tom343

Having hunted in NYS (born there in 1940 ) and having had no difficulty finding access in the Northern Zone, I note the name of the forum and its objective and find these responses from land owners are all negative. Isn't this negative attitude the issue? Isn't overcoming it the goal?

Keeping hunters off of private land? Owing to many practices, baiting being one, deer congregate on the private land and abandon the public woods. The difference between these growth food plots and baiting escapes me. When we first started to hunt, 1958 in my case, we got all these maps of the Catskill Forest preserve, which has a lot of public land. The maps didn't show how access to this area was denied, cut off by New York City, Hunting Clubs, YMCA, and some farms, Posting state land so the outlander thinks the land may not be used is another common practice that for political reasons, the local law turns a blind eye to. We then went up to the Adirondacks, where I hunt to this day. As time has passed, the trip up there has become daunting in terms of length and cost. I live 90 minutes from the Catskills but selfish people have made them useless.

Well how about the idea that game belongs to all the citizens and any effort to put in plots, feed, bait, etc. anywhere should be a violation?. How about the idea that harassing or impeding hunters is already illegal and posting land is exactly that?

It is the notion of not having to share the woods that makes hunters want to get on posted land, They want to get on this land by themselves. Just look at how much public and co-op land in NYS is available for hunting now. But you have to walk if you want to beat the crowd! There are fewer hunters every year to boot. If the state was serious about opening up private land, they'd forbid hunting on posted land even by the owner.

If all the vets, servicemen and upstaters just get out and vote, Mario's little goober will be through politically. If the other guy (Astorino?) even comes close, Childe Andy will have lost his policial 'legs'. Please encourage all of our ilk to vote for the other guy. I don't even remember his name (I think I came close before) but even if the other party was running Ghengis Khan it would be a lesson to the Democrats. A guy with no money and no help from national beating an incumbent would be a wonderful thing.

Though born in NY I now live in NJ. I have not missed deer season in NY since 1961 except when deaths in family made it impossible. I like the idea of the $100 license. I don't understand how nonresidents can be expected to hunt in NY with all the new stiffleing (sic!) confusing regulations about weapons. I hear ammuniition is now going to be stamped and a license will be needed to buy it. I hear swapping your gun with a companion is going to be illegal. Does NY want non-residents to hunt or are they simply trying to entrap them? Years ago when NJ started licensing long-arms some shrewd venal prosecutor in Bergen County had his police interdict cars with NY tags and guys dressed in hunting togs as they transitted NJ on Route 17 between the George Washinton Bridge and Suffern, the NY line. He has some of these folks arrested for being in violation of NJ's just enacted gun laws. Many of these guys lost their guns; some actually got some sort of record. I think the NY and NJ attorney generals came to some sort of agreement to clear this up. For my part, I went up the Deegan and avoided NJ. Now I live here (NJ) and see all this stuff about how great NY is. Is this some sort of Trojan Horse? Do they want my money or not?

This NYC process to buy a firearm? Stuff like this is why I no longer buy a non-resident license for NY. I hunted the 'Daks since 1961 and the only year I didn't hunt NY before this year is because of a death in the family. Either sportsmen are welcome in NY or else we are children to be fussed over and controlled. Can non-resident hunters even buy ammunition? What restrictions have they on modern sporting arms? If you live in NY you are stuck with it but I now live in NJ a mere 1/2 hour from PA and if I choose to hunt with a rifle, PA's where I'm heading. When I grew up in Brooklyn there were no restrictions on purchasing long guns. As a matter of fact that area where they built the WTC was rife with gun stores. As time passed, gun ownership became more of a pain. First they had a form you had to fill out listing the serial numbers (if present) of all your guns and you had to put up with getting fingerprinted, etc. at the local precint but it was free. I hear there are much worse restrictions today and I'd like to hear about them. Since then I left NY for good and have lived in other states where such horse-collaring by the law is considered bizarre. If this gentleman looking to hunt the Southern tier has some good maps (you can get them online from NOAA but you print them yourself) he can find state land. But in the Southern tier, getting over private land to the state land is sometimes tricky. Many times clubs arbitrarily post state land and the from-out-of-the-area hunter has no way of telling.

I have hunted NYS each year (except when my Dad passed away) since 1961, mostly Fulton County in the Daks. I even made it up while in the Navy. Initially I was a NY resident and it was affordable. Then I moved to NC then to NJ. I still footed the bill because <1> I love the Adirondaks <2> Old friends are up there <3> Long seasons that include Sunday. I won't be there this year. Age is catching up to me; my wife is recovering slowly from some health issues and her rehabilitation will span most of October and November <4> Andrew the moron, Mario's little tot, has made it plain such as me are unwelcome there.