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Actually the problem is that a lot of people judge hunting across the state by what they see in their own tiny hunting areas. I believe there are places where winter could likely have decimated the herd. I believe there are areas of NYS where for all kinds of reasons, the deer are getting under-hunted. I also believe that DEC successes at making proper guestimates and remedial actions are not all as accurate as they could be, producing over and under-population circumstances. About the only correct assessment about the NYS deer populations is that it will differ wildly by region, by WMU, by township, by one parcel of property to the next. And that is why we hear claims of deer shortages being immediately followed by the replies that say, "Gee, everything is great here". The implication being that the first guy is wrong, or perhaps he's just not as great a hunter or as observant as the second guy. The fact is that both are likely correct about their little patch of hunting ground and neither has any bearing on the other's observations.

Many states, including NY and Pa, had bounties on many different "varmints" years ago. I remember when PA paid a $5 bounty on great horned owls and Alaska and several western states paid bounties on eagles.Elmer Keith once said that the .270 Win was a good eagle rifle. My buddy in Juneau Alaska, who worked most of his life as a commercial fisherman, used to shoot bald eagles for a $50 bounty. He still refers to them as "white headed buzzards" About 50 years ago, the states came to the realization that bounties did no good and were a waste of the taxpayers money.. Now they have figured out many OTHER ways to waste our money !

I just dropped $100 into your go fund me, and I challenge all my fellow hunters here to do what they can to help . Oh and don't deal with your insurance company on your own, hire a company that will do this for you, they will get you more money even after their fee, than if you just let the insurance company come in look thing s over and write a check.

Gotta be honest, reading the OP one of the first things that popped into my thoughts was "wonder how many parcels he didn't have permission to be on in that 1.3 miles."

So all of you saying you would give him the rack do you do that with people that have trail cam pictures of drops you have found? I would have kept it more because the deer suffered for so long by a badly placed shot. Could have been a number of different reasons why the shot went bad but either way the guy didn't find it. What exactly would entitle someone to a deer I found dead on my property? No one owns the deer to the victor go the spoils. Let me add I wouldn't expect a person to give me a rack because I made a bad shot on a deer. Would I want a picture with it to remind me of the one I screwed up on? Of course, but wouldn't expect someone to give up the rack.

6 thousand views of this thread and it hasn't gotten off topic or trolls for once .. I just hope people see the good side of it like today .. it sucked but I'm helping the rest of the canines so they don't get it or so someones dog doesnt roll in it when it died some were .. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

So, we are back to this nonsense about "out of control" or "increasing" coyote populations. Your 19th century approach to game management does not work. It seems people guesstimate the number of coyotes based upon 2 subjective things: how many they hear; how much game they see. Where is the evidence that coyotes are increasing? Why can't you find someone with a science based approach to agree with you. From http://newwest.net/topic/article/hunting_and_predators_does_it_work/C564/L564/ "....a growing body of evidence suggests that indiscriminate predator control, whether due to sport hunting or by predator control agencies like Wildlife Services, has the opposite effect and actually increases conflicts between humans and predators." From DU: Q: What about using predator control to produce more ducks? A: On a local scale, predator control can provide immediate benefits to a few waterfowl, but it will not contribute to the long-term security of waterfowl habitat and waterfowl populations or abundance on a continental or even regional scale. Nor is there a lasting impact on waterfowl numbers, because as predators are removed they are quickly replaced, or other predator populations increase. Predators have to be removed every year, and that is not a realistic option over large areas or over the long term. From Texas - http://agrilife.org/texnatwildlife/coyotes/table-of-contents/the-effects-of-control-on-coyote-populations/ ".........coyote populations can support high rates of exploitation. Sterling et al. (1983) found in their simulations that control programs inflicting less than 50% annual mortality could not be expected to produce declining populations using any combination of litter size and percent breeding. Windberg and Knowlton (1988) showed that the number of coyotes actually using small geographic areas, and therefore the number that would have to be removed to gain population control, is much greater than one might infer from density estimates"

I have a 1000' driveway through a swampy thicket in front of the house. I have learned not to walk down that driveway during gun season without a gun, even if it is just to get the mail. One time I went down to get the mail and looked over to the side to see a huge 8-point hunkered under a huge pile of grape vine about 30 yards away, looking at me. I kept walking, un-shouldering my gun stopped and pivoted and shot him right in his bed. He was convinced that I would not see him, and held tight as he probably had done dozens of times before. What he didn't count on was the first snow of the year and he really stuck out like a sore thumb with that white background. So yes, I am sure that sitting tight is a proven defense to them. And when it seems that all the deer have found some big hole in the ground, chances are that they have just successfully found some thicket where they know (or think) they cannot be seen, and they will simply let you sneak right on by.

