Okay, don't laugh but...

[apoallo]

flat botton Jon boat?? you can find pretty small ones cheap

[CuseHunter]

ARG Now you have ME shopping for a new canoe, lol. I love hunting!!!

Your welcome

Spending money on hunting items is a major problem I have. At least I should be able to get my own food if I ever need.

[gjs4]

Simple NY fact- most hunters do the same lazy things- break that pattern and your odds increase of making the atypical happen.

 

Great idea. Deer bed based on being downwind or eye shot of threats- water is not an anticipated entry. Folks who kill big bucks know the relationship to mature animals and wet feet. They prefer this bedding to shake coyotes and scent tracking predators. Ice is a variable to be learned.

 

Ideas like this are what take folks into the minority of guys with the skill set to kill big ones. Run with it- regardless if folks on a forum praise or chastise it.

 

Life vest is the only way to row DEC will remind you of that too even if it is a foot deep.

 

check out the Blood Brothers Outdoors Marsh Country Bucks Dvd- would help out with this approach..think its $10 from GM or cabelas.

 

good luck

[greybeard]

Great idea !!

Many years ago, I read an article where a guy squirrel hunted from a canoe and stated that the game does not usually expect danger from the water.

 

I pretty much live in my kayak and can agree with the author. I have paddled up on many deer, including some big bucks, and even had an 8 pointer mount a doe no more then 10 yards from me and never turned to see me. I have called numerous fox from it too.

 

I waterfowl hunted from it, and although I do not recommend shooting from it, it got me to great spots and did not spook waterfowl as much as powered duck boats..They do spook though..

 

I would guess that for deer hunting a stable canoe might be better because you may have more room to store the deer, although you may have to quarter it..

 

My opinion... Canoes and kayaks are much different than years ago. They have many models and are designed for different needs. I would see if there is a dealer that carries them and take a look and ask about stability, etc.

 

I'm not sure, but I THINK that paddling.net has reviews on canoes and lists different manufacturers.

[CuseHunter]

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys. I have already started looking for some to buy. Can't wait to land a monster this fall, or at least give it a try and check it off my list

[PREDATE]

 . I have called numerous fox from it too.

.

I aint buyin' that! lol   

[bkln]

...or get two kayaks, one you drive and one in tow, one for you and one for the cargo... just saying.....

[Pygmy]

I've never done it, but a couple of local guys used to float the local river every year in a small boat during deer season, and they were very successful .

[Elmo]

Is it legal to shoot from a boat? I thought not but I'm not positive.

[PREDATE]

That's an interesting point Elmo since the DEC classifies a "motor vehicle" as "any vehicle or device operated by any power other than muscle power".

 

[CuseHunter]

Well I was planning on using it to access land normally "off limits" by water or deep marsh. But then again I definitely wouldn't think twice if I saw one while paddling away

[Pygmy]

 

Is it legal to shoot from a boat? I thought not but I'm not positive.

It is NOT illegal to shoot from a boat. Duck hunters do it all the time .

It IS illegal to shoot waterfowl from a boat while it is under power from a motor, but as long as the forward motion from the motor has stopped, it is legal to shoot from a motorboat. I would assume the same rules apply for big game.

As far as shooting from a vessel that is being paddled, rowed, or sculled, as far as I know, you can blaze away.

Edited July 1, 2013 by Pygmy

[Ford]

I thought you could not shoot a rifle over a waterway.

 

Anyway, what about those canoes with the straight transom? You could even use a trolling motor.

[NFA-ADK]

It is illegal to shoot from any motor vehicle, migratory bird hunting is the exception. The DEC classifies motor vehicle as this:  Any device powered by anything other than muscle power...  This includes boats.  Deer hunting from a boat, called "float hunting" has been Illegal in NY for a long time.  Does not mean you can't beach and chase them down...  It use to be illegal to shoot across any body of water but I can not find that on the DEC web site, not sure if they changed that law...  I wonder if it would be legal to float hunt with a bow???  I would imagine it would be a real hard shot to keep steady if it were legal...

 

[Ford]

Now I have the idea of putting a floating deer blind in my pond, lol!

