Elmo

Pic#1 - Entering Havasupai Village Pic#2 - Remains of Navajo Falls (damaged by floods) Pic#3 - Mooney Falls Pic#4 - Un-named falls

Which ones do you prefer? The bi-pods attached to the rifle or the free standing shooting stick versions?

My new toy came in. Like a kid after Christmas I left work early to drive to the dealership and pick it up. Mount a Nikon ProStaff 3-9X40 on top of it. A year ago I would never imagine that I would be excited about getting my first big game rifle or sitting in my office during the summer day dreaming about hunting.

The state lands that I've seen in the southeast regions don't allow camping during hunting season and don't allow hunting during camping season. I really want to be able to harvest game and cook it over a camp fire right then and there. For fishing, I was hoping for a place that rents canoes over night so I can paddle to a locations and setup camp for the night. Is there any places in the southeast that offers that? Thanks!

I just got back from Arizona. Hiked 13 miles to from Canyon rim down to Havasupai Village and camped off the base of Havasu Falls. Absolutely amazing experience. The 13 miles back up to the canyon rim (2200 feet elevation climb) in the Arizona heat and 45 lbs worth of gear kicked my butt! In the end it was well worth it. For those would don't want to rough it you can get a mule to carry your pack down and hike it on foot or your can chopper down ($85 each way). I also have a few days off in early June and thought about Acadia as well. I'm thinking Acadia on the high-end (money and time), Saranac Lake (mid-range), or back country camping on Fire Island (low-end). I'll probably squeeze in a couple of one night stays here and there but that's about it.

Hmmm...never thought about the extra noise from the muzzle. Products been paid for and shipped already so there's no turning back now. Besides, I've held the .223 version in my hands and immediately knew that was going to be my gun so noise be damned. I'm hoping hearing protection will help. I always hunt with them. Their usually slung over my neck and I put them on when I'm ready to shoot.

Just ordered the Remington 700 VTR in .308 caliber. This will be my main rifle. I plan to hunt big game as well a coyotes with this. I thought of getting a .223 for coyotes and 'coons and a .308/30-06 for big games but figured I simply didn't have the money for two rifles so I settled on the .308 since I am not all that interested in preserving the pelt. Anybody owns one of these? Recommendations on a scope, etc? 5-7 business days for shipping seems like forever!

Great article. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/science/11bears.html

My condolences.

Yeah, this is a bit of a moral issue. I use to always be in the line of let nature be "natural". Don't mess up it's delicate balance. But the truth of matter is that we've already messed with it. We've already destroyed the balance by introducing foreign invasive species into the local habitat. The reason why they encourage the taking of coyotes is because of it's population explosion. The coyote population explosion is a direct result of humans chasing away their only competitor. The wolves. It is more evident near major cities where humans has essentially eliminated all large predators from the eco-system. With all the large predators removed by human intervention, how is there any form of balance? In some ways, a part of me feels like we need to make things right. I certainly don't approve killing just to kill but there are certain invasive species that would serve the local ecology better if their population was controlled. Invasive species I would take: Snakehead Asian Carp European Sparrows Common Rock Pigeon Feral Pigs/Hogs Eastern Coyote Asian Long Horn Beetle City Rats

Nope. Apparentlyin NYC, air pistols are also treated as regular pistols. That sucks. http://www.nysrpa.org/files/nyc-admincode.pdf

When I read Steve Rinella's book and his explanation on the destruction to native song birds when the European Sparrows were introduced to the northeast, I viewed them differently now. Plus, I'm from NYC so you know about our "love affair" with the common pigeon. It's a joy for me to see a blue jay or a cardinal in the city but they are simply being over run by the "rats of the sky". The new Benjamin Marauder generates 700 fps. My only concern is that as a NYC resident, I can't get a carry/conceal license which means if the same exact rules that regulate firearms are cardon copied to airguns then I won't be able to get an air pistol.

All this talk of air guns has me interested. Is this what happens when you get into hunting? You spend the off-season day dreaming in the office about getting out in the woods to do some shooting? Anyone know the rules are for air pistols in New York. I would like to pick up an air pistol to shoot European sparrows, Starlings, etc. while out hunting. Would prefer a pistol so I don't have to carry two rifles out into the woods.

2 of the 3 I regularly go to has an office. Then again, those are the only ones I've ever been to so I might have lucked out.

In some of the state lands I hunt in, when you pick up the pamphlet from the rangers office and read the rules it specifically states that there is no recreational shooting allowed. This may not be the case in all state land. Also keep in mind that there's no other signs stating this posted in the woods themselves. You have to actually go into the rangers office to find this out.

Hey, Hoosier. I livein the Bronx. Went to school in Michigan. Welcome aboard.

If only I had $3000 sitting around... http://www.edgun.ru/en/cat/guns_01.php

I went to the Firing Line in Pearl River, NY in Orange County (it's slightly under an hour) but the place was crap. It was only a 50 feet indoor range. They only had a kid at the register and that was it. Maybe I went during a down period. There's also one actually in the city (West Side Pistol and Rifle Range). I was told they have a strict policy on high caliber rifles meaning they only allow pistol catridges and .22 rimfires. I guess rather than eliminate them as an option based on someone else's word of mouth I should just stop in there one day and take a tour. I'm looking to purchase my first deer rifle (looking at a .308) in the coming months and would want to sight all my stuff in during the summer.

Looking for an outdoor range for 100 yard targets. Brookhaven is an hour and a half from me. Does anyone know of one closer to NYC? Doesn't have to be Logn Island.

