General hunting question for experienced hunters. Sterling Forest hunter here.

[nychunter]

Hey guys,

 

So this past hunting season just ended yesterday and I have lots of questions for you experienced bow hunters here.  Let me tell you a little about my experience and then I'll get to the questions.

 

This past season was my first true year of bow hunting as I went out on my own.  I have bow hunted before and I do not gun hunt (yet).  My experience with bow hunting is in Wisconsin with a friend who owns some land and he had everything set up for me.  The tree stands were all ready and their locations were scouted out well in advance by my friend the very experienced hunter.  I went out to bow hunt in Wisconsin for three years and in that time I was able to get a nice doe.  It was awesome.

 

Anyway, this year, I went out and got my own bow, got my own camo gear and decided to hunt on my own here in NY.  I live in Rockland County so my hunting area was Sterling Forest in Orange County.

 

I spent one day scouting Sterling Forest.  I found scat and foot prints and ultimately picked a spot on a ridge overlooking a valley where I had found some scat.  My first morning out in SF, I saw a big freaking buck.  I was so excited.  He got to about 40 yards of me and I took a shot.  I shot low though.  Stupid me forgot my rangefinder at home that day and my reading of his distance was probably way way off.  I went back to that same spot for the next four days and saw NOTHING.  Morning and afternoon I was there and saw nothing.  In case anyone is wondering where this was, it was near Blue Lake around the IBM Campus.  I parked at the furthest available parking spot and hiked off trail into the woods.  Thank you Garmin.

 

Needless to say, after seeing nothing at this spot for the next few days I decided to look for other spots to hunt at SF.  

 

One day, during gun season, I tried the archery only area near Southfields between Route 17 and the NYS Thruway I87.  Nothing there either.  

 

Then I found a spot near the Sterling Ridge Blue Trail.  It was off trail and had some hiker's or hunter's pink tape leading to a ridge overlooking another valley.  I spent 3 days there last week during late season.  And then I found my own spot further past this one in the same kind of setting - ridge overlooking a valley.  Nothing there either.

 

I should also add that I do not yet have a tree stand and my setup consisted of me sitting on a rock or on the ground against a tree.  I tried to make the best of my tree-stand-less situation.

 

Almost every evening after my "hunt" when I would drive on the road leaving SF, I would see deer on the side of the road.  This would be near the IBM Campus.  So my last day in SF, I picked a spot about 300 yards from the road with a wide vista of the woods.  Again, I saw nothing.  

 

I spoke to the DEC guys at SF and they told me that it was a really good season for hunters at SF.  As of a month ago when I spoke with them, they had registered 60 harvested deer.  

 

Now that I've gotten this out of the way - here are my questions:

 

What am I doing wrong?  I spent at least 10 days in SF and I only saw one deer that whole time in the woods (that buck on my first morning out).  

 

I'm not asking anyone here for their secret spots in SF but I am asking what I should be doing differently to increase my chances of harvesting a deer.  

 

Do you guys set up trail cams in SF leading up to hunting season?  Do you set up permanent tree stands deep in the park?  

 

If there's any advice you can impart on me, I would really appreciate it as I'm very very new to this sport and I am in love with it already.  

 

Thank you all very much.

 

[Elmo]

Without knowing further details as far a food sources, bedding areas, etc.

 

Hunting NYS public land is much different than hunting private land in Wisconsin or private land any where.  Unless you have trespasser, private lands, the deer are not disturbed as much.  In public land, you'll only get true natural behavior the first few days of the season.  After that, the deer will adjust to the increase in human activity and move further away from roads and become more nocturnal.  Your best bet is to hike in further or find areas that others haven't discovered yet or have forgotten about.  For Sterling, you pretty much have to hike at least a mile in.  Also, don't limit yourself to Sterling.  There are other parks you can hunt near Rockland as well.  I usually plan several spots and whenever I feel one spot has gotten to congested with other hunters activities, I move to one of my other spots.

