uberyan

Yep. Got those and some spare nitrile gloves as well. One of the rolls in the house was just under 2/3 done. Grabbed that and threw it in a ziplock. Lumbar pack is starting to get filled up. Mostly because of the game bags.

Yeah a lot of things on the back end of the list are things I'd rather not have to use but would regret not having if needed. And yes I'll be quartering and packing out. That's what one of the clear ponchos is for. Advice that someone else here had given. Not having to drag out is one benefit but the main reason I'm quartering is my wife insisted I don't bring home a whole carcass. That's where she draws the line when it comes to me hunting. I'd say it's a fine compromise.

Thanks. Slide mountain/sundown. How much snow accumulated? Good signs of deer? How's the cell reception there? Got a couple of compasses. Paper map. Battery pack for the phone. Flashlight and extra flashlight battery. Downloading gpsmaps into phone tonight. Tp. Snacks. A couple lengths of webbing with loops/slides. Extra socks. Knives. Multitool. Orange tape. Electrical tape. Lighter. Paracord bracelet. Whistle. Emergency blankets. First aid kit. Lifestraw. Bear spray. Bino. Ruger. Hornady white tails. Victory/consolation cigar. Ah crap forgot to pick up some cheap plastic ponchos.

All the supplies and gear are now bought/made. One last round of washing/scent control spraying to go. Putting everything in the pack tonight. Lay out the clothes and pack the car up Tuesday night, get to bed early and somehow try to get some sleep. Then start the drive up to the Catskills around 3AM. First time stepping into the woods to hunt, the giddy nervousness is starting to take hold. Priority number 1, get home safely at the end of the day. A nice buck would be a fantastic bonus. Let's hope I don't do anything stupid like leaving the tags at home.

Unfortunately, maturity or a lack thereof, is ageless. I think it has more to do with the mindset and the personal code one decides to adhere to. Deer is not a necessary food source for me. I do enjoy it and it's one of the reasons I decided to hunt it, but my family and I will not starve for lack of it. It's a sport and a challenge and there are rules I set for myself. A big part of that is taking a clear, responsible shot and a making a clean kill. Putting myself in a position to be able to do so is part of the hunting challenge. I would find no joy in taking a deer because I emptied an entire magazine into it.

Very nice.

That's a beaut. Congrats.

Haha. This thread is making me think I should have a strobe light on me while I'm walking into the woods.

This will be my first time for EVERYTHING. Good advice on the poncho. I was going to grab one for emergency rain wear. Now I'll grab two. As for the pack I'm in a bit of quandary. When I was planning and buying all my gear it was to hunt a relatively small plot of flat private land. So I just got myself a large lumbar pack with shoulder straps. Perfectly fine for carrying gear while stalking but obviously no where near enough space to pack out meat. I ended up getting a cheap packable 50l backpack to supplement and I'm just praying to God that it will be able to hold without falling apart for at least one excursion. Depending on how this goes, i.e. How much luck I have getting a deer and how painful the pack out is I'll look into frame pack options in the offseason. How far in I go all depends. If I get to the parking area and see no other cars or signs of other hunters I'll start looking for deer signs right away. If there's a decent crowd I'm thinking at least 30mins in before I start actually stalking. Im hoping for the former.

I'm planning to field dress, quarter and pack out (if/once I actually nab one that is) as I'm planning to trek inwards and possibly through crappy terrains. Now I know a lot of folks hang their deer whole for some time prior to butchering, would you do the same for quartered deer? Or does it make no difference once you've skinned and sectioned them off? On a related note, is a cooler necessary for transporting in the car for say 3-4hrs? Or can I get away with leaving it in gamebags in the cargo area (SUV) with the windows cracked open on the drive home?

Stories like that make you wonder if orange even makes a difference. Seems most accidents happen because people take shots without even taking a moment to properly visually acquire the target. I'll be wearing orange regardless but these are the kinds of stories that I dread while prepping to stalk on public lands...

Congrats J. Looks like you guys had a blast.

