dawsonscreek

I'm just getting back into squirrel hunting. It's how I started, I think it's how most hunters start. I really enjoyed myself on the last squirrel hunt, gotta fill the freezer with something this year Rabbits are always a blast, especially with a beagle.

Well my deer season was very unproductive. I saw lots of people with great success and some that struggled as I did. Now is the time for the fun, relaxing hunts. Bullspitting with your buddies till ducks are spotted or till the dog brings the rabbit around is what I love about small game. Hope that everybody who small game hunts has a safe and productive winter! I'm off to a good start so far!

Well, as promised, here is my thoughts on this subject. Critical Thinking-Mountain lions in NY. Each year in New York State there are reports and stories of mountain lion sightings. Although mountain lions were a native species in New York, they have been extirpated since the early 1900s due to deforestation and population boom. These current sightings are likely to be misidentifications of common New York mammals. First, one third of the reported sightings are that of black mountain lions. However, no black cougar has ever been confirmed anywhere in the world. No museums have any black mountain lion hides to examine. A likely explanation for theses sightings could be the misidentification of a common mammal. Several New York mammals could be mistaken as a black mountain lion; the fisher being a very possible scenario. Fishers are dark brown to black in color, have a long tail, and are shaped similar to a cat. However, fishers are not even close to the size of an adult mountain lion. An adult male mountain lion could reach 150 pounds or more and be 6 feet long, whereas a fisher is only going to be around three feet long and around 12 pounds. Other animals that could look like a black mountain lion would be large black dogs, such as a Labrador, or even a large house cat. The size of an animal can be difficult to judge at times, especially when the animal is long way off, in an open field with nothing nearby for comparison, or when the viewer only gets a quick glimpse. Add to this the adrenaline and excitement that would come with such a sighting and it is easy to see how sizes can get overestimated. Next, the number of claims of mountain lions does not cohere with the amount of confirmed sign that is found in New York. On average, a mountain lion takes over 11 million steps in a year. Though not every step is going to leave a perfect footprint in an easy to find spot, if New York has a population of mountain lions there would be plenty of sign available to inspect. The sign they would leave would also be fairly easy to find. In western states, where there are large populations of mountain lions, sign is abundant. Sign in these areas is easier to see than an actual live lion, some people that live in these states have never seen a mountain lion but have seen plenty of sign. Why is then, that mountain lion sightings are more common than sign in New York? In Lake George, NY, a mountain lion was spotted by a homeowner. Later, tracks were found in their yard, as well as scat, and hairs in a bed where the animal had laid down. Tests concluded that this lion had traveled all the way from South Dakota and passed through New York on its way to Connecticut, where it was struck and killed by a vehicle. This one animal passing through the state left enough track and sign to be inspected, and it was even photographed by one person. If New York had a population of mountain lions, there would surely be enough sign to inspect. Furthermore, New York has not produced the carcass of a wild mountain lion to inspect. A cub that had escaped captivity was killed by a hunter who mistook it for a bobcat, but this cannot be used as evidence to support the idea that a population exists. Whether it be struck by a vehicle, killed by a human, or dead by natural causes, if there was a population of mountain lions in New York then there would be bodies to inspect. Though mountain lions prefer to stay in secluded areas, it is nearly impossible for them to avoid all roads. In states with established mountain lion populations road-killed mountain lions are not uncommon. Even in the mountain ranges of New York, there are too many roads for a mountain lion not to be struck by a car. Though it is unlikely a trapper in NY would catch a mountain lion, because most do not use a larger enough trap, it is possible that one would be treed by hunting dogs. New Yorkers hunt raccoons, rabbits, coyotes, and birds with dogs. Though bears cannot be hunted with dogs, hunters can train their dogs on bears during closed seasons. If mountain lions had an established population it is very likely they would be getting treed by these dogs on occasion. In western states, with “huntable†populations, using dogs is the most effective way to hunt mountain lions. In conclusion, the continued lack of physical evidence does not support the idea that New York has a population of mountain lions, not even a small population. It is possible that some of these sightings are not misidentifications, but are that of a mountain lion just passing through, like with the case of the Lake George lion. However, there is not the amount of sign here that there would be if a population existed. The vast majority of sightings are just misidentifications of common mammals. I have been a skeptic on this topic for the most part but still had thought that it may have been possible to have a few mountain lions in the remote areas of the Adirondacks or Catskills. After learning what I did from class and research, though, I now find it extremely unlikely. The amount of space one lion, let alone a small population, needs is just not available in New York. Too many roads are not producing road kills and too many trail cameras are out there not picking up photos to show evidence of a population. Mountain lions out west are slowly spreading eastward though, Wisconsin has had confirmed examples of mountain lions. Maybe in the future the mountain lion will return to New York, but as for now, there is just not enough evidence present to prove a population currently exists in New York.

