I have 50 acres here in Central NY. I have never seen the deer population as low as it is right now. In the past few years the deer permits have been almost limitless, some guys shooting 8 to 9 deer a season. This year they opened the season on a Saturday- promoting more hunters in the field and legalized rifles in areas that have always been shotguns. Fellow deer hunters in my area have a conspiracy theory that, somehow the auto insurance companies play a role in DEC decisions and would like to see the deer population brought down to a very minimum. Does anyone out there know whether this is , indeed, happening? I would appreciate any insight into this query. Paul F B

I don't agree. I think DEC is limiting the number of deer taken this year and there are plenty of deer to be had. I hunt in Suffolk, Sullivan and Orange and have seen plenty of deer. They are going to follow PA's suit and make NY a QDM area. which for one I am all for. Pa has produced some nice bucks since they have started that. On the other hand the deer population, especially the doe population has been knocked way down. That is what I think DEC is up to. QDM will be throughout NYS in a few years, that is why we have had many years with bottomless bag limits. In order to get a quality herd of deer you must first kill a lot of does. How do you do that, give out more doe tags. That has been done for the last four or five years. Now they are trying a QMD in 2 Orange and Ulster Cnty DMP's. Wait and see what happens, I bet we go state wide with antler restrictions and I am all for that. B) B) B)

That might be true in Orange County but it sure isnt true in Delaware County. No doe permits were issued at all in Delaaware Co. I think DEC should have limited doe permits years ago, but they kept on giving permits to everyone. No one ever got turned down for a permit. Over hunting has been a problem in Delaware Co. for quiet a long time now, including the club I belong to. We have approx 2000 acres and for about 6 or 7 years harvested 50 to 60 deer a season. How long can you keep that up. I have been expressing my concerns about over hunting in this club for years, and it fell on deaf ears. Two years ago from 50 to 60 fell to a total of 15 for the bow and rifle season, last year one buck and two doe,and so far this year two spikes and no doe because of a no doe restriction the club inacted. Two very harsh winters in the region didnt help, but i think over hunting is what caused this problem. Its time for some very serious QDM. I was never an advicate of shooting spikes or small forkhorns and never did. Most of these deer are yearlings and should be left alone, unfortunately we have people in our club (and i call them people and not hunters) that will kill anything they can. Its time to WAKE UP....

I hope NY continues this trend towards QDM also. I wouldn't be too worried about the rifle changes because I read that using a rifle does not affect hunter success as much as it lowers the injury rate, which is why I think that they did it. They certainly cranked down on the doe permits: in my family, 6 hunters, 4 of whom had permits last year (2 each), not one of us get even one this year for the same zones. So hopefully, changes are coming which will improve our herd. Just remember, the southern zone of NY is probably one of the most over hunted regions in country also.

I'm over here in western NY and the deer herd is real low.I would like to see a QDM program it's time it is working in PA so it will work here.Also don't forget about all the permits they have been giving the farmers for years to shoot the deer almost yearound.That has taken a toll on our herd.There is a farm that my nephew works on and they get over a 100 permits to take deer they work around 2400 acres.

The problem I read with hunters in Pa involving the QDM state restrictions is that they see way less deer. That is however normal with a QDM in place. In order to have a quality deer herd you have to make the buck doe ratio closer. This in return keeps the bucks from over stessing during the rut and in return gives you a quality rack. In the Southern zones in NY there are so many does that bucks are literally entering the winter months starving from chasing does all over. Now if that buck happens to have enough to make ti through the winter he will surely produce a horrible rack the following year. So what you do i you shoot a lot of does and when the number is down to a good ratio, you will see the horns begin to grow bigger and better. My friend has a small piece of property in the southern teir and we began shooting a lot of does 10 years ago. Anyone that hunted the property had to shoot a doe with the bow. At first we would see the typical spikes and forks or no curl racks. But after 3 or 4 years of killing does we began to shoot some nice racks off the property. Plus we began planting the fields and fertilizing the old apple orchid for more fruit for the deer. It all came together for quite a few years. We stopped shooting spikes and forks and started shooting does. But as with any good thing the land next to ours turned over to the state and the spikes and forks weren't allowed the time to mature so it has taken a step backwards. But if NY was to limit the antler size, then our small effort would continue to work. You just have to expect to see less deer. If ten hunters each shoot a doe then you will see less deer overall. I say it is worth the price of quality deer.

Quality deer herds bring money to the state. Look at Texas, Ohio, Ill., and any state you see guided hunts. Hunters go to places they have the chance of shooting a quality buck. That in turn will bring better hunting for NY hunters that want to shoot a good buck. I hunt in East Hampton as well as upstate and I will tell you, the difference in Deer Quality is overwhelming. Farms and less stress in Eastern Suffolk as compared to no food and high rut/winter stress. It is all the proof I need. I hope NYS DEC continues to expand the QDM program throughout the state. B) B) B)

I've been writing the DEC for years about this & it just fell on deaf ears. I went to the meetings last year & the same thing. That's because the majority does not want QDM. Even worse now. Try telling these people that they can't shoot a certain buck. They are going to say they don't see many & that they are going to shoot the first one they see. I just read an article in outdoor NY newspaper that said the DEC estimates the buck herd at 150M. They say a combined buck/doe herd for the state should be around 900M. That means there are around 750M does. If the DEC wants to keep the herd at 900M, that's fine. Just make it 300M bucks & 600M does. That would be a 2 to 1 ratio. Can't get any better than that. The only way to do that statewide is to micro manage. They just don't have the manpower for that. That's why I suggest that every tag bought should be phoned in whether you get a deer or not. No manpower involved, it's all computerized.

Just implement a rack restriction, 4 points per side. Any deer taken with less than 4 points or whatever will be a heavy fine and a suspended lic for the following season. You will get some jacking but for the most part hunters comply with the regulations set for them, right or wrong....... I for one would be thrilled with an antler restriction in the state.

I agree with antler restrictions, and I hope that the two zones which have them now work out and the program spreads. I just got back from my trip to Chenago County, and am even more in awe of the awesome beauty of our state. We deserve a great deer herd to go along with the wonderful outdoor oportunities we already have.