Deer
Turkey Hunting Viral Neurosis
With several weeks of reprieve, most of us should now be on the mend! I dare say most of us that spend more than a weekend or two chasing pea brain sized fowl suffer some level of this viral affliction. Like many of you, I can pin point with military GPS precision when, where, and how the infection took hold. On a very cold late deer season hunt in December 1992, I became witness to a flock of gobblers being busted off the roost by incoming deer hunters below the property I was hunting. Hunting at the edge of a very large bowl on a pristine and very quiet morning, at day break, I was blown away by the voracious gobbling that ensued from the break. As it echoed out through the bowl below my position, it was larger than life and in an instant I was infected, mesmerized beyond recovery…
Each season we willing violate most tenets of healthy living with the exception of daily moderate exercise. Caffeine consumption increases dramatically. Nominal six to eight hour sleep reduces to three or four hours on a good night. The consumption of Debbie’s Oatmeal Cream Pies is enough to propel the company to have their best months of sales from March thru May. Damn fool for not buying their stock years ago. I will put it out there that we give fishermen a run for their money in boosting the local economy at the small town diners, bars, and last but not least for the consumption of gas station food.
As a member of the infamous Tenth Legion, I pamper my affliction with no intention of ever being cured of it. As I age, I may slow in my movements, fight the girth that aims to overtake my idea of how long it takes to go from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’. Yet, I’ll get there come hell or high water. We are all familiar with the quote by author Tom Kelly that captures the adrenaline, the beating of our hearts so loudly the gobbler should hear it. My experience of that peaks just before the gobbler appears. Once in sight my response is more absolute with checklists of shot mechanics. I fully agree that the day that ceases to happen, I will have concluded my time in the turkey woods. May that be well past my final days.
As our neurosis peaks each spring, and fall I wish each of my brethren in solidarity, and in common ailment a recuperative summer, and that your best scheming and planning come to fruition in your obligations to return to the turkey woods next season.
MJ
© 2021 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
Memories of the Hunt, the Old Sweater
Opening weekend of New York Southern Tier firearms season for whitetails is in the books as one of thirty four seasons spent in the great forests of my home state. Thanksgiving morning, holiday weekend hunts to follow are eagerly anticipated as in the past. Deer camp has certainly changed from a deer camp weekend with a monday opener to a Saturday opener. I do miss the weekend of camp as a prelude to opening day.
With thirty three seasons under my belt it is the time with others that I recall more fondly, reminisce about the most. It is during these solemn moments to recount the hunts of years gone by. Hours in a favored stand, before first light, the often quiet surroundings as the evening sets gives plenty of opportunity to ponder. The day ebbs and flows and is not a constant parade of quarry, and often times the moment of truth occurs in just a view brief moments.
I recall most all the hunts, in all melancholy, days I hunted alone, with others, what was seen, what deer we tagged. As I grow older it takes a bit more time to exact some of them. The task of returning to the truck were sometimes epic efforts before the commonplace of atvs that made for far less dragging and the sore bones and aching muscles. It was always a welcome pleasure to have a few in the hunting party that could double as a front line tackle for a pro football team.
Deer camp is always the best. Annual get togethers and catching up on another years worth of living. Difficulties were discussed in good company and you would have any and all support required. Announcements of job changes, retirements, weddings, the births of children, grandchildren and we would also learn of those passed and their presence in camp would be in spirit. As I said, it’s the best.
It is for the most part a heartwarming reminiscing in appreciation of others, time in the great forests, time with family and friends. It is also a time to remember those that have passed, time with fellow hunters whose lives have changed. placing them in far away places and past friendships that have concluded as people change, not always for the better. As such they are memories of places and times I am fortunate to have. Deer camp embraces a full cross section of folks and our way of life. Away from work, the demands of daily life that I truly love the traditions of opening day, opening weekend in a well known, and familiar deer stand.
My bride of 18 years and I would be the only ones on our ranch this past weekend, a first in a very long time. Sightings leading up to this past weekend were excellent, and our hit list was longer than many years in the past. One brute of a buck I named pile driver from an encounter I had with him two years ago. The buck was not captured on a single game cam. He went without being spotted before, during or after season last year. This fall he came back to the area, and grew in many ways. He still evades the cams.
Having passed on small does and bucks during archery season, it has been my personal choice to only cull a few does in keeping with our current management plan and take only racked bucks. It is not a statement on other’s choices, but is ours to reach a specific goal on our place. There was a time where a fork horn or small six would be big news on our hillside and where it was common to see 15-17 does for every scrub buck we saw. Eighteen years later we expect to see a few good eight pointers and a few in Pope and Young, Boone and Crockett territory.
With fresh snow and a day in the stand ahead, I donned a familiar old sweater. For some it is a trusted old shotgun or rifle that is a link to the past generations, for me this was a present for my very first deer season, from my parents in 1985. My father, and my grandfather had stopped hunting long before I became of age despite being hard core Adirondack deer hunters that would boat plane into remote lakes for weeks at a time. Knowing as I do now, I would have loved to experienced that so many years ago.
The old sweater is an offering from the Remington sporting line of clothing, heavy wool with a padded shoulder patch, and rather oversized. My “lucky sweater” is of great warmth and comfort in the most miserable of hunting conditions. For me it is a direct connection to my parents who now have both passed. A most practical gift and with an emotional attachment and comfort to still have it. It is an essential must wear item on many cold days in the forests. Far more meaningful than the knitting of wool threads and practical use it would otherwise suggest. In retrospect it is one of the very few items that has remained in use since my first season.
In difference to many deer tracks and beds spotted from the day before, only one doe was seen early. No shot opportunity with thick stand of saplings between us. Nevertheless, it was early light excitement and enjoyable to watch her walk along in a most casual way. The typical volley of shots we normally expect to ring out in the valleys below and on our hill were far less frequent than past years.
Lee and I would do a few short pushes to each other, with no sightings to report. Sunday was even quieter and we would come across fresh beds from the night before just above our log home. One bed and a set of giant buck tracks suggested a bit of mockery and a teaser challenge. Challenge accepted of course. On both days, my legs and hands would start to cool, my trusty old sweater kept me toasty warm as it had so many hunts in the past. I thank my parents for so much they did for me. I am inclined to silently repeat this often.
