ORIGINAL: jimpok61
[8D] I think NY DEC does a fair to middling job. It's not an easy job by any means so I am not too harsh on them. I saw plenty of deer this year and more bucks than normal. It certainly depends a lot about location. Pressure from urban sprawl has a great deal to do with changing herd structure and patterns. When former bedding areas and food lots disappear deer herds must relocate to a more liveable area that is necessary for their survival. When those situations occur you can see former great areas disappear. The herds are in a transition phase to a new area. Many hunters who have seen dwindling #'s in recent years should look closely as to recent sprawl in their areas. Often you will find that your former great area have indeed been affected by sprawl. I do not think it has as much to do with added permits and recent tough winters as it has to do with these transitioning herds. That IMO is why DEC has a difficult job and is performing probably as well as their expertise permits at this stage of herd management capabilities.
I can appreciate and also agree with your comments about herd transition and fluctuations from year to year.
Let me clarify something here. I am not some guy who went out this year and saw diddly squat so I'm gonna cry that all the deer must be gone. I am talking about a trend that has been in effect for decades. I have watched the numbers slowly dwindle over the last 17 years and my dad will take it back 40 years. We hunt the same areas year after year and we know nearly everyone within a reasonable radius of our usual haunts.
When you talk to 50+ guys in your area and many others at clubs and shops from areas all over the place and they all say the same thing I find it a little hard to accept as just a down year or a transition period. This has been a long time in the making and I just hope this is as bad as it gets.