[DROpTINE]

Hey guys,

So this past hunting season just ended yesterday and I have lots of questions for you experienced bow hunters here. Let me tell you a little about my experience and then I'll get to the questions.

This past season was my first true year of bow hunting as I went out on my own. I have bow hunted before and I do not gun hunt (yet). My experience with bow hunting is in Wisconsin with a friend who owns some land and he had everything set up for me. The tree stands were all ready and their locations were scouted out well in advance by my friend the very experienced hunter. I went out to bow hunt in Wisconsin for three years and in that time I was able to get a nice doe. It was awesome.

Anyway, this year, I went out and got my own bow, got my own camo gear and decided to hunt on my own here in NY. I live in Rockland County so my hunting area was Sterling Forest in Orange County.

I spent one day scouting Sterling Forest. I found scat and foot prints and ultimately picked a spot on a ridge overlooking a valley where I had found some scat. My first morning out in SF, I saw a big freaking buck. I was so excited. He got to about 40 yards of me and I took a shot. I shot low though. Stupid me forgot my rangefinder at home that day and my reading of his distance was probably way way off. I went back to that same spot for the next four days and saw NOTHING. Morning and afternoon I was there and saw nothing. In case anyone is wondering where this was, it was near Blue Lake around the IBM Campus. I parked at the furthest available parking spot and hiked off trail into the woods. Thank you Garmin.

Needless to say, after seeing nothing at this spot for the next few days I decided to look for other spots to hunt at SF.

One day, during gun season, I tried the archery only area near Southfields between Route 17 and the NYS Thruway I87. Nothing there either.

Then I found a spot near the Sterling Ridge Blue Trail. It was off trail and had some hiker's or hunter's pink tape leading to a ridge overlooking another valley. I spent 3 days there last week during late season. And then I found my own spot further past this one in the same kind of setting - ridge overlooking a valley. Nothing there either.

I should also add that I do not yet have a tree stand and my setup consisted of me sitting on a rock or on the ground against a tree. I tried to make the best of my tree-stand-less situation.

Almost every evening after my "hunt" when I would drive on the road leaving SF, I would see deer on the side of the road. This would be near the IBM Campus. So my last day in SF, I picked a spot about 300 yards from the road with a wide vista of the woods. Again, I saw nothing.

I spoke to the DEC guys at SF and they told me that it was a really good season for hunters at SF. As of a month ago when I spoke with them, they had registered 60 harvested deer.

Now that I've gotten this out of the way - here are my questions:

What am I doing wrong? I spent at least 10 days in SF and I only saw one deer that whole time in the woods (that buck on my first morning out).

I'm not asking anyone here for their secret spots in SF but I am asking what I should be doing differently to increase my chances of harvesting a deer.

Do you guys set up trail cams in SF leading up to hunting season? Do you set up permanent tree stands deep in the park?

If there's any advice you can impart on me, I would really appreciate it as I'm very very new to this sport and I am in love with it already.

Thank you all very much.

For starters I would say that a successful hunt does not necessarily mean an animal must be harvested....or seen for that matter.

In general, scouting before the season is a great way to learn where the deer are and where they go. Coming across tracks and droppings will prove that deer were there but without knowing their patterns, it can be hard to pinpoint where they are coming from and for what reason. Finding bedding and food areas are key to pinpointing these patterns. How was the wind on those days? Blowing the same each day? Wind plays a huge factor in deer travel as they trust their nose. A wrong wind could be blowing your scent to the deer before they get close which is why finding where they come from is important. In other words, your spot may have been a good spot but possibly not on the days you hunted it.

It is also important to know that a deer moves differently in late season than they do earlier on. Deer usually stay in their home range but during the rut, bucks search for hot does so they become tougher to predict.

As far as hanging permanent stands on public land id say good luck...for some reason stands tend to go missing when being left on state land. Especially when giving pretty descriptive areas of where you are hunting. I'd just recommend holding back specific locations in the future to prevent yourself from frustration...