All in all, a quiet opening weekend. A good time afield and time on our land is highly coveted with the busy lives we lead. As the season marches on, I wish you many good days in a deer stand, a great deer camp with friends!
-MJ
© 2018 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
#deerhunting #oldsweater #deercamp #family #deerstand
NY Southern Tier Fall Turkey Opener
Today marks the day of the Southern Tier opener for fall turkey hunting in the great Empire State. Although the afternoon is reported to be very warm, the morning greets us with abundant sunshine and crisp temperatures. The turkey woods I have had a few occasions to step foot in so far are loaded with acorns, beechnuts. The apple and fruit trees, berry bushes have bore fruit this year, maybe not as much as some years. Most likely they’ll forego the fields for acorns, and other nuts and seeds as grasshoppers and crickets are about done for the season. The reports of sightings so far have been very mixed from jakes and Jennies nearly the size of adult hens to the size of pheasants and yet again the size of ruffed grouse, A mix of first, second and third nestings. In my neck of the woods, the seven valleys of Cortland County, the numbers are still suppressed compared to five years ago, but I would submit a bit better than the prior two years, We have a way to go with warm dry springs and reduced bag limits to bring the flocks back up. Poaching remains as an issue and a scourge among our fraternity.
The past two fall reports show the reported takes are down which is the goal of the changes in the fall seasons. I am steadfast in the opinion that recommendations of gobblers only in the fall and restriction of taking turkeys from elevated platforms would further reduce the fall take while favoring the enjoyment of those who purposely wear a turkey vest in the fall and or engages in the time honored pastime of using turkey dogs to break the flocks. As a professed bowhunter I do understand the desire of incidental opportunities from a tree stand. However the numbers of those with the single minded purpose of pursuing turkeys in the fall are dwarfed by those that bag a turkey as happenstance while on deer watch. I find it ass-backwards that the seasons were not directly influenced/changed to suit fall turkey hunters, turkey doggers rather than the sidebar interests of deer hunters. It is still a bit disconcerting as to the decision making by our folks at the NYSDEC.
Opening day is of importance as given to national holidays and religious observances. This year finds me going into work to put in a 12-14 hour day and spending a little bit of the morning working on my laptop, with my bride and our two weimaraners. Despite long days, I do need to make a guest appearance at home from time to time. Although I might view not being afield a moral offense, I appreciate having gainful work and good customers which I’m smart enough to keep as customers.
Our beloved Jake who is turkey crazy and would love nothing more than to break a flock of turkeys. Actually he tries to catch them, not break them, it works. Yesterday he had surgery to remove what is believed to be a malignant skin growth (mass tumor) and will not be chasing much of anything until after the season has ended here. It is worrisome and we await to learn the prognosis. As in your homes, our weims are essential family members and we spoil them as you do yours. Abby, our female weim loves to chase turkeys, will bark at the break, but since having surgery seven years ago to remove a 10″ abscess, encapsulating a malignant tumor on her small intestine, her stamina has been reduced and does not range far or can go for more than short excursions.
With demands of my professional life, and not being able to bring along my favored turkey chaser with me, I’ll enjoy the stories I learn from your grand days afield later as the day marches on. I expect I will catch a few hours here and there over the two weeks of our season as a few hours in the turkey woods is a welcomed reprieve in what will be long days at work. There was a planned fall hunt in Maine that I looked forward too, but with the current demands of my tech company we’ll make the trip next spring.
From all of us at Joyner Outdoor Media we wish you a grand day in the turkey woods, full of adventures and memories to be had by all!
-MJ
© 2017 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
Trespass In NY- Turkey Hunter? Deer Hunter? Fisherman?
For those of you that are not familiar with the great Empire State, it is a very short drive from one of the largest cities in the world, even shorter drive from the lesser known cities to find yourself amongst the great farmlands, forests, mountains and fisheries of New York where I call home. Despite bizarre politics, stifling regulations, punitive taxation (#1, highest in the Nation) that has driven out industry and the prosperity that goes with it, it is one of the most resource diverse states when you come to appreciate the four million-plus acres of public lands, nearly another million more acres under conservation easements, the raw natural beauty, and recreational opportunities we have here. I reside with my bride in one of the seven valleys of Cortland County which I am more than fond of. The topic at hand actually applies across our great nation and not solely unique to New York. As I truly love what I have here as my little piece of paradise, I’ll refer to my beloved state as my frame of reference.
With such highly coveted resources, much of which is available to everyone as public lands and public waterways, the subject of trespass, destruction of property, theft and other criminal behavior appears to be more common even in the off seasons, despite numerous large tracts of state and federal lands for all to share. My comments are aimed specifically towards sportsmen and sportswomen. Criminals, common thieves, polluters are not likely to be moved or swayed by any opinions you, or I may have or convey. As a landowner and as a member on a hunting lease from time to time I have that set of perspectives. I also hunt and fish on a mix of state game lands, waterways, and a fair amount of private holdings that have granted me the right to spend time on and enjoy. I’ll break down my thoughts in lists for each viewpoint.
As a hunter:
- Do we show ourselves as being fortunate and privileged to be granted access to private lands that another pay taxes on, farms, maintain for their business or homestead, manages for wildlife? Do we show respect for them and their property? Do we fundamentally understand that landowner rights take priority over any right or desire we may feel to hunt or fish?
- On lands that are commonly known for open access do we make it a point to learn of the owner’s name as a courtesy to thank them or to learn of any concerns they may have? It helps to avoid future problems. Do we take for granted these lands and treat them as a free for all, our personal playgrounds?
- On state lands do we treat it as if we own it? In a roundabout reasoning we do via the income taxes that are paid. Being respectful, having regard for our resources should not be a conditional thought or action.
- Challenging a landowner or another hunter, in general, is not the smartest idea, nor a step in improving hunter/landowner relations. The exception is the arrogant slob hunter who is not authorized to patrol a property or trespassing themselves and falsely claiming a spot. Too many stories of others trying to throw people off that have permission including landowners off their own property.
- Items we may come across while hunting without regard to who owns the land, do we leave undisturbed, unmolested unless clearly lost (such as a jacket, wallet, personal camera, game call). Stealing or destroying treestands, game cameras, blinds, traps, etc. is a despicable, lowly act to inflict on a fellow hunter. Even when we find such items on our own places that are not supposed to be there, do we attempt to find out whom they belong to first and get the word out? If that fails to produce a result in instances I have come across, I bring it back to the house and attempt to find the owner while notifying the county Sheriff’s/ NYSDEC ECO, and they can retrieve their items after an intimate chat with law enforcement. Charges may apply if egregious, or not your first time trespassing. In principle do we take another’s property while not knowing fully the circumstances.?
