Huntin Samsonville/Olive and the last two years have been real bad. Over here its a direct result of the gypsy moths. This year they were bad but last year they destroyed everything. Trees produced almost no acorns.
Last year only saw 5 does during rifle season, compared to twenty and thirty in a single day in previous seasons. Last year when hunting it was completely silent, to the point of being eerie. No turkeys, no squirrels, no chipmunks, simply silence. Basically no deer or wildlife to speak of and we usually have one ofeverything that lives in NY somewhere on theproperty(large tract bordering public lands).
Good news is that this year the moths were bad but they seem to be on the wane. Turkeys have been frequent visitors and even have a few squirells again. Grouse have been abundant and I have even seen two bucks in the daytime earlier in the year on the ATV's, a 3 or 4 pt and a 6pt while still in velvet. Normally only see them at night or while hunting. Been seeing lots of does and fawns so as far as I am concerned its alreadymuch better than last year. Hope it will be for the rest of you too.Going to start doing some QDM in the future to see if it helps hold the animals and provide better insurance in the future in case of another poor mast crop. Good luck.