G-Man

It is so hard, even when rationally thinking, to know antler inches do not come to those with skill as much as those with fertile soils and/or money. How many on here hunt field edges? In most cases this is a poor poke and hope tactic. How many shows film here in NY for whitetails? None. Actually I've seen a few, old quest video were ny aND pa filmed, crcs outdoors is filmed not 800 yards down the road has a lot of kids hunting and having fun. Some shows exist about the hunt.. not to many it seems

Those birds are supose to be released on huntable land. Open to public.

No my birds are no better but have much better habitat tHan the put and take locations.. habitat makes a difference. As well as how they are released a soft release is best, not dropping off a bird in unknown habitat by a truck.. letting them leave the pen and scatter on their own is a much better practice one the state cannot do...

Aim for the spine, or head neck with a gobbler getter head.. the vitals on a turkey are very small aND from the side seem to be about the wing butt. Crossbows are fast and my go thru the bird, they do not bleed well and can fly quite a ways with no way to track them. A point that is designed to stop or slow down and stay in the bird is prefered.. imo spine from the back at top of back or head are only good shots. I've lost a few birds to center mast hits on birds In the fall.when I started bow hunting before I learned where to aim .Check out turkey vitals and shot placement on line.. best of luck

I have seen the older Drury video on habitat management. They were informative and entertaining.I know they sold mad calls and mostly do things with other company's now as Drury outdoors.. early quaker boy video and early primos were ok as well.. not sure when it all changed to watch me shoot this using this product..as I said been a long time since I tuned the tv into a hunting show..

That is true, but we plant amd leave stand 15 to 30 acre of corn, and 10 to 20 acres of grain.. it feeds a lot of birds ,deer, turkey ,squirrel and grouse.. small equipment ant alot of had work. Plus a lot of surrounding land has been put into corn or grain, the corn is usually chopped leaving a lot In the fields as well. This was not started as an after thought almost 25 years of habitat management is being used here.

No it would help but the farming practices and land use has changed, they need small weedy fields thick hedgerows to escape from hawks, most farmers have removed the hedgerows to have more land for crop production, and spray fields to keep grasses and weeds out of the crops, both are nessary for escape cover and food. Large fields may be good for put and take hunting but not survival. Don't believe it go to Darien lake and wait a week after stocking, most of the birds are not in the fields but are now in the woods!! They look for cover a field of 10 acrest in a big squae is not good a long recantangle borderd by good hedge that is 30 yards betwen hedgerows. Allows them to feed and have cover close by incase of danger.

Every animal you mentioned with the exception of fisher is control on the properties, and fisher hopefully will be when a season is established, as for cats.. the strays seem to dissapear around here with an audible pop. This is a large area that 3 landowners control nearly a square mile 630 acres 640is a square mile. Cars are slim to none these are dirt roads and you can count the cars thay go by on one haND in a week, except the mailman daily.. it's just the residents up and down the road. I've seen the released birds by 4 h and phesant for ever.. I could kill them with a stick or hit 20 at a time if I swerved along the road. The birds are quite spooky and if you see one they don't wait around they hide and take to cover quickly.. As for hawks I can't legally do anything about them but can provide cover for them to escape to quickly...

That's where the brushy hedge rows and escape cover are important. If that were true all the grouse and turkey would be gone by now. The 1st 2 weeks of life are the most important.. if they learn to escape then they will continue. Clean weed free field and large fields are the problem today. Small fields and "weedy" crop fields are what is needed, as farming practices increased in productivity the birds took a severe loss in escape cover and food availability.. it all comes down to the habitat.

In the last 3 or 4 years I don't buy anything unless I'm replacing what broke.. I'm not a gimmick guy at all

Well I don't watch any of those shows or so called sport either...lol

Yes but think of someone that doesn't make that distinction, how would you feel knowing there are new hunters thay think this is the way?

Just a minot rant so bear with me So I haven't watched any hunting on television in a long time but I am layed up for a few days so I put it on. Out of 7 shows on turkey hunting I've seen . 1. None have shown a turkey killed without a decoy setup in place. 2. None have show a bird killed in the woods. It's either an open field or a clearing on a logging road. 3. 3 have shown hunting with out a blind, out of 34 hunts between all 7 programs. 4. 4 actually used bow, 6 crossbow, the rest were gun hunts 5. 4 were women hunting, 3 with kids the rest were all pro staff men hunting. 6. 6 were filmed in ny, most were the mid west amd south. 7. 1 hunt talked about roosting birds the night before. 8. None explained the calls they were using or why 9. 24 hunts mentioned that they were champion callers.. I guess maybe local contest champion counts.. 10. Actually was impressed 5 were Jake hunts (unfortunately all were by kids or women) like men can't shoot a jake...???? They taste better imo Just kind of sickening the push for products you need to hunt turkey thay are not needed.. No one talked about patterning a gun few even talked about scouting ahead.. most was we saw some sign and set up.. Guess I am not a turkey hunter by tv standards.. no wonder people try it and give up.. or look like they are on expediton or safari with all the gear they carry. Anyone else remember the old videos that taught you something?