- While being respectful of the lands hunted, it is good practice to extend that to fellow hunters. Having someone purposely interfering with your time in the woods is greatly unappreciated. A common occurrence with the mentality of having to get your gobbler or buck before the other hunter does. As sportsmen, sportswomen we are better than that.
- Access to hunting properties has dropped while the behavior of some fellow hunters deters hunter recruitment or makes the hunting experience on state lands or private lands less desirable for the recreational hunter, fisherman. The same foolishness, monkey business that is assumed all too common on public grounds in known to be just as much a problem on private holdings. Private land is not immune to breaches in ethical or sportsmanlike conduct. There is no legitimate excuse for treating fellow hunters and fishermen in a poor manner that occurs. Trespass shows disrespect for the landowners and fellow hunters alike
- Of our sport, the passions we so dearly love. are we humbled and appreciative of the great forests and waterways? Are we humbled and appreciative of our fellow hunters and fishermen that we share these great resources with?
As a landowner or lease/club member:
- Vast amounts of money are involved to purchase, pay county & school taxes, or fees to lease. Land taxes have risen well ahead of inflation to the tune of 2X-3X over other states in the union. It can be viewed as legalized theft in some lines of thought. As a landowner, it is a thought process quickly learned and a reality. Leases have risen due to taxes, and the popularity of outdoor-focused leasing /realty companies. The continual loss of farms and the increase in development further increase the cost and demand for recreational properties. Maintaining a property for wildlife involves plenty of funds and sweat equity.
- Because your past three generations of family hunted there, it does not trump or replace courtesy, respect, or asking permission. Your ignorant boasting of entitlement to hunt wherever you want is a false premise. It is all too common a complaint about local hunters. Your family or those that passed on are not maintaining, nor paying taxes on the property. You can easily change that, be a great neighbor.
- Fishermen do not get a pass on self-granted rights to trespass as access to private honey holes is not an entitled right of way. In New York, navigable waters have a separate set of laws that apply.
- Poor behavior, trespass, destruction of property, theft, infighting between hunting parties, poaching, ignoring specific instructions, or requests are all legitimate reasons why landowners say no or rescind your permissions. As a landowner saying no is their right that may or may not come with an explanation.
- It is a major irritation to expend time and money to thwart, report and or prosecute trespassers only to see them given a slap on the wrist or a minor fine. $50 to$250 fines are not enough to deter the disrespect, the ignorance that exists in the hunting community.
- How many of you visit to help a landowner in the offseason or in season, send thank you’s or visit to thank in person? Do you invite them for a home-cooked meal, or in general conduct yourself as a good neighbor, an ethical hunter that appreciates the privilege?
With the acceptance of game cams as scouting tools, it has become an additional season of installing and checking in the summer months. With the competitive nature of some in our ranks, the quest for boon’r buck or record setting long beard or the best fishing hole in the county causes some to steal memory cards, game cams, or destroy them and any stands or blinds they come across. In the past few years, the frequency of this type of criminal activity is increasing if judged by posts on social media. Whether there is increased trespass or that we now have better tools to capture it is made far worst that it is being done in many occurrences by fellow hunters. Clicking through the various hunting groups on social media it is astounding the number of reports of tree stands stolen or rendered unusable, deer cams broke or stolen, SD memory cards stolen.
In the following list are links to NYS sites that deal specifically with trespass, regulations, posting info, etc. I have included other useful links as well as one to a prior blog on game cam strategies.
- Public Fishing Rights and the Landowner -NYSDEC
- Posting Information for Landowners, Boaters, Fishermen and Hunters -NYSDEC
- Avoiding Conflicts Between Waterfowl Hunters and Waterfront Property Owners -NYSDEC
- ASK -NYSDEC
- Dealing with Trespassers -Cornell Univ
- Recreational access and owner liability -Cornell Univ
- Post Deer Season- Time to Implement a New Game Camera Strategy
As a landowner, I can tell you first hand you will quickly expand your fan base in a less than desirable way by wanting to control your property in any configuration. Some folks feel or even insist they have a right to your place. You and I may have an adverse response to such arrogant entitlement thinking. Trust me it is out there as many are not shy about it, in fact boastful.
Diligence and willingness to press charges does pay off as it eventually reduces trespass once they learn you have a spine and will do what is needed to fully enjoy your place as the owner of the property. I can tell you that sending a certified notice against trespass or having the local sheriff deliver it in person is an effective way to get your point across. Posting, maintaining signs, the expense of cameras, batteries,and other items just to secure your place takes away from time and money otherwise spent enjoying it.
Poor behavior is not a one-way street, as we all know that one special landowner that tries to claim rights to other properties, accosts anyone that comes near their boundary or travels an adjacent road along their place. It makes for hostile or worse interactions. I have been privy to one property owner near me that claimed to own the county road that dissected her place. Unnecessary conflict and bad relations for all involved.
It is my well-learned opinion that we New Yorkers have easy access to thousands upon thousands of the best public hunting grounds to be found in our great nation. Our waterways are world-renowned and something to cherish. As ethical sportsmen and sportswomen, criminal trespass is an abhorrent act towards each other and especially landowners. As hunters, as fishermen, as landowners, there is much room to improve relationships with only a little effort and a large dose of mutual respect. We all deserve this from each other.
-MJ
© 2017 Joyner Outdoor Media
Social Media A Great Tool For Hunters?
There are several ways one could hit the ground and run with this. Anti-hunting advocates vs hunters are one aspect of social media online to dive into. You might win the hearts and minds of non-hunters with principled ideas, rational behavior, any and all of the great things we love about our impassioned time-honored way of life. As to the anti-hunting crowd, you might find other more constructive things to do. Rational, sound logical reasoning falls on deaf ears of those unable to think beyond the propaganda, the overhyped irrational emotional responses. It is a telling picture to see such unhinged individuals crying and screaming in the streets. As a hunter, you can be assured of outbursts of pure rage against a legal activity, an instinctive natural way of eating and surviving as further back than biblical scholars can find as well as scientists who chronicle the story of evolution.
