I probably won't be getting up there before Oct 13th, the bow opener. Eventhough I do go out with a bow a couple of weekends a year, I really don't consider myself much of a bowhunter and usually will leave the bow back at the house and prefer to try my luck with the shotgun on turkeys. I am more happy getting a turkey than a deer, especially this early in the fall. This year for the first time I will be getting a muzzleloader to hunt the late season for deer. This will probably be my only shot in getting a doe, since they have not given out any doe permits in my area for the last two years and I did not get one this year either since I didn't have the preference points required. I wish we had an early muzzleloader season like they do in the Adirondacks since I am not really thrilled about stretching the season deep into December right before the Christmas holidays and all. The bowhunters seem to have a s*%t fit over the mere mention of an early muzzleloader season, however!

Since you admit that you are not much of a bowhunter, I will try to explain why most are against it. In spite of the fact you choose to insult bowhunters with masked profanity ( a rules violation by the way - a family site with many minors ).

First of all, while I consider my self a bowhunter, I equally enjoy all 3 big game southern zone seasons and hunt them all. Use an inline for both reg and the mz season - as effective as most slug guns.

Success in bowhunting - especially higher pressured land - is greatly enhanced by being able to hunt a relitively undisturbed herd.
We are allowed to hunt with bows in the regular season, but unless you have a large parcel of private, controlled access land, your chances of connecting are slim at best. An early mz season in the southern zone would soon resemble the pressure encountered in reg season and effectively shut down successful bowhunting for several weeks.

That is the reason most bowhunters resist putting a rifle(modern mz) season in the current bowseason. Unless a legitimate reason for herd management was to develop, I hope the seasons I enjoy remain seperate.

Steve

Hmmm... Not sure where the "insult" was there, one might have read that as a ribald colloquialism at worse, but without question, on the friendly side. I guess there's room for wide interpretation in the World Wide Web...

Friendly? I agree - wide interpretation would be needed to consider this friendly.

Sorry that you take that sentence as being unfriendly, but it has been my experience that many bowhunters don't exactly like to share. They already HAVE a lengthy season and many have been pushing to extend it even longer by starting the season on Oct 1's or before in the southern zone. Why not give muzzleloader hunters a week early in the season like they do in the northern zone and many other states? Why do bowhunters think they need the woods to be void of anyone else just because they are hunting? Many get all upset when they see a fall turkey hunter or other small game hunters. Time for many of them to grow up a bit and realize that the world isn't going to stop just because they are in the woods trying to hunt. Available land is dwindling all the time. Pushing away other hunting enthusiasts, just so bowhunters can have it for themselves during their season is not right in my opinion.

Its not about not liking to share - as I explained,its about what the mz season would do to the bowseason. A few turkey or small game hunters will never have the effect that a 2nd opening day gun season would. $129 gets you a mz package "presighted" - 2 pellets and a sabot, 10 buddies and the drive is on. Northern zone is different - lots of state/public land and for the most part, lower pressure (I know there are exceptions). But askbowhunters who hunt both nz and sz where the better experiance is and I would guess most would say sz.

This year sz bow season is aprox 35 days - gun/mz 28 or 29 - not a hugh difference in time and next year bow is cut to like 31 days. Consider the midwest where it is more 2 to 3 months bow and 7 to 11 day gun - and they get the quality bucks without any AR that many NY's feel we need AR for. I am in no way advocating cutting the gun seasons and not all bowhunters are pushing for an earlier opener eventhough the gunhunter harvest is still 2 to 3 times greater then the bow. And as I said, I hunt and enjoy ALL 3 seasons. Just want to keep them seperate.

Steve

This is surely a good thing in my opinion. Just because one can be ready to hunt for a little bit of money shouldn't make them second class citizens as far as being allowed to hunt is concerned. A bow is supposed to be a primitive, simple weapon yet they are costing more than many firearms and have way more gizmos and other contraptions attached to them to make even scoped rifle hunters look like the the ones hunting in a more primitive way! I rather have that $129 package and be ready to go hunting than have a garage full of the bits and pieces of costly equipment needed in bowhunting. Maybe if bowhunters didn't waste all their time buying equipment, tuning their bows, etc., they could be out hunting and getting a deer in a much shorter period of time.

That was not my implication at all - just pointing out how easy it would be for for an early mz season to greatly effect the bowseason.
And you can get into bowhunting for$300 or less - but that has nothing to do with the topic I responded to - which is "why bowhunters would like to keep guns out of the early season."

Instead of discussing the reasons I have given and showing me why you think they are not valid (like comparisons of our seasons to other states), you attempt to put words in my mouth.
Would love to continue the discussion, but see little reason if it continues with statements of whining, selfishness, and accusing me of calling other hunters 2nd class. Civil discussions can be enlightening and educational for both/all - trading barbs just shows character.

Which do you want to do?

..

In the southern zone an early muzzleloader season would have an adverse effect on archery hunting.For the reasons SteveBNY has expressed.I see the archery season as a reward for those who put the time and effort in to practicing and becoming proficient with a bow and arrow.I also muzzleloader hunt in the late muzzleloader season and let's not kid ourselves a scoped inline muzzleloader is practically the equivalent of a single shot rifle as it relates to the typical ranges in which deer are shot in our woods.So yes I am against an early muzzleloader season in the southern zone.
As it relates to city hunters,I am a long time local in the heart of the catskills and where a hunter is from does not matter to me in the least.What really matters is how the hunter conducts themselves.
Now to answer the gentlemans original question there are plenty of places to hunt in close proximity to NYC.There is open land near Stewart airport.There is good hunting off the Taconic Parkway,actually very good,just watch the deer ticks.Plenty of state land land in the catskills but a further drive than STewart or the Taconic.If I an help in any way PM me!