Wont do anything. not enough people will care as well as all the research pointing to the fact that coyotes will bread more now that the population is being thinned. It would take a MASSIVE statewide effort to get rid of the coyote problem. If the fur prices were back to where they used to be before they plummeted and there weren't as many restrictions on the type of traps then maybe it would be better.

I dunno. If you fail to track and retrieve a shot deer, it's fair game for whoever does recover the carcass in the end. Once the blood ended on a deer like that I would have circled and circled until I was sure he wasn't close by. It sounds like a full 3 weeks passed before the carcass was discovered. I would have gone back every day for a week.

Well i guess you do. I don't know how to make this story short 33 years old and never hunted until this season. No one in my family has ever been into hunting so it never really appealed to me. in the last 10 years I've always thought I may enjoy hunting but never had time to take the safety course. Recently my 5 year old has been so interested in hunting that I decided I needed to learn so he could have his dad be his mentor even though one of my closest friends is an avid hunter. My friend weather he knew it or not was going to mentor me. I managed to get a safety course finished the day before opening of gun and bought a crossbow so I could practice quietly for a few days. I got accurate enough that I decided to go out sunday am of opening weekend. Spent every morning and afternoon I could sitting quietly after that. Saw lots of doe. 11 walked through one day but I didn't have the range. Even had a small doe walk almost right up to me on two separate occasions but didn't feel right about shooting such small deer. Finally my friend tells me I have to sight in the shotgun I bought, practice and get up off the ground in a stand. Okay so he sights the 12 gauge in for me. I take a shot at a target at 50yards and hit close enough that I'm comfortable. I don't really like firing the gun so I leave it at that. One practice shot. Please don't judge me or my friend for the lack of practice. I get in a stand on my property with only a small area that I can hunt legally but I feel comfortable with. I begin using a new trick of rattling fake antlers and using calls. 10 minutes before sunset I wipe my nose and sniffle from the sinus infection and bronchitis I happened to get and decide to climb down when I realized my calling was working because all I saw were white tails running. I stop, call a doe noise and they all stop. I waited 5 minutes and did it again and they started back. One nice doe makes it on my property. She looks up at me, kicks her front hooves at the ground a few time. I stayed very still at the ready. She put her head down and turned. I shoot. I do all the safe things you're supposed to do next and go to the spot where she was. No blood, no fur and dark now. I call my friend and get a flashlight. Found tiny bit of blood 25 or so ft away and start tracking. not much blood but I did find a little frag of bone so I knew I must of hit her somewhere decent. Finally found her with the help of my friend and come to find out it was a high hit through the lung so she had to fill with blood before letting much out. 2nd bullet ever shot besides a .22. My 5 year old came out to the barn while it was hanging and saw it after warning him it was bloody and dead. His reaction surprised me. "awww cool....This is a nice deer daddy. Nice size. good job." what 5 year old is so calm and collected like this. Family liked how it taste so I went back out for Sunday the last day for gun. No rattling but just calling because I figure with all this talk about no deer around I would just try for another doe. As I'm about to leave my stand and call it a morning I hear something in the woods so I hang out and call like a doe. I see antlers for the first time in my life as a hunter. Heart pumps very differently than when I shot the doe and this thing is still deep in the woods I can barely even see him. He heads away so I call the best I can. He turns and I finally get to hear how a buck really grunts. He cautiously heads towards me. Shots go off way in the distance. A large doe comes booking across the field from where the shots fired and right at me in my stand. I call again to stop her. She stands 5 yards from the tree I'm in and the buck now sees her. All of a sudden my sounds were very real to him. He head straight at me and I have to shoot before he gets too too close. He jumps into the brush and only makes it maybe 20 yards away. Shot through the shoulder a little and got a lung. Third bullet ever shot. My friend and his dad come over to help me out. This time my 5 year old comes out to see the entire gutting process. Again very calm and a little excited he said because this one had horns and again was a good size. I gutted both deer myself due to the responsibility I felt in killing these two animals. With the coaching of my friend of course. Apparently this is a big buck. They told me I need to mount it so I guess I will even though that is not really what I did this for. That is also why you won't see me in a picture with the animal. I did it for my son who has such an interest in hunting and to have good quality meat for my family. Wegmans is right down the street but this meet came from our backyard. How's that for a carbon footprint. Thanks for reading

