Antler Restrictions in New York
 

someone told me the Antler Restrictions in New York where the deer have to have 3 points on one side to shoot them, is being made state wide or at-least more areas being added...I looked this up but couldn't find any info about it. Anyone know if the whole state or more areas are going to be added?

Here are the new dmu's listed ... its not state wide but they added new zones

listed areas 3a, 4g, 4o, 4p, 4r, 4s and 4w as the seven new antler restriction units for 2012.

I think this will increase the number of quality deer in a few years, but does the NYS DEC really think that it will cut down on the number of deer taken overall. You are still going to have the same amount of deer taken because the DEC does not have enough officers out in the field to enforce the regulations. It is just going to have more deer not reported so the heard estimates will be way off.

Hopefully will not come to central and western NY.

agree with above

My state went to that a few ago. It really increased the age of our bucks, but I imagine a lot of spikes and forks either got left in the woods or smuggled out, mistaken for a doe or legal buck. I was against it at first, but then I saw what it did for our buck size, and I was OK with it. I am sure I've let some legal bucks walk because I could not confirm the 3rd point, but so be it.

Now I'm hearing talk of main-beam and width restrictions. I'll have to draw the line there. I feel like we gave the trophy hunters an inch, and now they're trying to take a yard. I'm in Arkansas, not Iowa. With some exceptions, we grow little bucks and we kill and eat them, and a lot of us are fine with that. Excuse the rant, but this emphasis on trophy bucks is starting to get to me.

we have a width restriction here is DE for the "quality" buck tag...15" spread...

but, we also get a tag the is a "choice" tage and can be used for anything...

I would imagine eventually the choice tag will go away...and DE hunters will be limited to one buck per year someday

I can tolerate the point restrictions but main beam length and width? Not a chance. Like the one post above stated this sounds more like trophy management and not deer herd management. I hunt for the joy and pleasure of hunting. And when I get an opportunity to harvest a legal animal I will take it. I am not a trophy hunter by any means nor do I care to be.

Antler restrictions are a good thing and do work in the long run. herd reduction is the big issue in PA. Without the herd reduction, we would all be shooting big 6-12 points instead of spikes like yesteryear. With HR and AR we have big bucks, but not available to the masses. Soccer Moms, and Insurance industry are behind the HR. Ar is is a good thing.

Not completely put down in stone yet but that is the rumor. 4O is the area I'm in. Not looking forward if they put in effect. Hard enough to get a buck now without having to count points being you drop the hammer on a deer.

Keep an eye on Wisconsin.

Your right about that. They already are. The amount of people that don't report deer is astounding .

3 antler restriction
 

In Sullivan County NY they implemented this maybe 4 or so years back, and it really has helped. For once the DEC did something correct.
Over the last 20 years up there they shot anything. and I mean anything.
This past year there was some nice bucks taken, and many too.

One lease land club I know had 5 guys....... they took 4- 8's and a 7.
Me...my neighbor shot my buck. The day before the season opened.
Scumbag.

Well, being he screwed me. I curved my rules of my land for him.

1. no tresspassing.
2. no free firewood anymore
3. no cutting trees for better Dish reception.
4. no ez access parking to his house. I chained the driveway.
5. no hunting. He used to squirel, deer, grouse, ANY animal. No more. NOTHING.
6. His smokehouse I let him build.is on my property. I knocked it down.
7. no target practicing. He has 1.4 acre thats next to my 20 acres. Go to the range now.
8. no branches, leave dumping on my land. Go to the landfill.
9. No barrel burning. He used to on my land.
10. No conversation anymore. Because he is a lying POS.

SO. The moral is....when your getting alot from your neighbor, don;t screw him and poach his deer. Friggin idiot.:busted:

Don't care for the idea of antler restriction. Hope it doesn't become the law here in Steuben.

Antler restriction to me is trophy management... If my kid wants to shoot a spike let him... That in my eyes is a trophy...

I dont think the point restriction is trophy management, i think they are just finding a way to help the herd so you can enjoy many years of seeing deer in the woods. Before antler restrictions, people would shoot anything, and it really hurts the population. Now whats hurting us here is all the doe tags that are being given out in some areas where the population is so low, you could hunt from dawn to dusk and maybe see 2 deer.

Here in PA, while you are a junior license holder you may shoot anything you want, let it be a spike or a nice 6 point. My guess is so the younger hunters can really learn what its about and appreciate harvesting an animal, because on game lands you may not see a buck with 3 on one side if you just go out for opening day. I'm not sure if these rules still stand but they did a couple years ago.

