That's why I refer to "QDM" as Questionable Deer Management!Crazy unnatural amounts of food, vitamin supplements, killing doe like crazy to keep a close ratio and intense competition during rut, "harvest plots", antler restrictions....all to make it EASIER to kill a whopper buck. If easier is what you want, then just get a bait pile and shoot them at night with a rifle. I wasn't aware that we were supposed to keep making it easier to bag big bucks. If I kill a couple of truly big ones in my entire life, they will be very special and hard earned deer that occured naturally and didn't get big on my steroid plot behind the barn. Also name any QDM'er that reccomends maintaining less than 10 owdpsm on their property, but that is what we have in our SGL's and that is supposedly some of the best habitat around. They are a bunch of hypocrites if they support the PGC plan.

Sorry...I know this is your NY thread, but I hope for the sake of you New York state hunters that you can fight off the impending storm. Don't let them do what they did here. Future generations of hunters will curse you for it. Write and call your legislators, unite your sportsmen's clubs and do everything in your power to fight it. Demand accountability for every claim they make concerning herd health/ habitat, and demand that your voices be heard concerning the direction of deer mgt. No doubt that the Audubon and tree huggers are attempting a takeover there as well.

well right now they did a test one in the Catskills,and the DEC ,they said that in order to make it state wide,they need less the 20% against it.right now they dont have that few,i have hunted all my life in ny and never heard of it,you cant have 20% if nobody has heard about it.

I dont get why they dont just make shooting spikes illegal for anyone over 18... A leagal buck should be 2 points on 1 side or more... I see so many spikes in the back of trucks every year.

Here in CNY, 55% of the 1 1/2 year old bucks are 3 pts or better.
Probably 80% are 2 or more.

Why would you ever want to target these and protect the 20% - makes no sence at all.

Steve

Since when does shooting bigger deer have only to do with dollars? Hard work will find big deer anywhere. The guys who kill big bucks in NY arent doing it behind high fences, are they?

I am against AR in NYS I would go back to one buck per hunter for either ML, archery, or gun. This is the way it was back in the late 70's. One buck with any weapon and you are done for the season. Ohio has no AR but you are only allowed 1 per per hunter and Ohio has some pretty good bucks. If some one thinks a spike is a trophy then let him shoot it but thats his buck for the year.

Wasn't really that way in the late 70's. Maybe you were allowed one buck between the ML, archery and gun tags, this I can't verify since I hunted with gun only back then, but one was also allowed to take an antlered buck on a deer management permit if they so chose. These days one cannot do that with the DMP permit.

The area of NY i hunt has god awful genetics... About 80 percent of yearlings are spikes, and about half of the 2.5 year olds are as well. Been like that for 20 years ( and only like 10 bucks have been killed in that time)

So points based AR would target the best genetics and give a possible lifetime pass to those bads ones you say are there.

Does that sound like a good management idea?

Steve