Basic Hunting Questions/your opinions

I finally found out where we are moving after it being up in the air for a year. Burlington VT. The hunting there doesn't sound amazing, but I'm going to really like the Adirondacks. My girlfriend is excited because she spent a lot of time there in the past.

We might buy an acerage, so I'll probably dink around there with a bow. We'll be around long enough to justify buying a place.

I'm early 30's and have worked/lived/hunted all over the west. I'm from a ranch in Nebraska. A crusty old rancher near Patagonia AZ once told my ex girlfriend (he was a family friend), "That boy doesn't belong anywhere east of the Mississippi River. Hell, the Missouri River!" Which is hilarious. I'm an ecologist, but moved to my home state a few years ago for personal reasons.

Anyway, I'm excited to explore a new part of the country. This is all new to me.

After looking at the seasons, etc, I think my big hunt I will look forward to each year will be the early muzzy season in the Adirondacks. If I want meat, there is land in Litchfield County CT I can hunt. It's got a lot of deer. I'm also going to hunt a deer camp in southern Maine every year. It sounds like more of a social thing to be honest. I'm excited to experience it. They don't get many deer. There are also a few large for the areas suburban (I'd call them that) properties I can hunt near Albany and outside of Boston. 20-80 acres each.

I was wondering how all this would play out and what I should take. Some of what I have now I'm leaving at my parent's because I won't have a use for it. Keep in mind, this is a common thing for me after doing seasonal/term jobs for a long time. My dad just likes all the toys I leave. I don't even know who owns what with some of the things. My little brother does the same thing.

I take my hunting very seriously. Because of the move, I took this fall/winter off and just hunted. My girlfriend talked me into it. It was awesome and highly recommended. I got all the western hunting out of my system. I hunted elk, mule deer, whitetails, sharptails/prairie chickens, and guided for antelope. Best time of my life. I didn't even tag out on a single big game animal either.

For optics, should I get a nice pair of small 8 power binos? I have a pair of Swaro big eyes, a pair of 10 power slcs, and a Leica spotting scope. That all sounds pretty useless in the east. I might take the slc's just because, but they're kind of heavy for actual hunting if you don't need them.

For rifles, I'm taking a 6mm Remington Ruger M77 II, a Remington 760 in 3006 (just bought it...had to buy something silly for the move), and maybe a pre 64 model 70 featherweight in 308...that's my dad's but he's told me to take it a few times.

For a muzzleloader, I'm leaving my smokeless NULA. I'm taking a lyman great plains and a CVA accura.

I bowhunt too, so I'm snagging my favorite long bow (a reeeeeaaaaalllllllly good shooting thunderstick mag), and my old compound.

I want to get into bird hunting again. I'm guessing for ruffled grouse you need a pretty short handy gun. I have a silver snipe for that (I'd rather not take it because my dad loves the thing), and a long barreled 11-87 for ducks and turkeys).

A big concern of mine is game retrieval. Usually, I quarter them out and pack them. I have lots of packs, but my favorite right now is a KUIU. I have a feeling it will be noisy in the trees. What do people do or use? I'm not stout enough to drag a deer out 3 or 4 miles solo.

I think I'll kayak in for access. Is the weather usually pretty OK for that during early muzzy? I looked at the climate data and it seemed like it, but my girlfriend was talking like it depends a lot on the elevation.

Any other thoughts? Advice? I'm super excited. I've always wanted to hunt that part of the country. Sorry to word vomit on here, but I'm starting to sort though my stuff and want some advice. I fish a lot too. The fishing in VT sounds a lot better than what I'm used to.

Thanks!