Well Atlasman. I gotta say I was reading along with your post just waiting for you to say you hunted in NY, because you definetly sound like all the meat hunters in this fine state of rednecks and city hunters alike. You are ther perfect stereotype of the guy who thinks there are no big deer, or even any deer in the woods simply because you are not knowledgeable hunter.
I also hunt hear in NY, all parts of the state, excluding the Catskills, and can not defend you one bit. Our state had one of the largest and most dense deer herds in the country. I' ve have been fortunate to get out every fri-mon this season, and have passed on several basket racks, and countless doe. I have harvested my share of those small bakset racks in the past, and although I was once filled with satisfaction after shooting one, no longer do I desire to use my tag on anything I feel is an 18 month old deer. It is simply too easy once the know how of hunting really hits you.
There are trophy deer here in new york, and in fact, excluding that monster in the first picture, I have witnessed bachelor groups very comparable to that picture in several areas throughout the state. Did I ever harvest any of those deer I saw? No!, for reasons we all know and have discuused already.
The only advantage I see that Zelazny has over us is that he has access to all the land the deer roam on. Whereas here in NY, most private plots are very small, probably less than 100 acres, and any public land is in fact very crowded, and probably not much bigger than 500 acres anyway, so spots become very limited. And also regarding the special permit topic, there are several areas that I know of in the state, and probably some more as well. Duran Eastman park is one, along with the seneca wildlife refuge. I also believe Montezuma swamp has a drawing. So Atlasman, I know your opinion is very hard to change, as with all the meat hunters, but you should relize that trophy hunting, no matter what part of the country, is more than going out at 8am sitting in your permanent tree stand, coffee in hand, with no regard to the wind, and waiting for " whats brown is down" . Good Luck to you Zelazny, I know it wont be easy.