nyantler

This is the old NYS #1 (before Charlie York's buck) shot in 1930 by Jere Keeler in Ulster County gross 168-3 net 162-5

There is no record of this buck in the NYSBBC record book... at least not with a score of 162 from Livingston Co.

I'm thinking that deer get more comfortable maybe depending on the amount of human contact... but I haven't encountered what I would call "tame" deer either.

I'm more of a Crown Royal guy... but if I'm drinking bourbon it's usually Woodford Reserve. Use to be that I liked my whiskey in a Manhatten, but now it's straight on the rocks. Most likely it will be accompanied by a good cigar. I am pouring a glass of Crown on the rocks as we speak! It will be a double... and I'm sure there will be a couple more to follow before the night is out. Age 56

I tend to agree with you here... deer display different tolerance levels based on their interactions with humans... suburban deer are use to human scent and their tolerance for humans is greater than deer that have little human contact and they tend to stick around until they feel threatened. Deep woods ADK deer have little or no tolerance for humans and usually vacate the area long before you get to see them. I have found that deer in Maine, a heavily forested and logged state, will run just a short distance when bumped then stop and watch to assess the danger level. I can only guess that it is because they are constantly getting bumped by loggers and other foresters, but have learned that those humans pose no threat to them and simply go about what they were doing. It makes it nice when you're tracking a buck and bump him from his bed and know he won't run more than 25-30 yards before stopping to check things out... Bang! you're dead!

Yeah my wife says the same thing

Very Cool.. great pics too!

Fortunately I lose so much weight walking during the hunting season that I need a little fattening up in January and February... usually back at fighting weight come spring when I get very active again with metal detecting, chopping wood and other outdoor activities. I can maintain my weight pretty easily until the next hunting season.

Are you saying you need to lose weight?

The deer tick problem was the straw that broke the camels back, for just the reason you say... the locals use the park for all kinds of recreational activities... you can't use that park without coming home with a tick or three... some folks can't even use there own yards any more because of the ticks... the worry over Lyme caused a huge uproar, sparking the tree huggers to unload on the local government to do something immediately about the problem... as long as the answer didn't involve allowing hunters to help solve the problem. Just being able to bow hunt the park during the entire hunting season would help immensely... and generate revenue for the park from the sale of daily hunting permits. The park is huge and is the refuge for most of the deer that frequent the neighborhoods which are surrounded by much of the park.

There is plenty of woods in the area to hunt... as well as the park if necessary... the problem is not having enough room for hunters... it's more about where the deer might possibly expire... which could be in someones back yard as they are grilling or the kids are playing on the swingset... The reality is that this could have been handled years ago... they knew there was a problem, but were reluctant to allow hunting in the state park and surrounding areas because of the resistance from the local tree huggers. Local Government officials have no backbone when it comes to pissing off the liberal residents. If not for the danger of deer vs automobile... they should just let the populations explode and laugh at those same residents as they flip out when their property gets destroyed by the deer.

The deer ticks are NUTS in that area... the park has tried for the last 30 years to have a bow only season which has been met with the same resistance as the Fayetteville bow hunt in all of those 30 years.

Not in the village limits.. no... and the deer are thicker than crows in the village limits... Part of the village is adjacent to Green Lakes State Parks... which holds an unbelievable amount of deer and some of the biggest bucks I've ever seen. No hunting allowed there either. This is a relatively affluent neighborhood with lots and lots of tree huggers for residents.

I don't have a goal of shooting one bigger... just shooting a mature buck. The fun for me is making it more of a challenge somehow. Either with a different weapon, or by setting challenging criteria for myself... For example... I have yet to kill a buck with my recurve because I have given myself the challenge of only taking a buck that I believe is 120 or better, on the ground and at 20 yards or closer. In 14 years of using a recurve I have had only 3 times where all the criteria were met... the first time I had a slightly uphill opportunity at a big 10-point and shot just under the buck shaving just hair from his chest... the second two were inside 20 yards, but never offered me a good opportunity for a shot and I had to let them walk away. One of the opportunities I had just this past season at 10 yards in such a thick area that I could not find a hole big enough to slip an arrow through even at 10 yards... after a 5 or so minute encounter I finally had to just watch as the buck wandered off... I saw that buck two more times but never closer than 25 yards. Still exciting hunts and great experiences!

This town is only a mile or so from me... what you may not know is that there was a plan already in place to allow bow hunter to do this job... it was suppose to have begun a month or so ago and was postponed by the village ( I'm assuming there was some backlash by some of the residents ) . http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2015/11/fayetteville_bait-and-kill_deer.html. the plan: http://fayettevilleny.gov/NewsAndInformation/VillageNews/DownloadFile.aspx?id=1253

Agreed there are better options.. but not really a bad choice for the proficient shooter. I'm not that guy... so I'll stick to my 30-06. Actually I would be best served by a rifle that kills with an ear shot

You kidding me??? Great job for your first time!!!

exactly... it's all about the confidence you have in the weapon you're using

I use a recurve or longbow and wooden arrows... with old school Zwicki Broad heads... no sights... and I know many guys that do the same... not sure any of what you said applies.

I have never believed that the death penalty should be use as a form of vindication, retribution, or vengeance... it should be used only to eliminate that individual from ever being a threat to society again. In my Opinion...Hatred is no reason to kill in any capacity.

This might be getting ahead of things a bit but I think maybe the DEC is moving towards one long season where any weapon is fair game. yup... I said it!

Yeah but that could be said about any weapon in the wrong hands whether we're talking about gun, bow, muzzleloader or crossbow.

Controlling ones temper and passing on doing something you might regret later is commendable... but allowing an act like this to go without at least notifying the authorities would be irresponsible. At least the neighbors will be on notice that they didn't get away with something they might consider trying again later... and give you a little satisfaction for doing the right thing.

I think I understand now where Karl Gundel got the idea for his article... did he interview you?