think she became kinda famous in the local town that day. jperch

The old silver CP Swing was probably the favorite lure for bass and perch back when I was a kid, in the late sixties. I still have a few and I see them for sale on Ebay. They shine up well with a pencil eraser and some ashes. I don't know if they are still made. There are lighter, "knock off" versions around. jperch

I've had a few unpleasant encounters, none that got too ugly. I've had more trouble with trespassers during turkey season actually. I think it may have to do with camo clothing! We even had someone post part of our property. The local sherif took care of that in one day, they have software with the property lines. Anyway, in NY where I hunt one has to wear a back tag. My advice is to avoid nasty confrontations with idiots in possession of firearms. It's just not worth it. Get their back tag number, maybe a picture, and make a phone call. Word gets around quickly. We probably all remember this story: http://www.twincities.com/2015/03/21/tree-stand-murders-recounts-st-paul-mans-wisconsin-deer-hunter-killings/ jperch

Us "old farts" remember when there was a dead rabbit every few hundred yards on the highways. Limits were common if you had beagles. I believe the most likely cause of the drastic bunny decline is the increase in hawks, owls, etc. For that matter, there was not as many songbirds either. Back then, due to DDT, there were almost no birds of prey in these parts. Now they are plentiful and they do a great job at taking out a high percentage of the young of the year. I often see a fair number of them this time of year but by Fall most are already gone. jperch

I read somewhere a quote from a DEC officer. He said it was not legal for himself to carry his service weapon while bowhunting. That seems extreme, given that I believe they are essentially always on duty. jperch

Tractor Supply often has a sale late summer on lime and fertilizer. Last year I bought all the 40 lb bags they had, I think for $2.49/lb. This is still not a good option. A couple of times I have been able to arrange for a local farmer to lime a couple of acres in the spring when he was liming adjacent ag fields. It seems like liming is the most troublesome aspect of making food plots for many. jperch