Adirondack hunting ally

[RueDog]

Hello everyone. Name is Thomas and I reside across the pond from Adirondacks in VT. Over the past 5 years I have been rifle hunting the Northern dacks and have grown to love it and plan most my vacation time around the season. Last year was my first successful season and after the long drag out by myself I've decided to search for like-minded folks maybe in the same position as myself. I enjoy hunting alone but having another capable hunter/outdoorsman hunting in the same vicinity as myself sounds safer and not as daunting of a drag out. If anyone is interested in talking more, I can give you my email. Thanks

 

[kfili]

I wish it could be me - I spent a lot of my summer growing up in the ADK and just got back from a trip this year. It is one of my favorite places, wish I lived closer and could make a hunting trip out of it. Good luck!

 

[summs]

Hmm, any reason you're not hunting VT? Different season dates? Are you bare ground hunting or snow tracking? Or are you hunting both. The ADK's are no joke, good on you for getting a deer.

I was between ADK's and Green mountain, but it's looking like im headed to the green mountains November.

 

[Macintosh]

Hmm, any reason you're not hunting VT? Different season dates? Are you bare ground hunting or snow tracking? Or are you hunting both. The ADK's are no joke, good on you for getting a deer.

I was between ADK's and Green mountain, but it's looking like im headed to the green mountains November.

Wait, you’re travelling to hunt Vermont??!!? Buddy, dont you know VT has the worst hunting in the US? I read it in a magazine so it must be true.

 

[summs]

Wait, you’re travelling to hunt Vermont??!!? Buddy, dont you know VT has the worst hunting in the US? I read it in a magazine so it must be true.

Lol, it does have some bad hunting, but big deer and room to roam. I'm a tracker, so every year it's ADK's, VT, NH or ME. I prefer Maine, but the 9 hour drive makes it hard. ADK's and VT are just shy of 4 hours. For VT, I also do it in one of the lowest harvest rate Deer zones, at under 1sqmi.

I don't go to these places to shoot a deer, I got to shoot THE DEER that gets dreamed about, 200+lbs and has never seen a human. That's why I go to these places.
I live in NJ, can butcher deer for 6 months

 

[Wrangler13]

I spent all last year hiking in the dacks. Definitely want to hunt there in the next few years. Pic of a couple little vt deer.

 

[JakeZ WI]

Im looking for something similiar. I live in WI so Im a ways away, but Ive wanted to start an annual trip to the Adaks or ME for years to track big woods bucks in the snow. Our rifle season is only 9 days and in the souther half of the state we have snow maybe every 10 years. Last year i tagged out my buck tag opening morning in SE wi so never made it up north to track, but did a little dry doe tracking down here. Anyway Ive wanted to go to a place with a different or longer rifle season concurrently with snow for years but just havent yet. I would probably head up for a week, (our rifle season is the 9 day week of thanksgiving), and try my hand at big woods tracking. Ive been to CO a few times in the mountains so im not worried about the getting around parts, just the general vincinity of where to go and ideally having someone around I can call for help with a deer or with trouble.

 

[Macintosh]

Well, if you go to the adirondacks, depending on exact location you most likely wont be calling anyone for help without a sat phone or an inreach. I’ve had much better cell service in central alaska.

 

[JakeZ WI]

I have an in reach and a ham radio, so not worried about that either

 

[TonySkyline]

Good luck, that is tough hunting. I’ve always thought about heading up for early bear hunting but the drag would suck. Have you thought about packing out the deer? That sounds a lot easier with a large pack and some hiking sticks. I was just there camping this past weekend and it’s way way to easy to get turned around in there and especially scary with no cell service (also don’t watch the missing 411, lol. That’ll make ya freaked out especially in the ADacks).


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[Rokwiia]

Saw Missing 411: The Hunted. The part about the Adirondack hunter who went missing a few years ago was very strange. He was part of a big group and simply vanished...rifle and all.

 

[nomadicbohunk]

Lol, it does have some bad hunting, but big deer and room to roam. I'm a tracker, so every year it's ADK's, VT, NH or ME. I prefer Maine, but the 9 hour drive makes it hard. ADK's and VT are just shy of 4 hours. For VT, I also do it in one of the lowest harvest rate Deer zones, at under 1sqmi.

I don't go to these places to shoot a deer, I got to shoot THE DEER that gets dreamed about, 200+lbs and has never seen a human. That's why I go to these places.
I live in NJ, can butcher deer for 6 months

View attachment 575098

VT is ROUGH. I'm guessing you're hunting the NEK. I go there or some gross areas in the GMNF. The one time I found actual good sign in the NEK I scouting I went during season. I counted 20 guys in about 80 acres. LOL. That was in Nullhegan.

