nyantler

Great read... not sure that I agree with the guy that is for culling bucks, at least not for developing age structure for bucks. If we were managing for perfect racks that might be an issue. The proof has been out there for many years that qdm works... but i think it works much better when everyone buys into the program instead of fighting it. The only thing I would like to see added to a good management plan is making sure there is constant re-evaluation every so many years in case some portions need to be tweeked to account for any changes in habitat or population fluctuations. QDM shouldn't be deer farming, but rather a more natural deer managing based on populations, age structure and habitat.

my son's would never have thought of touching my guns as younger boys... they were educated early about guns...I let them shoot a gun at a young age which immediately showed them that guns were not a toy.. something about the feel and sound of a gun when a kid actually experiences shooting it that cures them of wanting to "play" with one.. it's a shame that a family has to suffer the loss of a child and another child has to live with the fact that he killed is friend.. what a tragedy!

LOL.. seems like the argument for everything around here if someone doesn't like the idea is to blame it on the hunters in favor of AR ... and how the trophy hunters that want more and bigger bucks are the reason everything is so bad... I am just pointing out how a certain individual keeps twisting the facts ;D By the wy .. Merry Christmas!!

Not sure how you twisted that around like you just did... ..Its says that they agree it can be a part of a viable management plan but at the moment they see no biological urgency or compelling management advantage... i do agree it is not something they are interested in pursuing at the moment, thats obvious seeing how they sided with 20% of the hunters instead of the majority... 20% must have meant a lot of revenue loss to them... But they left the door wide open for extention of the program with increased hunter interest. The statement also says flat out that the DEC supports voluntary AR.. and remember the whole report was only based on extending AR to 8 wmu's and the specific statements by jeremy were pertaining to those wmu's

Rat prices are about the same as when i was a kid, but man the fox price is a lot lower.. all in all not bad... pretty cool pics too

And lastly from the DEC's written assessment of the planned AR extention... "The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) supports voluntary antler restriction programs but does not see a critical biological need or compelling management advantage to mandate antler restrictions. However, DEC recognizes that antler restrictions can be part of a viable deer management program when hunter support for such restrictions is widespread." Long story short.. as soon as enough hunters decide they want it.. it will be adopted!

(DEC earlier this year indicated it would expand antler restriction regulations only if hunter sentiment was strongly - at least two-thirds - in favor of such a move. Even with strong support, if more than 20 percent of the hunting community was strongly opposed to the move, DEC officials said an antler restriction plan would be scrapped. Hurst said the survey results were "really contradictory," indicating strong feelings on both sides of the issue. Support for antler restrictions was strongest (69.8 percent) in WMUs 3A and 4X. But that unit also saw 20.3 percent of hunters "strongly opposed" to the regulations.) Some how Jeremy thought these results were contradictory? I'm sure the feelings were strong on both sides but over 3 times stronger in in support. The only thing contradictory is that they didn't go ahead with the expansion with the 2/3 support, which they had. But instead sided with the 20% opposition...

I believe the direct quote was "There is no biological urgency to implement a mandatory antler restriction program in the proposed deer management units, and hunters who wish to adopt an antler restriction policy or practice may already do so on a voluntary basis." He was talking just about particular WMU's.. and didn't say anything about no biological need ever. That is not his opinion on AR in general just those particular wmu's. Also if you read the rest of the statement... which was in reference to developing AR in 8 other units of NY... the most important reason it wasn't adopted is because 20% of the hunters in that area were against it.. And 20% was the number that the DEC decided would keep them from adopting AR in those units... even though 69% of the hunters were for it in those units... you have to read the whole report!

I get a kick out of the red lights laying on the stump

Jim Masset and Joe Dinito, probably the best known trackers in NY, and I have always talked about filming something.. but it is a huge undertaking. Tracking deer with two people (the hunter and a cameraman) is very difficult because of th added movement 2 people make in the woods. It might be possible with two good trackers that hunt the same way because they would be able to work better together, but still it's extremely hard to track with 2 people when hunting a wily big buck.

Now thats funny.. but so true!!

Does anyone realize how much of our tax dollars go to just maintaining the actually governments themselves.. high salaries, expense accounts, living expenses, pensions, government vehicles, and health insurance. All of which are far better than what the taxpayers that pay for them have.

you can get am H&R HANDY rifle (http://www.hr1871.com) single shot for about $150 ... and they have interchangable barrels for all different calibers.. they will even tap it out for a scope mount for free I believe. I have a 30-06 that I love. It is very durable and very accurrate.

Yeah the TV stuff is way out of touch with the type of hunting we do here in NY.

Now thats what I call decorating for x-mas..haha too funny

Merry Christmas to all of you and your families. Hope everyone has a great holiday! I also would like to thank those of you that submitted stories to my website... keep 'em coming.

I don't know where you read that Doc.. but i talked to Jeremy personally and got the complete opposite from him. The huge concern for him was implementing a good management plan while maintaining conservation revenues... the DEC has to be conserned about balancing both... Many said crossbows would never be allowed in NY.. but here they are! By the way Jeremy had a lot to do with getting that passed as well.

Yeah some of the guys get really secretive when they kill a monster... they get that celebrity feeling and hold out on the story til they can get a magazine to pay them for it... or to become a pro-staffer for the scent company who's scent they had out. I actually called about this buck and got the "he's taking a low profile and wants to keeps things quiet for a bit, I'll have him call you if he's interested in giving a story." Oh well , still a great buck.

Was that a dig Steve??

I have news for you Steve... the DEC has already started a move towards AR in portions of the rest of the State.. don't be surprised if they care a little more than you think.. the legislators may have to be persuaded to change some of the laws because they are afraid of losing revenues, but the DEC is made up of guys who also hunt and have a grip on whats going on. I'm not saying a qdm like program is coming or isn't, but with the big push by many hunters for better deer management I wouldn't be surprised if NY adopts something similar to other states... AR and all.

I will agree that the most enjoyable hunting i have ever experienced wwas with my Dad... wish he was still around to hunt with. But even he would have said the same thing... hunting alone is the only way to consistantly kill bigger bucks.

got those pics a few weeks ago but nobody in the big buck club has heard anything solid yet.

That is exatly right! Personal hunting experience is what you make it.. the overall hunting experience is something some guys lose site of...

Definitely can be entered in the NY book as a found deer. That's a BIG 8-point!

Now there is an idea!