As the first of May approaches turkeys hunters across the great State of New York are making their final preparations before opening day. As the last week of scouting quickly comes to an end, Team NYB is getting out to check a few more spots,  roosting birds to put ourselves in the best possible situation come Saturday morning.

I hope everyones blood is boiling as much as ours for this upcoming season. Please keep checking up as we will be rolling the cameras all season long to bring you right inside the blinds with us. Keep sending in your pictures and sucess stories as we will share our trials and tribulations in the feild with all of you.

Good luck to all and remember - hunt hard it's the only way.

April 24, 2010 will never be forgotten for BIG WILL. It wasn't long before he was starring right down his barrel at his very first turkey kill.


This day would have never happened if it wasn't for the owner of Buckaroo-Stoo, Jim Filardi. Will and Team NYB would like to thank Jim for allowing us to experience superb calling and his beautiful properties.


Before Will knew it, Jim called in two jakes that seemed to be on mission - one of those missions ended with a solid 35 yard shot that Big Will put on the jake!


Jim Filardi & Big Will


Team NYB member Michael DeRosa and Big Will


Here is our buddy Neddy Spaghetti with Jim Filardi and NYB member Marc Alberto. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperating for Neddy and he wasn't able to see any action on Sunday. I am sure Neddy will have no problem calling in his own long beards in the future.

Once again Team NYB would like to thank Jim Filardi, Big Will and Neddy Spaghetti for allowing Team NYB be a part of 2010 Spring Turkey Youth Hunt.

Video of hunt will be coming soon, please check back to watch Big Will in action.

Team NYB will be out this weekend filming some youth hunts. We hope that many of you will also be introducing a youth to our sport and enjoying the time afield with them. Get ready for some video starting in May.

Here's the info from the DEC website:

The Youth Wild Turkey Hunt is an excellent opportunity for junior hunters (ages 12-15) to spend time afield with experienced adult hunters gaining the necessary knowledge and skills to become safe and responsible members of the hunting community. We look forward to the great stories and pictures we receive from young hunters and their adult companions and wish everyone a safe and enjoyable hunt.

The Youth Wild Turkey Hunt weekend will be held April 24-25, 2010

Other details of the youth turkey hunting weekend are as follows:

Eligible hunters are youth 12, 13, 14, or 15 years of age, holding a junior hunting license and a turkey permit.

All youth hunters must be accompanied by an adult, as required by law for a junior hunting license.

Youth 12 or 13 years of age must be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian or relative over 21 years of age, with written permission from their parent or legal guardian.

Youth 14 or 15 years of age must be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian or an adult over 18 years of age, with written permission from their parent or legal guardian.

The accompanying adult must have a current hunting license and turkey permit. He/She may assist the youth hunter (including calling), but may not carry a firearm or longbow, or kill or attempt to kill a wild turkey during the youth hunt.

The youth hunt is for spring turkey hunting only and is a two day weekend hunt. The youth hunt will always precede the start of the regular season by at least 3 days and is available wherever the spring turkey season is open.

The bag limit for the youth hunt is one bearded bird. This bird becomes part of the youth's regular season bag limit of two bearded birds. A second bird may be taken beginning May 1st.

All other wild turkey hunting regulations remain in effect.

Well it's that time of year again - Turkey Season! The birds have been gobbling for a few weeks now and this weekend kicks off the 2010 season with the Youth Hunt.

This year we have another exciting turkey hunting contest that we encourage everyone to join - its free!

We will have two winners - the Jake Award and the 'Ol Tom Award. Each winner will be selected by the readers of NYBowhunter.com through a poll at the end of the season. Prizes will be awarded to the winners from sponsors such as BuckarooStoo, Posten Stabilization and we're also giving away some Team NYB shirts!

Sign up today by visiting the NYB Forum: http://nybowhunter.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=contests&action=display&thread=736

On a recent scouting trip in Putnam County a friend of mine encountered a couple of good looking toms near his hunting grounds.

Based on these photos it looks like the toms are ready to perform and show the hens what they got! From the looks of things our friend will definitely see some action come opening day.

