G-Man

KInd of frozen and bored so here are som of my favorite cam pics over the las few years..

9w one of the best years for them in quite awhile, flushing 2-4 birds in several different areas consistantly. hoping they have another good nesting this year. population is on their cycle upswing by me..think 2 more years till they hit peak.

my first year at camp, i came up to hunt small game the year before i could deer hunt. this was to get to know the property lines and the guys. I had never hunted anything and was having a blast shooting red squirrels out of the spruce while the other 7 members deer hunted. after 6 or so i went in the cabin and talked with the owner(we all called him gramps although he wasnt relation to me) and asked what else there was to hunt. he told me partrige (ruffgrouse) and that they looked like sm brown chickens.. after a dilligent search of the property i was able to sneak up on one and shoot it off the ground. i was so proud i got one and hurried back to camp to show gramps. i asked what else i could hunt and he said there were a few rabbits around but the fox had done a number on them.. Again i lit out and sure enough found and shot a rabbit under a spruce trees low branches. The "deer "hanging tree looked strange with 6 squirrels, a grouse and a rabbit hanging from it. I was proud as i could be. gramps and i were admireing my harvest when ww3 opened up in the woods seems like everyone in camp was shooting.. we awaited their return... they had all missed a herd of deer including a nice buck (you needed 4 people on a doe tag back then). That evening at dinner gramps was chastizing his grandson,and two boys, my father and two older brothers for missing. When all of a sudden he looks at me and says"Your doinging really well shooting, if i tell you there is a big buck out there to hunt you think you can get him? these guys cant hit anything!! " .i was never so embarassed and proud at the same time!!! ps. my older brother did end up getting a small buck the next day and gramps said his peptalk/chastizing must of worked....lol

the turkey populations by me have dropped, but the old ag abandoned field have been put back into production all around me due to the corn(biofuel craze) loss of nesting / bugging cover has been tremendous that coupled with wet springs and poor hatches are the biggest factors by me. i keep after predator pretty well as do my neighbors.

recoil is a facor of the weight of the gun. as for the round itself if you have ever shot a 50cal muzzloader with 100 grain of powder you have shot a heavier round than a 45-70. the 70 is grains of powder. it came in many more forms in a sharps rifle such as a 45-90 and a 45-120. cartriage.my 1885 guide gun doesnt bother me in the least and i shoot it a lot, 20 to 40 round 3x4 times a year. i do not think it kicks as hard as my 30-06 . and is easier to shoot than my friends tc encore with 150 grains of power in 50 cal. .

The return of fisher,bear to many areas has to have an effect as well, but mother nature weather and habitat is a big key.. them food plots that we put in many fallow field destroys some prime nesting and bugging cover... always study your property before making changes to it. you might be better off knocking over some forest and clearing for a food plot than reclaiming a fallow field that had become prime nesting and bedding cover..... sometime the easy road hurts more than helps

Please stop recomending a .243 as a caliber for ny bear...bullet weight be damned its a fine deer round and in the hands of an expert fine. heck fred bear killed a polar bear with a recurve bow (although i do like the 4 guys behind him with rifles)ancient man did it with spears. The question was for ny game big bear is a possibility. a 30 cal is a much better choice. Review below by many more knoledgeable shooters than myself. According to Hunting Rifles Reviews, rifles chambered for calibers between .270 and .30 caliber are popular for hunting black bears. The .270 and 7mm are the smallest recommended calibers for bears, and Hunting Rifle Reviews recommends pairing these lighter-caliber rifles with a heavier bullet, to ensure adequate penetration and knockdown power. A .270 cartridge paired with a 150-grain bullet, a 7 mm with a 160-grain bullet, or a .30 caliber cartridge with a 180-grain bullet are all recommended. Larger Rifle Calibers According to Gunblast, "black bears have been killed with just about any cartridge you can think of." The website recommends something in at least a .35 caliber or larger, though, because the bear's thick hide and copious fat sometimes prevents much blood from leaking out of a bullet wound, making a wounded bear difficult to track. Gunblast also recommends the 44 Magnum and calibers such as .458 and .457 for taking black bears. Shotgun Slugs Because they are often hunted in heavy cover and at fairly close range, black bears are sometimes also taken with shotgun slugs. Gunblast recommends nothing smaller than a 20 gauge slug Read more: http://www.ehow.com/list_6794937_smallest-calibers-black-bear-hunting.html#ixzz2uWmhUjYa