Grilled backstraps, mashed potatoes and steamed peas

Got out today for a few hours with the springer spaniel. Managed to shoot 3 woodcock & 2 wood pigeons. The springer is currently lying on the sofa snoring beside me after a hard day. I had the head cam on, so hopefully got some good footage. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Way to go guys ! My point in posting what I gave was to cause folks to think, " if that a hole can give a C note I can come up with something ". We all want to help the deer herd out, how about our fellow man ?

Loved reading your story... I also started late in life 45 yrs old, I married a hunter, just love it, and have been very successful like yourself... I now bow hunt too.. This year got my first 8 pointSent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

DEC can't touch the dacks without federal approval and a whole lot of BS. it's not really state land. it's a national park. i wish they could do something it'd help the wildlife a little more. there's some that don't care about holding capacity though and would rather it remain untouched. i think a happy medium would be nice.

Any of us who can help out, let's do it. I didn't even come close to $100, as I'm sure most of us can't. Let's give what we can, though. And there's nothing greedy about accepting help from people who care about you. Maybe we don't all know you personally, but I don't think of it as charity. It's helping out a brother. Whoever said that to you is a tool.

Those would make a nice set of rattling antlers! haha

As far as the original post goes, its a bummer to lose a deer, but put yourself in the person who found it's shoes. You find a dead buck, take the rack and now some guy comes to you claiming they shot it, and wants the rack. If it was me, Id be happy to give it to that person if they could provide some actual proof that they shot the deer. Otherwise, its not gonna happen.

someone who takes a deer that they know someone is actively searching for is a totally different story as far as I'm concerned..........that's a sh**ty move in my book.

you're not required to keep your tags with your mounts anyhow. just with the meat as far as I understand.

I would smell it. Unless it was really rank, I'd eat it. Worst case scenario, I'd get some evil diareaha and be puking my guts out. Not too bad, I could lose a few pounds anyway.

Lets not forget there's alot more to a deer than its antlers... no matter how impressive they are. The buck was lost, and the meat was wasted. Like was said before, I wouldnt want the constant reminder of my mistake hanging on my wall. If 3 weeks had passed... the guy who found it pretty much found a beautiful pair of sheds, absolutly should keep them.

I've hunted squirrel at Lafayetteville and a few times there have been folks running dogs, but mostly off the Wilbur Flats Rd section where the brush is thick. If you go across Rt 199 it's pretty hilly with some great overlooks for sitting and watching. Nice place to hunt. A better place IMO is Taconic-Hereford 909 acres, miles and miles of trails with many great overlooks, open fields, wet areas, and all kinds of nut trees. Also you can drive in from multiple sides and there are many small parking areas. If you come in from the east on Pond Gut Rd there's remnants of an old farm and numerous trails. I've seen many squirrels and a few Deer and Coyotes out there. The area is also great for mountain biking but you can easily get off the trails to avoid them. One of my favorite spots for air gun hunting.

You think thats bad try driving closer to NYC . I drive 33 miles to work and the drive home takes 1.5 hrs one way. Too many cars and people thats why I love it up state.

That watching the woods wake up thing is what keeps me coming back as well, one of the finer things in life. Congrats on a great first season

Now that deer season is most likely done for me, Ill take all of the warm weather I can get. Furnace isnt running much, dont have to shovel, gonna have time to get a few things done around the yard. Not too shabby.

