9/15/22: Since I came home earlier than I expected, I've decided it's finally time to have a close-up look at the Tug Hill plateau in NY state. My hunting buddy Lew has made an annual pilgrimage to areas a bit south of there for decades hunting pa'tridge and woodcock but the covers are not as productive as they once were. Perhaps I can find him some new options for future hunts.
NY Department of Environmental Conservation (aka "come on man, I gotta shoot something") says that Tug Hill has the best ruffed grouse numbers in the state. In true wild-goose-chase Dan fashion, I'm headed up there on 9/19/22 to do some serious scouting and to introduce Lexi to both grouse and woodcock. She's stumbled upon a a couple of the latter which surprised her greatly when they flushed. Time to connect the dots so she recognizes these are the kinds of birds she should be looking for.
I'll be camping for free at the end of a dirt road just off Rector Rd. in the Grant Powell State Forest a few miles west of Lowville (Sarah Gottesman's birthplace) thanks to a permit from a helpful NY Forest Ranger in the area. Naturally, that will invite some rain but just to make sure, I'll bring my shotgun and buy a hunting license. The main areas I intend to check out are Tug Hill State Forest and Tug Hill Wildlife Management Unit. Best to get any hunting and/or scouting done before the lake-effect snows fly (average of 133 inches annually).
So, if we get any birds, I can say it was a hunting trip. If we only see but don't get any birds it was a scouting trip. If we don't see any birds at all then it was a classic Dan trip.
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