CONS: Depending on the time of year it can take a few weeks to get your custom made stabilizer, but this is expected for a custom made product. Order well before the hunting season.

The DEC has been getting a fair number of questions from sportsmen on the issue and has posted some new information on their website that describes the changes. Here are a few highlights, followed by links to key webpages.

• All Lifetime Licenses and 2008-09 sporting licenses will remain available for the previous fees and with the previous age requirements through September 30, 2009. Remember, 2008-09 licenses are only valid until Sept. 30, 2009.
  
• The minimum age for Senior license types has been raised from 65 to 70.
  
• Hunters currently 65 years or older may purchase a Senior Lifetime Sportsman License through September 30, 2009 for $50.
  
• A new Trapper Super Sportsman license provides all the privileges of the resident Fishing, Small and Big Game,Trapping license, Muzzleloading privilege, and Turkey Permit.
  
• Deer Management Permit Applications will now be free only to Junior Hunting and Junior Bowhunting licenses holders and to holders of Lifetime Sportsman Licenses purchased prior to October 1, 2009.
  
• For those of you that like to fish, a new Recreational Marine fishing license will be required to fish in the Marine or Coastal District or in any other waters when pursuing "migratory fish from the sea."

To learn more, see:

Sporting License Fees
http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/6107.html

Sporting License FAQs
http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/54955.html

Recreational Marine License FAQs
http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/54950.html

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently reminded New Yorkers to keep their distance and not to disturb newborn fawns or other young wildlife as many animals are in the peak season for giving birth or hatching young.

Finding a fawn deer lying by itself is fairly common. Many people assume that young wildlife found alone are abandoned, helpless and need assistance for their survival. In nearly all cases this is a mistake, and typically human interaction does more damage than good. 

"If you see a fawn or other newborn wildlife, enjoy your encounter, but for the sake of their well being, it is important to keep it brief and maintain some distance."

Young wildlife quickly venture into the world on shaky legs or fragile wings. While most are learning survival from one or both parents, some normally receive little or no parental care. Often, wild animal parents stay away from their young when people are near. For all of these young animals, the perils of survival are a natural part of life in the wild. Some will not survive. However, young wildlife that learn these important survival skills are the most fit and usually live the longest.

White-tailed deer fawns present a good example of how human intervention with young wildlife can be problematic. Most fawns are born during late May and early June. While fawns are able to walk shortly after birth, they spend most of their first several days lying still. During this period a fawn is also usually left alone by its mother except when nursing. People do occasionally find a lone fawn and mistakenly assume it has been orphaned or abandoned, which is very rare. In such a case, fawns should not be picked up. In fact, if human presence is detected by the doe, the doe will delay its next visit to nurse. Human scent can also put the fawn at risk by attracting predators to the site.

A fawn's best chance to survive lies in being raised by its mother. Fawns nurse three to four times a day, usually for less than 30 minutes at a time, but otherwise the doe keeps her distance. This helps reduce the chances that she will attract a predator to the fawn. The fawn's protective coloration, near lack of scent and ability to remain motionless all help it avoid detection by predators and people.

By the end of its second week, a fawn begins to move about more and spend more time with its mother. It also begins to eat grass and leaves. At about ten weeks of age, fawns are no longer dependent on milk, although they continue to nurse occasionally into the fall. During August, all deer begin to grow their winter coat and fawns lose their spots during this process.

Should you find a fawn or other young wildlife, If You Care, Leave It There. It may be difficult to do, but this is the real act of kindness and in nearly all cases that is the best thing to do. DO NOT consider young wildlife as possible pets. This is illegal and harmful to the animal. Wild animals do not make good pets; they are not well suited for life in captivity and they may carry diseases that can be given to people. Resist the temptation to take them out of the wild.

One of our readers in the forum recently posted this picture of a buck in his area. Notice how one side of the buck is heavy and the other antler is very weak. There could be several reasons for this, but it is most likely due to an injury the buck suffered on the opposite side of its body.

Tomorrow I'll be headed out to the deer woods after work to change the cards on my cameras and hopefully finding some great pictures when I return home. I'll be sure to post some on the forum.

For those of you who have trail cameras out right now, what have you been getting pictures of?

The weather has been kind of wacky lately and it's been rain, rain and more rain. I haven't had a chance to do much scouting, but my hunting partner has been keeping tabs on the deer. This season I'll have about a half dozen spots in New York to hunt which is a lot more than I usually have. Using Google Earth I was able to locate a few wooded areas and knock on some doors after speaking with a few locals. 

You can tell a lot from the sign left behind by a mature buck and I've keyed in on a few areas that should hold at least one Pope and Young class buck. Right now we have two trail cameras out in the field and are hoping to catch a glimpse of the big boys as their antlers begin to grow. Already there are some bucks with lots of mass and six points - not bad considering it's only June and the deer still have a solid two and a half months to grow! The one good thing about all this rain is that it should help with the acorn crop which was non-existent last season.

I am especially excited about this season because I have been scouting since January and have seen some of the biggest buck rubs I've ever witnessed. I will be using the next 4 months to try and figure out exactly what some of these bruisers are doing in hopes of getting a shot at one once October rolls around. One spot had a 10 pointer pushing 150" roaming the area last year and another spot might have a drop tine buck. We'll have to see what the shows up on the trail cams, but whatever they are, I'll be ready.

