Elmo

Stewart is shotgun only. Sterling Forest is a different park. Also a nice place. Rule in Sterling Forest is that no firearms before November 1st and you need a park pass. They cost $5 for the year. You buy them at the rangers station/visitors center. You can also fill out the application and send in your $5 through the mail. Picture was taken at Blue Mountain Sportsman Center in Westchester. West Point is pretty good. I've gone there a several times because my brother is still an active military personal and he signs me in as a guest. Unfortunately he's so busy now that he doesn't have much time to hunt. Due to the fact it is restricted to active military members, it doesn't get as crowded as other parks. They also run a zone system. You check in and pick an open zone to hunt in. You can use your 30/06 in West Point and Sterling. Just not Stewart or anywhere in Putnam County. Putnam County is also shotgun only during big game season. I know, so many rules, it's a pain in the butt. Some county has their own rules and some parks have their own rules.

Also, if you're still an active military personel then you get exclusive rights to West Point. They allow hunting during deer season to active military personel and their family. They have their own set of rules as well and you have to sign in at a check station.

Welcome to the site Aaron and thank you for your service. If you're talking about Stewart State Forest in Orange County, be careful. That place is a shotgun only forest. During any other season you park in the main parking lot and hike in. During deer season, you have to drive in and park in the designated parking spots. Then you can only hunt in the lot you parked in. You can not wander into another lot. Lot boundaries aren't always clear but it's usually a road or a stone wall. These rules are specific to Stewart.

I read that the regulation and definition of organic is so lax that only slight modifications are needed to label something as being "organic". i.e. Chickens are held in pens like non-organic chicken but during the last two weeks of their life, they open the doors granting them access outdoors. The chicken don't actually go outside since they never knew life other than the pen and by the time they work up the courage to walk outside, they're slaughter. They also change their diet during this 2 week period which allows to slap the "free range" and "organic" label on the chicken.

Wonderful story!

Good to know. Thanks!

I read somewhere that deer can have a particular disease that effects its liver and that it should be checked before eating. I figure if I want to be on the safe side, I'll just not eat it. Which is sad because I actually love liver and onions. Bone Marrow is an expensive delicacy in Europe. They use beef bone marrow. I actually like it. You scoop out the inside and spread it on toast like butter. Imagine a strong flavored beef broth in a solid, fatty form. I'm sure you can use deer as well and I'm sort of curious how that would taste like. http://www.findyourcraving.com/c1/musing/try-it-at-home-blue-ribbon-s-bone-marrow-recipe

Looks amazing!

If my airgun isn't sighted in by then I'll bring the 12 gauge with me as a backup.

I have bought two guns within a month of each other. I just never sent in the registration for the second want till months later. Not recommended since that meant I was holding an unregistered firearm for a couple of months. Just saying it can be done.

finger print is one time fee. permit is a 3 year permit so you have to pay the $120 every 3 years but can just mail them in. The first time is the only time you have to actually go in person. You have to register every gun you purchase but registration of the gun is free (cost of stamp no counting). You can buy as many guns as you want but you have to wait 90 days between purchases.

I was on a flight from Miami to JFK once. I ended up getting a seat next to a kid (looks to be 12-14 years old) that was grossly overweight. I was literally pressed up against the window and his thigh was up in my seat. I kept thinking to myself, I could have sworn I paid for a full seat so how come I am only getting half a seat?

Yep. Wanted to golden boy in either a 22LR or 22WMR to use for plinking. But the tubular mag feed exceeds the 5 round limit and the only way to go around that is to get a gunsmith to so of "plug it up". Having to reload every 5 rounds makes plinking less fun.

Every morning when I leave for work I see a bunch of Jewish babies in strollers being pushed by Jamaican nannies. I always wondered if the parents would be shocked when their children spoke with a Jamaican accent when they got older.

Wow! Never knew. I guess I unexpectingly celebrated NHF Day by going to the archery range today and getting some prep work in.

The strict check has its pluses and its minues. The good thing is that it is a one time thing. Sure when I was getting mine I was frustrated as heck. But now that is behind me, I do get a sense of comfort knowing that not any crazy criminal can just go in a get one. Now the ridiculous restrictions on the other hand...that's another story. The AR-15 and the Henry Lever Action are two rifles I want that I cannot get.

Also, Lorenzo...I guess asking your parents to get you a gun is out of the question?

Then that means what your really enjoy is firing a gun. I'm not saying that as something bad; there is nothing wrong with that. I enjoy going to the range and shooting off a few rounds myself. A common mistake for people who are new to the hunting and the sport of shooting is that the combine the two. This is common conversation I get sometimes. I want to shoot something why don't you shoot at a paper target at a range? I want to shoot something moving but when hunting, you're not suppose to shoot at a moving target. What hunting is really about is tracking an animal. Learning about it's patterns. Understanding its habitat. The actually killing of the animal is not hunting. It is killing plain and simple. The other day I went squirrel hunting. For someone from the Bronx who has never been squirrel hunting, it is not what you think. These are not the squirrels in Central Park who come towards people hoping they'll give them food. These are the squirrels who think every little noise is a hawk or coyote out to kill them. You can spend all day in the woods and never see a single squirrel. I hike an area. Found it's nesting area. Found it's feeding area. Then sat nearby like a sniper. 1st squirrel I saw, I shot it. The next 2 squirrels I saw, I simply held my finger at it with my thumb up to make the form of a pistol and I whispered "bang...I gotcha." and I watched the squirrels grab their acorns and walked away. I had successfully hunted those last two squirrels. I just didn't kill them. Point is, you don't need a gun to hunt. You need a gun to kill something. They are two different things and they are both very enjoyable. I enjoy doing both. I too don't care for bows as much but I enjoy hunting so much that if it means I have to do it with a bow, then a bow is what I'll use. Enough so that I spend hours practicing with the bow just so that I can hunt properly with it. On the other side of the coin, I also own a rifle that I can't not hunt with because it weighs over 14 lbs. It's a great bench gun though and I love taking it to the range and shooting it. My advise to you is that if you really do want to hunt. Get a bow. If you want to shoot and can only live in the city, then wait till you're 21. If you want to combine shooting with hunting and still want to live in the city...then you still need to wait till you're 21.

