Congrats, and Amen!

Good to hear. Looks like lowering the DMPs last year worked. I saw tons of little ones, yearlings to 1 1/2 yr olds. Didn't see too many older deer, with the exception of the 2 bucks opening week. At least in Randolph. Collins, on the other hand, I've hunted twice there this season, seen deer both times, including a sizable 8 point this past Sunday - no shot, just a bit too far for my Hawken (I put the shotgun away when Regular season opened... using a single shot .45-70 in Cattaraugus County, .54 cal Hawken in non-rifle areas). Didn't have much fun during archery with that ridiculous freak storm hitting us two days before archery opener, which killed opening weekend and the next two after that! Saw quite a few first week of November, including a dandy sized spike, but, no shot.

I'm looking forward to this weekend, a ton of deer running everywhere, and from what I saw this past weekend, they're settling down rather nicely...

Did you see that picture of NY's second largest deer ever on record? A 203 (+/-) from Mansfield? What a beast.... In fact, most of the reports I am getting through the Erie County Federation and the NYS DEC are that the harvest is running above last year a bit. Bucks are about the same, does are a little higher, as expected. What's interesting to note is the buck quality this year. I am not sure about the other Regions, but here in Region 9, many 3.5 - 4.5, even older bucks are being reported and checked in. It may be similar in Region 8, but unsure, yet. I'll know a lot more detail after this Thursday.

And, imagine, such bucks WITHOUT a one buck limit! I thought that the rampant harvest of multiple bucks would have made this harvest this year impossible..... and no increased AR, either!! Could it be the nature or.... nature?? hmmmm