About a year ago, I was visiting friends in Pennsylvania. They live near a gun shop I often did business with and so, I decided to stop in. Reloading supplies are tough to come by where I live here in New York because some dealers have gone out of business and the big box stores don’t carry reloading components. The…
By the time this blog appears, Christmas will be over. However, for many New York outdoorsmen and women, the week between Christmas Day and the new year offers hunting opportunities for small-game species, including rabbits, squirrels, grouse, snowshoe hares and even pheasants. I’ll admit that, other than wild turkey hunting, which I consider a passion, I don’t hunt small game…
When the traditional Christmas tree for Rockefeller Center in Manhattan was cut in Oneonta last November, no one had any idea of the attention it would create. The tree itself, a Norway spruce, wasn’t much different from the others that stood in place for scores of years, it was what was hidden among its branches that caused all the fuss….
I like to cook, and I like good food. As a result, I’ll admit I’m somewhat of a food snob. I drive my wife crazy when we eat at a restaurant and I occasionally comment on the dish I ordered by saying, “mine’s better.” That’s why when it comes to venison and preparing it I’m very particular. Venison will only…
When it comes to preferred rifle calibers for hunting deer there are as many preferences and opinions as there are hunters in the woods. Some would say they wouldn’t consider hunting deer with anything but a lever action Winchester or Marlin in 30-30, .32Winchester or .35 Remington calibers. However, today it seems the darling of the hunting fraternity seems to…
For a variety of reasons, hunting with my friend Jonathon was a memorable experience each time we went and, that was nearly every day after work. Jonathon and I both worked at the same high school and after school hours we would head to his place for an evening hunt. Jonathon owned a 200-acre farm and we hunted together for…
I spoke to a good friend who has never hunted with a bow and arrow until he bought a crossbow two years ago. We discussed how the season played out and he told me he shot a beautiful ten point a few days before the archery season ended. I was happy for him because of his fine trophy, but my…
Of all the gear and gadgets I own, none give me as much satisfaction and pleasure as my trail cameras. By strategically placing them in appropriate locations I’ve gotten pictures of fishers, turkeys, bears, racoons, coyotes, foxes and yes, even deer. However, this success didn’t come without a learning curve. I bought my first trail camera years ago in the…
Archery season is just about here, and the firearms season will be here before we know it but, before all the fun begins, there’s work to be done. I’m fortunate to still be able to hunt my friend’s farm even though he passed away several years ago. Nature has a way of taking over and if it isn’t kept in…
While this blogger is in favor of doing whatever it takes to slow or prevent the spread of CWD, banning the use of deer urine may be the least effective means.
Who hasn’t dreamed of catching a big fish? I know I have but, that was a while ago, and any big fish caught I might catch nowadays is photographed and released. My altruism is rooted more in practicality than principle because if I want fish for supper, I’ve found the smaller ones make the best and safest eating. Scientists tell us…
Bass season is finally here and I’m glad. Bass are found just about everywhere in New York state including rivers, lakes and even farm ponds. They are game fighters and the smaller ones make a tasty addition to any frying pan. As a youngster, Susquehanna river smallmouths were our favorite bass species and our fishing equipment was minimal. The only…
I first fished Black Lake in the early 1970s after moving to the Southern Tier in August of 1969. My next door neighbor Bob, who quickly became my long time fishing and hunting buddy, had a place on the lake in Edwardsville, and I was more than a little excited the first time he asked me if I’d like to…
Learning to tie effective knots is not hard to do and can make the difference between bringing home a bragging-size fish or just talking about it.
To say the first two weeks of turkey season were unusual would be preaching to the choir. Anyone who went out or who still goes out every morning can attest to the crazy weather that drove most of us to break out our deer hunting cloths rather than our turkey hunting togs. It wasn’t supposed to snow, but it did,…
Turkey season has finally arrived, and for this hunter, it hasn’t come soon enough. Because of shoulder surgery in February, I was doubting whether I would even been able to go. Three years ago, I missed the entire spring season because of a bilateral knee replacement and the thought of possibly missing yet another season was more than I could…
I was sitting around one morning several weeks ago and wondering what I was going to do that day. The outside temperature was near freezing while a mix of wet snow and rain kept me from going on my daily walk. Suddenly, it occurred to me. I would reload some deer rounds for next season, but first I had to…
I have a special fondness for hemlock trees because to me they symbolize the very essence of the northwoods. Between New York and Pennsylvania, I bow hunt from at last six different treestands and they are all hung in hemlock trees. The thick branches of a hemlock give me plenty of cover and even offer some protection from a light…
The Chesapeake Bay takes in water from 150 major rivers flowing from six states, including the Susquehanna here in New York. It is an invaluable estuary from which a dying breed of watermen still make their living, but it is getting harder for them to do so.Pollution of the bay’s waters is a product mainly to unsanitary stormwater runoff, over-fertilization and pollution from animal wastes. Deforestation, wetland destruction…
A Saturday opening day has its merits as well as its drawbacks, but if more hunters can get to go, then why not? For this hunter, keeping it to a Monday would prove far less frenzied.
A good taxidermy mount can be an expensive option, but for this blogger, there’s a more practical and far less expensive way to make the memory last.
Let’s face it. Deer season is about memories, both good and bad. I can vividly remember the morning a beautiful 10-point cautiously walked across an overgrown gas line that bisected the farm on which I was hunting. I was about 100 yards above him and the shot was easy. His antlers now grace a wall in my office. On the flip side, I still remember last deer…
Archery season has come and gone and it remains to be seen as to how the next few weeks will play out now that the firearms season has opened. After chasing deer with a bow and arrow in two states for over six weeks, I remain deerless. Sure, there were those two small four points I could have arrowed, and the two spikes that sparred and butted heads…
Few can argue about the impact technological developments have had on archery in the past decade. From broadheads to bows, these advancements now allow many of us to shoot straighter and to achieve better results both in the field and on the range. Lighted nocks are one of those developments, and the first ones were developed by brothers Eric and Curt Price, who introduced their new…
September is now a memory and archery season here in New York’s Southern zone is already open. Pennsylvania’s archery season opened on Oct. 5t and I believe this is the first time the New York season opened before the Pennsylvania season. I’ve always felt extremely lucky to be able to hunt two states because there’s no Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania but there…
Chronic wasting disease is an untreatable and fatal brain and nervous system disease found in deer, elk, and moose and it’s of grave concern for biologists around the country. Fortunately, there have been no cases discovered in New York since 2005. However, that’s not the case with 24 other states, including Pennsylvania, where CWD has been discovered in both captive and free-ranging deer in several southcentral counties. Following the…
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