All of these results are nice, but, from where I hunt we did not have the success or see the number of deer that we usually see.

Just one hunters observation!!

Mike

just keep in mind that deer numbers can fluctuate on a local level. as does the number of hunters in the woods. as does the effort people put into hunting from year to year. and sometimes you just don't see deer when they are there.

all of these factors can account for not seeing as many deer in year x vs. year y. we go through the same thing at our camp. for instance, last year I saw several deer (shot one) and my dad saw very few (hardly any) on the same land ; the year before it was the opposite (he got 3, I saw some but didn't get any)

no matter what - you are not guarenteed to see (percieved or actual) the same amount of deer each year

Not for nothing but i live in chenango county and personally had a great year.My bow season was over in the first week with all tags filled,and missed a heck of an 8 point the first day with the gun,and filled two tags the next week.maybe just a fluke but one of my best years.Personally i noticed no where near as many hunters in the woods as years before.May be a factor also.
Just a little info from a bow hunting fanatic
Thank you,
the captain

Yes dough that may be true, but when you're talking about spotting at night or observing fields on your way home from work, it's a different deal. I can understand not seeing deer while actually hunting. Hey things happen sometimes you see them sometimes you dont'. I'm talking about the overall herd of deer!!
4 or 5 years ago I could drive the same route home from work right around dark and absolutely 110% tell you every field there would be deer in well before I got there. I'm talking about road sightings and general observing with binocs etc.......... Last couple years, pfffffffffffffffffft lucky to see a single deer anywhere on the drive to or from work.
Same roads I've been traveling for years and same deer I've been hunting for years. Something is different at least in my neck of the woods.

Ny Bowhunter, per the DEC website chart 7H & 7J are above the population goal, and had a higher then expected buck take. So if your not seeing deer in Cayuga like used too, somethings not matching up by the DEC stats. I hunt 7M, and several hunters I know have hunted the area for 30 plus yrs tell me the same. The population just isn't what it used to be. The DEC chart shows 7M as under projected population levels.
7J is just a skip across rt.81 from where I hunt, like 7-8miles. So seems kinda weird to me 1 area can be consider under populated, and the area adjoining it is over. So I guess we in 7M must scare all the deer over to 7J!!!!!!. I hunted 7J as my 2nd permit. Only hunted that area 2x's, but I never saw a deer anyplace while there, not even along the roads traveled.

I thought 2003 was just fine. Got my biggest buck ever on Nov 22nd. It was so warm out that I was in a t-shirt. The season was slow for all my other friends.

[:-]Folks, I have always believed that if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. It's my impression, from following this forum and others, that most (or at least many hunters) are not seeing the deer in the numbers they are accustomed to. I have read that the insurance companies are reporting fewer deer/auto collisions across the state. Encon is reporting that the deer take during the past hunting season is down considerably. Sure looks like a duck to me!

WHERE I LIVE HERE IN OSWEGO COUNTY WE GOT 6 FEET DUMPED ON US. IT PUT A HURTING ON OUR DEER. I AM IN THE WOODS ALL WINTER LONG RUNNING COYOTES, AND I CAN COUNT IN SEVERAL WOODS WHERE I FOUND DEAD DEER, AND DEER THAT WERE KILLED BY COYOTES. AND IM NOT TALKING ONE OR TWO. I HAVE SEEN TEN AND ELEVEN KILLED IN ONE AREA. AND THESE ARENT ONLY SICK DEER THAT ALOT OF PEOPLE BELIEVE BEING KILLED BY COYOTES.

2003 in NY sucked for 99.9% of the people I have talked to. My brothers, me and my dad had one of the lowest harvests we can remember in a VERY long time. I took a buck and my brother took 2 bucks. My dad and other bro got skunked. The deer numbers are just plain down. We have seen this day coming for many years now as the numbers of deer continue to decline and the DEC keeps blowing smoke up everyone's arse that the herd is growing at a hard to control rate. BULLLSH!T!!!!! Ask any person who has hunted NY for a few decades and they will tell you about the groups of 30 deer that were commonly seen in the days when 5 guys were needed for a "party" permit. Now they give out 7 tags per hunter and you are lucky to see 3 deer together and even then one is just following mommy around.