My thoughts for today’s wanderings lead me to social media vs hunters. A recent post concerning ‘real’ women hunters vs camo bikini-clad wanna-be female pro staffers gave me pause as to why with all the great attributes of instant communications do some within our hunting community subscribe to the worse attributes of social media that are typically displayed by our anti-hunting foes?
To those of us that lay claim to bearing some semblance of adult-like behavior, enjoy the company of fellow hunters, and not suffering sociopathic tendencies there is much to enjoy and take advantage of Facebook, Instagram, and any other of the choices of online communities to connect with each other.
I’ll lay claim that I barely squeak by in fitting it with the ‘normal, socially adjusted group.’ In doing so I will list what I think are the main positives associated with the online experience.
• With a little effort and time, online one can quickly seek and find like-minded hunters to any level of specialty that you want to hook up with. My passions are turkey hunting, and deer hunting, archery, rifle/shotgun/pistol shooting. Easy to find folks that share my interests. Many friends and friendly acquaintances can be made. If you singularly focus on hunting with 1800’s era flintlock firearms wearing only period-correct clothing you are in luck as you will find your tribe.
• As with news in general, anything outdoor-related, happening in the world down to your hometown can be learned that week, much of it the day that it occurs. New products, records broken, Changes in seasons and regulations, weather conditions.
• Sharing of stories, sharing or pictures afield soon after returning home or in the field as it happens. Facebook a post that you sunk your 4×4 to the axles while getting your elk out will rally the troops to your rescue. You can blame your truck and swear profusely on live Facebook for additional effect.
• Social media can be a great tool for researching your future hunts, outfitters, things to see and do on your next adventure. Personal contacts give you a much better insight.
Personally, I love having such great friends online (whom I have spent time with in hunt camp), to learn their stories, to share mine. Same with pics from successful hunts or the scenes so breathtaking you just have to capture it. Facebook has been great to meet up on hunts, meet up while traveling. I try to learn from what other successful hunters do and share amongst us. I enjoy seeing the pics, especially those that took the time to make a great pic in respect of their quarry. As much as I like the efficiency of the online experience and at any hour. It does not replace what you get from a phone call or time shared together. I view social media as a useful tool to embellish my experiences that I have with those I have had the privilege to spend time with but do not live close enough to see frequently.
What is it with some of our ranks that are compelled to eat our own? The downside of the social media experience is the emboldened behavior of keyboard trolls that lack social graces that help us all get along. I’m not going to distract with a lengthy discussion on sociopaths or anti-social behavior. Is it reasonable to put up with such ill-mannered, fragile egos or those bent on tearing other fellow hunters down? It takes only a single picture of a record book deer or a monster gobbler to attract the worse responses. Even pictures of kids after a successful hunt will gain uncivil responses. I expect that from the anti-hunting zealots, not fellow hunters.
I’ve been accused of “eating our own” by opposing turkey hunters over my position on reaping or fanning methods despite clear reasoning on safety issues and what I regard as unreasonable risks in many (not all) turkey hunting scenarios. Even after consistently acknowledging how exciting the method is, I am labeled an elitist for my opposition. There are many forms or styles of hunting that I do not participate in or find alluring. As such I read those stories and enjoy the after-hunt pictures like I do others. On matters of safety, I am not one to compromise. As to what bow you use, or what specific caliber bullet you shoot, whether you sit in a blind all day or hunt ridges as I may do, I don’t have the urge to criticize you because it may not be my preferred choice. Let’s skip that nonsense and tell me of your epic story.
With the prior blog posting I saw this morning concerning female hunters or huntresses as mentioned, it causes me to comment on where this comes from, the source if you will. The frustration that is becoming more visible within our ranks does come from the over marketing, the overzealous behavior of prostaff, huntresses, TV hunting shows, game call companies, and the list goes on at the irritation of the hunting community, a market segment they are hoping to gain an audience with.
As to huntresses, I have only a few brief observations. I know many women who hunt, have been for many years, and as hardcore as any male hunter, I have shared camp with. I find that female hunters, in general, to be more conscientious, more deliberate in their shooting, less likely to take risks. In that, they show the concept of huntress in a very good light. I am pleased to see more moms and their kids join our ranks as well as single women. Always welcomed in any camp I may attend. The whole thing with sex’d up camo pinup models that appear to be pampered, fully catered huntresses is to be expected in the old marketing model that sex sells just about anything. In my opinion, I think that once you take away all the pampering, the glamor shots you are left with little of the experience of being self-sufficient and being immersed in the turkey woods is lost in favor of a thong. Some of the same mentality applies to male celebrity hunters who are known to be lost themselves without a fully catered hunt.
It is nearly impossible to watch a thirty-minute hunting show without it being saturated with commercials and the storyline constantly pulled back at every turn to hawk a product. As a medium for hunters to learn from, to enjoy, it fails miserably as a nonstop infomercial in the guise of a hunting show. It is a business model that compromises the viewer’s enjoyment over ad space sold.
As with the over-marketing that is rampant with TV shows it is just as much a part of the dialog that occurs on Facebook, Instagram, and others. With that comes the emphasis of who has the most likes, the most Facebook friends. It has become so absurd, to the point it was posted on Facebook that a hunter made the claim that they were a better hunter because they had more likes? Difficult to wrap any logic around that. Having reached the 5K limit on Facebook, I have yet to enjoy that arousal of “better than thou hunter” that I am told about. I worked at it over a long period of time to broaden my base of possible readers of books I have published and will publish in the future. Efforts with my keyboard help make that happen, what abilities or skills I do have in the turkey woods are from lessons learned from time afield, from hunting with others, and for me, it has been many hours over many seasons.
The competitive nature of some of us produces an unhealthy interaction, focused on numbers, not people. I am concerned with being a ‘good hunter’ as I believe you are. I am also concerned with being a ‘better hunter’ when compared to myself five years ago. Whatever measure you wish. If we all strive to be good hunters then may our freezers be full. Is it not fair, a good thought that we all try each day to be better as people, as hunters?
What I see occurring in the realm of social media is the parallel, the concept of TV ratings becoming a parameter in which we measure ourselves on Facebook, Instagram, or any of the other social media offerings. Would I lose the love of family if my friends list shrunk or likes on my posts dwindled away?
