I was wondering what you guys think about the deer populations where you hunt. I have to say that I hunt in the southern zone and believe that the popuation in my area has shrank big time!! Something need to be done. But what? Dont give out doe permits for a year? Antler restrictions? Hell its getten so bad I would even go for shorting or closing a season. Whats your thoughts?

I've hunted in Walton for the last 24 years. I can tell you that we don't have anywhere near the number of deer that we use to. In 6 days of hunting this year so far I've seen two does and one small spike. The other guys didn't even see a deer.
We stopped shooting does on our land around ten years ago. That's when we started to notice a decline in numbers by us. There are very few hunters around us and yet we see less and less does every year. We have seen a small increase in the number of bucks we see but not enough to warrant our efforts in conservation.
I know the coyotes have played a part in the decline of fawns from year to year and I'm sure a couple of the locals have also put a dent in the population. We also had a few real bad winters which definitely hurt the deer population. Up till around five years ago we would feed the deer after the hunting seasons. You could count up to 50 deer eating outside our house. The most I've seen in the last five years is 12. If you go by those numbers we've lost 75% of our herd. I know there are other factors that go into it but just go by the numbers I've posted. Definitely a big decline in herd numbers and IMO a big screw up in the DEC's herd management policies as well.
I would personally like to see a ban on shooting antlerless deer for at least one year and preferably even longer, depending on the winter(s) that we endure up north. I, like many, would like nothing better than to see the good old days of deer hunting once again. I know that deer numbers need to be kept in check but the DEC's policies have not worked.

I drove home last Tuesday and than again this past Sunday from Walton. Both times I didn't see a single vehicle with a deer on it. That alone should speak volumes on the state of our deer herd. I know someone is always going to see something and possibly kill it, but for the majority of hunters this years things have looked and will probably continue to look bleek.

I cant agree with you more. The last 4 times I have hunted I havent even seen a deer. There is little pressure where i hunt but same numbers are tumbling. When I used to drive up in the morning the fields were full of deer. Lucky to see one deer on the whole drive. I really think that this should be addressed some how. I agree does should be closed and my antler restrictions for a couple of years.

This year in 6 days hunting upstate, I've seen 2 deer during open seasons, plus another on a scouting trip. I saw one doe off 28a when driving home last night, but that was it, for a total of 4. I really think too many deer are being taken, by coyotes & hunters. I also did'nt notice any deer on any vehicles on all trips, so I think the coyotes are doing a much bigger part of the dammage than hunters. I think that the DEC should get thier heads out of thier asses, and talk to some other states successful management programs on what can be dome to make an improvement. NY southern zone should be further divided again, because catskills hunting isn't hunting like out wersten NY so shouldnt be regulated as such..

We should adopt some of the guidelines used by mid-western states. A big help would be reducing the total number of days allowed to gun hunt. Perhaps lowering the gun season to a total of 5-7 days would help out tremendously.
I know we'll never have the quality of bucks that they have in the mid-west, we just don't have the food sources available, but seeing more deer sure would be a welcomed sight.

I definitely agree that the DEC needs to get their heads out of their arses. :angry:

I've heard from a couple of different people that next year we might be going back to a Monday opener and also that the state is going to do away with the 3 -point rule in the zaones where it established now.
If anyone else has any info on this please chime in.

The gun season certainly is long in NY compared to other places, but at the same time it doesn't run during the rut so that should be lessoning some of its impact.

At the diner yesterday in Livingston Manor, the waitress said that this year was dead for hunters, and it's been that way for a few years. She said even opening weekend was barely anyone.

Tighter restrictions don't fly though because the locals want meat and want to be able to shoot deer (not to mention we all know some people shoot them year round). Antler restrictions pushes meet huge resistance (look up the threads on this site alone!). I have no idea what should be done, but I hope the DEC is working on it. They have been spreading the antler restriction program so maybe it will become more widespread as the years go on. We'll see.

Out of my 14 years..
this has to be the worst ever. for zones 4g and 4r and 4p where i hunt
no question about it

i hardly even heard shots in the woods at all...
it used to sound like 4th f july ten years ago

although i did hear of friends down in hancock and monticello who did very well.

catskills is completly depleted of bucks..
i did see around 30 Doe's and saw three quality bucks at night time.

i spooked one buck on opening day and i think another on the monday following

i remember as a kid, i would pass on spikes and 4pt and wait to see if i could score a 6pt. ... it wasnt just hunting it was gambling
these past 4 years, ide beg for a 4ptr.

i did see a 4 a 6 and nice 8 , but it was after hours in the backyard.

as far as in the forest while hunting , not one antler to be bought borrowed or stolen..

W T F ?

I hear ya bro!

A6A6, you saw bucks... Don't take this the wrong way, but seeing them at night does not mean they don't exist. Your's is an entirely different situation, no? I mean hell I would die to have a spot to hunt where I saw that many bucks, nighttime or not!

The problem in an area like this is that the hunting & scouting pressure push the "educated" deer into a nocturnal lifestyle real, real early (Like August, early), and educates the younger deer prematurely. Thus, the cause is not the lack of deer, but the number of hunters and the tactics of those hunters.

Add this to the unusually warm fall we had, and you had herds of deer who were too scared to move during the day, and had no reason to be inclined to. Usually the cold weather will keep them moving during the day, as they need food to stay warm.

On top of all this, reports have it that most of the region had a super bumper mast crop. This reduced the overall movement even further, even at night. Typically, smart deer will bed in a thick area close to either water or food, with good travel routes. This year, the deer had all three in the same spot. No need to move, until the rut.

By the time the rut hit, they had already felt the pressure of hunters, and with the warm temperatures, they had no desire to make themselves a target during the day.

Crazy year for sure, but I think it was more one of those "perfect storm" scenarios than a population decline. When I hunted upstate this year, I saw about the same number of deer I usually do, but saw most of them in the last 30 minutes before dark, and only in areas that no one could hunt (and near water, cover and mast producing trees).

Air, i wish i could have saw those bucks in the woods,
they were in an area where i cant hunt.. i saw them spotlighting at nighttime in the back of the house..

they travel up a path between a farm down the road to a large heavy wooded area up the road and the house we were at was just located in between..

we couldnt hunt where we were,there is no property to hunt its just a house and grassy field backyard.... 100 by 100...
they were just passing through..

i was hunting on state land off of rt 28 15 minutes away.

believe me , ide die to hunt that field too..

I have seen 6 bucks but . I like the 3-point rule and I have seen biger bucks at one of the places we hunt do to this rule. I think this rule should be for all of ny.

I saw a doe in the ADK's yesterday. That's the first deer I have ever seen north of the Catskills.