Big woods hunting in Maine or New York

[rusticbob]

Having hunted both, I would recommend Maine, it has your best bet for snow, but go late in the season. NY has some really stupid gun laws, and the State just outlawed lead bullets anywhere on State property. That means the Adirondacks in total. Do not bring a pistol of any persuasion.
Maine will not let you hunt on Sundays, but they have some enormous bucks. A good friend of mine shot this nice buck in Southern Maine last fall, 230lbs dressed!

 

[Bobbyjoe Surrett]

Thanks guys so I'm calling new York completely off the list. So now to find out about wether or not he can hunt main looks like a call to the DNR

 

[rusticbob]

Don’t neglect to also look at NH, this is a real “sleeper State” Some nice big bucks come out of NH.

 

[Bobbyjoe Surrett]

Heck yea nice bucks. Well I called Maine DNR and had to leave a message maybe they will call me back in a month or so

 

[rusticbob]

If you want to see what tracking bucks in Maine, NH looks like, check out some YTube vids by a family in N. Vermont, it’s called Mountain Deer I believe. Well filmed, the real thing. Good luck

 

[Bobbyjoe Surrett]

I've been watching big woods bucks on YouTube may favorite is hal blood

 

[rusticbob]

I met Hal once at a Sportsman’s Show, he is the real deal.

 

[Bobbyjoe Surrett]

He sure seems to be man I would give everything I own for one of his Remington's. So what part of Vermont has the best hunting in big woods and what about felons hunting with a muzzle buster

 

[CatamountRob]

He sure seems to be man I would give everything I own for one of his Remington's. So what part of Vermont has the best hunting in big woods and what about felons hunting with a muzzle buster

The Northeast Kingdom would be the most similar to northern NH or Maine but much of the Green Mountain National Forest, which runs down the center of the state, would also qualify as “big woods” to most. The GMNF is something like 400,000 acres. The NEK has the Conte NWR and a huge amount of timber company land that the state owns conservation easements on so that it’s open to hunting.
I’ve lived in VT for all of my 57 years but I have no idea about felons hunting with muzzleloaders.

 

[Bushfire]

Very interesting read.

I someday will get to the states to hunt for a nice buck. Really only interested in doing it with a flinter though. Hadn't thought of where but some place that has good hunting, good deer, good history and good people would be a start.

 

[rusticbob]

Catamount Rob is correct about the N.E. Kingdom and big woods. As far as felons go, one of my neighbors sons has a felony conviction, he hunts with a Thompson Center Renegade sidelock percussion gun, the rest of his family use inline rifles with scopes. His father told me he HAD to use it, but he did not elaborate.

 

[Bushfire]

Catamount Rob is correct about the N.E. Kingdom and big woods. As far as felons go, one of my neighbors sons has a felony conviction, he hunts with a Thompson Center Renegade sidelock percussion gun, the rest of his family use inline rifles with scopes. His father told me he HAD to use it, but he did not elaborate.

What exactly is a felony?

 

[Coldaxent]

Having hunted both, I would recommend Maine, it has your best bet for snow, but go late in the season. NY has some really stupid gun laws, and the State just outlawed lead bullets anywhere on State property. That means the Adirondacks in total. Do not bring a pistol of any persuasion.
Maine will not let you hunt on Sundays, but they have some enormous bucks. A good friend of mine shot this nice buck in Southern Maine last fall, 230lbs dressed! View attachment 35078

New York doesn't own the entire Adirondacks. Majority of it is privately owned. Inside the Blue Line, The Adirondack Park, is mostly privately owned.

 

[Bobbyjoe Surrett]

Why the sidelock percussion rifle why not the inline like everyone else

 

[CatamountRob]

Why the sidelock percussion rifle why not the inline like everyone else

I think because of the way our law is written although it’s kind of confusing.

https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/13/085/04017

 

[Bobbyjoe Surrett]

Looks like they guy can use a inline if he wants to must have a bylaw some where else saying that he can't. Don't have that problem in n.c. if it's any kind of a muzzleloader a felon can have it. May have to dig deeper into this one

 

[CatamountRob]

Looks like they guy can use an inline if he wants to must have a bylaw some where else saying that he can't. Don't have that problem in n.c. if it's any kind of a muzzleloader a felon can have it. May have to dig deeper into this one

I’m no lawyer but I think it depends on the in-line, break open guns like the encore with a muzzleloader barrel probably aren’t allowed. That’s why I said it’s confusing.

 

[Bobbyjoe Surrett]

Yea it is. I understood it to say a muzzleloader is legal to have and to use as long as you can't remove the barrel to use another barrel that can fire fixed ammunition

 

[Bobbyjoe Surrett]

Just got off the phone with the Vermont DNR. My friend can have a muzzleloader and also use it during the regular gun season. so I guess Vermont here we come. License for non resident ain't but around 150 bucks so I hope it snows in early November before the deer season opens here in n.c. thanks for all the advice and help guys

 

[rusticbob]

New York doesn't own the entire Adirondacks. Majority of it is privately owned. Inside the Blue Line, The Adirondack Park, is mostly privately owned.

Again I am proved wrong, according to Wikipedia, Adirondack Park is 52% private owned. So I guess if you are hunting on those private lands, you can use lead bullets. Good luck figuring that out!
I loved hunting around the Cedar River flowage, and the Fulton Chain of lakes, but with these new restrictions and CWD restrictions, I will probably pass.