My son and I want to start hunting.

[Daveboone]

upstate and northern NY has a lot of public land, a lot of which is very low pressure hunting. Areas I used to frequent heavily hunted 25 years ago are now lightly hunted. My suggestion is to contact the DEC and ask for information on areas you are interested in. Plan a few camping/ scouting trips to explore areas. Be sure to tone down expectations from the media...big woods hunting is a lot of hunting, not much shooting, but the deer are there, and you will probably find woods hunting more rewarding than downstate hunting with higher deer populations.

If you would like to send a personal response, I can suggest a few areas that I have enjoyed, but no longer frequent, and good luck to ya. You want to be sure to get your basic skills down first though (fire starting, compass use, etc).

[Two Track]

The shotguns should be fine as long they are not designed skeet shooting with a full choke.

 

Deer hunting in NY required using a single projectile, so must purchase slugs for deer hunting with a shotgun. Single, Over-Under, side-by-side, doesn't matter as long as you are comfortable with the gun and know how it shoots.

 

If you use shotgun, this opens you up to use Stewart Forest buffer lands, just west of the Stewart Airport near Newburgh/New Windsor.

 

Have to be careful if go to Storm King Mt. (rifle or shotgun)  if the weather is nice, will have a lot of hikers go through. Had some with dogs off lease go by, so watch for yellow labs.

 

If you can get 3P permits, you can try to get a permit to deer hunt at West Point.  Requires that you shoot a doe first on base.  You have to apply for a West Point permit - requirements can vary year to year. Cadets and active army personnel came first.  They have shotgun only zones and rifle zones.

[RangerClay]

Get yourself one or both of these.

 

http://www.sportsmansconnection.com/atlases/features/ny/hunting/

 

For many the first place they hunt is on State land.  It is an awesome resource for finding available state land to hunt on.  I guarantee you will discover places to hunt that you and many others never knew existed.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

good site to identify state properties.

 

http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/45415.html

 

Also check out this site. www.qdma.com

 

There are two branches near you. I know the Hudson Valley one is fairly new and it is a great organization to get involved in.

 

http://www.qdma.com/directory

 

[dbHunterNY]

everything has pretty much been covered;

 

keep your thoughts of safety first.  find another deer hunter who seems to know his stuff and will mentor you both.  get out in the woods and experience things first hand.  study up on big game hunting and listen to what others say, both with an open mind.  if you like reading a very good concise book is called "Strategies for Whitetails" by a fellow NY biologist/outdoorsman..... http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/strategies-for-whitetails-charles-j-alsheimer/1007599604?ean=9780896893313

 

[PeteM1965]

I can't even begin to thank you all for your help. I really appreciate it.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I can't even begin to thank you all for your help. I really appreciate it.

You are going to see a lot of infighting and arguing on this forum over many different topics. Much of that is just because , as a group, hunters are very passionate people. But when it all boils down there is one thing we all have in common, a love for this sport. I think you will find there are many that will stretch out their had to help you.

 

That said. the best thing you can do to help your hunting career is to get as far away from that "City" as you can...lol

[Five Seasons]

You are going to see a lot of infighting and arguing on this forum over many different topics. Much of that is just because , as a group, hunters are very passionate people. But when it all boils down there is one thing we all have in common, a love for this sport. I think you will find there are many that will stretch out their had to help you.

That said. the best thing you can do to help your hunting career is to get as far away from that "City" as you can...lol

No different than any forum really

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Elmo]

Fighting just means there's a lot of people on this forum that is passionate about hunting.  People who don't really care tend to just look the other way or not bother responding.

[Mr.Zach]

I was in your spot 3 years ago: familiar with guns, but not with hunting large game.  I read a lot, watched a lot of youtube stuff, and blew a lot of opportunities.  Self teaching is possible, but I found that hunting with someone makes a big difference.  Keep reading and asking questions and you will get some venison.

[Five Seasons]

I was in your spot 3 years ago: familiar with guns, but not with hunting large game.  I read a lot, watched a lot of youtube stuff, and blew a lot of opportunities.  Self teaching is possible, but I found that hunting with someone makes a big difference.  Keep reading and asking questions and you will get some venison.

 

even vets blow opportunities or sometimes he just doesn't go where you want him to do regardless of how much work you put into your stands. It's what makes it fun and every blown opportunity is a lesson learned and makes  you a better hunter. When to draw, making sure your stand doesn't squeak, controlling your heart-rate, when to shoot etc.