RE: 2004 NY Deer Harvest Figures...
Farm hunter - well said. And I agree that the harvest will drop by a lot in 2005, for lots of reasons. First, there's just a lot less deer. They will comeback, but it'll take at least 2 years to see the buck harvest rise again in the harder hit areas. Second, like you stated, permits will be way, way down in a number of areas. Antlerless harvest, which has made up the bulk of the harvest for years, will be much lower, probably until the buck harvest numbers climb back closer to average. And then any effect of this winter gets added in.
I think next season will be tough, probably the toughest in a long, long time. Then it will get better quickly, assuming we have "standard" winters and normal non-hunting mortality.
I like the way you worded your post - DEC could not have predicted 2 record winters in a row. Very true, and to their credit they are reacting best they can as they recieve data. I can't ask for more than that.