Early Antlerless Season (Gun before Bow)

[Judoka95]

I hunt in 8F and last year the idea of getting out with a gun before bow season just didn't feel right to me. But I think I am warming up to it. Obviously, the DEC believes we have too many doe in these areas and assuming this is true, it should theoretically be beneficial to the overall herd.

What does everyone else think?

[ridgerunner88]

I am ok with it, I would rather have them implementing extra hunting opportunities to deal with the overpopulation as opposed to some of their other questionable tactics (sterilization). It is antlerless only so it is not like you are giving rifle hunters a leg up when it comes to harvesting a trophy buck. 

[phade]

DEC keeps hammering the same nail. More tags and season vs increasing access opportunities where the need is.

 

[wolc123]

Definitely a big step in the right direction.  I have a hard time picking the best of the changes that the NY state DEC made for deer hunters last year, since (4) of them helped directly, to put deer in my freezer last season.    The early antlerless gun season definitely ranks near the top.  
 

I guess I would call the Holiday ML season my favorite of those changes.  It’s hard to beat getting paid from work to hunt deer, without having to use extra vacation days.  Those extra half hours of hunting time, before sunrise and after sunset sure were great also.   So was the reopening of early antlerless ML harvest, in many Adirondack zones that had been closed for too long. 
 

I wouldn’t have believed it, if I hadn’t have seen those changes printed out in black and white in the “highlights of changes” section of this year’s  regulation book, when I picked up my new tags yesterday.  I thought maybe last year was just a one-time fluke for those changes.  It looks like they are now “carved in stone”.  As a pure meat hunter, I can’t think of a time when the deer hunting was any better in NY.  Bravo DEC, and keep up the good work.

I had been hearing rumors that the Holiday ML season in particular was not certain.  It was great to see that it is. 

Edited August 8, 2022 by wolc123

[G-Man]

They should go to kill 5 doe and get your buck tag for those areas..  

This has all trickled down from bowhunters  getting picky .. dec needs dead deer..  if they would kill  doe early and often then this gunseason would never of happenend..

[G-Man]

1 hour ago, phade said:

DEC keeps hammering the same nail. More tags and season vs increasing access opportunities where the need is.

 

Most is all private land in those areas..  they should go to  a earn a buck tag there  and  no landowner tag without dead doe tagged..   hard to control population when no one has access to hunt it..

[G-Man]

46 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

Definitely a big step in the right direction.  I have a hard time picking the best of the changes that the NY state DEC made for deer hunters last year, since (4) of them helped directly, to put deer in my freezer last season.    The early antlerless gun season definitely ranks near the top.  
 

I guess I would call the Holiday ML season my favorite of those changes.  It’s hard to beat getting paid from work to hunt deer, without having to use extra vacation days.  Those extra half hours of hunting time, before sunrise and after sunset sure were great also.   So was the reopening of early antlerless ML harvest, in many Adirondack zones where that had been closed for too long. 
 

I wouldn’t have believe, it if I hadn’t have seen those changes printed out in black and white in the “highlights of changes section of this year’s  regulation book, when I picked up my new tags yesterday.  I thought maybe last year was just a one-time fluke for those changes.  It looks like they are now “carved in stone”.  As a pure meat hunter, I can’t think of a time when the deer hunting was any better in NY.  Bravo DEC, and keep up them good work.

I had been hearing rumors that the Holiday ML season in particular was not certain.  It was great to see that it is. 

The holiday hunt can be opted out by county. They get a lot of pressure from snowmobilers. But trails are on private land  i know a few land owners that said if they take away holiday hunt then they will pull the right for trial thru their properties

[wolc123]

I like the regs the way they are now.   I think “earn a buck” would put too much pressure on the does.  
 

7 minutes ago, G-Man said:

The holiday hunt can be opted out by county. They get a lot of pressure from snowmobilers. But trails are on private land  i know a few land owners that said if they take away holiday hunt then they will pull the right for trial thru their properties

Plus, with the global warming trend that we are currently in, the odds of good rideable snow before New Year’s in NY state is getting less and less each year. 

[phade]

13 minutes ago, G-Man said:

Most is all private land in those areas..  they should go to  a earn a buck tag there  and  no landowner tag without dead doe tagged..   hard to control population when no one has access to hunt it..

I’m familiar with the impacted areas. Other states offer private landowners programs that can relieve tax burden or compensation, etc. WIHA and similar programs. The problem isn’t just people being picky, average parcel size is shrinking and more land is becoming inaccessible due to increased competition or landowners saying no because of the subdivision going on. String along a handful of small acreage homeowners and now deer can become much more capable of avoiding pressure. There’s a few people here who have hunted a particular property in that situation and people have HAMMERED does in it. I mean maxing out borrowed DMPs and all. You wouldn’t know a dent was made over a few years of it. They just kept coming.

Hunter choice isn’t the biggest issue. Access is. It’s clear.

[Nomad]

21 minutes ago, phade said:

Hunter choice isn’t the biggest issue. Access is. It’s clear.

Much of that by me was brought on by the qdm movement , rather if it’s actually followed correctly is up,for debate. Land where everyone could hunt whatever they wanted is now off limits ( no access ) and hunted by one or two now who just sit and shoot only one big buck apiece . Need to,keep the does to,lure the bucks, how often have you heard that here ?

How many doe kills are posted ? 

Instead of giving me 8 or so doe tags , how’s about I fill two to get a buck tag ?

Theres few deer hunters left, only buck hunters , and Lord help you If you shoot a young one !