Honest question. Do you hear shots at night? I'll never see deer hanging up at camps or houses I drive past. I'll hear shots at night and then magically the next day in that direction I'll see a deer or two hanging somewhere that weren't there the day (sometimes night) before. I do know poaching is a little engrained in the culture. I'm wondering if it's something you've noticed.

If you're curious I live in VT for now, but am usually meh about hunting it. I go to Maine every year, usually CT, and sometimes NH. I've walked some down in VT, but passed as I'm not dragging out a little guy for a long ways. No luck in ME. I just stand hunt NH and CT. Funny story. Last year in ME I tried out this new to me land trust property. I deer hunted and flushed over 20 grouse with extremely little deer sign. The next day I took my shotgun, didn't see a grouse, but could have shot 3 different deer. It was absurd.

 

[summs]

VT is ROUGH. I'm guessing you're hunting the NEK. I go there or some gross areas in the GMNF. The one time I found actual good sign in the NEK I scouting I went during season. I counted 20 guys in about 80 acres. LOL. That was in Nullhegan.

Honest question. Do you hear shots at night? I'll never see deer hanging up at camps or houses I drive past. I'll hear shots at night and then magically the next day in that direction I'll see a deer or two hanging somewhere that weren't there the day (sometimes night) before. I do know poaching is a little engrained in the culture. I'm wondering if it's something you've noticed.

If you're curious I live in VT for now, but am usually meh about hunting it. I go to Maine every year, usually CT, and sometimes NH. I've walked some down in VT, but passed as I'm not dragging out a little guy for a long ways. No luck in ME. I just stand hunt NH and CT. Funny story. Last year in ME I tried out this new to me land trust property. I deer hunted and flushed over 20 grouse with extremely little deer sign. The next day I took my shotgun, didn't see a grouse, but could have shot 3 different deer. It was absurd.

Poaching is a NE staple, baiting, road hunting. When I lived in Maine, a surprising amount of people shoot moose in the summer, but all were dirt poor and their favorite food was canned moose.

As long as it snows i'd like to head to GMNF, weekend before thanksgiving to thanksgiving. It also depends on how my NJ season goes up to that point. I'm in a drought and looking to do some damage this year on a piece of private that may be turning into townhouses sooner instead of later.

Im also meh about hunting VT, but it's an easy drive up 87 for me. I'll be in unit N, P, or L. P has the lowest deer density and least reported per hunter. So, I'll probably be there.

It's between VT or ADK's so I'll probably do ADK's next year. I want to go to Maine every year, but the 9 hour drive makes it logistically difficult. And last time I was there, week before thanksgiving, no snow and it was 71* the Wednesday before... made for a bad trip when you try to plan around snow.

 

[Eleven]

I live in VT and I’d be interested in talking about a ‘daks trip.

 

[JakeZ WI]

Saw Missing 411: The Hunted. The part about the Adirondack hunter who went missing a few years ago was very strange. He was part of a big group and simply vanished...rifle and all.

Same. Ive seen i think all 3 missing 411s, all creepy s***.

 

[JakeZ WI]

Good luck, that is tough hunting. I’ve always thought about heading up for early bear hunting but the drag would suck. Have you thought about packing out the deer? That sounds a lot easier with a large pack and some hiking sticks. I was just there camping this past weekend and it’s way way to easy to get turned around in there and especially scary with no cell service (also don’t watch the missing 411, lol. That’ll make ya freaked out especially in the ADacks).


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Between onx and knowing how to use a compass, and having the inreach that project garmin gps to my phone i hope id not get lost lol. Sleds help a lot but finding people on here to potentially help eachother out is what i was looking for cuz draging a big a** buck over mountains is not gunna be fun if youre successful

 

[Macintosh]

I feel like some of the places folks are talking about that get a bad rap, are only bad if you are anchored in one very specific location, i.e. a small hunting property or one area you know--there is so much variation in numbers and hunting pressure and other factors within any of the areas discussed. At the same time, I also feel like some of the places being talked about are so close together as to not even bother separating them if you are making a week-long trip--I understand there's a lot of real estate between the southern adirondacks and northern Maine, but most of these places above^^ are only a couple hours drive apart, folks in the west would kill to have that much variety just a couple hours away. If you are camping, just decide where to go based on conditions that week. Snow in NH, go to the whites. Snow in NNY, go to the adirondacks. Snow everywhere, go where it's convenient. No snow the week you booked a cabin? Do whatever is the most fun--regardless of whether that is deer hunting, partridge hunting, fishing or flying your darn kite. Just seems like some of the sour grapes that always comes up in this topic is folks trying to force a place to be something it isnt--predictable. And thank your lucky stars for that, it keeps the riff-raff away.