As is usual with military ammunitions, the .45-70 was an immediate hit among sportsmen as well, and the .45-70 has survived to the present day. Today, the traditional 405 grain (26.2 g) load is considered adequate for any North American big game within its range limitations, including the great bears, and it does not destroy edible meat on smaller animals such as deer due to the bullet's low velocity. It is very good for big game hunting in brush or heavy timber where the range is usually short. The .45-70, when loaded with the proper bullets at appropriate velocities, has been used to hunt the African "Big-5"[citation needed]. The .45-70 has been loaded and used to harvest everything from birds to elephant[citation needed] and the cartridge is still undergoing new development work well over a century after its introduction.

very nice, get an overall feel for the land and make an overall plan before you start changing things.. i've seen a lot of great bedding/ nesting grounds turned into food plots .... and then the owner wonders where the game has gone.

I love it! i've owned and shot an 1885 for 15 years now (originally got it for bear hunting but it is quite a deer slayer) its basically a large bore, repeating muzzloader...lol. It is a very good all around 200 -250 yard gun. at 300 yards the bullet is in the ground when fired horzontal at 4 ft. most of the guys at camp have switched to a 30-30 or 45-70 from their 308,30-06, 300 win mags,and 7mm as most our shots are 100 yards and under. It is a great gun for ranges you expect to have in ny at game. short light weight and accurate. If you can find an original marlin buy it!! the rem-lins do not have as strong as reciever. you can really get the top performance out of the gun with handloads. I am also impressed with the leverevolution ammo by hornandy. you will not be disappointed!

Loggy Bayou, and api baby grandstands. Have several of each.

i do not see a reason for a 1 bird limit... most people i know only get 1 anyway.. perhaps splitting the season 1 bird from may 1-15, and 1 from 16-31st like they use too. 90% of all breeding is done in april. popualtion is much more a factor of habitat, and weather, predators (including them pesky birds of prey...)

They are very fast growing trees..99%american chestnut. i would get them in the ground in a tree tube if possible. can and do grow 2-5ft a year. Remember1 of every 4 trees in the northeast was once an american chestnut. they were once considered weed trees.

Yep pigmy hit it sap sucker...

still way to much snow here to frost seed almost 2 ft... maybe by end of march....deer and turkeys hitting standing corn. and apples left on trees.

Besides gravel,,A lot of roadsides consist of tall grass and brush, their favorite cover, plus the depressed ditch to run and use as escape cover. so they are actually safer by the road...if they stay away from cars. I've seen some big bucks use the sides of the rail right of ways the same way..great cover,rabbits use them the same way.

bubba you and a few others are active shooters/reloaders, and i never limited to 30 cal. .270 , 7mm 08 is let alone the more common 30 cal rounds are fine but the question was versatility.. shotgun is most by far . a .243 or .223 in hands of skilled practiced ,and experianced shooter may be able to. but for the average person ..there will be a lot of wounded bear using a .223 or .243.. they are light for a big bear.. the load variety from factory are greatest for a 30-06... for a .243 not much finding anything but 55- 70 grain .. i've skun the bear and saw the damage 90 grain bullest did from that .243...made it thru the hide and fat an thats it at 40 yards long thick fur and a less than perfect shot placement and you cant tell me you would expect the .243 to do a effecient job. your margin of error is much better for an exit wound with a larger caliber... to tell a novice hunter to use one in my opinion is a poor idea.. nor is it a good idea to reccomend a 300 mag.. that he/she would have trouble handling is not wise either. personally i am a big bore fan, but i own .223 ,204 ruger, 6m ppe,.243 and 25-06.

i used a 45-70gov.. i know what it takes to kill a 400 lb bear.. .243 max bullet 105grain is still too underpowered for bear... unless you are a sniper and can shoot it charging in the eye. you can kill a moose with a .22 lr but i put my money on a 300.win mag everytime. seriously .243 for bear?? the quiestion was asked for a all around center fire rifle for hunting nys.. which has 2 primary big game animal.. deer and bear.. i'm sure you'll see .243 at top of everyone list right behind a .223 (which is a military round designed to wound not kill) wth ... think a non perfect shot..deflection on limb ... or maybe your the perfect slayer.... seriously??

Well a 243 for bear???? I know they penetrateed 4inches and never made it to the muscle let alone body cavity 5 shots in all at bear i got. shots were broadside at 40 yards... bear you need 30 cal(maybe a heay 270 or 25 06 if perfect shot placement) or shotgun preferably 12 guage slugs.IMO . 12 Ga with buck and bird barrel though to beat