CharlieNY

Yesterday I posted about the young bucks being on the move. This morning I watched this guy rub a tree by my stand. On the other side of me was a doe, a fawn who bleated several times, and a button buck. This buck later spotted the button buck and charged him with his head down and ran the button buck off. valoroutdoors.com

The young bucks have been on the move for the last week. Had this young buck at 15 yds. on second day of the season. Four days later he was sparring in the same field with another young buck over a nearby mature doe. It was really enjoyable watching the 2 young bucks butt heads with their small racks and push each other around. Even though they had small racks, the sound was very loud from them clashing their racks together. I have always maintained that you don't need to score on a deer to enjoy a great day out hunting. valoroutdoors.com

I have one of the turkey hunting models with a 24" barrel in full camo. The only bad thing about the gun is the terrible trigger pull from the factory. It is a very high pound trigger pull. When I first shot mine, I kept thinking the safety was still on when I tried to fire it. This will cause you to jerk the gun. I brought the gun to a professional gunsmith and had a trigger job done on the gun, and after that it was fine. I like everything else about the gun, and after the trigger job, have had no problems with the gun. valoroutdoors.com

What is this country coming to? The comments of this former CBS lawyer are absolutely disgusting and totally UnAmerican. Is there any doubt about the liberal biased media now? http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2017/10/02/top-cbs-lawyer-no-sympathy-for-vegas-vics-probably-republicans.html

My son and I are on a quest to bag this beauty. My son had him just out of bow range last bow season and I jumped him one afternoon during last gun season but did not have a good shot and did not shoot at him. We only want to take him with a bow and hope to get a good shot at him during the rut. valoroutdoors.com

I am not a fan of country music, but there are a lot of talented country music singers who can sing good rock 'n roll. Just listen to this rock 'n roll song sung so beautifully by an absolutely beautiful country singer. I challenge anyone to truthfully criticize this performance. Take it away Carrie- valoroutdoors.com

DirecTV has a free HBO weekend and I watched Hacksaw Ridge last night. This is another very good movie if you enjoy war movies, and, like Dunkirk, is based on a true story. valoroutdoors.com

Everyone who has chimed in is absolutely correct- bringing in a foam seat is the only way to go. I have 20 stands on my property and none of them have a permanent seat. I removed them before I even set up the stands. Not only will the permanent seats get wet, but they will freeze in cold weather. Even if you cover them with a plastic bag or place another foam seat over them, they will make noise once they are frozen and the noise will scare off any approaching deer. Carry in a nice lightweight foam seat with you and you will have a dry and warm place to sit every time. valoroutdoors.com

I actually feel that the forums on this website are a very nice place, with an occasional jackass that has to sound in. I have both given and received some very good advice to and from other hunters on the forums over the years. I have never been attacked by anyone and am quite pleased with the very many likes I have received to my posts. I make sure to stay away from the Politics Discussions as I know that is asking for trouble. This is my favorite hunting website as I have been an avid hunter here in New York State for over 50 years now, and enjoy sharing information and stories with other New York hunters. valoroutdoors.com

TreeGuy- here is the federal regulations on baiting waterfowl from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. You have seen the hunting shows where baiting is legal in certain states for certain animals, and yes this is an advantage. For example, New York State does not allow baiting for deer hunting, but some states do. I personally would never hunt deer or any other animal over a feeder, as I think is not true hunting and would get no enjoyment out of it, even if it meant bagging a trophy. Here is the federal regulations on baiting waterfowl that apply in all states: What Is Baiting? You cannot hunt waterfowl by the aid of baiting or on or over any baited area where you know or reasonably should know that the area is or has been baited. Baiting is the direct or indirect placing, exposing, depositing, distributing, or scattering of salt, grain, or other feed that could lure or attract waterfowl to, on, or over any areas where hunters are attempting to take them. A baited area is any area on which salt, grain, or other feed has been placed, exposed, deposited, distributed, or scattered, if that salt, grain, or feed could serve as a lure or attraction for waterfowl. valoroutdoors.com

The attached article shows what can occur when a guide decides to violate the law and resort to baiting. The measure of a "good hunt" should never depend on making a kill, but unfortunately many hunters demand success from guides, and guides in turn resort to illegal activities to increase the odds. This is a very sad situation. I feel sorry for the family name as I remember many years ago when his father William Saiff hosted a show on PBS here called the "Rod n Reel" in which he took out many disabled and challenged individuals on free fishing trips. His dad even designed electric retrieve downrigger reels for those unfortunate individuals who had lost an arm. I just wish that outdoorsmen would get off of the mindset that they must bag game in order to get their "money's worth" from a guided hunt. valoroutdoors.com http://www.syracuse.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2017/07/duck_hunting_guide_pays_5000_fine_will_apologize_for_illegal_actions_in_print.html#incart_river_index

Lawdwaz- this is probably the peak year of what is commonly referred to as "the 10 yr. cycle" in which rabbit populations reach a peak. It is described below in the Indiana DNR website. As an avid rabbit hunter with 2 beagles, I am looking forward to a good season this year. Rabbit hunting is one of my most enjoyable forms of hunting and a great form of physical exercise as I am always on the move with the dogs. Cottontail numbers, like most animal populations, run in cycles of highs and lows. The population builds up, then disease, strife and poor reproduction reduce numbers to a low level. This low may continue for two or three years before a slow increase begins to bring numbers back to another high. Peak populations usually occur at intervals of about 10 years. valoroutdoors.com

