Bendog

In units where DEC feels deer numbers are too low, the state isn't going to dole out DMPs to nonresidents just to get the associated economic impact from their hunting activities and visits.....at some point you reach a crossroads where you're either in the deer management business or the tourism business.....so, yes, there may be cases where a nonresident bowhunter doesn't have an opportunity to harvest an antlerless deer....whether that ultimately impacts their license-buying decisions, time will tell....

Agree Skully..... I will be stunned when and if DEC utilizes the early muzz season......I think they will go out of their way to avoid doing so... And as far as a long firearms season, where would DEC go with it? Little wiggle room there now....

Let's not overthink this or read something into the plan that isn't there..... Archery hunters are free to take either a buck or doe.....that philosophy comes into play every season when bowhunters either take a doe early before the buck action heats up, or choose not to take an antlerless deer, sometimes for the entire season It's the antlerless harvest that controls the size of the deer herd DEC wants better control in managing deer numbers, which is already a huge challenge given the amount of posted land in the state Hence the decision to use additional DMPs instead of bow-muzz tags, since the bow-muzz tags don't guarantee anything in the way in which a hunter selects which deer to harvest.....

I would agree there are no unit-wide overpopulation problems, just sections of a WMU where deer are overabundant....the real problem is DEC's inability to access deer for management purposes....too many pockets of posted land where deer can quickly take sanctuary, often for an entire season.....I don't have the answer to that one, but I truly believe that in many cases DEC is forced to attempt to manage whitetails they (hunters, the management tool) can't get to....

As is the case now, not all units will be treated the same....DMP allocations will be based on what DEC is looking for in terms of antlerless harvest....the only difference would be now the DEC will have to factor in bowhunter and muzzleloader numbers....their theory is it will give them better control of the antlerless harvest, since a DMP is an antlerless tag while right now a bow/muzz may or may not be used to take an antlerless deer.....

DEC says more DMPs will be available as a result of the proposed change, but there will, in fact, be cases in some units where a bowhunter will fail to secure a DMP.....

Don't work buckstopshere too hard on the price......I know what he gets paid for that NY Outdoor News column....he needs the cash!

I remember the pic.....have no idea why the doe was cropped out....the blood was further right so that wouldn't have been an issue......possibly we wanted to get it into 1 col and the doe was kind of incidental to the whole pic; can't really recall....

We're in our 7th year, and you're right, you can't get up-to-date news anywhere else, really......the fact that we publish every two weeks is what separates us from the pack (if there is a pack anymore) and allows us to keep on top of news that affects NY sportsmen and women....

I think it's a pretty good paper, but I may be a little biased......it's worth the price of a subscription, especially since the newsstand price has jumped...