I don't know if I am crazy but I have always been able to pattern southern deer better than northern deer. I don't know if it is because population,food sourse or size of land but maybe it's just me?

Are you talking about southern zone deer versus northern zone deer in NY...or NY deer versus Alabama deer?

Sorry I ment deer in NY.

For one I think the differences in seasons between N. Tier, and S. Tier plays a big part, 2nd your specific hunting grounds can make alot of difference also. For me I find N. Tier a little easier to pattern during archery. Mainly becasue the deer are still pretty much hitting the latest fall food sources. Find a small apple spot, or nut tree, and wham they move to it very well. I've found in the S. Tier as bucks start feeling their oats things change quickly, and you have to stay on top of things to keep up on patterns. From doe hiding from roaming bucks, to bucks scraping, fighting to full rut. It can keep racking your brains. On top you never know where that buck you saw in August is come Nov.
I can tell you I've seen some different characteristics between the two. For one the S. Tier deer in my area, are big string jumpers. I have to always remember to aim a little lower. N. Tier thats never been a problem. Either way its all good, and I enjoy bowhunting them from late Sept. through Nov.

for me, Southern tier is my primary hunt...

Southern tier deer are generally smaller than the northern counterparts in wieght (as far as ive noticed) but are generally much bigger in mass and rack size where i hunt. a good northern tier deer (buck) for me is anything with horns, southern tier it is a big 6 atleast. I think that the sparseness of deer in N Tier play's a major role too...(harsh winters)

To be honest...I've never hunted deer in the northern zone, but from what I hear its pretty tough. As far as the southern zone goes...the woods down here might not be as large as they are up north and we tend to have a greater number of deer PSM, but the deer are far from easy to pattern during open season. I guess it all depends on what age class of deer you're talking about...its no doubt easier to "kill a deer" in the southern tier. The deer may be more visible throughout the year here in the western finger lakes region, but they probably see more hunting pressure than deer in any other area in the state and that tends to change their daily habits in a hurry. They always seem to be on full alert...especially the mature does...even during bow season. After the orange army invades the woods for a few days...the deer (especially the mature bucks) seem to simply vanish. It takes some serious drives to get them up and moving again. Like BuckAlley mentioned...alot of it has to do with the amount of hunting pressure on the property that you hunt.

One of my favorites past-times during the summer is to drive around and video bucks in velvet before dark/with a spotlight. I go out several times a week from mid July-September and get a pile of great bucks on video every year, but there will be several bigger bucks in the area that I will see only once or twice a year. It really ticks me off because I know that they're around and want to get video of them but they are just too good at staying out of sight even with hunting season still months away. If it wasn't for the rut I have no doubt that these bucks would go through the entire hunting season without beeing seen. Northern zone or southern zone, big bucks are true masters of survival and can be next to impossible to pattern effectively.

I believe that the "deer are bigger in the Adirondacks" is a myth. The deer in both the northern and southern zone are of the same borealis subspecies...the bucks taken in the northern zone are on average just older than they are in the southern zone. There's not that big of difference in latitude for Bergmanns Rule to make much of a difference. Most bucks that people associate with "nice" around here are only 2-3 yrs. old, dress out 140-160 lbs. and have several yrs. of growing left. Most mature 4-5 yr. old deer in my area will dress out at 200+ lbs. prior to the peak rut...the problem is very few bucks are able to make to this age class. Friends of mine from college who hunt exclusively in the northern zone (Essex, Lewis, St. Lawrence counties) says that they're nicer bucks will weigh about the same at 170-190 lbs. Having a quality year round food source makes all the difference in body weight / antler size. I'd say that the southern zone has the advantage in this department.

I think that the difficulty in pattering has more to do with the terrain you are hunting than north or south. I hunt in the Catskills, and becuase the land is difficult and the deer densities are very low, patterning is very tough. I know the Adirondacks are the same way, but even more difficult. I have hunted other places in NY, southern and western NY, where is was rolling farmland, and the patterning was much easier.

The only time I find that I get somewhat of an advantage in patterning the deer is when we get an early snowfall during archery. Snowfall during rifle does nothing because the deer are already spooked, and snowfall in the winter doesn't accurately show you what they are doing during the fall because they are yarded up.

Couldn't agree more. At the camp I belong to in northeastern Essex County, the lay of the land makes it pretty difficult to pattern anything. We do seem to have a lot of deer; it's just that most of the ones we see are does during rifle season.

OK my 2 cents. I hunt all over NY state from Long Island (RCA and Brookhaven) to the Adirondacks (Old Forge) to the Hudson Valley (Kinderhook) to Western NY (Bath) for whitetails and spend 20- 25 days a year hunting them. Without question the most difficult to pattern are the big brutes in Northern NY (Old Forge). Success rates are terribly low for my hunting group - not that harvesting a deer is any true measure of a good season. I'm confident that I will harvest all I am legally allowed during any deer season in other parts of the state so I tend to hunt up North with a Trophy getters attitude. Of the 5 people I hunt with up there we have scored on 2 nice deer in the past 4 years. Thats 25 man days a year times 4 years - 100 man days of hunting for 2 good deer. Pitifull harvest rates but they were Enormous deer.....on the flip side we have had to curtail harvesting of deer in other camps/properties because we shot so many on the first 3 days of Southern Zone hunting. There is only so much venison you need every year... I wish I knew WHY everything was so different. We hunt high, long and hard where ever we go. Obviously deer densities are different and those woods up North are vastly different from the other areas I hunt. No quads allowed, and you can literally walk for days without hitting a road or seeing another hunter. God...I still love it up there though.

i only have access to the southern part so idk and probably thoe mtn bucks are probably hard tto finde