Here it is the mid-June and I’ve been beaten again. Not by the turkeys I chased throughout May, but by a woodland denizen far more elusive. In over fifty years roaming the spring woods and searching everywhere I’ve encountered the mysterious inhabitant only once and, that was by accident. Twenty years have passed since that first encounter and I’ve been…
It was a pretty quiet morning in the turkey woods and, after hours of hearing nothing I decided to take a break and just enjoy the spring woods. Sitting on a hillside with my back to a large red oak I reached into my pack to see if one of the half dozen or so calls I normally carry might…
Turkey season is now more than a week old and it’s likely many if not most hunters will encounter toms with hens especially in the early part of the season. The term “hen’d up” will often be heard among hunters who encounter and describe this scenario. If a tom is with a group of hens it’s highly unlikely he’ll leave…
New York’s trout season opened a few weeks ago and there is little doubt many area anglers were out enjoying the opportunity to fish for what arguably might be called New York’s most popular game fish. Trout are beautiful and colorful critters living in a variety of habitats and therein lies their allure for veteran as well as novice fishermen. …
Anyone who has ever fished or canoed the Delaware River can easily understand that it is a priceless recreational resource that is as pure and clean as any river in the United States. It is a renowned trout fishery in its upper reaches and each spring the river sees thousands of shad migrate from the sea to Hancock and beyond….
As popular as online shopping is, it’s not without its perils, especially when buying archery equipment and supplies.
For no good reason I was recently thinking about this past deer season and the things you notice when you sit for hours in a deer stand. While on watch, my eyes constantly search for a tell-tale flicker of a deer tail in the evergreens or, for a horizontal shape among mostly vertical trees. For the most part, though, much…
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAFew things give me greater satisfaction than taking a deer with ammunition I crafted at my reloading bench. As satisfying as that is, it’s just part of it. I can cite numerous additional benefits and pleasures of loading or reloading ammunition, but they would be too numerous to list here. Most people who begin to reload say they…
Things seem a little slow around our house nowadays. Other than an occasional trip to the grocery store and a daily walk, my wife and I haven’t been anywhere and have no plans to go anywhere, at least until we get the proper dose of the COVID vaccine. When I talk to some of my friends who are taking similar…
One has to wonder if there might be a better, perhaps safer way to kill game such as deer without running the risk of accidently ingesting any lead fragments. Fortunately, for those with this concern, there is.
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…
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