One of their latest projects is a documentary of deer hunting in the Adirondack Mountains. They recently release a short trailer to the upcoming movie and it has greatly exceeded my expectations. This film will be put together extremely well with lots of high quality footage and in depth knowledge from local hunters who have hunted the mountains for generations. 

This is one video that takes a different look at hunting and isn't about the kill - it's about the experience and the tradition. The documentary even goes back to the days when Native Americans lived as one with the whitetail deer and shows how the whitetail played an extremely important role in everyday life. 

Check out their trailer and let us know what you think. This will be one upcoming release I'm looking forward to purchasing.

As the Grand Prize winner, Jeff will receive a backpack from Beyond Backpacks and a Photo Fan from Skip Enterprises. Our runner up winner gets a Photo Fan from Skip Enterprises as well as a pack of G5 Montec 100g broadheads and a camo G5 Outdoors hat. 

Congratulations again to this year's winners from all of us at NYBowhunter.com. Check back soon for additional details on our next contest.

Turkey season has come to an end and although I was not successful this season, we had two successful bowhunters in this year's Turkey Contest on the NYBowhunter.com Forum. Now it's up to you to determine the winner! Here's the story behind this year's contestant's birds:

(1) SPYSAR - this bird weighed in at 19 lbs., had 7/8" spurs and an 8 1/4" beard. Spysar had been scouting prior to the season, but hadn't been able to scout as much as usual. The day before the opener he was out at 5:00 am listening for birds and trying to figure out where exactly to set up on opening morning. Some of the birds seemed to be nomadic and didn't roost in the same trees night after night. Opening day brought strong winds and drizzle, not the ideal conditions, but not enough to keep this hunter from entering the woods. After three owl hoots in the morning the Tom let out a gobble from the roost and the Spysar got set up. It only took a few soft yelps for the gobbler to go crazy. When the bird flew down from the roost it actually flew away from Spysar, but after a bit more calling it was clear this Tom was coming in. The bird finally closed the distance and was within 30 yards, but Spysar knew the decoys would bring him in closer. At 12 yards he took the shot and the bird was done. It was Spysar's firth season in a row in NY with a bow killed Tom!

(2) CAPTJJ - this Adirondack bird weighed 20 lbs., had 7/8" spurs and an 8" beard. It was around 11:00 am on the 13th of May when CaptJJ took his first spring bird with the bow. With a little "running and gunning" CaptJJ got a few responses, but wasn't able to get set up in time. Around 8:00 am he decided to change tactics. He would head to a spot he knew the turkeys were using. With his blind set up he began softly calling. After two hours in the blind not a single turkey showed up. Then CaptJJ thought he heard a distant gobble. A few minutes later he could tell the bird was getting closer. Once the bird was within 100 yards CaptJJ stopped calling. Then he heard the bird spitting and drumming behind the tent. When the Tom finally stepped into view he was merely 12 yards away. The arrow hit its mark and CaptJJ had his second bird of the season!

Well it's going to be a tough vote these birds are very close in size and the hunts were both great stories. So who will you vote for, SPYSAR? or CAPTJJ?

PROS: super fast, easy to shoot for a speed bow, 80% letoff.

CONS: heavy bow at 4.4 lbs., short 6" brace height.

Matt McPherson, owner of Mathews, is no stranger to the dual cam system. In fact, Matt McPherson designed the Eliminator which was the fastest dual cam bow of its time more than two decades ago.

The first thing I thought when I saw this bow was, "man, this thing is ugly." But don't let its looks deceive you, this ugly duckling is both fast and easy to shoot. I've been a long time Mathews shooter and am a big fan of the draw cycle on single cam bows. I've shot other dual cam bows such as the Hoyt Alphamax and Hoyt Katera and speed bows like the Elite GT500 and Bowtech 82nd Airborne so I had an idea of what to expect from the McPherson Monster. I was, however, pleasantly surprised with the draw cycle of this bow. 

Speed bows typically have aggressive draw cycles and the Monster was no exception. It's draw cycle, however, was different. I noticed the bow peaked rather quickly on the draw and then quickly fell off into the rock solid wall - no need to worry about letting up a little and having your arm ripped off which was a welcoming surprise. 

Upon release of the arrow all I saw was the fletching of my arrow buried deep into the target. This is a very fast bow. I was shooting my standard 405 grain arrow, the same as I use for hunting, and was easily reaching the 300+ fps range. That's at least 25 fps more than I'm getting out of my single cam Drenalin.

Aside from the roller guard, harmonic dampener and grip on this bow there's not much more to let you know it's a Mathews. This bow features the new harmonic stabilizer which helps eliminate a different range of vibration frequencies than the harmonic dampener, split parallel limbs, the AVS Dual Cam, 80% letoff, draw weights from 40-80 lbs. (in 10lb increments), draw lengths from 25-30 inches (in half inch increments), a weight of 4.4 lbs., an ATA of 33.5" and 6" brace height. 

The model I shot at the shop had the Mathews Dead End String Stop on it which helped reduce some of the vibration on this bow. If you want a fast bow I would highly recommend giving the Mathews Monster a try - it might just surprise you.