Warren

NFA-ADK said ---Let me guese you did not get a deer last year? I have guys who whack over 6-12 deer a year down in the southern zone. They claim they can hit them over the head with a hammer... Tough hunting... But if you can not find and kill one well you need to take a hunting course then... Join a seminar... Learn more about what you are doing and scout some more and you will have better success. Don't be pissed off at me just because you are lazy and can not pattern a single deer... Make your own success... WOW,???? you are obviously very young, inexperienced and live a sheltered life. I hope you enjoy living in your little agoppy world. This comment shows everyone that you have never deer hunted on state land in the southern tier. I hope you have many successful years of deer hunting and never have to experience the frustration of state land deer hunting. (I'm jealous) This also gives me the impression that you know guys who break the hunting laws, or does whacked mean that they hit the deer with their cars?

Going back to the original post; I said I was 100% in agreement but I want to revise that to about 80% of what was posted. I will break down some of the comments made -- (1)The advocates for AR have put a limit on others opportunities. The AR people think they are TV hunters , they think they are great hunters and tough luck to others who only want to deer hunt and harvest a deer. --TRUE (2) The hunting camp I belong to has 35 members with a doz. out of state hunters and we are lucky to see a deer, let alone a legal buck. --Most likely TRUE (3) I have heard that some of the out of state hunters are giving up hunting in NY because of AR Most are saying it cost to much to sit in the woods knowing they will not see a legal buck and with no doe tags to boot, they are going to look else where. --Seems TRUE (4)Thankyou advocates of AR ,you have gotten what you wanted by having fewer deer hunters in the woods so you can have the deer to yourselfs. --FALSE no one belives this one. (5) An other sad thing about AR is it is not good deer management and that is fact. --The jury is out on this one but I feel this one might be true. (6) Another group of selfish greedy so called deer hunters are the NY Bowhunters coalition. They cry about everything. They don't want anyone in the woods in their season. They cried that the bow wasn't long enough, so NY gave them another two weeks etc,etc,etc --Wording is childish but seems like DEC has buckled to their pressure. Conclusion; Too many NY hunters have watched too many Outdoor t.v. channel deer hunting shows and are fooled into thinking you are not a deer hunter unless you shoot a mature trophy buck. AR might let some young bucks escape the first hunting season only to allow it to run in front of a car one of our family members is driving. We need to control the deer population not the bucks antler size.

I got one for 3P with a preference point from last year. My son-in-law also got one for 3P also using his preference point.

I agree with you 100%. I bet there are a lot more out there that agree with you too. Like you said, the silent majority. It's the old saying, the squeaky wheel gets greased.

Opening day I saw nothing all morning. At about 1:30 I kicked up a doe and a 4 pt. My buddy took a doe in the morning. Just before dark I spotted a big buck feeding on the powerline and took a shot with the hopes that I could make a +/-225 yd shot -- I missed. At the check station that evening there were 2 beautiful bucks brought in. I hunted a total of 8 days and saw 5 deer. No acorns this year and very few buck rubs where there were several last few years.

Samcolt87 This was my 43rd deer season and I got nothing this year also and I too was hunting at Sterling Forest. 43 years and I'm still learning or maybe I just keep forgetting what I know. I think it is a great idea to get out there and small game hunt and scout out the areas for next deer season.

I've been to Double Boar Ranch in northwestern Pa. When I went there it had pure european boars and it was as close to a real hunt as you can get. I enjoyed it enough to go back a second time. First time with a handgun and the second time with my 35Rem. Last year it was sold to another operator and I'm hoping it will be run as well as it was with the original owners. http://doubleboarranch.com/

Pass along a congratulations to your brother-in-law. I know it's not easy to get a deer with a handgun but to get an 8 pointer, wow, nice job.

I meant to say that my buddy took his deer the morning of opening day which was Saturday, not Monday. I guess I still think opening day is on Monday. I wish you guys good luck.

