RE: anyone in NY mad about the antler restrictions
Phade, that's what I see. Is it everyone? No, of course not, but on the public land I hunt in the Catskills, most people are 1 day hunters. I stay two days and EVERY YEAR more than half the trucks are gone the second day of regular season. Thankfully, this year I get to hunt private land that my uncle bought.
FH, its simple economics, I don't see why the criticism. Do you pay to go to movies that suck? Do you go to sports games of teams you don't like? Do you donate money to charities which do things you don't agree with? No... so why would I waste my hard earned money for the chance to battle it out with 100 other guys for a spike when I can go to NJ and hunt state land without ever seeing another hunter?
In the last few years, I have gotten creative and picked out smaller plots of state land in different areas around NY and made little trips to them. Unfortunately though, it is not economical for me to scout them effectively enough, so I don't think this little plan is going to go anywhere.
Just like SteveNY's hunter who is happy shooting a spike every year in his examples, this hunter gets to choose how he spends his time and money also. And I am getting tired of wasting it.