I've been told that you need a saltwater license now for saltwater fishing so when I bought my fishing license a month ago, the agent asked me if I wanted to buy both (freshwater and saltwater) and I said sure. This weekend, I went with my brother to get his and they told him that as of April 1st, a license is no longer required for salt water fishing. WTF? It's just $10 so I'm not going to complain but somebody needs to get their story straight. Do we need a salt water license or not?

On those annoying hunters out there... On my third (maybe 4th) time out, I had just bought a new gun and wanted to try it out. I went deep into the woods and saw a slight orange in the distance. Must be another hunter. I did noticed another car parked off the road when I came in. Well, I didn't want to disturb him so I'll just hike a few hundred yards in another direction to try out my new gun. I setup a target and shot off maybe 10-12 rounds and I was sighting in my scope. When I was done, I hiked towards my car I noticed that hunter was gone. Hmm...oh well. As I got to my car, I also noticed that the other car drove off already. When I got in my car it just hit me. My sighting in scared off every animal within miles. That other hunter must have been pissed off. Heck I would have kicked my own ass. I'm surprised he didn't slash my tires or something. Now I know. If you were that guy and you're reading this...I'm sorry. I just didn't know any better. But I've learned. Sometimes those "rude" city slickers who ruin everything and not trying to ruin everything. They're simply trying to learn how to do things right it just that no one is there to point it out for them.

Hunting (and fishing) are sports that are built on tradition passed down from a father to a son. For someone to get into the sport on their own without being bought in by someone else is extremely hard. This I can tell you from experience since I am learn the sports on my own while coming from a family and community where no one else fishes or hunts. Here are the factors going against others from coming into the sport. 1. lack of educational resources: This maybe just me but I am a hands on kind of guy. You take me to a place once and I can find my way back there on my first try. But describe something to me and I'm confused. There aren't that many hands on in the field hunting courses so you have to learn based on what you can read off books and forums such as these. As great as they are, they will never replace hands on in the field tutorial from an experienced hunter or angler. Like, bass are common on flats. What's a flat? I've never seen a flat before. Maybe I have and never knew it was called a flat? Flat is described as a large area of relatively shallow water with even depth through out. Okay? What's shallow to you might be deep for me. How shallow is shallow? If someone simply dragged my butt out there and said "See there...that's a flat." Easy as that! So many times I'm sitting out in the woods early in the morning and it is cold as hell out there and after nothing is happening. I can see a lot of people getting discouraged. I kept on wondering what I was doing wrong. You don't know how helpful it would be to have someone with you to simply point out that I was going there at the wrong time of the day or even encourage me by saying I am actually doing everything right but sometimes you don't see anything. But then you hear others talked about how they came back with a bag full and you again start to doubt yourself. Or worst, you start to wonder if you're being mislead (see point 4) and you're back to being feeling alone out there. 2. trust: So if you don't have friends or family members who can show you how to hunt then you have to either do it on your own or with a complete stranger. Wait. You want me to go into the middle of the woods...where there is no one around and help is miles away...with a complete stranger following behind me...and he's carrying a loaded gun? From the otherside. You want me to take this bumbling idiot into the woods..where there is no one around and help is miles away...and I don't know if he really does practice proper safety habits...and he's carrying a loaded gun? 3. money: Guns are not cheap. Ammo is not cheap. Gear is not cheap. The first time I wanted to give hunting a shot was when I was in going to college in Michigan but I simply didn't have the money for it. Was I going to go tell my dad "Hey, I know you're working 7 days a week just so that I can finish college but can I have an extra $500 to see if I like hunting or not?" Go back to point number 1. I spent over $100 on 3 different forend stocks for my Mossberg 500 and not a single one fits. I posted the question here and no one knew what was wrong. I asked the gun dealer I bought it from and he didn't know either. Then I stumbled on a weird looking object called a short action conversion nut. Turns out retail Mossbergs come in short action and tactical forends come in long action. If you have a question about your iPod, google it up and you get twenty million results. Have a question about gun or hunting and you would need to track down that old sage who is way off the map. Bottom line is to have a decent amount of cash for not just your gear but also to pay for your mistakes. Unless someone is willing to lend you their stuff to try out, I don't see a lot of people willing to shell out that kind of cash only to see if they would like the sport. 4. competition: Hunting and fishing is the one sport where the more people participate, the less chance you have to play. Not many people are willing to give up their honey spot so they'll sway you towards spots that has a lesser success rate. Now I'm only guessing but I don't see to many people go into the woods by themselves, not see a single living thing, and come out saying they were so excited about hunting. I mean if you enjoy being in the woods then you can go hiking. It's cheaper. Turn that around. See the same guy come out of the woods having harvest his first deer and see how excited he would be?

I don't know if "laughing" would be the word I would describe it. It was pure excitment and a bit of an adrenaline rush. Followed by a "I can't believe I missed!" You have to keep in mind...my brother is an 8 year combat veteran with multiple medals for marksmanship and reported kills out beyond 600 yards so whenever he misses it is like "what the heck just happened?" We were both excited that we were successful in drawing the crows in at all and we were both very disappointed that this was the last week of the season because boy do we want to get back out there again!

Gave it one last go before the season ended. I placed out my two decoys (one with a built in electronic call) and we initially got nothing but a pair of falcons circling it for a while. It was awesome. One of the falcons landed on a tree next to me. I swear I could have thrown a rock at it and killed it. Towards the end of the day, we decided to circle back to the spot where we drew in the falcons and this time the crows came. One came within 20 yards. My brother unloaded two rounds but missed. After that, no other crow came within a 100 yards. I think wearing blue jeans and a black jacket made us stood out like a sore thumb. Oh well. We were happy to even get crows to come in. Till next season!

Yeah, I haven't gone out much of late. Went out this past Saturday for an hour but didn't see anything. Maybe try again this coming Monday or so before the season ends. Maybe give Stewart State park a look.