Forgot to add, keep checking yourself for ticks. I found at least 10 today.

My buddy took a doe first thing Monday morning. I saw a spike and a doe and at 4pm missed a 8 point at about 250 yards. At the check station our doe was the heaviest for the day at 98lbs. There were 2 really nice 8 pointers being checked in. one was 140 lbs and was the heaviest buck for the day. Our doe was deer number 25 for the day. Wednesday we were told that the first bear (a small one) was checked in on Tuesday. The visitor's center told us the take has been low so far.

I've taken 3 NY whitetails with a 44 using 240gr jhp and one with a 180gr jhp. They both worked great but did not exit the deer. Hit them in the heart/lung area and you have your deer. I would like to have a complete pass thru and I expect the soft points would do that.

While I'm at it, here a a couple I caught back in 07.

This is a picture of my granddaughter with the salmon she got yast year. She was only 9 at the time. The other picture is the 25 lb king salmon my daughter got from Lake Ontatio out of Oswego,NY

I took my daughter and granddaughter up to the Salmon River on 10/29. My granddaughter brought in a 12 lb steelhead and my daughter landed a 17 lb salmon. I was fishing with Tom Burke of Cold Steel Sportfishing.

If you are not planning to deer hunt with the pistol then go with something small and easy to carry. I doubt you will need a handgun for bear protection in NY. Maybe for coyotes and 2 legged threats. I have had a pistol permit for many years and have owned all kinds and sizes of handguns. The big ones end up at home because they are too big to carry. If you don't plan to carry, then a 4" 357mag revolver is your best choice. If you are thinking about conceal carry, then you might want to look at something like the Ruger LCP or LCR. Both guns are for protection and not target shooting. I like the LCP because it can be safely left unloaded and quickly loaded by just slipping the loaded magazine into the gun.

I've been hunting state land for over 40 years(Ulster and Orange County since 1984) . In that time I have taken 23 whitetails (9 bucks and 14 does). I hunt an average of 8 days a year and usually see one buck and maybe 7 does total each season. Most of the deer I've taken have been in mid-day and later in the season. The best buck was a 7 pointer. You need to get back at least a mile from the road and it is getting harder as I get older.

Phils514 Bring some tic repellent.

RPIBuckhunter -- I agree with your Dad. Shot them on the ground if they won't fly.

Thanks for the replies, I guess I can't blame the rifle's finish for the lack of deer sightings last year. As the old saying goes -- A poor carpenter always blames his tools.

I have a Savage in 270win that is a bright shinny stainless steel. Does anyone have any experience while deer hunting where the deer spotted the bright barrel? Is it possible to just spray paint over the stainless steel? Any special paint required?

3P = not selected 3J = not selected

I loved watching the Tred Barta show. It is a shame he was struck down so young and I am very impressed that he does not let his condition stop him. I can't believe any of you can find fault in what he is doing. I guy in a wheelchair trying to hunt a bear with a bow. How is that bad but it's okay for a guy to sit in a box blind with a scoped rifle and shot a deer across a field is okay? Like Fasteddie said "hats off to Tred Barta"!!!!

I'm sure that a lot of trout are caught there, I guess we just hit one of those bad days. Maybe it was just my poor fishing skills but would I go again? No! I'd have a better feeling of the place if they only charged you if you caught something but to charge a family of 5 (including a 7 and 8 year old) $2.5 each to just sit there bugs me. They didn't even have any meal worms for sale, just night crawlers.

"The ponds are always well stocked and it's a great way to break a youngster in - guaranteed action." Well I just got back from a very disappointing time at Eldred preserve. The fishing was extremely poor. I knew we were going to have a bad time when a family was leaving as we got there and they said no one was catching anything. In 3 hours with over 30 people fishing we saw 3 trout caught. I was prepared to pay big bucks for the grandkids to catch some fish. Boy was I disappointed with the place. We came home and went to a local small pond and the girls had a blast catching sunnies.