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Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Caledonia, NY
Posts: 773
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RE: Allegany State Park
I wrote an article on that park for Outdoor News. I might be able throw some info your way. I believe I even spoke with a DEC biologist on it.
*EDIT* I hope you don't mind, but I only have my roguh draft. The title and a few tweaks were made to it. I believe it ran shortly before last season. Hope it helps!
Deer[/i][/b] [/i][/b]Hunting[/i][/b] [/i][/b]Allegany[/i][/b] [/i][/b]State Park[/i][/b]: The land of plenty, with plenty of land[/i][/b]
To today"s deer hunter, access can frequently become enemy number one. Many hunters without the keys to private real estate flock to public lands offered in New York, some of which can be great. However, for most deer hunters relying on public opportunities, what they really want is a simple, fair shake. They"ll settle for easy access and just enough space to distance themselves from one another, while holding a realistic chance to fill their tags. Allegany State Park in Western New York"s Cattaraugus County meets that bill, and quite often, becomes a staple hunting ground for many deer hunters.
The Allegany State Park is the single largest individual state park in New York, covering more than 92 square miles, and comprising most of DEC Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) 9S. In translation to deer hunting terms, that means hunters have easy access to over 65,000 acres of land, which just happens to be in one of the continual top-five county producers for total buck and deer harvests in the entire state. The park boundaries share a large portion of the state border with Pennsylvania, drawing in hunters from both sides of the fence. Although the number of deer hunters who hunt the park each year is sizeable, hunter density is surprisingly quite low compared to the considerable vastness of the park. Hunters should have no problem finding a space of their own to cover.
Deer hunters in Cattaraugus County connected on almost 4,000 bucks during the 2005 season, with Allegany State Park WMU 9S averaging 2.2 bucks harvested per square mile. The Total Deer Take in 2005 for 9S was 3.3 deer harvested per square mile. Both numbers largely reflect the lower overall deer population found across much of the state last season, and was compounded by the significant reduction in DMP allocations for the WMU. Despite the lower harvest numbers, Region 9 Senior Wildlife Biologist Tim Spierto still believes the state park to be one of the better places in New York to down a deer.
"It looks as if last year was the bottom of the downward trend. The total population of deer appears to be on the rise in 9S, and we expect to see a slight increase in harvest numbers this season. Even taking into account the lower statistics last year, hunters in the park were still consistently harvesting deer," he said. "Historically, the large area has always been a producer for hunters; the deer might not be the biggest around, but they fill a tag just the same."
Spierto notes the deer within the park are on average slightly smaller in body weight as compared to those on lands surrounding the park. He credits that to the difference in available nutritional resources. Inside Allegany State Park, deer rely strictly on natural forage, which can be limited at times. Deer on lands just outside of the park boundaries have access to endless fields of agricultural development in addition to natural browse. That, the biologist said, allows them to grow larger and develop faster.
Successful deer hunting tactics for Allegany State Park are no different from other public lands with any discernable level of hunting pressure. During the regular firearms season, the general rule of thumb is to get away from other hunters, requiring a longer trek into the woods and marching away from park roads. However, Spierto has recently noticed that a small adjustment in that general rule over the opening weekend by some hunters in Allegany State Park has produced excellent results.
"Many hunters who are successful during the opening weekend actually approach the rule with moderation. That is, they do get away from roads, and do put in some distance from other hunters. Their smart move is to not get too far away from the pressure, and focus on funnels or escape routes that deer will take to avoid those hunters who stay close together, and near roads," he said.
Archery hunters hunting the rut would do best by setting up near buck travel corridors, and paying attention to doe movements. Hunting pressure in the park during the early archery season is much less than the regular firearms season, making it considerably easier to get in close to deer for solid shot opportunities. The late archery season is notably more difficult, as pressure on area deer has been consistent for weeks by the time the season runs.
Muzzleloading hunters are growing group in Allegany State Park. The percentage of muzzleloader harvests from WMU 9S has been on the rise in recent years, mimicking the statewide trend. Those carrying smokepoles should focus on winter food sources, as well as the routes of travel between sources and holding cover for deer. "Many hunters in the park rank the whole muzzleloading season right up there with the opening day of shotgun hunting," said Spierto. "It"s extremely fun to hunt the park in heavy snow cover while having good opportunities to harvest deer with less pressure than the regular season."
Being state ground, Allegany State Park has a few hoops for hunters to jump through, as well as a handful of red tape rules to follow. However, much of what is required is simple for hunters to meet or comply with. Permits to hunt are needed, and are available free of charge at the Park Police headquarters. Be aware that a stamp for each method of hunting the hunter will participate in is required. Unlike other state parks, there is no deadline for application to obtain a permit. The Park Police headquarters are located two miles off exit 19 of Interstate 86, roughly seven miles west of the City of Salamanca.
On top of permit requirements, there are two important rules that hunters should be knowledgeable of when hunting the park. Although rifle hunting for deer is allowed in Cattaraugus County during the regular season, Allegany State Park is restricted to shotguns, which must be plugged to hold only three shells at any given time. In addition, no Sunday hunting, of any kind, is allowed within the park. A spokesperson for the park cited both rules as safety measures to protect hunters, and non-hunting recreational users alike.
There are no defined rules addressing the allowance of treestands within the park, but the spokesperson stressed using common sense in considering their use. "Climbers and other stands that don"t damage the trees are acceptable, but driving steps or large nails into trees to secure a stand is not a good practice, and is frowned upon," the spokesperson said.
Allegany State park has 375 on-site cabins open for rent to hunters during the season, and stemming from their constant use, a friendly tradition between park hunters and DEC officials has developed. "In years past, the DEC manned an official check station housed within the park. A good rapport between the two groups developed, and the DEC removed the check station. Now, DEC officials drive around and visit area hunters at their cabins, checking harvested deer for biological information such as age, sex, and weight. It"s a fun time for both groups; the DEC gets much needed biological information, and everyone enjoys hearing about a successful hunt," said Spierto.
When deer hunters weigh the pro"s and con"s of hunting Allegany State Park, its clear the minor requirements are worth the effort. The large tract of land has easy access with constantly available permits at no cost to hunters, and above all, has quality deer hunting opportunities. "65,000 acres allows many hunters to grab a space of their own, and to boot, the WMU shows signs of a growing population of deer to harvest," Spierto said. "There"s not much more a hunter could ask for in a public setting."
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....I might get stuck taking the family camping on opening weekend to Allegany State Park. They made reservations ata camp site inthe Quaker area. Seems another couple that we always go camping with during Columbus day weekend couldn't get reservations, so she made them the next weekend which is the 13th. The other guy that is going hunts. I don't want to go but the wife won't go without me, but she wants to go for the kids!
I convinced the wife not to go camping and I'll take my 11 y/o son hunting with me. I'm going to camp instead of Allegany! It's sooo much easier to go to camp becasue I have my stands all set and I know eactly where to hunt. PARTY!!!!!