Trail cams are a great tool. Same thing goes with hanging them on state land as does a tree stand. I'm not trying to scare you, but there are clearly some people out there who will take the camera or stand if they come across it.

The best advice I think you will get is to go with trial and error. It's a great sport...keep in mind you are hunting in one of the most difficult places to hunt deer In the country. Read a lot, practice, and get in the woods. I've made mistakes while hunting. But I learned from each of them.

Hunt hard and shoot straight. Good luck.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nychunter]

Without knowing further details as far a food sources, bedding areas, etc.

 

Hunting NYS public land is much different than hunting private land in Wisconsin or private land any where.  Unless you have trespasser, private lands, the deer are not disturbed as much.  In public land, you'll only get true natural behavior the first few days of the season.  After that, the deer will adjust to the increase in human activity and move further away from roads and become more nocturnal.  Your best bet is to hike in further or find areas that others haven't discovered yet or have forgotten about.  For Sterling, you pretty much have to hike at least a mile in.  Also, don't limit yourself to Sterling.  There are other parks you can hunt near Rockland as well.  I usually plan several spots and whenever I feel one spot has gotten to congested with other hunters activities, I move to one of my other spots.

 

I did some research on Storm King and overall it didn't sound too appealing from what I read online.  I didn't do any research on the Putnam County parks like Hudson Highlands and Clarence Fahnestock.  Do you recommend those parks at all?

 

Thank you for your reply.

[nychunter]

For starters I would say that a successful hunt does not necessarily mean an animal must be harvested....or seen for that matter.

In general, scouting before the season is a great way to learn where the deer are and where they go. Coming across tracks and droppings will prove that deer were there but without knowing their patterns, it can be hard to pinpoint where they are coming from and for what reason. Finding bedding and food areas are key to pinpointing these patterns. How was the wind on those days? Blowing the same each day? Wind plays a huge factor in deer travel as they trust their nose. A wrong wind could be blowing your scent to the deer before they get close which is why finding where they come from is important. In other words, your spot may have been a good spot but possibly not on the days you hunted it.

It is also important to know that a deer moves differently in late season than they do earlier on. Deer usually stay in their home range but during the rut, bucks search for hot does so they become tougher to predict.

As far as hanging permanent stands on public land id say good luck...for some reason stands tend to go missing when being left on state land. Especially when giving pretty descriptive areas of where you are hunting. I'd just recommend holding back specific locations in the future to prevent yourself from frustration...

Trail cams are a great tool. Same thing goes with hanging them on state land as does a tree stand. I'm not trying to scare you, but there are clearly some people out there who will take the camera or stand if they come across it.

The best advice I think you will get is to go with trial and error. It's a great sport...keep in mind you are hunting in one of the most difficult places to hunt deer In the country. Read a lot, practice, and get in the woods. I've made mistakes while hunting. But I learned from each of them.

Hunt hard and shoot straight. Good luck.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I didn't pay too much attention to wind and this is something I definitely plan on tuning for next season.  Thanks alot for your advice.

[Elmo]

I've been to Storm King twice.  It stunk.  Never went back.  You can try Stewart or the DEP lands in Putnam.

[nychunter]

I've been to Storm King twice.  It stunk.  Never went back.  You can try Stewart or the DEP lands in Putnam.

 

 

Thank you

[A Sportsman]

When I find myself in a funk not seeing any deer I try to refocus myself on strictly on bedding areas. I ask myself "where are these deer bedding?" In woods that are loaded with thicket, this can be tough. Deer can bed anywhere. But in woods with small pockets of thicket, its much easier. My advice would be to scout a lot over the next 2 months and find the areas with good sign, better sign, and insane sign. Mark them on maps. Since it is pretty heavily hunted you may need to have several options should other hunters "spoil" some or most of them.

Once you have your spots, consider access points taking wind into account. And buy a quality treestand for next season.

Good luck.