Done. Thanks for taking the time to set it up also

Good to see some positive feedback. Disgruntled hunters tend to dominate the airways but that goes for everything. Our landscape is going full circle and much of our land is reverting back to hardwood forest as it once was. Deer populations change with the landscape and so must we as hunters. We are losing access to private land but NY has many large tracts of state land that are not trampled by hunters if you have the legs and thedesire to hunt it properly. Many hunters are the first ones to post their little piece of woods or lease a larger tract and post it. I stopped hunting a very nice area in SW NY that has become checkerboard hunting camps owned by out of town guys that spend more time patrolling and fighting than hunting. Our deer hunting ancestors would flip if they saw the nonsense that takes place among our own people. I own land that abutts state land and I keep it open. I understand there are problems out there and I have witnessed many myself, but let's look at ourselves as a collective hunting community and stop making excuses and arguments over insurance companies, coyotes, mountain lions, doe permits, etc.

Ihunt other states and my home state of NY is on top for deer hunting.Our pictures over the last10 years compared to the previous 10 years are proof. Same amount of deer killed but size and antlersare getting bigger every year.And many of our recent deer were taken off state land. Back in the days of the orangearmies, we hardly ventured on to state land. I like the way the woods are looking in NY.

Peace.

Isn't that the truth! I find it so funny when guys do nothing but look for people to chase off their land and then complain that they didn't shoot anything. Maybe if they stopped and actually hunted a bit they would have had a shot at a deer? The lower number of deer hunters has been beneficial to the size of some of the deer being taken today compared to years ago. Fewer hunters shooting deer will mean more and better opportunities for those that are still hunting, and NO antler restriction rules are necessary like some seem to insist on. There are negatives to having fewer hunters in the ranks, but I think in general it's just the natural progression of things in this country. Society has become more urban and does not want to waste their time with something like hunting. People want things the easy way, and these kind of people will never be hunters since hunting was never supposed to be easy and a sure thing. It's amazing how many people give up hunting just because they may have not had a successful season. Years ago when deer populations were a fraction of what they are today bagging a deer was NOT an annual event for many hunters, yet they kept going out year in and year out nonetheless. It's a totally different mentality these days. Even those who ARE successful complain because the deer might not have scored enough B&C or P&Y points. Just a big joke these days and very few hunters really have an understanding of what hunting should be all about.

My opinion....I chase people off my land because I spent ALOT of money on it and pay ALOT in property taxes every year. And for someone to sneak on and ruin my hunting is not right. I hunt only mature deer and anyone that goes after mature bucks knows how important it is to have little to no hunting pressure on the deer. It does not take antler resrictions to get big bucks in NYS, that has been proven. It would definitely help though. To me a yearling buck is the easiest deer in the woods to hunt. Taking a buck is not an annual event for me, but it doesn't have to be for me to be successful. I prefer one mature buck every 3-5 years over a yearling buck every year. I think the mentality that a lot of hunters have is that they "Have to get their buck to look macho", even if it is a 4 point. That is the mentality that needs to change in my opinion. Take a doe if you have the tag for it and let the yearlings go. I think I have a pretty good understanding of what hunting should be about and to me it is about managing your deer heard and hunting mature deer. Killing yearling bucks or fawns is not hunting to me.

MJR10, it sure sounds like you want everyone to hunt YOUR way from what you describe. If you don't want to shoot small deer you don't have to, but one shouldn't say that others can't just because it isn't your way of doing things. People hunt for different reasons and one can't say that only shooting large deer should be the only right way. The DEC's responsiiblity is to manage deer numbers and they could care less if the deer that get shot are trophies or not. If they implement antler restrictions statewide it will be just to make some trophy hunters who don't get any fun out of hunting otherwise happy. Other than that they could care less how big the bucks get before they get shot. I have read some of your other posts and you obviously have plenty of deer where you hunt so maybe killing a small deer seems like a joke to you. I would suggest you try hunting some other regions of the state where you might not see any deer for days at a time and then maybe you won't be as critical of these "macho" guys who decide that any deer is a worthy trophy for them.

Steve863...I am just mstating my opinions here. QDM is something that is practiced by a lot of people acrosss the country and the benefits are obvious. You can manage a herd to have deer numbers and quality deer. If you say you go days without even seeing a deer then I would say that NY DEC isn't doing their job, unless their job is to get rid of whitetails in NYS. I am fortunate to live in an area that has a pretty decent population of deer, although it has noticeably dropped over the last 5-7 years. In MY OPINION, allowing rifles, no antler restirctions, 2 bucks per season (bow and gun), and lots of doe tags handed out and being able to sign them over to your buddy, is not a program for success...

Last year about 4000 hunters took 2 bucks - 2% of the 200,000 archery licenses sold.
It is not a statistical harm to overall buck take.
What does hurt greatly is that up to 30% of the "does" (just take a doe?) are button bucks.
Far more bucks would be saved by reducing these numbers then a 1 buck limit or a point restriction targeting the best 1 1/2 bucks,

Steve

You own property and you have the right to restrict access. However you do not own deer or any other wild animal. They are not property and belong equally to all citizens, land owners or not. Thank God for Teddy Roosevelt.

Quote: If you say you go days without even seeing a deer then I would say that NY DEC isn't doing their job, unless their job is to get rid of whitetails in NYS.

Response: The big woods do not naturally have high deer numbers (<5 per square mile). That is mother nature not the DEC.For methere is nothing like hunting the big woods of the ADK, Maine and the other great places in the north country. Hunting hard, putting on many many miles, enjoying the beauty of the true wilderness; and every now and then, getting a crack at areal northern woods giant.

Do not impose your hunting style and needs from your place in Steuben County (which is a great area for deer and bear) on a very diverse state with great hunting opportunities. It is impossible to please every hunter's desire but NY stacks up very high in my book. Hunt the Allegany Mts, Adirondacks, Catskills, Finger Lakes,Mohawk Valley etc. andyou might changeyour outlook.

Peace.

As Newtown said, you should hunt the Adirondacks and some other places in NY and you might get humbled a bit. The DEC's responsibility is to control the deer numbers in the state and NOT to populate all areas so hunters will see no less than 20 or more deer a day. I think if I hunted in areas where I saw that many deer, I would have probably given up hunting altogether! I could care less about antlers and having deer all around me like at an arcade shooting gallery would not be much of a challenge. In general I also think that the DEC does a pretty good job handling things.

I also find your comment about rifle hunting interesting. What exactly is wrong with it in your opinion?