 

[Macintosh]

Poaching is a NE staple, baiting, road hunting. When I lived in Maine, a surprising amount of people shoot moose in the summer, but all were dirt poor and their favorite food was canned moose.

Honest question. Do you hear shots at night? I'll never see deer hanging up at camps or houses I drive past. I'll hear shots at night and then magically the next day in that direction I'll see a deer or two hanging somewhere that weren't there the day (sometimes night) before. I do know poaching is a little engrained in the culture. I'm wondering if it's something you've noticed.

There's a lot I want to say about this that is better done in person. Not intending to justify poaching, just want to point out that there are plenty of folks who are not at all "poachers", but who were taught their ethics and how to do things by their parents and grandparents in a way that maybe is closer to subsistence hunting than recreational hunting, and the transition isnt like flipping a light switch. Maybe some day we all get to share a beer in an adirondack pulloff next to a frosty swamp and discuss both sides of that coin.

Also, I hear shots at night all the time. I have neighbors that like to drive 4wd roads and shoot guns. It's better than TV, and they're a hoot to party with. Also have gotten my own deer back home well after dark many times myself--shoot that deer midday, drag a few miles and drive 30 or 45 minutes, and it's well after dark. I'm sure sometimes it is a poached deer, but I have a hard time saying most of them arent legit legal deer.

 

[TonySkyline]

Same. Ive seen i think all 3 missing 411s, all creepy s***.

I had a weird and scary experience in the Adacks 5 years ago while I was up there camping with the family. I’ve been back to the same spot a few times since and nothing happened but I had no idea about missing 411 until after I had that experience and decided to do some research on the area I was in. Needless to say some of the things lined up with what people say on there. Won’t get into it here but think I posted it on the creepy experiences thread here on rokslide. People do indeed go missing up there as it’s way to easy to get turned around in the thick deep woods. Also a compass will be ineffective in some spots so I’d say a satellite emergency device is a must, especially if you go in alone


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[nomadicbohunk]

I'm replying to a lot here.

In regards to poaching, there are tons of articles here about folks that get caught with 15 illegal bucks and stuff like that. There was one guy I remember who had a yard light at night that turned on from his bedroom with a bait pile. It was going on for years. I can understand the hunting for food thing. I've lived all over and the wealth divide in Vermont is really bad. Plus the cost of living is just insane here. Anyway, a lot of the folks I've been invited to hunt with have shall we say questionable morals when it comes to fish and game laws. Most have money. Multiple groups here with no connection to one another. I'm not talking just shots at night. I hear those in the summer. It's just weird when the dudes with 90k trucks at the camp 1/2 mile from me don't have any deer hanging a couple hours after dark. Then I hear shots in the woods and not from their camp. Then you see a deer hanging the next morning in the dark. I've witnessed that kind of thing at least a half dozen times. I've seen people spotlighting too.

I had a good talk about it out west this year with my game warden buddy. He was telling me all about cultural poaching and how hard that makes things in some areas. I work in natural resources, so yeah. I've seen some stuff.

Anyway....not trying to be grumpy here. I see where you're coming from and I hope you see where I'm coming from. I was just wondering if it was just me noticing those things. I don't think everyone poaches or anything like that. It just seems rather prevalent. Like I had a stranger I just met telling me about how he baits bears in VT. WTF...dude, you don't know me. Again, not a poor guy.

Back to hunting.

In VT I usually fart around over in the E units and mostly hunt in I. E is tough because of lack of good camping options.

For the record I have no joke seen more moose than deer in VT. I can take you to a spot in I that's loaded. Last year my partner went for a hike with me when I was after grouse during the moose rut. We scared 6 in about a mile. E is thicker with them in general. I always see a couple there.

As for deer, if I really wanted to shoot something I could have, but I'm not going to drag one for miles and call everyone I know for help unless it's legitimately big. Or I'd just hunt by some cornfields.

This year for rifle over in I I'm thinking of backpacking in a day early in VT and setting up camp. I'll go up on this ridge 1.5 miles back in a tree sling and try to get one when the orange army pushes them to me. I've seen actual big tracks there a few years in a row. I'm pretty sure it's an escape route.

One hunt that's really intrigued me is going to the Daks with a kayak or canoe for that early season muzzy hunt. I have the gear, but have always been busy with grouse or fishing then. I was going to do it last year but went tuna fishing instead.

One "bad" thing about New England is there's too much fun to be had in September/October. I have to pick and choose. Go look for mushrooms? Ocean fishing? Archery hunting? Grouse/woodcock? The trout are hitting hard. Bass on Champlain are too. Bear? Ducks? If so, what kind? There's always Salmon/steelhead by the great lakes too. This year my focus in September is going to be baiting bear in NH. I've got photos of some at the site I cleared already and there's nothing out there.