Long Island Deer killed by sharpshooters
 

So eastern Long Island is having trouble with the deer population and sharpshooters are being called in to reduce the deer population. Anyone know if civilians can get in on the action? Me and my friends would be happy to help :D

Happens all over the country where deer are present, including South Central Michigan. I understand your ploy and desire to help, but you have no chance in hell of getting anywhere near that harvest. You did not pay your fee to be government regulated or trained. You also do not carry the required insurance, especially liability insurance. These sharpshooters have their own rules. High power rifles, night vision scopes, high capacity magazines, laser target designators, hunt over bait, etc....

We had this debate in Michigan. Just be glad the meat is donated.

Here the cops do it with .223s and the meat goes to charity.

We have a metro park (lake and all) here were I live and they sell tags for the sharpshooter harvest during archery season about every 4 or 5 years or so.. You have to apply for the tags and show up at a firing range to prove you can group 3 arrows within 4 inches @50 yards. (ya, that's what they call a sharpshooter)..

You have to take a short safety class and agree to follow specific rules, you must mark your shooting window around you, and you must tell them exactly where you will be.

For that, you get a chance to shoot any one of a few dozen monsters.. Think farm raised and protected deer types with huge racks and bodies to match.

There was a local Christmas Tree farm that complained about the deer herd to the IL DNR, that their trees were getting damaged. The DNR brought in sharpshooters, which killed 75 deer between Feb & Mar of 2013.

I hunt land within ~5 miles of this property, and this is the first year we really didn't see any mature BIG bucks in our area. We normally shoot at least one really nice one in our group, or the neighbor's group - but my 9-point (4-6yr old) buck that I shot was the only "big" buck anyone saw.

My dad actually ran into one of the paid sharpshooters - They have to be certified by the DNR. They go to a range, have to shoot dime-sized groups at 100yards. They do get to hunt over bait & at night. He said he claimed to hate the time of year that they're forced to shoot the deer in. A lot of times they'll grab their kill and see that it had some massive bases from the antlers it's already shed, but they can't see that till it's already dead....

Over by Suffolk, VA there is a state park called Lone Tree. For years no hunting was allowed and all the farmers around it complained because the deer would leave the park at dark and go into the soybean fields and cause a lot of damage. Since they left the park at night the farmers couldn't hunt them. After several years of complaints they finally opened the park to limited hunting.

They divide it into 3 seasons: Archery, Muzzleloader and Hunter's Choce and they issue 8 permits per season and each person with a permit can bring 2 guests for a total of 24 hunters a season or 73 hunter total. Since it is reduction hunt they ask you to take any deer you see. I drew this hunt in 2012 for the Hunter's Choice and I was gutting out a fat spike taken with a slug gun less than 30 minutes after the sun came up.

Some states allow it, best to call the local Game Office and find out what all you need if you can join.

High powered rifles??? that seems a little odd but where these guys hunt in our area is within city limits and aint no high powered rifle gonna be allowed. just bow from what the leos have told me.

I thought so as well when they introduced the hunt, as the 600 acre park they hunted is in city limits. They had the liability insurance and were considered professionals. The park was closed with all roads leading into and out of the park blocked while the harvest was in progress. There was a ton of meetings on the subject whether to allow hunting or hire professional sharpshooters. 2013 will be the 7th annual hunt. I was lucky enough to meet one of the shooters and he was using an AR platform (did not think to check the caliber), supressor, with a night vision scope and laser. Sweet looking gun. The harvest took place from dusk to dawn and they reopened the park in the daytime. All the meat was donated to local soup kitchens.

Fairfax Va is going to capture the deer, surgically sterilize them and let them go. This should be real interesting to keep track of. Last cost mention was about $1200.00 per deer.