NY deer hunters

[Shawn Leonard]

How is your season going. I have hunted most everyday and have killed a few deer, but my sightings are down 80% from 4-5 years ago. I have seen a total of 25-30 deer this season and I could do this on one sit about 4-5 years ago. ENCON needs to wake up and manage on a yearly or every two years, not ten like they do now. They are wqay behind the times in many areas. Let me know how it is going for ya this year. Shawn

[swampbuck]

I,ve had only 1 shooting oppertunity this yr and had to pass on her since a nice buck managed to get by me just before that @ 15yrds.He was 1 of 2 shooters I,ve seen all season and it happens both those bucks were the same day.Even if I had a cannon in my hand my shot oppertunities could still be counted on 1 hand....ya it isn't like it was I'm thinkin of taking tomorrow off for a last chance before the cannon come's out

[Puma Tom]

I agree with ya Shawn.
 I have not seen much, especially bucks.
 And I have not seen hardly any buck sigh, rubs and scrapes.
 Just very little deer movement in general.
 If I had not banged a big muley out west eariler, I'd be venison-less. { with a gun }
 The weather is pretty crapy down here today, so it don't look too good for a bow buck this year.

[Izzy]

In Herkimer, nothing but bear and coyotes.In Rensselaer county more deer there than I have seen in a while.In the Adirondacks, it was bubbling with deer (doe) even though no buck were seen at my camp.So I guess each region has had its own population issues.I think we were spoiled a few years ago before the crash.Now  if only Woodchucker would do a NO RAIN DANCE I could get out thif afternoon before the woods get pounded this wekend.

[Shawn Leonard]

I would agree with Israel, it can be somewhat regional. My son-in-law has some acre-age in Greene county NY and the pop. is exploding, they have not had doe permits in the last 3-4 years though in his area and issued some this year for the first time in those 4 years. I hunt a bow-only area though and their is 12 hunters on about 500 acres and we all see the same thing, very little sign and very few deer and it is not that they have changed their patterns or are real nocturnal like DEC wants ya to believe, they are just not the numbers. I have seen 3 big bucks 115"s or better and had twop of them at 40 yards or less, but that is it. Like Tom said when I am unto deer it is all or nothing, the day I saw the one big buck I saw 11 deer from that stand and two other bucks. I talked to the other hunters at a deer check station and they figure those 11 deer were more than half on that whole 500 acres. It once supported a ten times that. I am lucky enough to have both gun and bow areas to hunt, so I will hunt opening morning with the shotgun, but that is it as there are even less deer in the gun area,but there is a 140"er running around and I may get a crack at him. I will hunt the bow area the rest of the season though. Keep me posted and contact DEC and tell them in areas where the numbers are down not to issue any permits for a few years. By the way I have shot only fawns as not to impact the herd as much and have something for the table. Shawn

[Izzy]

Shawn, the deer I shot with the curve this year was a doe fawn.The smallest deer Ive ever killed and my cousins and I ate all of it in 5 days except for what will be ground up.It was the best venison Ive ever eaten in 25 years.Ill be looking for another this weekend with the rifle.I agree with them being the best choice to put an arhery or antlerless tag on in NY at this time.

[Steve Kendrot]

Playing the devil's advocate here...11 deer on 500 acres is about 15 deer per square mile (640 acres). If you saw half the deer on the property, you are looking at 30 deer per square mile. Taking your comment literally, 10 times that would be 300 deer per square mile, a density rarely reached in the most overstocked urban populations. In many habitats, 30 deer per square mile is about as high as you want to go before herd health and habitat conditions start to deteriorate. I can't remember the last time I saw 11 deer in one day on a single property, much less three trophy bucks in a season. Can I come huntin' with you?!

I wonder...if you and your fellow hunters are only shooting doe fawns on this property, perhaps your doe herd is aging and becoming less productive? Like bucks, once does pass their prime they have fewer fawns and eventually become barren. At this point they are consuming resources that could be going to a younger doe with higher reproductive potential. Do you see a lot of does without fawns?

[ishiwannabe]

I have seen the typical amounts the few, and I mean few, times I have been out. Also a lot of yotes.