There is the danger in that should you make a mistake, honest or deliberate, it is known in such a short time by all that is nearly unmeasurable. Bad news travels fast. Commit a game violation and your hunting buds will know more about your case than you do before you return home from your trip. Poach a record book elk and by tomorrow you may be a Facebook featured post!
For those that believe a picture is worth a thousand words, it is, for the most part, a truism until one pulls it up in photoshop, and modifies it to suit ego or other less than admirable purpose. A game contest is useful for exposing such less noble attributes in hunters that sport overblown egos. Posting on social media has taken these lesser ideals and supersized them as you might expect. I’ve seen lots of turkey hunters holding up their gobblers with a bent elbow and claim 25-28lbs all day long. I have witnessed far too many gobblers that weigh no more than the average 18-19 pounds to know what the girth of the bird appears as, and span of the wing butts to know that in only a few cases does the bird actually match the claimed weight. Only in a few select areas of the country, is the average weight much higher. Such heavyweights appear as if another subspecies in the turkey woods when accurate. Deer are often posed and angles chosen to appear much larger. Photoshopping antlers is not uncommon.
Other ill social media acts include ‘borrowing’ other hunter photos for product ads or photoshopping to appear taken by another hunter. Unless the deed is executed by a skilled person excelling in photography and lighting theory as a background it is all too easy to spot where edits were done. For the more sophisticated edits, a few applied filters and exposure adjustments reveal the modified pixels.
The sins of boasting, false storytelling (ok for fisherman though) hoax photos are an offering of the dark side of social media. In of itself, it is not new, but the modern-day equivalent is much faster in producing it. The false perceived pressure of having to achieve more friends, more likes, more hits, more web traffic comes at the expense of impressing profiles of people you have never hunted with, shared a beer with, or even met on the street. In the end to fall into that trap side steps real friendships, and causes one to miss the sheer joy of time spent in the hunting grounds of their choice.
My opinion is that social media is a great tool for hunters, especially for myself as an outdoor writer/author, as with all things it is neither perfect nor the end of all things in communicating with one another. To understand it and to use it at face value is a very useful way to keep track of and share with all those that you care to include. As we refute those with less than good intentions we make it a better space to share these bits and pieces of our daily lives.
-MJ
© 2017 Joyner Outdoor Media
The Hunter, Blaze Orange? It’s The Golden Rules That Matter
With the news of a female hunter in Caledonia, NY succumbing to a fatal gunshot wound to the abdomen during a deer drive yesterday afternoon, it is cause for a visceral reaction. Her name has not been released, and with due respect, not disclosed. Sorry if I appear to be a chauvinist. My reaction to this event is more pronounced, more upset, a bit sadder, and I’ll not apologize to feminists over this one. My wife hunts, at the behest of any and all the encouragement I can muster. Years of volunteering at Women In The Outdoors events has me inclined to support women participating in our favorite pastime. Yet, as much as I appreciate equal treatment of all, my sense of chivalry is disrupted by this very tragic event… Very few details have been made public as I write this, and my reaction is from what I know to be in nearly all cases to be preventable. I’ll not claim any wrong doing by anyone as the facts are not in yet.
This is the third such incident this fall season. Before I dive into an experience I had many years ago, let me first express my sincere condolences to the families in these tragic events. The loss of life, the possibilities of what if, the ripples in time from what they may have accomplished are our loss and more so of their families and loved ones. There is no upside for the persons who made the shots in these tragic occurrences. Their lives, their families will be changed in so many but different ways. With or without civil or legal repercussions, their lives will not be the same.
Our sport, our activity, is unique in that despite the common thought that it is a very dangerous, deadly pastime, it is polar opposite from the truth. The use of firearms understandably lends itself to that image as it is portrayed as such in movies and television. As reported by the NSSF in their 2015 report, the injury rate versus participation is 0.05%. This includes tree stand failures, falls, etc. All Non-Intentional Firearm Fatalities reported in 2013 are less than a fifth of that number. With over 17 million participants it is remarkably safe. To think you would be 30 times more likely to be injured while cheerleading would not be my first guess. No, I won’t be sporting pom-poms anytime soon.
In regards to those that have been fatally shot while afield, these numbers are meaningless. They offer no comfort to the families, to those involved in these incidents. The numbers are a yardstick to show progress, compare apples to apples, to affect rules, and policies.
In our sport, our ideal number is 0% fatalities, 0% injuries. We think one is one too many. You cannot apply this very well to automobiles, or medical practices. Actuary tables are applied to most activities, yet we preach in many ways, in many forms that 0% is the expected norm.
To illustrate where I am taking this, I’ll recount a story of my first deer going all the way back to 1988…
I was now into my fourth fall season of chasing whitetails with a bow, and my first full firearms season with my own shotgun. I had been a few times with a borrowed gun before that. Up to this point, I had not successfully filled a deer tag. A whitetail virgin if you will. Opening day I was in a preselected spot in a piece of open woods up on state land above the Deruyter Reservoir, not far from where I live now. I was with a crew of four other hunters. We would sit until late morning then do slow walks towards each other midday. We all sported blaze orange hats and vests or full jackets/coveralls. We meant to be seen.
I had previously built a small makeshift blind out of dead tree limbs that would conceal the lower half of my body while sitting. It wasn’t much, but I liked the spot, and deer crossed out in front and along both sides of my blind. Using a smooth bore barrel and a 1-4X scope limited my shots out to 100-120 yards if on a rest. I was relieved to find it unoccupied as I walked in. The morning was full of action including hunters walking about at 7AM as they couldn’t sit for more than a half hour. It wasn’t that long of a sit when deer started moving. I had a big doe pass out in front, well past my ability to accurately hit where I would aim. Just the same I was thrilled to see deer moving. Several more would come across from my right side and continue on, without offering a shot within my reasonable distance. Mid-morning I noticed movement to my hard left. Eighty yards out to my left. There was a thicket that ran down along to my left that was 150 yards long and finished out down range out in front.
With deer moving about, it was a promising idea that I would fill my first deer tag. I began to see patches of tan/brown moving along the thicket, then an occasional flash of black. Adrenaline was flowing. My gun was up and ready, and I knew that I would get my chance as the deer would eventually pass one of the two openings in thicket/hedgerow. The movement was slow and deliberate. Even with my scope, I could not make out a head, antlers, or a shoulder crease that I would want for an aiming point. Being that I had tags for either sex, I was giving thought to preferred choice of cuts at the butcher.
