Hey there...

I just got back home to Virginia yesterday afternoon and had a great time in upstate NY seeing all the relatives. My brother-in-law introduced me to a bunch of buddies of his and we all talked about hunting. Also, my wife's younger brother and his friends were talking to me about hunting.

I am curious about coming up next season and going hunting on my brother-in-law's farm and also looking into the DEC state lands around NY. I didn't want to get in on the "NYDEC is a joke" thread, because it looks like it is turning into a flame war.

Here are some facts if you are curious:

Present home: Richmond, VA
Originally from: LaGrangeville, NY (Dutchess Co. - right near Poughkeepsie).
Family had a summer cottage: Lake Ozonia (St. Regis Falls area, bordering Franklin Co. and St. Lawrence Co. - Northern Adirondacks, back in the 70's).
Immediate family still in NY: Hyde Park, NY... Millbrook, NY... (still Dutchess Co.) and my oldest sister/bro-in-law/elderly mom just bought a 125 acre farm in Brookfield, NY in Madison Co. south of Utica).
Relatives, cousins, aunts/uncles, etc: Auburn, NY... Weedsport, NY... Port Byron, NY... Rochester, NY... and a few other places I can't remember.
Wife/wife's familyis from: West Seneca, NY (Erie Co. -suburb of Buffalo)

Anyway, I had such a great time up in upstate NY this past week visiting relatives. We were in Buffalo with my wife's family, and then in Brookfield at my sister's big farm. It is really beautiful up there! Lots and lots and lots of snow, which is a far cry from what we get here in Richmond, VA!

You guys up in NY can hunt on Sundays, which is great. Here in VA we still have that stupid, colonial "blue law" thing, like a few other states and it is utterly ridiculous! [:@]

If I went hunting up near my sister/bro-in-law's big farm, the state DEC land area thing is labelled"7M" whatever that means. Do any of you NY hunters hunt around that area?

I am not looking to get into a flame war, but just want solid advice for coming up to hunt NY for a change of pace next season.

Thank you!

Butch A.