Or you can just get a bow or crossbow and hunt with that. No need for licenses or registration. Just need to take the bowhunting class and purchase the bowhunting license.

Many have friends and family outside of the city that they keep in their place. Keep in mind, all the rules are for NYC. So as long as you don't bring it into the city you're not breaking any laws. Even so, as long as you're patient, and you're only looking for a hunting rifle or shotgun, then it actually isn't a lot of work if you take it one step at a time. Yes, it is ridiculous that we have to register our long guns but then again, all you're doing is filling in your name, address, and permit # and dropping it in the mailbox (seller fills out the rest) so really, how much work is that? Like I said, the only real frustrating thing about this is having to wait 4 months for your permit, heading over to the shotgun/rifle division, and the $200+ combined fee at the beginning. But all that stuff you only have to do once in your life.

Don't even let me get into handguns. That's even worst. Other stuff banned from NYC: Pepper spray, tasers, blowguns, airguns, slingshots with wrist support.

A bit off subject but sexual harassment of men by women is something happens and most men won't admit it so most people don't realize it does happen here and there. Beginning of sophomore year in college, I was molested by a girl. Before you start the homosexual comments, let's just say she was the type of girl that one would need more than just beer goggles, I would need LSD goggles for. We teach girls what to do when a guy does something to them but we never teach boys what to do if a girl does something to them so I was literally frozen in shock and didn't know what to do. Keep in mind, I was 19 then. Fortunately...or unfortunately..it all depends, she was so wasted that after a brief moment of her hand down my pants and my neck had been cleaned, she passed out.

I do agree with you. When I'm shooting, I'll take a couple of shots then sit down by the bench, watch people, read book, then go back and take a few more shots. The last two sessions though, I did over do it and was pretty bad at the end. I didn't get frustrated though because I knew my performance was due to fatigue so I stopped after that. I do appreciated being reminded though because I tend to burn myself out here and there.

When I'm in a tough situation I always wonder...What would MacGuyver do?

To get a rifle/shotgun permit, you need to fill out the application and bring with you all the necessary documents to the shotgun and rifle division over in Kew Gardens. All the information you need are listed here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/permits/rifle_licensing_information.shtml The actual application is here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/pdf/permits/rifle_shotgun_permit_application.pdf After you fill everything out and have all your docs, bring it to the office in person. Someone will check through it and then they'll finger print you there. You have to pay for the finger printing process (about $100) and the applications (about $120). In roughly 4 months or so, they'll send you a letter letting you know if your application has been accepted or not. Once accepted, take the application back to Kew Gardens and they'll give you your license. At this point, you will want to ask them to give you a few registration forms. Take several. They're free. Every time you purchase a rifle/shotgun, you have to fill this form out. You fill out half of it, the licensed seller fills out the other half. You then mail the registration form along with a copy of the receipt of the firearm purchase to the rifle/shotgun division and within a month or so, you'll receive that registration form back again with a stamp on it. You of course would have to save this as you don't want to lose it. You should also familiarize yourself with the New York Penal Code Section 265 .htm'>http://wings.buffalo.edu/law/bclc/web/NewYork/ny3(.htm Particularly the section regarding "assault weapons". You should also know that New York City is even stricter than New York State. The biggest difference is that NYC doesn't allow semi-automatic weapon with a pistol grip (like AR-15s). Also, no firearm can have a magazine capacity beyond 5 rounds. Some companies make specially designed 5 round magazine. For example, I purchased my Ruger 10/22 at Gander Mountain but they wouldn't let me walk out the store with the 10 round mag. (In retrospect, I should have demanded they give me the magazine because as long as I don't bring it with me into the city, I'm okay.) Instead, I ordered a 10/22 5 round mag online and use that. Firearms that you cannot order a 5 round magazine for you have to have proof of evidence by a gunsmith that shows the gun was modified to accept no more than 5 rounds. Take charge of knowing the rules. Don't assume the shop owners know the rules. Many don't often deal with NYC buyers so they don't actually know the NYC rules. On more than one occasion, I actually had to show the shop owner how to fill out the registration form because he had never filled one out before. So if the shop owner tells you you're allowed to have something, don't assume it's true. It might be true for NY State but not for NY City. The judge won't accept "but the shop owner said it was cool" as an excuse. If you have any other questions. Feel free to ask. This isn't something where if you make a mistake they'll say "it's okay just don't do it next time." This is something where if you make a mistake you'll spend a few years in jail. When in doubt, ask. Even if you think you know, ask anyway.