As the patches of brown neared the first opening, I was more than excited, the moment of truth was just seconds away….
Into the opening, a hunter appeared. After surveying the open woods I was watching, he looked my way. I had lowered my shotgun by the time he looked back. Rattled to my core, I was shaking. I had pointed my shotgun at something I would never intend to shoot, worse yet, another hunter. Unlike my apparel of blaze orange, the unknowingly lucky hunter sported well-used carhart overalls with a matching jacket and a black felt hat. His gun was also painted black which is what I saw in the underbrush of the thicket. I managed not to throw up, but in hindsight, it might have settled my stomach sooner. He walked off, without any acknowledgment, none the wiser. It would be the last day I ever hunted from that spot. Some time later I did fill a doe tag on a nice sized doe that crossed out in front of me and within range. Later in the day as I recall it.
Even after so many years, it upsets me to think how bad it could have all turned out, and how much both of our lives would have changed because if it.
Like all hunters in New York State, I attended hunter safety class and passed the written test given at the conclusion of training. I paid attention, for my sake, the sake of the foolish hunter I described, and for your sake. To those unfamiliar to firearm safety training, firearm golden rules, I’ll recall a few for your wellbeing.
- Assume every gun is loaded
- Control the muzzle. Point your gun in a safe direction
- Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot
- Identify fully, be sure of your target, foreground. and beyond
- Don’t rely on your gun’s safety button/lever for safe handling.
- Never shoot at sound or movement without fully identifying the target
These short and very simple rules can keep you safe from tragic events when everyone practices safe, ethical hunting. As a shooter, blaze orange is not a fix all or prevent all as shown in my example. although I was clearly lit up like a tree, it did not deter my hunter friend from sneaking about in the very colors of our quary. Had he sported blaze orange I am absolutely certain I would not have pointed my shotgun in his direction. If he had worn a deer costume, as anti-hunters have been known to do, maybe it would turn out badly. My adherence to the basic safety rules kept me from a very tragic possibility. This was over stressed by the instructors at my class, and I owe them much for engraining that into my training. Despite my ill-advised hunting friend engaged in suicide by deer hunter, I owed him, any other hunter, and any deer I chose to shoot to clearly identify my target, and a proper aiming point. It is impossible to ensure a clean efficient kill without doing so.
As a hunter, blaze orange does not guarantee that you will be seen. As odd as that seems, it takes just a little bit of cover, terrain, alignment of trees to interfere with being seen. In general, blaze orange does the job of making you stand out as much as possible. As ugly or unattractive I might be, I have yet to look remotely like a gobbler or a whitetail at any distance. You as a hunter owe me and my fellow hunters the respect of identifying your target, a safe sight picture, no exceptions.
On deer drives, if it is hurried, or the shooter is snap shooting, it may not give enough time to acquire the entire scene, and the target, or more importantly another member of the drive in the wrong position at the wrong time, Taking a little longer to take it all in may cost you a deer downed from time to time, but you’ll be safer for doing so. Deer drives I have been on are slow, methodical, where the pushers tend to get the shot opportunity, and the watchers are in very open areas in which to see what is coming and more importantly, who is not in the line of fire. My statements are not absolute and it is only your dedication to the basic safety rules that ensure we all go home safely from a great day afield.
As one who believes that nearly all of these tragedies are preventable by simply following safe practices, my words are not in judgment of those that have experienced these unfortunate circumstances. The goal is always 0% injury, 0% fatality. To prevent or contribute to this not happening again is worthy of being written. Again, to those that suffer the loss of these recent events, and those that suffer the consequences, the aftermath, you have my sincere condolences and wishes to learn and heal from it.
-MJ
© 2016 Joyner Outdoor Media
For The Love Of The Hunt
As an exercise of thinking out loud, to convey a collection of thoughts, please take my observations as a very personal perspective of my passions that I care so deeply about and in some ways define us and our roles in the natural world. It is not all inclusive nor singularly about me, as from many of your expressed views, you and I share a deep bond in our love of our great forests, and the game we pursue, even those we do not.
Like our political division we are in one way or another sucked into the “mean season.” In my humble opinion it has splashed over into other aspects of our lives. In particular the fraternity of hunting is of my concern. The social media hunting pages show this continuance of mean season in startlingly bold ways. Whether it be a trophy buck, a small buck or doe to fill the freezer, young turkey, old boss gobbler, how it was taken, where, by a woman, first time hunter, or a young hunter, the comments made fall very short of congratulations, or any sense of civility. Very divisive, disparaging remarks by hordes of “master hunters” or more correctly, keyboard warriors in full internet bully mode. Post after post of trashing successful hunters, trespassing, stolen stands/equipment, hunter harassment, lack of courtesy, embolden displays of disregard for the quarry, game laws, and land owners. Are we as part of the hunting fraternity willing to idly watch our ranks stoop to such depths or poor behavior, especially towards each other?
Personally I think we could do much better than what I currently observe in the public purview. I’ll stick my neck out in that it is doubtful this is the impression we wish to convey to non-hunters as to our love of our favored passion. How are we to be taken seriously when we berate each other in such fashion?
Like each of you, I have methods, choice of implements, and preferred strategies that I employ while chasing deer or turkey, other quarry. There are just as many other choices I may not be so keen on. Where it be illegal or unethical, I may speak out. Otherwise, why not enjoy the success of other hunters? Do our ego’s require that only ourselves have our hands around the biggest set of antlers or spurs? Like many of you, I have experienced, and admired the lengthy pursuit of an exceptional quarry spanning an entire season or in some cases many seasons. Not all of these epic adventures end with a happy hunter posing for a hero photo. The memories I’ll submit are for the love of the hunt. Yet after stating this, do we not also enjoy the brief alignment of the stars and fate for a chance encounter that comes and goes in a brief instant? Even as a professed admirer of “preparedness meets circumstance,” you can talk me into buying a 100lb bag of dumb luck all day long. Does it make it a lesser experience, or any less of a hunter for experiencing the hunt in this way? Of course not. Each of us experience the hunt in just as many different ways, and even more over time.
Admittedly I have some advantage of perspective with 32 seasons worth of memories to reflect on, to learn from. Fair to say I am in the phase of being a hunter that savors the hunt every bit or more than that actual taking of game, and find every bit of enjoyment and satisfaction in learning the experiences and successes of other fellow hunters. This is the lens I see through.