Would rather be warm and not see deer as to freezing my butt off and not see deer.

I was really happy to get this doe today, she's my biggest ever. If she walks into a bar the bartender will definitely ask "why the long face?"

Personally if I don't recover when edible I consider it a failed harvest. Would have no interest in a rack that reminded me I didn't get the job done. After 3 weeks, I would never think I had any claim on it at all.

This morning it was my turn????

some of the photos that hunters take after their kill. Capturing the memory of a deer harvest could be a once in a lifetime thing for many hunters...Do yourself a favor and read this. Years from now when you want to recall that memory again you'll be glad you did. http://www.nyantler-outdoors.com/photographing-your-deer.html

thats some dedication but the hunting in letchworth really is phenomenal plenty of deer and some very big bucks. I bet yous do pretty well this weekend especially with the snow on the way and if they close the park roads you'll ptetty much have the park to yourself good luck

Time will tell. I'm not disagreeing with you, just noting that until the scientific method is used you cannot be certain it was the reason you harvested the deer. Please don't take my comments as challenging, I just don't want you to think that calling is a large factor in hunting whitetails like it is with turkey. It certainly has and can work.

Lol. I didn't go out and buy the tractor just to haul him out. I bought the tractor to benefit everyone this year. I figured if I got it to move snow that it would never snow this year. To all the snow haters, you're welcome. Isn't that how it usually works. Hauling out the deer was only the third time I've used it yet and the second time was when I got the doe. I felt it was a good way to start getting it dirty.

I already did the other night.

This weekend I'm heading to my hunting property and going to work up a couple spots for food plots.

The ten day forecast has 57 at the end, I don't care how bad it gets after that it'll still be a short Winter. All the plow guys who honored their contracts last year are being rewarded this year! I'm guessing we will see a whole bunch of snowmobiles for sale this Spring

I've seen deer act like rabbits in cover, they'll sit tight and let you walk by but if you stop and stand for a while they get nervous and bolt.

I have to mow this weekend too. Usually by this time lawn is brown. I usually never even rake until spring as most of the leaves rot and act to feed the grass. Ah, it's fine by me. For many years I would be really pi$$ed at this weather as it means a later start to snowboarding. This year, I am not so bothered. Just means I will go knock the snot out of some bushy tails on the weekends.

Funny thing about knowledge....it doesn't need to come from just one source...

You can laugh, had a guy last year on a drive run out of bullets shot 4 x, and deer were still running by him, he did get a doe , missed a buck 2x , and missed another doe, when you find the deer now they are all grouped up for sure, was funny to hear him yell thru the woods"I'm out of bullets!!"

He should get it back? He lost the deer, how does that make him closer to the rack? Because he shot it and tracked it for over a mile? Then failed to track it the extra few grids to find it dead? What if the other guy had trail cam pics of this deer and it ate his food plots all year? Does that mean he has more rights than the guy who shot it? What if that was the 3rd dead buck he found on his property that year? These are what we call sheds. Does not matter if the shed is 2 weeks old or 3 years. What if the other guy has 3 years of his sheds? What if he collects them? Real easy to say give it back to the hunter that shot it without knowing the entire story and for the most part I agree but it is hard to judge without all the facts.

Congrats! The huge smiles say it all.

NULA 209 smokeless, Leupold VariXIII 2.5-8, 50cal. Parker 275 Ballistic Extreme bullets, SR 4759 powder.

Testicles not for food but as mistletoe. Merry Christmas to you!

Now my deer havest photos have to be politically correct? Get outta here... I'll take one in the moment. Photos are nice but to me, a photo cant capture the moments about the hunt, harvest, or the people you share those moments with. The biggest deer ive ever shot, the best part about that was seeing my dads face when he met me at the house. Ill take those over the "pretty" picture.

I'm gonna be getting myself an ultralight .300 weatherby mag Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

There are a lot of deer in the area I live and hunt so the population is robust. One thing that stuck out this year: I noticed a big drop off in the amount I deer I saw out in the fields feeding during the fall, bow and gun seasons. Pretty much every deer I saw while hunting was eating acorns and the ground is littered with them here in 8M. The absence of deer in the fields during daylight hours was pretty odd though.