SUCCESS!!!!

November 9^th 2010

After missing a “Birthday Buck” at 15 yards that looked like
a 4 pointer, I was wondering if I would see another deer the whole week.  Good deer sign I was keeping my hopes
up.  This morning was wet like yesterday
with thick fog and a steady light rain.
Sitting for two hours I started to get cold and decided to get out of
the open area I was in and head up the ridge.
Getting hungry I sat for lunch in a natural blind.  Cold again even w/extra socks and clothes,
time to move.  I figured I might still
hunt up towards where I shot at the Buck and then try back a little deeper.

I head up slowly stopping at every BIG opening to look; on
my 2^nd stop I notice a pair of legs walking quickly through the
woods.  Looks like a hunter walking
fast.  Wait that person has another set
of legs and a body like a deer, HMMMMM.
It is out of view and walking away quickly.  I move a little closer knowing the ground is
wet, using feet to feel for twigs and a brook for cover.  I get my doe bleep and give one long call,
nothing.  I slowly move in closer and
figure if it’s a doe she is best bet for attracting Bucks…

I’m still, see it coming back in my direction and see an
antler.  OK now I am scared, missing one
buck in a week is ok but TWO???   My
heart races, he is behind cover and I have no close tree for a rifle rest.  No scope on this gun so I can’t use “the
scope on 9X” as an excuse.  Now relax and just focus on the shot.  I debate going prone but he is too close to
move and the one knee I am on is working fine.
With no though of deer size or antler size, my sight is steady, my
breath controlled, my shot is not clear, wait
I say, wait, he moves two feet and stops, my heart is pumping!!!  I breathe again and hold, my gun steady, my
focus on the perfect shot….  Boom.

He takes off a short distance and he is down.    Not focusing on the rack and concentrating
on the 1^st perfect shot I did not get a good look at him until I
came upon him.  To say I was jubilant is an
understatement.  If you were within range
you would have heard me screaming at the luck, joy, experience and
companionship of what hunting is all about…
A three hour retrieve and drag finished a beautiful day.

PS:  Thanks to Bruce
L. it means a lot to hear praise from him.
The same goes for Jim Masset he is a legend in our camp and to see him
alone was an experience…   But to have
Him congratulate me on a nice deer was like Bruce Lee telling me my fighting
skills are awesome…  WOW… I have to
remember to get his autograph next time.
Thanks to Shawn for being my Hunting partner for 22 years.  Thanks to Murray and Tom our hunting friends
for years now, your wisdom knowledge and companionship is priceless…  Most of all thanks to the entire NFA camp; without
all of you, none of this would be possible.
Shawn, Greg, Anthony, Jason, Mike and even though Chris was not able to
make it up to camp he was there in spirit, you guys ROCK!!!

NFA GETSOME

Jeff Calderone

See you up there

GETSOME

Less than 2 Weeks to Go

Are you guys ready?

On Target

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Went to Brookhaven Range today. Got some nice groupings. Now I just need a deer to shoot at!

2010 NYS Northern Zone/Adirondack Region Hunting Seasons

Early Bear: September 18 – October 15
Archery Big Game: September 27 – October 22
Black Powder Big Game: October 16-22
Regular/Rifle Big Game: October 23– December 5
Late Black powder (limited DMU’s): December 8 –14
Turkey: Spring: May 1 -31, Fall: October 1 – 22

Moose River Plains Road to Open for 2010

DEC, Local Officials Forge Agreement for Maintenance

For Release: Thursday, May 27, 2010

Thanks to a creative state-local partnership, the Moose River Plains Road — which provides access to one of the largest blocks of remote lands in the Adirondack Park — will be open to motor vehicles this summer, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis announced today.

DEC worked with local officials from Inlet, Indian Lake and Hamilton County, as well as state legislators, to cover maintenance duties and costs for the season. The Moose River Plains includes more than 40 miles of dirt roads, approximately 170 primitive campsites and 50,000 acres of wild forest in the central and southwestern sections of the park. DEC had previously announced that this road would not be opened in 2010 because the state’s historic fiscal crisis had limited agency maintenance funds. Instead, local communities will assist by providing gasoline, trucks, materials and law-enforcement personnel to help cover operational needs.

State and local crews began clearing the road this week; the road will be open Friday — in time for the Memorial Day weekend. However, roads south of the “Big T” junction (Otter Brook and Indian Lake roads) will remain closed.

“The Moose River Plains Road will be open for 2010, thanks to the willingness of local communities to help and the quick reaction of DEC crews to make it happen,” Commissioner Grannis said. “Together, we’ve forged a solution that will benefit the anglers, birders, hunters, hikers, mountain bikers and others who make the Plains a popular destination – as well as the businesses in Indian Lake and Inlet that depend on tourists.”

“Commissioner Grannis and the DEC staff moved heaven and earth to coordinate this effort and get us to a point where the road can be opened this weekend – which is not something we thought could be done,” said Bill Farber, who serves as Morehouse town supervisor and chairman of the Hamilton County Board of Supervisors. “And, of course, the offer of assistance from the towns and the county was indispensable. By collaborating, we’ve come up with a solution that works for everyone.”

“We’re thankful that DEC accepted our offer of help and we’re looking forward to working together in partnership,” said Inlet Town Supervisor John Frey. “Our community and surrounding communities stand ready to assist in any reasonable way possible.”

“This is a great example of local and state officials coming together, working cooperatively and achieving a positive result,” said state Senator Betty Little.  “It’s the kind of teamwork that is so important during this time of fiscal crisis. Commissioner Pete Grannis and his staff understood what was at stake. Losing the economic activity generated by the thousands of hikers, campers, sportsmen, mountain bikers and other tourists who visit the Moose River Plains would have dealt a severe financial blow to our Hamilton County communities.”

“The creative solution Commissioner Grannis and his DEC staff reached with our Adirondack towns to keep the Moose River Plains Road access area open is a fine example of how government should work,” said Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward. “Following DEC’s lead, we could save our parks and save New York taxpayers money.”

“This is a great piece of news for this part of the Adirondacks,” said Assemblyman Marc Butler. “I want to thank Commissioner Grannis and the DEC for listening to our appeal. At a time when we need good things to happen in our region, this is definitely welcomed news. And it’s great that it happened in time for the Memorial Day weekend.”

The Moose River Plains Wild Forest is bounded on the north by the Pigeon Lakes Wilderness Area, Raquette Lake and the Blue Ridge Wilderness; on the east and the south by the West Canada Lakes Wilderness and the private lands of the Adirondack League Club; and on the west by the Fulton Chain Lakes and State Route 28. It includes the Red River, the South Branch of the Moose River and the 675-acre Cedar River Flow.

The Moose River Plains Wild Forest offers many year-round recreational opportunities, including hiking, skiing, mountain biking, snowmobiling, canoeing, hunting, fishing, horseback riding and primitive camping. Miles of marked trails and numerous lakes and ponds make this area an ideal destination for recreationists with varied interests and abilities.

Excerpts from The Still Hunter

Few things are so fatal to ultimate success as an early germination of the idea that you are " a pretty smart chap on deer." It is almost as ruinous as the idea that you are a poet. The teachers you need are disappointment and humiliation. If these cure you of still-hunting, it is well; for it proves you were not born for that, and the sooner you quit it the better. But if there is any of the true spirit in you, defeat will only inspire you. You will learn more from your failures than many do from success, and they will arouse you to double care, double energy, double keenness, and double hope.
The analysis of error is a far better source of instruction than the analysis of truth. For this reason we will at first study failures more than successes. And this will be rendered all the more easy by the fact that at first you will probably have little besides error to study.