X2 now this is when it feels like trophy management. You are going to spend so much time trying to tell if that buck in your cross hairs has the right spread, beam length, etc that you will never get a chance to shoot.

In PA, junior hunters can still shoot any buck. My boy shot his first buck when he was 7 years old. It was a spike. :happy0001:

my first buck was with my dad still hunting with my bow. i was 12 years old and we walked around a giant thorn bush to see a a really big spike. this was my first day ever out with a bow, and i was mad cause he slept in hahaha. well the point is that buck was a trophy to me and it always will be. they should let juniors shoot anything in any state.

These last two years are the first years I have seen an improvement since PA passed the antler restrictions. I am still seeing way less deer, but I am finally seeing the better bucks that were promised. I spent three days at the cabin this past weekend and did some scouting. I saw a ten point, an 8 point, three 6 points, a 4 point, and a spike. I also saw fifteen doe. This was seeing A LOT of deer compared to previous years. And a lot of legal buck. However, prior to the restrictions, I woulda seen well over a hundred deer in this time frame. Although it is doubtful I would have seen the 10 and 8 point. So yes, there are better bucks in the area now, Although, the deer numbers are way down. In PA the doe tags, as previously mentioned, is the main cause of this.
-Jake

Ok this is food for thought. I can see the point. But I also see the truth in schickster's point. I can see a lot of others just not reporting harvests... I have passed on young deer out of choice because in some areas I have grown use to seeing a lot of deer turn into dead zones so to speak. I have also seen two of my friends shoot buttons thinking they were doe. I think the actual herd estimates by the DEC are off. Way off in some areas. I know in one area that is almost a shoe-in for two does tags are one of those places that to me have become dead zones in the last two seasons. I passed on a spike there last year. But there are still places in the southern tier that some people find too much work to get in there deep and then have to drag a deer out. I guess the only big problem I see in NY right now is the people who are not reporting thier harvest......

i agree completely. as the years pass, each year im seeing more big bucks. The only places im seeing a lot of trouble with population is the big forests, like the allegheny national forest and the NC PA forests. Sucks cause those are my favorite places to hunt. i have been seeing about 5 deer on that first day the past 5 years of rifle up there so its not a deadzone. I remember my dad telling me if you saw less than 20-25 up there on the first day it was bad. this was between '70-'80

When I was younger we'd go spotlighting and see a couple hundred deer a night. More than you could actually count. Last year my high for a night was 41. That's a big difference between fifteen years ago.
-Jake

I'm leaning toward being in favor of the AR's. I do believe in giving the herd a chance.I also have the patience and confidence to let a small deer walk. AR's will allow for more mature, smarter, and bigger bucks. I hone my skills, tactics, and ethics more every year so that I can "HUNT" the smartest deer! I highly doubt that any deer hunter doesn't want a crack at a giant! Well, that can't happen if they take the first little "legal' deer that comes by.
If someone's so concerned about "trophy management" and claims to shoot deer "just" for the meat, for one they're probably feeding you a line of bull. Secondly, why not just bite the bullet for a few years, give the little bucks time to grow, and let the AR's work. They'll see that it's a full circle. The bucks that walked by and were an inch short(that made them so mad) will be a "legal" deer next year. Right? In turn it will highten their hunting skills by making them go more than 20yds. off the road to get the smarter and more resilliant deer.
I apologize for my rantings and this was directed towards no one specific. They're just my views. We all have them and whether we agree or not, we all share the same passion which is hunting. Lets not overcomplicate it, It's just not that bad to get all worked up over. So try to relax and enjoy it!

Dont like the idea of it in the area I live and hunt in. Which is Delaware county (40) what really ticks me off is I went yesterday with bauddy of mine to get our licenses and tags for year. Am told and shown that my area is being awarded by points only. Being I had 3 points already thought had a good shot at getting my DMP. We both got denied for our DMPs and the next guy behind us with no points at all apllied for his so he can get the point for next year, is awarded his and gets 2 for our area. I own property 125 acres and cant even get a DMP permits way wrong here.

I hear ya' on the DMP issue!!! Been there! But, just think, if you had a farm on your 125 acres you'd probably be swimming in 2-300 nuisance permits!
I heard about some little piggies(feral hogs) down past Hancock! You see any?

