Early muzzleloading season in New York’s Northern Zone: A perfect time to be in the woods

There is a watch on one of our Adirondack deer drives that produces a buck nearly every year, sometimes more than one. Uncharacteristically, it’s a small clearing surrounded on three sides by thick brush, which serve as pinch-points the deer will work their way through, and past the watcher/stander, when we tackle this drive. For whatever reason, the deer are often well ahead of the drivers/pushers when we make this drive, even though these hunters are moving stealthily. Still, this makes it a perfect early-season push, including during the early muzzleloading season in the Northern Zone.