It would be a shortcoming to make these points or the case without some resolve to improve upon it, to make it a perceivable amount better. I’ll continue to admire, like and make positive comment of the successful hunts of my hunting brothers and sisters. I’ll continue to be fond of first time hunter success and especially young hunters. I can assure each of you, should we meet on a ridge, in the middle of a deer drive, I’ll not ask for your voter ID card, but I’ll ask how your season is going and offer congrats or encouragement. At the butcher shop or the taxidermist I’ll be quick to congratulate and admire a good day afield. Lastly in the public forums, I’ll be just as quick to enjoy your successes as my love of the hunt extends to the hope that you enjoy and love the hunt as I do.
-MJ
© 2016 Joyner Outdoor Media
A Whitetail Season Opening Day- Final Season… Almost
I was able to hunt the morning and late afternoon and a few hours Sunday morning, as has been the norm in recent years, work limits my other otherwise die hard desire to go at it from before sun rise to after sunset. In early ahead of the crowd, Out late as to not bump any deer on the way out. Still I am thankful for work and being gainfully employed.
Stan Sawicki, our good friend, scored early in the first hour with a nice 8 point buck on the ‘J’ Ranch. My wife saw deer throughout the morning. I would eventually lay eyes on a monster buck at 10 am, which provides a very different story as follows…
Going on towards 10 AM, I had yet to see a deer from a favorite stand. Over the years it has been deemed a meat stand as it covers several well used deer paths with nearby scrapes and rubs, and well known escape routes when bumped by other hunters on adjoining properties. This year not so much. It was getting warm out, time to retrieve Stan’s buck, and get him out of the woods to be taken care of. I got down, and slow hunted my way over to and down a ravine to the main creek on our property. Our ATV was parked above the creek on the other side. Having bulldozed a path some years ago, it makes for a convenient spot to park it. Where we cross the creek has several smaller ravines and feeder creeks meeting up together there. Deer cross the same spot for much of the same reasons.
As I neared the bottom, I got a phone call that a buck was just shot nearby. Having heard the shot, I thought Stan or Lee may have shot. While on the phone I thought I had heard something, only to look up to see a monster buck coming up over the knoll not 15 yards away and coming straight at me. I had no where to go, as he would pile drive me 20 yards further to the creek just below me. Given that his rack was 5-6″ out past each ear, with long dog catchers (brow tines) and impressively long G2-G3 tines, I would not survive the imminent impaling. For an immeasurably short moment in time, It would be my final moments. The pure power of such a large buck was breathtaking at the same time.
I dropped the phone, and awkwardly went to retreive my 30-06 from my shoulder. The buck then threw out his front legs in an effort to stop as he didn’t like this big ugly hunter in his path, and maybe just as startled as I was. His lower jaw nearly touch the ground as he slid. He came down the knoll with so much power that his hind end came around the side and up over, basically flipping over, swapping ends for a lack of a more precise description. He slammed down in front of me at less than 5 paces. Aside from being a bit more than thankful for not being driven to the creek and ventilated in 5 or 6 places, this bizarre and violent circumstance was his finally moment before piling up… not.
As quickly as he went down, he was back on his feet, motoring back up the hill. Having finally got the gun up I found his leading edge of his chest, and shot. Never touched him, but I can center punch a sapling like nobody’s business. I could not get back on him again as he traveled up and over. I found the blood trail coming down the hill, where he went down, and back up. Mostly a few drops here and there. After meeting up with the hunter (shall remain nameless) that put this all into motion, we tracked the deer for several hours, out into a 100 acre crop field and down to the river. Finally determined it to be a flesh wound. Upsetting to wound and lose a deer, but merely disrupted him from chasing does. Hope to see him again in more ballistic friendly circumstances.
Lee and I went back out later that afternoon before the storm came in. We both passed on a fork horn buck that went by both of us a half hour before legal sunset. Uneventful sit by any comparisons of the day. It is about as excited, elated as I might possible get while totally terrified, and fearing my last moments given a fateful brief moment in time. I am humbled and thankful that this was not my last day of deer hunting, and your learning of this from a memorial page. In all my 32 years of hunting whitetails this was a first. I have heard stories from others of rutting bucks aggressively coming at them, either on purpose or incidentally while giving chase on a hot doe. I know a neighbor that dropped an aggressive buck just mere feet in front of him, at closer range than my encounter. That buck did not get back up…
Good luck to all of you for the remaining days of the season and that your whitetail close encounters be less precarious than what you have read here of mine.
-MJ
© 2016 Joyner Outdoor Media
A Morning Sit In New York’s Fall Turkey Woods
A rather odd feeling for me this year as we head into our fall hunting seasons here in New York. I love my time in the turkey woods, the deer woods (I’ll reluctantly call them that but default to turkey woods if it all possible.) This fall season so far does have a bit of a different feel for me. I’ll come back to the morning sit in a moment, as there is something I wish to convey while it is present in my thinking…
Our fall turkey season in the CNY area has shifted to the middle of October for a two week period, now in it’s second year of it. I have written previously about my conflicted opinion with the NYSDEC’s decision to go this route under the stated goal of reducing the fall take. I still remain steadfast in my opinion that they catered to the wants and desires of fall archers over that of fall turkey doggers (it is actually a fall turkey season right?) They could have adopted regulations to be bearded birds only and restricted shooting from elevated platforms. They did find some virtue of adding two weeks to archery deer season, thereby cutting out the time one could run a turkey dog without conflict with deer hunters. The hunting season dates would have been fine left alone. By doing as I suggest here, hens would have been well protected, the fall take would have dropped in a dramatic fashion. To be fair, their chosen regulations resulted in a reduction in fall takes compare to 2012, 2014, but only slightly lower than 2011 or 2013. I maintain it could have been far more effective with the right regulations.