If was stand hunting and water proofing was the priority, I'd go with rubber boots. Probably wear something else walking back and forth from the stand, depending on distance. Still hunting in rubber boots would probably suck after a while. For that it seems high quality hiking boots are recommended. Lowa, Vasque, Asolo, etc. I've read that all leather is the best way to go for waterproofing even with all the newer tech fabrics available now. Fewer seams being better. This will be my first season and I went with some relatively cheap Timberlands. Aside from price, it's mostly leather with a Gore Tex liner and very very light. Hopefully durability isn't an issue. If it is, I'll start looking into the pricier offerings for the next season.

I like the Hornady Whitetails out of the ones I've tried so far. Was able to get some decent clovers out of those at 100.

I'll be stalking public land (catskills) a few days after opening weekend. Ruger .308

Yeh, looks like anyone going in for opening weekend for rifle is in for some balmy temps. Should be much cooler for when I plan to venture out.

I'll have to check that out. I think for now I'm going take Jaeger's advice and try my hand out in the Catskills. Planning on making it a day trip the day before Thanksgiving to Sundown forest. Hopefully by then the opening weekend crowds will have died down.

I was planning on waiting for after the season to get gear and planned on getting by with the bare minimums this season. Blackovis ended up having a flash sale on the exact things I was looking for so I ended up shelling out. I tried them out in the backyard a few nights ago when the temps got down to the mid 30s. Baselayer, thin wool hoody, tech "fleece" on top, heavyweight baselayer and thin wool pants on bottom, beanie and gaiter for the face and head. Felt pretty comfortable just standing around so I think it will work out fine for being down on the ground and stalking. I'm also bringing along another fleece jacket just in case. Need to get on making a muff like the others mentioned. Might also put together a cape out of blaze orange fleece instead of the usual orange vest. I'm thinking it'll add some warmth, make me visible and maybe even help to break up the silhouette as well.

Thanks for all the tips and assurances folks. Definitely less leery about the public land deal. I definitely don't mind trekking in deeper. I enjoy walking/hiking and actually am trying to think of hunting as hiking with benefits. Still relatively young (even though brainfarts have started to occur more frequently now) so it shouldn't be a big deal. My sense of direction is good enough where I shouldn't be lost, at least not for too long I hope. I'll definitely check out the state lands in the catskills as well as checking in with some of the state parks/wmas closer to me. I was curious on quartering and packing out the meat instead of dragging. No problems with butchering here as I'm pretty handy with that stuff but had a question when it comes to aging. I know there's a whole separate conversation on whether aging deer meat has any benefit or not. But assuming that it does, will quartered meat still age as long as you don't butcher them out further or does the animal need to be in one piece to allow it to happen? Again, thanks all for the help. As a semi-city dweller/slicker, there isn't much out there for me to learn from personally so all y'all helping me out is tremendously appreciated.

Mostly from hearing horror stories about hunting on public lands. Peope on top of you best case, worst case having bullets whiz by you. And this being my first time coupled with stalking/still hunting, I guess I just feel safer knowing I'm the only hunter in the woods (which was to be the case in the original property I had lined up). im sure it really isn't all that bad and if it comes down to it, I'll probably check out some wmas in region 3/4.

Yeah it's more like I have no idea where I'd start knocking. do you just look for properties that border state lands or forests? How do you know there's enough acreage to hunt? I'd love to and hope to down the road. but ATM I'm only 5 years into my first mortgage so it may be a while.

Yeah, I realized it was a few weeks out so I went to finalize and make official with the landowner just to find out some things had happened since I got his verbal OK a while back. Even if it wasn't somewhat last minute, it would be tough to knock on doors as is. Can't exactly drive out of Long Island to start looking for random plots of land upstate. I guess I might not have a choice. Hopefully what you say holds true even once rifle season opens. Anyone have experience with the cooperative area in Shaupeneak Ridge? DEC has it listed as a semi-private sort of deal.

The plot I had lined up fell through and now I'm scrambling for a place to hunt (stalking/still hunting so I'd prefer not to be on packed public lands). I don't live near any of the rifle allowed areas so it's not like I can drive around looking for postings. So for those that don't live in the vicinity of such lands, how do you go about finding a place to hunt?

Anyone use a ruger predator? I was pretty set on the tikka t3x but the ruger seems like a really good budget/value proposition.

Gary Johnson.