 

[G-Man]

1 hour ago, Nomad said:

Much of that by me was brought on by the qdm movement , rather if it’s actually followed correctly is up,for debate. Land where everyone could hunt whatever they wanted is now off limits ( no access ) and hunted by one or two now who just sit and shoot only one big buck apiece . Need to,keep the does to,lure the bucks, how often have you heard that here ?

How many doe kills are posted ? 

Instead of giving me 8 or so doe tags , how’s about I fill two to get a buck tag ?

Theres few deer hunters left, only buck hunters , and Lord help you If you shoot a young one !

 

State needs to rethink  statewide buck tags. Not many want to be bothered with shooting a doe and it doenst take  long for them to  take over the population.. 

[BowmanMike]

I fully agree earned a buck tag would be a great idea. The only way to control the population and balance the herd is by killing does. Incentives for opening up more land is also a good plan...

[UpStateRedNeck]

Where the hell is anybody going to hunt in 4J? 

The earned buck tag thing is something they do at the alcove.  Can't slap a buck tag on anything until you fill the special doe permit they give you.

[ATbuckhunter]

  I am Thinking of giving this a go. I live in- 3M area. 
  Not much of a Deer Hunter here- maybe 30 times or so out in 48 years .
 I see DMP + DMAP Tags. Do I need both or just ask for a 3M Doe Permit.
 I have a few areas where,I can take my 30-30 with the iron sights. I know Stewart prohibits Rifles- so,I might borrow my Brother in Law's  Shotgun with the Slug Barrel.
  Need to talk to Cynthia. See if She is going.
 

Just dmps. DMAP’s are something different. You should be able to get both 3M doe tags. May go out there myself with the muzzleloader


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[Larry]

I live in 8G it's not that we don't want to kill deer we just can't get to them. I do have a place to hunt but won't hunt the early season it's to hot and I don't have any place to process a deer that early 

Edited August 9, 2022 by Larry

[Judoka95]

I've never really considered myself a meat hunter or a horn hunter, and I have never really made an effort to "control" the doe population.  If I see a mature deer, I will typically take it and i usually only take 1 or 2 deer a year. This year will be a little different. I plan on putting 3 deer in the freezer and I have a few family members that I will be pushing to harvest does.

I always like seeing a big herd of deer in the back field, but I also realize that big numbers don't always equal a healthy herd.

[Arcade Hunter]

Ill be out with the muzzy in 8G.

[Five Seasons]

why would you assume it's true for your hunting spot? The DEC looks at regions in totality, which often includes burbs and public parks that are off limits. There is no reason to believe your 40 acres has too many doe. Only you and evidence like browse pressure and trail cam pics can determine if you should be taking more doe. 

[The_Real_TCIII]

State needs to rethink  statewide buck tags. Not many want to be bothered with shooting a doe and it doenst take  long for them to  take over the population.. 

I held out for a good buck last year and killed four does while I waited. And will happily do the same every year. Definitely not the norm I suppose


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[Judoka95]

2 hours ago, Belo said:

why would you assume it's true for your hunting spot? The DEC looks at regions in totality, which often includes burbs and public parks that are off limits. There is no reason to believe your 40 acres has too many doe. Only you and evidence like browse pressure and trail cam pics can determine if you should be taking more doe. 

I wouldn't say I'm assuming, I know roughly how many deer are on my property because I live here and see them every day. I see the new fawns every year, and I see the numbers on my trail cams. I am also familiar with my neighbors and what gets harvested on their properties. I know I am in a region that the DEC considers having a high number of doe and I have only harvested 2 doe in the last 3 years. Most of the larger fruit farms around here have started installing high fences to cut down on crop loss which also limits food resources for the herd. 

I would probably call it more of an educated guess based on deductive reasoning. which sounds better than ass-uming.

[RangerClay]

Landowners who file for nuisance tags should open their land up to public hunting.

[ridgerunner88]

PA has DMAPS.. residents pay $11 non-residents $36 and you can shoot a doe... they release so many tags per property depending on size/deer population... mostly just a bunch of logging companies but I bet if the DEC incentivized it, private landowners in NY would get on board. 

Earn a buck tags are great concepts too.

[Judoka95]

I guess my real question was, who is going out for the early antlerless season???

[Bolt action]

I'll be out doing some in person recon with with 8 year old. He went camping up in Old Forge last weekend wit my BIL. Apparently there were 5 or 6 doe that came right down to the sites where kids were feeding them bread. He came home telling me how cute they were and how awesome the experience was. If I'm not careful, that may deter him from wanting to go out and shoot one.

Haven't decided whether or not I'll bring a gun. I go back and forth between wanting to put one in the freezer and not wanting to scare off big bucks before the rut. I think it's early enough that chances during the rut won't be impacted by this.

[Five Seasons]

2 hours ago, Judoka95 said:

I wouldn't say I'm assuming, I know roughly how many deer are on my property because I live here and see them every day. I see the new fawns every year, and I see the numbers on my trail cams. I am also familiar with my neighbors and what gets harvested on their properties. I know I am in a region that the DEC considers having a high number of doe and I have only harvested 2 doe in the last 3 years. Most of the larger fruit farms around here have started installing high fences to cut down on crop loss which also limits food resources for the herd. 

I would probably call it more of an educated guess based on deductive reasoning. which sounds better than ass-uming.

I guess my point is that I hunt a fruit farm and it's bordered by hundreds of acres of crops. It's far from over run with doe. But just a few miles to the west in the burbs they're like rodents and live on small chunks of woods that can't be hunted. 

Our population issues are not hunters failing to shoot doe, but access to areas where they are abundant. I'd have shot 2 more if it I could have.