im from the city, i own no property and i cant go too far up such as the adirondack mountains, does anybody have any advice on any public land that has a good amount of mature bucks, i currently go to 3M (orange county) which has alot of deer, but mostly all doe..... im a meat hunter but i also would love to bring a nice rack home

I honestly don't think you will find public land in the southern tier that holds many mature bucks. Sure some bucks escape a few seasons and could turn up anywhere, but finding will not be easy. There is some public land in several units that have had antler restriction for a couple of years now. Maybe you should look it up. Again there will be some older bucks around but it's not like you will see too many mature bucks in any part of the southern tier.

i hear alot about stewarts in orange county and that is 3m. i believe its in newburg. i hunt not far from there on private land.

Contact the regional DEC office. Ask them for the names of farmers who have reported crop damage and have asked for nuisance permits. I did it here in region 6 and got a half dozen names. I was hunting on private land within a week.

I believe part of sterling forest is in 3m

wow never thought of that

Great Idea!!!! Can't believe I never even gave it a thought! I've been looking for new private places to hunt near Moravia NY and have come up empty, Lots of posted signs, never have (in 30 yrs) seen an "ask" sticker anywhere in NY. Hunted private land last yr there, got sold...Used to hunt near Delhi... most of that land got sold.
State land is OK later in the season but opening day is generally a "war zone"...I go in in darkness, stay low to the ground and don't move or leave till it's too dark to shoot.
Gotten several good bucks that way but still don't like all that lead flying!

I hunt in 4P in the Catskills, and I know a few locals who hunt state land and take mature bucks most years too. They hunt in the Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest and a couple of the other large portions of state land. The thing is, it is not easy hunting. these guys actually pack in and camp for a few days. They are usually hunting pretty high up in the mountains also, so you gotta be in good shape to handle it.

Being in good shape.... I remember that... it sucks getting old

i also hunt in 3M it has MANY deer but alittle amount of bucks. o well i am meat hunter and not a trophy hunter.