[bbassi]

14 bucks, 16 does. shot one doe, passed 4 chip shots at lesser bucks waiting on "HIM"....He never showed. That's OK, we had a ball anyway. Overall an average year for me. I think I would have seen more but the acorns were no-existent here and the deer were hitting the standing corn hard.I'm guessing they just stayed in the corn as much as possible.

[BobW]

Originally posted by bbassi:
14 bucks, 16 does. shot one doe, passed 4 chip shots at lesser bucks waiting on "HIM"....He never showed. That's OK, we had a ball anyway. Overall an average year for me. I think I would have seen more but the acorns were no-existent here and the deer were hitting the standing corn hard.I'm guessing they just stayed in the corn as much as possible.

Deer Snob!   :D

[bbassi]

Originally posted by BobW:
 

Originally posted by bbassi:
14 bucks, 16 does. shot one doe, passed 4 chip shots at lesser bucks waiting on "HIM"....He never showed. That's OK, we had a ball anyway. Overall an average year for me. I think I would have seen more but the acorns were no-existent here and the deer were hitting the standing corn hard.I'm guessing they just stayed in the corn as much as possible.

Deer Soob!   :D  [/b]

Dude - Use spell check!

you better be nice or I'll have to go pee all around your stand....again.      

[swampbuck]

Hey Brent ya can't count the one's ya see from your pick up LOL

One of my buds whom I've been callin "horseshoe boy" shot a nice doe up north on last yrs tag than a nice buck on the opener here followed by a doe a week later and just yesterday he had a buck that made his 153" 10 pt look sm only 25 yrds away go figure

[3dmuzzy]

Shawn,Same here I have been out almost every afternoon one shot at a doe,I'm in the QDM area the third year.I see less bucks now than before.One spike and a four point walked by they have to be three one one side.Yet on the way to work I leave at 3.30am I see over 30 deer a day on my 1\\2hr ride.Also the state land by me has only one or two cars in it,even on weekends.Just not seeing the numbers or good bucks I thought I would after three years of QDM I hunt 3c and 3j good luck the rest of the season...ED

[swampbuck]

Well guys good luck to anybody taking one more last chance Fri before the gun opener Sat.
I,m gonna give it one more go round tomorrow hey ya just never know at least I know there's a 160+ and a 130+ still kickin and the booner that was seen spot lightin was within a mile of me so heck maybe even he could show up.....wake up mister LOL yea it could happen hahahahah those are legit bucks seen in my area by either myself or one of my buds

[recurver]

I have hunted Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie Counties pretty hard. Number sightings way down. 12 deer, 1 small spike. No shot ops.


Bryan

[recurver]

Oh yea Tom I will be out all day tomorrow. Last chance before gun season, atleast until late season..Good luck..


Bryan

[Stone Knife]

Here in western NY I have had what i consider a above average season at spotting deer. When i take into consideration that i have spent most of the season in a ground blind. Also the under story has stayed green in most areas I'm hunting. Last year i was hunting treestands all season and saw more deer but a lot of them were rifle shots not bow. I will say that I'm seeing a lot more bucks than does and fawns this is concerning me some, but it was also an off year as far as the mast crop is concerned. I tried to switch it up some and hunt different food sources. My go to spots that always came through in the past came up dry this season. Tomorrow I will try one last ditch effort before the army of orange appears on Sat.

[J.Williams]

I live and hunt in 3J and like 3D Muzzy said,I don't see the numbers of deer in some areas that I use to.On the other hand...after 3 years of our QDM program I have definitely noticed an increase in the number of good bucks I've seen this season...and have talked to others who agree.

[md126]

my two cents.... seeing a decent amount of deer but not alot of real qulaity bucks.  LOTS of very young deer though

[cajunbowhntr]

I witnessed the same thing on some property I used to hunt in Miss.Back in the 80's if you didn't see 5-6 deer per hunt it was a bad day.Now you might go 5-6 hunts and not see a deer.One thing you have to remember is a deer hunters and a biologists idea of a good deer population are different.Hunters want to see lots of deer,biologists want to see a deer heard at or below the carrying capacity of the land.Shawn, I would bet that a few years ago the heard was overpopulated in your area from a biologists perspective.Now it isn't an exact science and game managers can be too liberal with doe permits and throw in coyote predation and now your heard is below carrying capacity.So the game manger has to balance a healthy deer population and keep it in balance with the habitat,and keep deer numbers up enough to satisfy hunters,.Not an easy job.


CB