We recently put out some trail cam pics in front of our blind to see if we could get some more pics of the birds we have been watching from the truck and we were pleasantly surprised to see them continuing to use the area. This photo with the three strutting Toms is right in front of the blind we'll be sitting in opening day. Hopefully we can get a few birds within 20 yards and let some arrows fly!

Check out this awesome turkey sent in by one of our readers. I've heard of white turkeys before, but I've never seen one myself. This bird is from our very own State of New York not too far north of New York City. I know if I saw one of these birds I'd put an arrow through this color phase turkey and get it mounted. What an awesome bird!

It's coming down to the last few weeks of shed hunting as the woods begin to come alive and rapidly fill with new growth. The trees and shrubs are coming into bloom and the woods are filling up quick. One of our readers sent in this pic of a few sheds found this season. It looks like there's going to be at least one really big buck next season. Good luck to those sticking it out for the last few weeks of shed hunting season.

A Fort Ann man faces dozens of charges following an investigation into illegal trapping and stolen traps by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Lawrence G. Travers, 28, has been charged with 28 counts of petty larceny and one count of criminal possession of stolen property, for allegedly stealing traps earlier this month. The offenses are all misdemeanors, punishable by up to $1,000 in fines for each count and/or one year incarceration.

The case began when Environmental Conservation Officer (ECO) Steve Gonyeau received a tip from a concerned trapper who reported there were several traps "iced in" along the Tow Path Canal area in Kingsbury. ECO George LaPoint assisted and chopped eleven body gripping traps and one leg hold trap from 16 inches of ice. Required name tags revealed the identity of the trapper as Lawrence G. Travers.

The officers then received calls from several local trappers who reported upwards of thirty traps stolen, all in the same vicinity where Lawrence Travers had been trapping. Officers Gonyeau and LaPoint patrolled to Travers' residence in Fort Ann where the stolen traps were located.

In addition to the larceny charges, Travers was also issued tickets for failure to check traps as prescribed by law, failure to remove lawfully trapped wildlife and 28 counts of illegally removing lawfully set traps. Each trapping-related violation carries a penalty of up to a $250 fine and/or 15 days in jail. Travers is scheduled to appear in Kingsbury Town Court on April 14.

"Most trappers pursue New York's furbearers in a legal and humane manner and we support the legitimate trapping public," said DEC Region 5 Law Enforcement Captain Lawrence DiDonato. "However, there are always the relative few who trap illegally and have no regard for the property of law abiding trappers."

Rick Vladyka, Washington County Representative to the New York State Trappers Association, and Secretary of the Mid-Hudson Valley Fur Harvester, said: "The state and local trapper's associations whole heartedly support the efforts of our ECO's. Their vigilance and determination to enforce the Environmental Conservation Law has once again proven to benefit the very people who have endured public scrutiny brought about by the actions of criminals. We have gone to great lengths to educate, inform, and justify the need for lawful trapping. It is our position to condemn the illegal and unethical comportment of poachers, thieves, and trespassers. These are the very people who claim to be among our ranks, and whose claims have not recognized by legitimate trappers. We thank all of the ECOs who handle the countless complaints in Washington County for your support and determination in keeping law enforcement's presence known throughout the field."

Anyone with information regarding illegal hunting activities is urged to contact the DEC Turn in Poachers & Polluters (TIPP) line at 1-800-847-TIPP (7332).

Contact:
Lori Severino (518) 402-8000

As I set out this March after all the snow, I was very eager to get my hands on a few good sheds from some of the bucks that were in the area. What I found was very disappointing to say the least. This 8 pointer would have been a great buck by next season.


He had it all - good mass and great character. It's a shame this buck didn't make it. I don't know the exact reason for his death and I don't want to make any assumptions but the ugly truth is that these things happen in the wild.


After being discouraged about that buck I kept my search going, only to come across two more dead bucks. A small 4 pointer and a 6 pointer that with some age would have been another great buck.


It's just a shame and very discouraging that this is what I discovered while in search of next years shooter but that's just the ugly truth.

Week two of managing our new property lease in Duchess County, NY has team NYB fired up to put our sights on some big Toms! With a second natural ground blind now up and running, we are confident that we are well prepared for the coming spring Turkey season.