Sure you are gonna hear stories from random hunters who saw a lot of deer or had a good year but when the OVERWHELMING majority of hunters of all weapons and skill levels are saying that the deer just aren't out there then you have a very real problem that can't be brushed off with comments like "They are out there, you just aren't finding them"

The DEC needs to cut back severely or eliminate doe tags all together for a couple years to give the herd a chance to rebound........It is getting to a point that is not good for either side of the debate. Sooner or later they will have to come clean about deer numbers because casual hunter numbers will start to drop and the only way to get them back is to give them a reasonable chance they might see something without making it their life's work. You have to face facts and realize that a large number of guys just like to get away from it all and kick up their heels around a fire with family and friends and hit the woods a few times and maybe get a chance at a nice deer.........and that's all. They do however want to at least feel like they are hunting and not just sitting in woods where you have just as good a chance at seeing a white elephant as you do a deer. Ever see a look on a guys face that hasn't seen a deer in a week of daylong hunts??........now picture a guy that just saw a few deer and felt his heart pounding.......if he got a shot or not.....BIG DIFFERENCE.......even though neither guy took a deer. Hunter's want to feel like there are deer out there to hunt. Just a realistic chance is all anyone expects. They don't want to have to face lottery-like odds and hope they are the one guy out of 50 that is lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

Last year was dreadful...........so bad that my previously mentioned hunting clan are thinking of putting on a search for some new woods. We are gonna give it the spring and summer scouts but if the numbers remain awful we are gonna head east some and hope the tide changes in our usual spots.


It's that bad.




God I wish we would all band together and not harvest a doe for a couple years in spite of the DEC's preaching of nothing short of slaughter.


Fingers are crossed in hopes that this is as bad as it gets...........even though my heart and common sense keep telling me it's not gonna be.

Very Very well said. My thoughts exactly!! Wonder why the # of hunters is down so much?? hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm E=MC2!!! I agree with you 110% about people just being able to see deer while hunting. Look at the not so dedicated hunters like atlas says. The guys who can't hunt as much or dedicate as much time in the woods due to work or family. They may get out a handful of times. I live in my treestand from sunup to sundown every single day of the seasons. I've had that exact feeling the last couple of years. It feels like I'm sitting in a tree hoping to get lucky (like winning the lottery) because that's the point it has gotten to. And I scout and scout and scout and scout and scout.......etc..... my arse off during the off season. I put the work in that is neccesary.
This isn't a crying the blues thing or a pity party. This ISN"T something that is simply brushed off by saying you're not doing something right or I did ok what's your problem. This is just the way it is and it's a shame.
How about the kids that are trying to get going in hunting. How do you excite them?? I took my son out with me 5 times last year and didn't see a single doe ever!!!! I would have given anything for that. Just for him to see a deer while out in the woods to complete the experience!! So now what's his take on the whole hunting thing?? Next year when I ask him if he wants to go with me today what might his response be?? Hmmmmmmmmm sit in the cold for a few hours without talking or moving and look at trees?? Not too overwhelmingly exciting for a 9 year old.
One of the biggest parts of hunting is the stories back at camp. It's funny me and my buddies were talking about this just the other day. We really have NO off season stories about 2003. No great harvest, no stories of how someone hunted a deer etc....... I'm telling ya towards the end of shotgun season it was pretty grim around the lodge before and after hunts. It was actually like my buddies were miserable. There were actual looks of disgust and extreme frustrations sometimes when we all came back to the lodge after the afternoon hunts. There were even a couple of guys questioning whether or not they would hunt the last week or so. These are absolute DIEHARD HARDCORE hunters too.
I dunno I'm glad for the people that are having continued success and dont' notice a decline I really am !!! I just hope things get back to normal around my neck of the woods soon.