[PREDATE]

Canoes are muscle powered, so therefore it's not a motor vehicle. I can't find any supporting documentation on it being illegal to shoot gun or bow from a muscle powered canoe. I don't plan on doing it anyways, but if someone can point us to the facts, it would be good to know for future reference.

 

If you put a trolling motor or gas motor on your canoe, it needs to be registered with the DMV and must display the registration numbers. 

 

[Ford]

Canoes are muscle powered, so therefore it's not a motor vehicle. I can't find any supporting documentation on it being illegal to shoot gun or bow from a muscle powered canoe. I don't plan on doing it anyways, but if someone can point us to the facts, it would be good to know for future reference.

 

If you put a trolling motor or gas motor on your canoe, it needs to be registered with the DMV and must display the registration numbers. 

 

 

Yeah, I looked as well, could not find anything. I could swear that it was once the rule.

 

There are a few places I could snipe deer easily from a boat, if that is the case. Fish in a barrel. Just would be a little sad...

[josephmrtn]

Canoes are muscle powered, so therefore it's not a motor vehicle. I can't find any supporting documentation on it being illegal to shoot gun or bow from a muscle powered canoe. I don't plan on doing it anyways, but if someone can point us to the facts, it would be good to know for future reference.

 

If you put a trolling motor or gas motor on your canoe, it needs to be registered with the DMV and must display the registration numbers. 

+1

[WNYBuckHunter]

Its easy guys, right on this page

 

http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/28182.html

 

DEC defines a motor vehicle as: "Motor vehicle - means every vehicle or device operated by any power other than muscle power including but not limited to automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, tractors, trailers, motorboats, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles whether operated on or off public highways."

 

Next they say:

 

"It is illegal to take or hunt wildlife:

• while in or on a motor vehicle (except by the holder of a Non Ambulatory Hunter Permit)."

So its pretty straight forward to say that shooting a deer out of a muscle powered boat is legal. Just dont shoot a deer while its in the water, thats illegal.

[PREDATE]

. Just dont shoot a deer while its in the water, thats illegal.

 same goes for any big game

[OnHoPr]

[CuseHunter]

Can't wait to try it out in the late season. I like the idea of going to find tracks on the banks

[Doc]

Now that was a great video. Looks like a lot of fun. I'm not crazy about the running shot, but it was pretty darn close, and worked out good.

[phade]

I grew up hunting in Virginia where taking canoes and flat bottom boats that'll fit in a truck bed were the norm. In many states where this is popular, they even allow it with boats paired with motors, the caveat being that the progress of the boat had to be stalled out (i.e. the motor not causing the boat to make way). The tactic would be if you saw something, to turn up stream quickly to kill the momentum of the boat and kill the motor to make a legal shot.

 

Having said that, the real value in a canoe, zodiak, or jon boat, is being able to stealthily get away from other hunters and at the same time approach deer from a weak point in their game. Inside turns of creeks and rivers are valuable bedding areas for mature bucks. These are often set up so that scent is blowing from the land to the buck and out over the water. With an inside turn, the deer can likely scent and see nearly everything coming to it, save for a water approach, which predators don't often do.

[CuseHunter]

I grew up hunting in Virginia where taking canoes and flat bottom boats that'll fit in a truck bed were the norm. In many states where this is popular, they even allow it with boats paired with motors, the caveat being that the progress of the boat had to be stalled out (i.e. the motor not causing the boat to make way). The tactic would be if you saw something, to turn up stream quickly to kill the momentum of the boat and kill the motor to make a legal shot.

Having said that, the real value in a canoe, zodiak, or jon boat, is being able to stealthily get away from other hunters and at the same time approach deer from a weak point in their game. Inside turns of creeks and rivers are valuable bedding areas for mature bucks. These are often set up so that scent is blowing from the land to the buck and out over the water. With an inside turn, the deer can likely scent and see nearly everything coming to it, save for a water approach, which predators don't often do.

This was my point, I wanted to get to areas most hunters aren't, I am willing to put in the work to see some buck bucks. I will give the canoe and I have a few locations in mind :evil grin: