NYDeer

Opening day on HH I saw 4 deer. Two I kicked up bushwhacking a game trail, only saw tails & back legs. The third was a doe I saw moving though while I was walking a trail, drew my gun on it, then 'Kaboom!" Another hunter down over the ridge took a shot. Deer bolted away, so I dropped my gun to waist high, scannning for the other hunter.. Then, from about 10 feet from where the other doe first was, a smaller doe bolts up,comes jumping & dodging through the woods, directly at me. I shoulder the gun, and she notices me at 30 yards.. Full brakes stop, front legs out stiff, dropping low to the ground.. I hold her chest & let a shot go. She does a 180, then goes bounding uphill & over the ridge where the first doe went. I waited a bit, caught my breath, then went to where she was. There was about 4-5 handfulls of long white hair, but no blood/tissue. I followed the path she took, but no other signs of a hit.. I walked about the area for another 35 minutes. No signs of any hits, either deer, or which was more disturbing to me, the other hunter.. Checking out, they're was 2 does there, one 26 lbs (weighed) and the other looked about 70-80 lbs..

+1 The guy running the East Hampton check station gave a little talk before turning us loose on opening morning. Said we were 'Guests' on the property, it was imperative we respect the privilege we have of using the lands, and if we wanted to ensure continued use, use common sense if we encounter non hunters in the woods.. Also mentioned that they were working on trying to get the east end properties opened up for a Spring LI turkey hunt, which would be sweet..

Glad to hear everything turned out OK. Wish your fiance a speedy recovery..

The 'satellite' check station for East Hampton is in a DOT garage, just west of Hither hills, and east of the small road that winds uphill connecting Montauk highway, and old montauk highway. You can see the road on google maps. You cannot see the building from the road. I've hunted spot HH 13 a few times. Bring a compass or GPS. There are several unmarked trails there. Hope for a little snow cover, & if you get some, your in for a great day cause you can cruise the trails & silently slow hunt. If you have a DMP, shoot the first doe you see, & the check station will issue a either sex tag immediately, & you can be back in the woods.. There are some old deer out there..

Just found out about them & passing on information. Is anyone a member? I'm not, but If I get into waterfowl, I'll probably join, it's only $25 a year.. "South Shore Waterfowlers Association is dedicated to preserving and promoting the waterfowling tradition on Long Island and in New York. Our goal is to highlight our waterfowling heritage through education, example, and advocacy for all waterfowl enthusiasts, as we strive to conserve our waterfowl resources. We recognize the importance of involving the next generation in waterfowl hunting. To that end, SSWA continues to be involved with youth hunter education programs, and educational presentations on the subjects of safety, hunter ethics, and waterfowl identification for our members. We are dedicated advocates of hunter's rights, and in return we expect a high standard of good sportsmanship from our members." http://sswa.org

If your looking at any Adirondack clubs, most paper companies liquidated their land holdings, and The Nature Conservancy purchased a ton of acreage.. Much of the lands leased by clubs were transferred to the new owners, and they are phasing out the leases for a bunch of clubs. Ask any Adirondack clubs you have interest in their long term feasibility on maintaining the lease before you write a check..

My hunting partner & I dropped in on a farm he used to hunt regularly a few years back this November for an afternoon deer hunt. Chatted with the owner a bit, & secured his permission to hunt again, then we walked out to look over the land.. Inthe cow pasture, there had to be 300 lesser Canadians, spread all over.. It looked like a geese farm.. Got me a bit excited seeing so many possible harvests, Im gonna try for some birds myself this year..

Welcome to HuntingNY

The landowner really did his homework there pre-purchase, and it's paid off handsomely in the amount of deer moving though the area.. Hope you guys got some good footage or a buck, cause it was freezing out!!

Check out Bashakill WMA in Sullivan County for next years hunts, you need to apply for a permit Aug 1/Sept1.. Bashakill Regs http://www.dec.ny.gov/regs/3958.html

Thanks for the input everybody. I went with a Carlson Mod Extended choke, as papabear suggested. Another friend also mentioned Carlson, and the price point is If I want something different, I wouldn't hesitate to drop another $30 for another.. For patterning the mod choke, 40" circle at 30 yard is the accepted setup?

Some issues that are laws I have problems with, but seriously, 'backtags' are giving up your power to the 'man'?? BTW, I surely hope you didn't sign up for that pesky social security number, cause you KNOW big brother will track your whole life with it.. Or a drives license, credit cards, static ip adress, health insurance, even a mailing address.. May I suggest you turn in the plates from your vehicles, pack up, & get into the wilderness.. Get off the grid.. The g-men dressed in black, THEY are coming for you.. ??? The Northern-Southern zone back-tag discrepancy can be explained this way.. Low 'hunters to lands' density of the north, to moderate to way-too-high density of some southern zone areas.. If there are more people 'doing' something, you'll get more regulation- Hunting, driving, building, anything.. I'd bet that NYC has more laws than the whole state of Alaska.. Not a good thing, but just an example..

You might want to include a region you want to hunt.. NYS is pretty big..

I was told, Yes , you can bowhunt during the shotgun season. Personally, I don't know if I'd want to bowhunt where guys are wandering around with slug guns though.. And, It is a weekday only season..

My 500A's chokes say 'Lead only', so I've been looking at ones for steel shot. They range from $18 to $100+, and some are the std choke sizes, but others are labeled Mid, or Long range.. A friend said get the Long range/40+ yd one first, but will that handicap me with closer shots? I'll be hunting from land, with no boat/dog.. Anyone have any recomendations on what to get first, or one type/brand over another?

Last LEGAL shooter would qualify that statement.. I don't think the DEC allows you to shoot a running deer, shot already by someone else, after sundown.. Today, for NYC was 4:28, Buffalo was 4:41, so I'd tend to say 'last shooter' in this case, may be also illegal shooter by DEC law.. If you know the guy, I probably would throw it out there next time you see him, 'that it was good he finished off your deer, and didn't go to waste', but I wouldn't go knocking on the door.. Nothing to be gained but bad blood/feelings.. And for your first deer, do you really want some fiasco associated in your memory of it?? I understand you wanted the deer to bleed out, but when your in a high pressure/public area, especially for gun season, I move right away.. This isn't some television show, on a thousand acre ranch where nobody will stumble across it.. Public land hunts you need to expect other hunters will be around, so possession is 9/10 ths the law.. Every hunt is a learning experience, so cough this one up to the learning curve..

Funny you post this.. Cleaning the basement, I found "The Hunter's Bible" by WK Merrill, from 1968. On Pg 96, in a photo submitted by Bear archery, there is a photo of Fred Bear from the back, in a natural brush ground blind, with a backtag that is about a foot wide, with 3-4" high letters.. I thought is was a bit overkill, but reading this, you'd be able to read the tag very well from a distance through binoculars..

I knew a guy in high school who would drop a plastic drop cloth over the decorated fake tree, then shimmy it into the closet, as is! Wasn't the smartest kid, but I think he was onto something..

That would be a donation deer for me..

in 2003, I tagged an adks buck, and only had a dmp for suffolk.. Jan 15, 15 degrees out with fresh snow from that morning.. Wouldn't ya know, I'm sitting eating breakfast.. Gun against the tree, and a grisly grey snout old buck comes walking right up & passes me at 25 yards.. 8 point, couple inches wider than the ears both sides, but the tallest time was like 4-5 inches max. He just kept walking a straight line, never raised his drooped head, changed pace or direction, while I continued to munch granola, speechless.. Wound up taking a small doe I spotted off the trail going back to the truck.. but that memory was the prize for me..

Its a shame this stuff still happens. When my son was younger, he tagged along into the deer woods many times. Once, we were set up in a ground blind, he saw a deer, but I couldn't confirm it off hand. The gun I had was open sights, so I grabbed the binocs.. Made out the deer, but, as I was just dropping them, the deer circled round & bound away.. My son looked really upset, said I let him get away. I had to explain right then & there, there was no 'do overs', or 'I'm sorry' when your shooting a gun. Know your target is kinda simple, but can prevent these type of accidents..

It's an interesting issue though.. Charlie Asthiemer talks about the enclosed fenced area he created on his farm for a deer study area in his QDM book. They had to get all deer outside of the enclosure, or had to pay the sate for any deer trapped inside..

Met one of the owners of Great South Bay Brewery the other day.. They're in Bayshore so I'm gonna try to stop by..

Well, you do get what you pay for, and Dick's, like it or not, is a big box outfit.. The 'Field & Stream' products are usually name brand stuff re-tagged for Dick's, so it's probably a hit or miss thing.. Cold weather gear isn't a place to scrounge a few bucks though! Although we wear it only a month or two out of the year, freezing every minute for a month will make it like an eternity!

State land is logged State Forests & wildlife management areas are logged.. 'Forever Wild' lands in the Adks & Catskills are not logged, it's explicitly banned by NY State constitution..