uberyan

Not sure if any of this gets covered in the Hunter's Ed course, but I figured it'd be good to get some opinions from you experienced hunters. In terms of setting up a tree stand, it's pretty obvious I guess. You see someone already setup in the area, move along and find another spot. I don't plan on stand hunting and want to stalk/still hunt which leads me to a few questions. Off the bat, if I'm hunting public grounds, I'm going to make sure I park and start in a spot where there aren't too many other hunters around, if at all. Then make my way deeper into areas where there wouldn't be stands setup to disturb. But, I still need to make my way there and would have to cross through the outer, more populated areas. Is it advised that I make my presence obvious and work my way through as quickly as possible at the risk of alerting any deer that may be in the area? Or do I sneak my way through as if I was stalking at the risk of sneaking up on another hunter and alarming them? Obviously, I don't want to scare off any game that other hunter's are waiting on but at the same time I don't want to risk getting shot at trying to be stealthy. I will definitely be wearing blaze orange pieces here and there. I won't be going on opening day or any crazy peak period, I'd rather go out after the initial surge even if it means less deer to hunt. Am I on the right track? Anything else to keep in mind?

Considering there's been zero update on the rumors of a Bass Pro or Cabela's opening up on the Island, I am stoked for the F&S to open up. I work around the corner from that shopping center and have been stopping by pretty frequently during lunch. I believe the soft opening will be 9/17 and the full grand opening a week or two after.

I don't get when people pile up on Romo. The lack of defense cost way more games than Romo ever did. Fact is, he's put up some of the best numbers as a QB for the Boys and for the league in general. In a QB starved league, I'm glad we have Romo and hope to God he still has a few more good years left in him.

I saw that buried in the bottom of the yahoo news feed a day or two ago. The link didn't even work. "news" "journalism"

My deepest condolences to you and your family.

Crazy how you can get a rifle for the cost of what's considered good binoculars. The Monarch 5s are on the top of the list. Can be had for a shade over $200 so unless some of the cheaper Bushnells or whatever are a better value, looks like the Monarchs will get the nod. Oh, I did get my first hunting/shooting related delivery yesterday, the Leight Electronic ear muffs. Figure I'll need them sooner or later, might as well have them ready for the LGS range day coming up. They said hearing protection would be provided but I don't like ear plugs and the thought of "community" ear muffs skeeves me out.

Nice. What height did you go for on the dnz? I want to get the lowest possible that will safely clear the scope.

Trying to stay under 1k for the major rifle related purchases. Frontrunner setup would be the t3x compact 308 and a leupold Vx-1. Those should keep me under 1000 for the rifle and scope. Scope mount undecided. Not sure if I want to get a picatinny with rings or the dnz one piece scope mount. The one thing I wasn't expecting was for binoculars to be so expensive.

I can understand the first four but why xbows? I was actually pretty curious why it's not allowed in Long Island for deer hunting.

Thanks again folks. Just found out my wife is taking the kid with her to have brunch with a friend so I have Sunday all to myself. So nfa I guess I'll be showing up. I'll pm you later for the details.

Wow. Well first off thanks all for the warm welcomes. Lots of sound advice as well. I guess not too many are in favor of the scout setup which is fine. I'm leaning 90% towards a standard bolt action with a 3-9x40. Narrowed down to the tikka t3x and Remington 700 in terms of feel. Those two felt the most comfortable when I held them. The sig felt off, kimber was too light. To me the tikka feels a bit more polished and better put together so I'll most likely go for that in the 308 and start putting in some range time. I guess my only real question is, how quick does your shot really have to be with still hunting? Is it like shooting from the hip or do you usually have time to lineup a proper scoped shot? as for the slugged shotgun, as dinsdale mentioned, I'd much rather just get both when the time came. and my jeans ain't skinny, they're slim fit. Haha

Thanks all for the welcome. Nfa I'll see if I can swing by on the 21st. I'm actually going to the campsite sponsored range day at Brookhaven the day before. Hope the wife doesn't give me grief about doing something hunting related two days in a row already. Haha.

A LGS here is hosting a range day in two weeks so I'll definitely be taking advantage of that to try out some different rifles. One of the ones available to shoot is the Ruger Gunsite so I'm hoping I can get a good feel for the Scout style there. Culvercreek, I'm 5'9 about 180lbs. I did read that bolt actions do recoil differently and that the AR does absorb some. I'm hoping that since I really didn't feel the recoil negatively on the AR, that even on a bolt, it won't be too much of an issue. In any case, might be a good idea to try multiple rifles in the .308 on that LGS range day.

Thanks Zem. When I say noob, I do mean total newbie. My first and only shooting experience so far came about two weeks ago. Indoor gun range in PA, Shot a 9mm handgun and AR15s in .223 and .308 I was told I was a pretty good shot for a first timer if that has any real relevance. Although I'll end up going through the Hunter Education course this year, I probably won't actively hunt the upcoming season. Planning on spending most of my time at the range getting comfortable with the gun. Obviously I'd love to try out multiple rifles in multiple calibers before making a purchase but it's not like rifles come with a 30 day love it or return it policy. Which is why I'm trying to make an informed decision with the help of you more experienced folks. The caliber I'm pretty set with the .308, as most of the rifles I'm looking at come with that and I also did like it at the range.

Thanks Rockspek, Philoshop. I live in Nassau County so I'll definitely be traveling to rifle hunt deer. Friends of friends have some property upstate and in PA so I'm hoping to get their blessing to hunt on their properties. If not, then I'll need to start figuring out which public lands make the most sense for me. Possibly CT as well, trying to get my friend who lives there in on it as well.

Hello all, first real post on this forum. I'm just getting into hunting and am in the process of choosing my first rifle. I was initially set on a standard bolt action (Tikka T3X). Then I started thinking, if I'm going to be primarily still hunting, would I be better suited with a more agile rifle? Speaking to one of the guys at the LGS, he mentioned the majority of shots in the NE region are probably 80yards or less and even shorter if you're still hunting. In those cases, wouldn't something like a Ruger Gunsite with a red dot be more effective?

Total noob here diving in head first. Hunter education course scheduled for mid-September. In the process of figuring out which rifle I'm going to go with. Primarily looking to hunt deer, maybe waterfowl as well later on. So, hello all.