Hey Paula- compare what is on your audio to this youtube video of a pack of beagles chasing a fox. I think you will hear the similarities. Hope this helps out. valoroutdoors.com

No problem Paula. There have been many times when I was out rabbit hunting with my beagles and when they got on a trail, I ended up picking up an "extra dog" or 2 on the chase and had to send the "extras" home afterwards. valoroutdoors.com

Paula- I didn't mean to infer that it was your dogs, but there very well could have been some other dogs in the area. If your dogs had been chasing rabbits and sounding, that may have attracted other dogs in the area who heard your dogs. I have had this happen to me many times when I was out with my dogs. valoroutdoors.com

Based on my experience and a lifetime of owning beagles, I would say it definitely is a pair of hounds or more on a chase. They are probably chasing a fox or a coyote. I have a friend who has a beagle that loves to chase fox and his song is the same as what I heard on your audio whenever he is on the trail of a fox. valoroutdoors.com

Doc- when I was a young boy my father had a fig tree in the backyard. Figs can be eaten fresh or can be dried and eaten. Figs are a sweet fruit and are often added to other fruit or vegetable side dishes, or added to desserts. They are a high fiber fruit and can be used as a natural laxative. As to surviving our cold climate, I remember that my father would bury the fig tree every fall and dig it up in the spring for it to survive. This is a common practice for preserving fig trees in this area. valoroutdoors.com

This reminds me of a time long ago when I was a young boy and pheasants were aplenty here in the Finger Lakes region of New York. For my 16th birthday (50 years ago) I told my dad that I wanted a bird dog for my birthday. My dad did some research and found a local hunter that had a Brittany Spaniel that had just had a litter of pups. The mother and father were both great hunters. We got a male pup when he turned 8 weeks and was weaned. Within 2 weeks he was pointing butterflies in my backyard. He was a complete natural hunter and we had him out hunting at 6 months. He pointed pheasants and woodcock with very little training and I had many great times hunting with him, and may successful days hunting. There is no doubt that selective breeding incorporates hunting traits into hunting dogs. Good luck with Matty. Oh how I miss the "good ole days" when I used to hunt pheasants with my bird dog! Sadly, those days are gone. valoroutdoors.com

My cucumbers are growing insane! Tomatoes are doing real good along with some sweet corn. I think the deluge of rain we have had this season definitely made the cucumbers grow like crazy. valoroutdoors.com

So glad to hear that Salina is back home. She sure is a pretty looking girl especially for a 13 yr. old. I'm sure that her family is overwhelmed with happiness in having her back. Kudos to you Paula for your post in an effort to help out the owner. valoroutdoors.com.

Looks much better- more realistic and almost looks like a different deer. Now if you really want to make it look even better, get it off that ugly steel door and onto a nice wall. Lol. valoroutdoors.com

Without a doubt the most worthwhile item I ever purchased was my Polaris Sportsman 500 HO ATV. It has probably saved me from serious physical injury or a heart attack when attempting to drag deer out of the woods or hauling heavy equipment into and out of the woods. On the less expensive side, I purchased a Fiskars extendable pruner and pole saw for trimming branches that were in shooting lanes when I am hunting from one of my tree stands. It extends to 16' and has definitely been responsible for me being able to make some good shots on deer that I would have otherwise been unable to make due to branches being in the way. valoroutdoors.com

There is a swamp on my property that has some behemoth snappers in it. I witness this every year when I am out turkey hunting during the month of May. They come into my plowed fields to lay their eggs. Below is a youtube video showing up close how they do it. valoroutdoors.com

Like many others, the most recoil I have experienced is shooting 3.5" turkey and waterfowl loads out of a 12 ga. pump shotgun. I now only shoot auto loaders which definitely soften the recoil. Most experts will tell you that a gas operated auto loader will soften recoil more than an inertia driven auto loader. I have both and actually prefer the inertia driven system on my Benelli vs. the gas systems. I feel more of a push with the inertia system and more of a punch with the gas system. I have added Sims recoil pads to my guns, and they definitely soften the recoil and are real shoulder savers. If you are experiencing a lot of recoil out of a gun, you will inevitably flinch when shooting which will result in missed shots or wounded game. Also, as you grow older (like me), recoil will be more of a concern to you and you will want a soft shooting gun which will be a pleasure to shoot and not a pain. valoroutdoors.com

On Wednesday I went out to feed my 2 beagles in the morning. My male beagle Butch was acting sluggish and ate his food slowly, which is unusual for him. Later that day he vomited his food and was acting more sluggish. Yesterday morning I went out to feed the dogs again and Butch would not come out of his doghouse. I thought he might be dead inside. I looked inside and he was laying down barely able to stand. I got him out of the doghouse and he could barely stand up and had a hard time keeping his eyes open. He tried to urinate and have a bowel movement, but could not. He would not even smell his food. I called the vet and she said to bring him in right away. I told her about his symptoms and she immediately took blood and ran a test for lyme disease which tested positive. He was given an injection of antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory drug. I was given antibiotic and anti-inflammatory pills to give him. This morning, just 1 day later, he is much better. He ate this morning and was able to relieve himself, but was still just a bit sluggish. He should be fine after a few days. This disease is very serious and something you should do everything to avoid. valoroutdoors.com