The goal is to eventually not have to stock anymore, seems like quite a few have made it through from last year 40 or 50% from sighting s thru the winter and spring so far. But keeping the predators down is key, I think we lost more to hawks then anything else.. and that we can't do anything about...

We got ours thru the local feed mill special.order actuall got a manchurian strain as the mill recomended becaise they are better cold tolerent . We started with 175 day old chicks.. if your looking for adult birds 4 h will stock if you open your land for hunting (put and take) not what we were looking for.. had several contacts with phesant forever and same thing have to open for hunting.. I think like the nwtf did get birds established then open for hunting , not put and take..

Well it started as grouse management for me, which deer benifit from as well, then got in to deer herd healthough after a had winter had a lot of winter kill. Selective logging, and destination feed fields were done, then started thinking with all this brush and standing food , there was no reason phesant shouldn't be able to make it. But everyone would want to put birds out and then hunt them... I'm not a fan of put and take hunting.. so I had a new neighbor move in down the street and got to know him and we improved his property as well, I told him my idea ,and he volentierd his family as I live alone and would not be able to raise them as I leave town for work for days at a time. We split cost and re searched how to raise them with minimal interaction.. so far so good..

Climber is not an option..these trees are 100 ft tall and over 40 in chest high.. not quite old growth but close.. I call them old growth buy technically they arent.. climbers are made for much smaller trees.. this grove is impressive just to stand under and look up in awe....

These birds were raised with minimal human interaction and the pen was large enough for flight, I give kudos to my neighbors daughter and father who did it as a family project. The birds were released in early sept. And we're common sight in the cut corn around us, of course thus brought in some road hunters who were asked to leave. Having made it 8 months , thru snow ice and some heavy rain I am pleased as everyone is seeing them, my 80 year old neighbor is especially excited as he loved to phesant hunt and we did get him out with a friend this fall and 2 youth with a friends dog and they got a couple of birds. He was the hardest to convince to leave them alone.. as his property splits my and my friends and is key to nesting for them as his land is 1/2 crp fields. It took a bit bit he excited tells of the birds out behind his house in the fields this spring and seeing them around my standing corn from his atv. I think he's fully on board as lind as we let him hunt with dogs for a few every year. Hoping to in 3 years to be able to have hunting for all, right now we are limiting it to a few hunts for youth and the old neighbor..

Yes ,I enlist the help of a trapper who hits racoon,opossom very hard(if he does that I let him trap, for mink,muskrat,and beaver out of the creek,) he will take some fox and a coyote. I also allow people that ask to hunt and call fox and coyote as well as introduce them to the neighbors so they get permission on about a square mile. I am lucky to get a pic of a coyote on 14 trail cams that are out year round, usually if u do get one it's hunting season and I belive they are looking for gut piles. I do have red and grey fox but they seem to stay on the voles,mice and red squirrels pretty much. But their numbers are low, the crows seem to clean up most of the gut piles around here and it takes a few days, now the bear are starting to do that as well.

I agree thick brushy hedge rows, tall standing grasses in fall, spruce for thermal cover ( it gets cold here) smaller fields cut up by hedges. And standing fields of corn, and cereal grain all help. Removing and keeping predators in check is also very important.

Out of cattaragus/allegany county line near cuba lake.

Well after years of trying to get some birds to stock and not hunt , my neighbor and I got 140 phesant last year, we released them around our properties and the neighbors property. A few were taken in youth hunt and a few more by our 80 year old neighbor. I'm sure. Few more were taken of adjoining land. This morning hearing the cackle of a cock at the end of my driveway, and then this afternoon seeing a nice cock and a few hens in neighbors crp field while looking for sheds. For the 1st time I am very optimistic that we may actually have some nesting take place this year. We have cooperatively worked on habitat, hedgerows,standing crp fields, standing corn, thermal cover,in the hope we could re establish some phesant that could then stand some limited hunting pressure.. The project will continue.. I wish nys would take this approach rather than put and take..

Well the one rule is you have to be 65 to hunt out of the hot tub... it holds 8 people, and yes I love living in the country even with the 70 mile drive into work I'd never give it up..

They come strut on the lawn from time to time.. but I would feel bad so I do go 100 yrds into the woods..

Nothing easier than getting up and watching the sunrise from the hottub and hearing the birds gobbling on the roost..