Those of us that claim to be dyed in the wool fall turkey hunters, turkey doggers would purposely put on a turkey vest rather than a safety harness and make a day of it at any given time. I’ll probably catch hell for saying this, but in what logic, what wisdom would you consider the hunter’s satisfaction/perception of deer hunters with archery tackle in regards to fall turkey season over that of fall turkey hunters that partake the time-honored tradition of breaking fall flocks with a good turkey dog? Or the fall hunter who puts on a turkey vest with the specific goal of tagging a fall bird. Do not misunderstand my comments that I have a philosophical argument with those that arrow a fall turkey while deer hunting. As a generality, perfectly OK in my book. When it comes to regulating a fall turkey season, I have a firm opinion as to whom the considerations might go to first. I tip my hat to those that pursue fall turkeys with a focused purpose, over that of incidental happenstance while on a good deer watch. Again this is not a jab at archers as I hunt the fall archery season with great enthusiasm, and would arrow a turkey should I have a tag in hand. Under the old season dates, I would more often than not have those tags filled before the 15th. Back to this morning…
I passed on going out on opening day of fall archery season on the 1st for several reasons. For starters, my heart is not into it this time of year. I dearly miss the October 1st for fall turkey in our area. For thirty years I have become accustomed to the October 15th start of archery season pursuing whitetails. Even then I really don’t get that excited until the week of Halloween. Admittedly I am set in my ways, not unreasonably so, but it is my feeling that I have about it. In my conversations with fellow hunters, I come to know that I am not alone in that perception. The other consideration for the opener was an east wind, and it all but guarantees that you push out any deer on the property while getting to one of our many stands and most likely be winded while on stand given the way they are set up. On to day two…
I chose to head out on one of the best-producing stands on my property. Today would be a deer watch as I am waiting on a few possibilities to hunt the currently open turkey season up north. With a short walk from the house, I would find myself situated and comfortable as the morning unfolded. A moderately warm and still morning, it was just as easy to fall asleep as to be on alert. I would not dare doze off as I would surely miss something. I would not be disappointed in my short watch of two hours. Although I was not particularly driven to be on deer watch this early in the fall season, the great deer that were reported on opening day on social media was impressive, and it did not escape my attention. I do subscribe to the idea that opportunity comes to those that are vigilant and prepared.
During my peaceful time on a great deer watch, I had one tall four point buck stroll in a little after 8 o’clock. With most of the leaves still on the trees, I only saw bits and pieces of him about seventy yards out. He came into my chosen area several times. The young buck would jump, play, then bound away only to return several minutes later. Not exactly sure what held him there, but he returned twice this morning. He finally walked into my shooting lane and onward to where it was he needed to go. As much as I love the meat, and filling the freezer is a priority, I would let him go on his way, unaware of my presence. I would be hard pressed to arrow a whitetail of his weight, and looking for something larger than a deer I could carry out on my back. To watch him was a highlight of the morning. I am hoping to catch up with an impressive buck that I have pursued for three years, and came close on several occasions to sealing the deal. We hear of other great bucks roaming the hills where we call home. So early in the season, no particular hurry, and hoping to do a little selective shopping. Truthfully the one that I have my eye on, does have my attention.
Another first for me was to have a pileated woodpecker in very close proximity this morning. We see them on occasion. We hear them more often than see them. I heard this one for a bit before he landed on a tree no more than five yards out in front of my stand. Not the largest that I have seen over the years, but a good sized adult just the same. I got to enjoy his presence for a bit longer than four minutes as he worked his way up a healthy young maple tree. I knew that we would make his way over the gnarly old maple next to my favored shooting lane just twenty-three yards from the stand. As predicted that is were he went to and it got rather loud as he quickly found the rotted out hollowed sections which I am sure provided the meal he was looking for. Having various hawks and owls up close and personal over the years it was treat to have my pointy headed friend show up for me to have a good look at him. Another fun memory of the morning.
As always, a morning in the turkey woods was soothing to the soul. Today’s brief foray proved to be fun and heart warming. Over time, my regard for the past scheduling of seasons, loathing of the new seasons may subside. I will make the best of it. Adjustments are possible should my writings, along with yours, reach the eyes and ears of those responsible for setting season dates and regulations. Make your voices, your opinions known and heard. I sincerely hope that my comments on the fall turkey season provide for some thought, even resonate with your own thoughts. I am just as confident that some will not regard my comments so kindly as there are those that profess that archery season should be the only season and is superior. Although I love my time during archery seasons, I would not agree with such an elitist perspective as I enjoy the other methods/seasons for different reasons. That is my personal view, yours may be different. Although you may take issue with me on that, I do think we can agree that experiences like I had this morning while in the turkey woods, the deer woods is something we can all smile about and think fondly of. Best of luck to all of you this fall season.
-MJ
© 2016 Joyner Outdoor Media
2015 Fall Seasons, Looking Ahead To 2016
It will be interesting to see how things shake out for the 2016 deer seasons, and especially the fall turkey season. A lot of fellow hunters I talk to have serious concerns, questions as to the NYSDEC’s ability to give any weight to hunter inputs. There are some including myself that wonder if public input on pending wildlife issues has any impact at all on the decision making process. In central NY which I am most familiar with, deer/fall turkey seasons was in general very disappointing. One cannot place blame on the decision makers for the weather, hunter practices, but may certainly question changes in rules that contribute to situation we now have. The fall harvest I am told reflects just as much in the numbers gleamed in successful hunter reporting.
One can question the wisdom currently coming from Albany. For my personal experience I never laid eyes on a whitetail after November 21st. I did fill a fall turkey tag on a nice sized Jake, but overall I saw very few turkeys in any of my favorite haunts. Lack of hunter participation? Reliance on deer stands over deer drives? A perfect storm of hunter variables, wildlife management directives, and weather to bring harvest opportunities down. Hunter satisfaction is something I question in a big way when it comes to changes in NYSDEC policies. For deer season I’ll chalk it up to a down year. Turkey population is certainly down especially when compared to peak populations of the late 1990’s. Having expressed my opinion on the handling of fall turkey season, I am not yet convinced that they’ll make the right moves to reduce hen take in the fall, and instead cater to the satisfaction of deer hunters during archery seasons. Mind you I am not against deer hunters in any way as I started my hunting days with a bow in hand.
As for what we can do despite political management of our beloved natural resources? Each of us can purposely hold back on harvests, educate our fellow hunters when it comes to helping build back wildlife populations. While management decisions are made post seasons, or after sighting studies are conducted, we as hunters have direct in the field intel. There are always going to be game hogs, those that poach and routinely disregard game laws. The good news is that they are not the majority. Each of us can make a personal choice and contribute as we see it. As a hunter, as a participating steward of our wildlife we can all make personal choices not to over hunt areas of depressed populations or fill a tag just because. We certainly do not require a directive from Albany to hold back in areas that could use a season or two of reduced harvest, etc.
© 2016 Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
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