Can we stay on the topic of lions? I'd hate for this thread to get shut down similarly to the tributary forum bantering. As an aside to all these claims of black mountain lions, I was going to wait but I guess I'm getting impatient. According to Missouri Department of Conservation, "Throughout its range, no melanistic (that means black) mountain lion has ever been documented by science". So if you hear a claim of people seeing a black lion, they saw either a large black house cat (I had one growing up that weighed over 20 pounds, he was obese though) or they saw a fisher, hell, maybe even a black bear. Now, in North America there are melanistic jaguars in the Southwest. Central and South America have these cats too. They are not a different species, they are no larger or smaller than a regular colored jaguar. They just have more of the pigment melanin. I did not want to comment on this subject really, as I hate debating with people. I could compare most debates with walking repeatedly into a brick wall, no progress is made. But, as I am hoping to have a career with one of the natural resource departments, I might as well get some practice informing people with facts rather than "wive's (wise) tales" . I make no claims to be an expert, a college degree doesn't mean I know what the hell I'm talking about, but I do take pride in the degree I'm working on and may know more than I'll give myself credit for. Contrarily, there's a student that sits two seats down from me, but rather than facts, he bases everything he says on what he's heard, he lacks the filter between his brain and mouth.....Goodnight.

I will definitely chime in once we finish the subject in class. My professor, Dr. John Van Niel, is extremely knowledgeable about North American mammals. But , like you, I prefer to post facts I know are true. I will not risk my reputation on things I heard, or that a friend of a friend heard.

Interesting. We are covering this topic the next couple weeks in my conservation class. I refuse to chime in as of now, because, like most of you, I am NOT formally informed on the subject. I know some facts but will keep them to myself. I can't believe I even posted this much, for fear of this turning into the same crap that happens on tributary forums. But, upon completion of the topic in class, I will post my two cents.

I have a Sheffield DRII rod and an Okuma Sheffield reel for sale. I have had this setup for a year and only have used it three times; I just can't seem to put the fly rod down. The rod was $220 new and the reel was $200. I am asking $350. I live in Corning and Canandaigua, so we can discuss pickup/delivery options. Please send a PM if you are intersted.

If it makes your knees wobble, it's a trophy. I'm in the same boat; managing the land I hunt for trophy deer isn't a reality. Bordered by state land, and other hunter properties, if we pass them there is still a good chance they will get shot. I am just as proud of my 13 point 130" as I am my 2 point spike, or mama doe. I see far too much condescending remarks about people shooting young bucks. Harvest only what you'll use, and enjoy you're time out there. You never know when you'll be six feet under and the ride is over.

Awesome! No kid remembers their best day playing Xbox, but he's sure to remember this day forever. Thanks for sharing!

Very cool! Nice work to you and the dog.

Thanks all for the compliments and the help!

I had some of that poor shooting happen to me this weekend too. Musta been the atmospheric pressure or something

Awesome mixed bag! I would love a snow, but we don't get them here in the southern tier. A teal would be great too, I saw a couple of them last weekend. Congrats on your success!

Gorgeous work Paul!!

Sending you a PM. That is some amazing work!

Does anybody know of a taxidermist who might specialize in ducks, or at least does them frequently. I live in Corning and have been calling around to the locals and have not found any who do ducks. I looked at one nearby but wasn't too impressed with his duck work. I have a fully plumed out woodie and really want to get him on the wall.

I pretty much just use it to get to the location. Here, we had to stand in waist deep water all day so it doubled as a floating shelf to put stuff on. The ducks come in over deep water so I use the kayak for retrieval as well. I have hunted from the kayak before but it's not ideal. I suppose with some practice it wouldn't be too bad. But i definitely recommend using kayak as a tool to get to spots others can't get. I also fish out of the kayak a lot too, river trips can be a blast! Buy a stable one, and paint it camo, good luck!! PS I see you're in Addison. I live just outside Addison near Brownie's. If you ever want to get out after some ducks get ahold of me!!

Thank you!

Thanks fellas. Here's what I did with them. Wild Duck gumbo, turned out great and goes great after a long cold day in the swamp.

nice birds, congrats! awesome to see the kid out there having fun!!

Got out for the afternoon with a friend I hadn't seen in a while. Just me and him trading shots, the way I like it. I have no interest in being stacked in a blind with a bunch o guys shooting at the same duck, it's not all about limits. Hunting on a public swamp, we saw lots of woodies and nearly as many mallards/blacks. Also saw one teal. I took a drake mallard and a drake black duck. Shooting sporting clays over the summer improved my shooting immensely conpared to a year ago. I hit each duck on the second shot. I won't even mention how many shots I missed last year