public hunting in NY
 

I wonder how the average hunte perceives public hunting in NY (discounting an Adirondak hunt - which of course is more about tradition than what you harvest!)

RE: public hunting in NY
 

What is the tradition in the Adirondak? Why is it not like the rest of the state? I have never hunted in NY.

Thanks, lost horn

RE: public hunting in NY
 

I haven't hunted public land very much in NY for about 15 years now but back then it was very good. Lot's of public ground with good opportunities. My public land hunting was primarily in Steuben county and more specifically the Erwin game management area. Seems to be a lot fewer hunters there now.

RE: public hunting in NY
 

my dad and his freinds have tought me that its nt about what you harvest and i dont live in the mtns

RE: public hunting in NY
 

lost horn,

there has been a long tradition of hunting in the Adirondacks. Old hunting camps, old guides, lots of stories/"legends", etc. Deer hunting there is unlike anywhere in the Southern tier of NY (Catskills are similar). It's big woods with low deer/square mile. The deer are generally bigger/older and harder to come by. The hunting is hard (mountains, etc.) I belong to a hunting club in the southern ADKs. It was an old camp built in the early 1900s and has been "our" club since ~1925. There are many of these old camps. Ours started with 20 members and memberships are handed directly from father to son and then to friends/other family. That's tradition. We are lucky to get 1 deer a year (~30 guys or so over 3 weeks). I go and hunt some, but mostly go for the good times with friends and family. here's a pic of our camp (7 + miles from nearest paved road; 6 miles by 4wheeler on an old stagecoach trail)

RE: public hunting in NY
 

Perceiving in what respect?

And is the "Dacks" only about tradition? Nope.....there sure is much more noted history about hunting in "my backyard" than there is in the southern zone that is for sure. Don't tell me that hunting the "big woods" is not about harvest! It sure is. All of the "dacks" are not mountains either.

As how I see public hunting. I sure do see fewer people on public land than private. Or at least "non-tresspassers"! iIs the quality of hunting better (as far as the numbers of deer).... on private land? It is really tough to say. Locally..probably. Although I do know some public land that is full of deer.


Doughboy....nice camp. I have been to a few of such stature!
Where is it located? I work in the southern "Dacks"

RE: public hunting in NY
 

North of Poland (~20 min.)

RE: public hunting in NY
 

I hunt a family farm (no longer active), I've taken all my deer in 20+ years on this property - and I've seen things change back and forth with populations and hunter participation.

By Perception - I wondered are most people happy with the deer numbers they see? Is there too many hunters/acre? Etc.

I cannot speak much for Public land hunting - though I drive by some good looking state lands all the time in the southern teir, and I have freinds that regularly take deer there - Most of their experiences are good.

I excluded the Adirondacks in the post - because they are so expansive - and the weather/mast is really what dictates the deer densities there (not hunting pressure like most of the rest of the state). Also, traditionally - the low deer densities do not tend to give hunters a high percentage rate for deer take. And because - I love the Adirondak stories, and traditions - Some day I'd like to hunt there seriously.

FH

RE: public hunting in NY
 

Doughboy
That looks like my kind of camp it's great. The Dacks sounds like parts of Cameron Co. Pa. My group tented there for over 60 yrs. I did for over 30yrs. until the State traided the land to a tember company. Now we are in a camp, I am still trying to get ust to it, it is not the same.

Thanks for the info.
lost horn

RE: public hunting in NY
 

I have hunted there my whole life...pic looks like the old camps only there would be a willies sitting out in front not a 4 wheeler!

RE: public hunting in NY
 

I hunted New York public land a 3 times. The first time I missed a buck. The last time, there was 12 of us. I shot a nice 8 point and we got 4 other buck. I dont have alot of experience in NY. But when we go up it seems like we have alot of luck.

RE: public hunting in NY
 

you got that right , Outdoors, Willy's were a common thing at our camp. Sadly, now they are all gone (but I do like my wheeler). However, I still have my garndfather's '46 Ford Military Jeep that he use to take into the north woods. I use it around my camp in the So. zone.

As far as public land - our camp (in So. Zone) is surrounded by public land and we hunt it all the time. I saw 3 hunters this season (THREE). 2 of them were before the gun season and one was later on in the season. Simple thing - there are a lot lss hunters in the woods (at least in our area).

RE: public hunting in NY
 

Alot of State parks & WMUnits in NY to hunt in A few farmers Like in my area will allow almost any hunter to walk in & hunt , I think it piss's the locals off more than The farmers, That a non resident, is hunting in ( there ) area lol, Even thou Im a resident Still pisst a few off... this year Hunting In open land But on there hunting lands .. lol.. Cant please them all.
Naples &wmu is Pretty nice A few people But usually there hikers, not hunters, Than there Ossian Management unitGreat Turkey hunting, But Best parts Are long walking & thick brush areas to Hunt in....

RE: public hunting in NY
 

Well, I hunt in the Catskills, and the public land hunting is no worse then the private land. I have a camp on a mountain that is mostly lots of small parcels of private land, and everybody hunts everybodies land. I see way more people there than I do when I hunt on public land. There are some areas of the Catskills that, while being very hard to hunt, have very little hunting pressure at all. The Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest (13,500 acres), The SLide Mountain Wilderness (47,500 acres), and The Big Indian Wilderness (33,500 acres) are all places worth checking out. The hunting is very difficult and the deer densities are lower, but there is plenty of land and not many hunters. I see people take some bruisers out of there every year. Also, yo could check out the DEP owned lands open to hunting. The DEP lands are technically owned by New York City to protect the watershed. There is around 33,000 acres of that land open to hunting, with more being open every year. I hunt quite a bit of it, and usually don't see many other hunters.

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