I heard about some little piggies(feral hogs) down past Hancock! You see any?

I personally havent seen any yet down round there,but have seen where they have been tearing the ground up and really making a mess of things. Thats another thing that the DEC needs to figure out. They want us to shoot them if we see them, but dont go in woods to hunt them cause it will cause them to move.What is thinking behind that ?
My place was a farm 2 yrs ago when my brother and me ran it but we sold off everything cause of milk prices. We couldnt get any nuisance permits because DEC looked at our place and said we " Didnt have enough acres of land being damage by deer." well I think 80 acres of corn, and soybean being tore up should quailfy. Now we just have about 20 head of beef cows and the land we hay and sell off cept for what keep for our head.

A guy near me has a 6acre pumpkin patch and about 16acre corn/soybean and has been getting over 100 nuisance permits(passing em' out like candy)! It really bugs me because he doesn't even eat em', just dumps em!!

Yep I have heard of a guy who gets around 60 nuisance permits a year and he gives them to the Amish... They dont report the kills... they dont use phones... That is why I said the biggest problem is all the deer taken and not reported... forget the AR's....

Never been a big fan of antler restrictions. I don't see any biological reason for them. if someone wants to wait for a bigger buck, so be it. I would love to get a nice wall hanger, but I am fine with a fork horn or other if I need meat for the freezer. I am glad it's not in (hope it doesn't come to) 7M. The better biological scenario is the spread restriction (however very very hard to field judge - I'd have a real hard time). At least with the spread restriction you are taking a good buck or a cull buck. My point being, with antler restriction you have to let a scraggly fork, spike/fork, etc. (ie poor genetics) but you can load the truck with the nicest baskets 8 points you want. With that scenario, you are taking the best genetics out of the herd. If they were left for a year or 2 you'd have some real whompers.

ummmmmmmm
100?????
find that highly unlikely. 10 maybe

I don't know the guy personally, but I know guys that do and that's what they all said!
I agree that it sounds fictional and I assume that the story got misconstrued somewhere. The guy most likely has other crop fields, but the fields that I do know he owns do not equal enough acreage to constitute much more than 10 DMP's!!

how can you possibly tell by looking at a buck and judging his width? bet a lot of bucks are shot and left laying cause they arent wide enough. its as bad as our 4 points on one side here in some parts of Pa.

Current regs in western PA are "3 up top".

All other areas of PA, "3 on a side".

Pretty simple and not hard to follow.

After reading your post I would contact the DEC officer in your area and have him investigate this. If you own more than 50 acres and can prove it you are to receive your first choice DMP. Look at the book that you recv'd when you purchased your license on page 29 it clearly states that .

I think you're reply is in refrence to what nys-buckstalker said. I take it that he wasn't aware of that! You are right. Is that something new? I'm not a landowner, so I wasn't aware of it either.

Speaking of Amish we had a guy that was leasing 2 large pieces of land bordering mine and while the property owner was in Florida he brought in 2 van loades of Amish ... menonite what evers and they ran a slaughter house for 2 weeks ...Thinning the herd and getting the buck to doe ratio in check or so he says ... when the property owner got home he was met with a lot of pissed off neighbors.... guy lost his lease..

To me hunting is about the sheer joy of being in the woods and the pride one takes in developing the skills to harvest wild game. A trophy is just a bonus not a goal. Antler restriction comes from a philosophy that elevates the importance of trophies and is the antithesis of mine. I hope it never comes to my area.

Older/ bigger bucks are smarter and more of a challenge. It doesn't take much skill to shoot a spike. Yes a spike is a great trophy for a youngster or a new hunter, but the reason you don't see experienced hunters strapping a spike to the hood and showing it off is because it doesn't showcase that hunters hunting skill.
Personally I really don't care what others choose to do because I know that each time I step in the woods I have a chance of seeing a great buck. We do have nice deer in NY. They're just tougher to bag.
I would hope that we as experienced hunters would teach our kids that having a bit of restraint could lead to a better deer. A trigger happy kid with a 5-shot magazine often leads to wounded/wasted deer. I think we can all agree that doe are more populous, therefore why not just shoot doe if meat is the only goal? It would do us all good to even out the buck to doe ratio.
I don't mean to sound like I'm preaching. I'm just trying to convince the naysayers that nice shooter deer can be had with a little patience. Google some NY whitetail buck pictures, then tell me that you don't want one!

+100. Well said! :hail: