Episode 30: So you want to be a hunter
New York Outdoor News Editor Dan Ladd takes the helm as he discusses what new hunters, young and old, need to know about getting started
Struggles continue with New York State’s new firearms and ammunition background check system
New York State Rifle and Pistol Association President Tom King says he’s never had any run-ins with the law. So, he was surprised that when sampling New York’s new firearms and ammunition background check system – NYS NICS – that he was initially denied purchase of a box of .410 shotgun shells.
“Why I would get turned down, I have absolutely no idea,” King said of his experience with the new system. “I was buying a box of .410 ammo. But of all things, that’s not a threat to anybody.”
The actual status of King’s attempted purchase at first was “delayed.” Five hours later it was officially “denied.” Then, when King was reviewing on the State Police website how to appeal, the decision was reversed.
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.
Will hunters, shooters support New York’s new background checksystem?
The readers of this publication said it all, at least those who took the time to visit our website and take our by-weekly online poll. In the Aug. 25 issue we asked the question: Have you been buying ammunition out of state to avoid having your personal information collected by the state police? When we went to press with the Sept. 8 issue the responses were a whopping 93% “yes” and just 7% “no,” eventually tapering to 87/13 respectively just before the next poll was posted.
If these numbers reflect the intentions of New York’s hunting and shooting crowd, then the state’s new firearms and ammunition background check system may have a tough time generating the revenue its creators envision.
Mixing work and play in New York’s North Country
When I came on board here at New York Outdoor News in March of 2020, I envisioned that part of the job would entail a little time on the road. It might be chasing stories or spending some time in the booth at the occasional sports show.
It hasn’t been as frequent as imagined. The first thing that happened, just weeks after I began, was COVID. This year has been the busiest since. During the winter and spring months I set up a subscription table at a couple of sportsmen’s shows and also dropped by shows in Oneida and Johnstown to help man the bigger booth there with our sales folks. But, taking work on the road is yet another approach I’ve intended to explore.
Construction progressing on 34-mile Adirondack Rail Trail in New York
On Aug. 23, dozens of recreationists attended a public meeting held by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to update the public on developments of the Adirondack Rail Trail.
The meeting was held at the Adirondack Park Agency headquarters in Ray Brook.
Currently under construction, the Adirondack Rail Trail is a future 34-mile recreational path being constructed on a former railroad corridor that will run from Tupper Lake to Lake Placid. It is a DEC-managed segment of the Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor, the remainder of which remains as railroad and is managed by the Department of Transportation, 119 miles in all.
New York’s Northern Zone bowhunters can expect a strong mast crop when deer season opens Sept. 27
Deer season in the Northern Zone officially gets under way with the opening of the early archery season on Sept. 27. And state wildlife officials are confident that hunters in the North Country will find not only a solid whitetail population during the Northern Zone hunting seasons, but one that is well-fed.
Big Game Biologist for New York State, Brendan Quirion, with the state Department of Environmental Conservation said that with a few exceptions, mast crop production is strong across New York, including up north.
Pheasant season on tap in New York: DEC recovers from March Avian Flu outbreak at Reynolds Game Farm
Pheasant hunters across New York are gearing up for a fall hunting season that just a few months ago remained questionable regarding if it would happen or not.
In March, an outbreak of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) devastated the breeder flock at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Reynolds Game Farm in Ithaca. The outbreak, at what is New York’s only such facility, resulted in the entire flock of breeding pheasants – approximately 6,600 birds – being depopulated and most of the facility being placed under quarantine.
Episode 29: Great Northeast Podcast — New York Pheasants
New York’s pheasant hunting situation looked bleak six months ago after the Avian Flu decimated the state’s breeder stock at the Reynold’s Game Farm, in
