Its been quiet....too quiet.

[the blur]

Besides the poaching going on, I see more edvidence of coyotee's.

I know  of 1 guy that took a deer illegally out of DMP zone.  He said he has the next zone across the highway, and didn't seem to care.

I care because that could have been my first !!

[tony m]

Bolivar, WNY.

2nd weekend, 1st snow of season.  Was on one of my stands where I can bino the surround peaks of the back on the hollow.  There is also a nice logging road that the atv'rs use.

Both days.  Not a soul.  No hunters. No atv's (which is actually good..) The point being, I have never seen that before.

See deer on opening and next day but since then, naada.  And, practically no shots.

[fasteddie]

I saw a total of 11 deer today . 8 of them when it had gotten dark . This morning I heard a barage of 9 shots and that was it for the whole day . Only saw a couple cars pulled off to the side of the road and assumed it was hunters .

[Doc]

I saw a total of 11 deer today . 8 of them when it had gotten dark . This morning I heard a barage of 9 shots and that was it for the whole day . Only saw a couple cars pulled off to the side of the road and assumed it was hunters .

Yeah, but in all fairness, that was the second Monday of the season. It doesn't surprise me much when things get quiet on a weekday that far into the season. What I find kind of noteworthy (and disturbing) is when opening day shooting starts to shut down around 9:00, and other weekend days and even Thanksgiving morning starts to get so quiet compared to previous decades. That's when I start to wonder what the heck is going on.

By the way, seeing 11 deer on the 2nd Monday of the season without anyone out there to keep them moving, isn't really all that bad in my estimation. Sounds like you have a decent spot.

Doc

[ballbusta]

I hunt Sterling Forest also and it's been quiet killed one doe opening week and have not seen anything since . I remember last time it started out this quiet a few years ago it wound up being a good last two weekends

[Bleitten04]

I hunt in 8g and there was snow this past weekend when I was hunting.  The movement of deer was none.  I ended up shooting a 5 point buck only because we decieded to do a little push just to see if there was any deer even around.  Anyways with the snow I could see quite a few tracks just I feel its alot of nocturnal activity now.  Also opening day deer movement was at a lack of also.  8 does came running between me and my buddy.  One they got passed and there was a clear shot my buddy got one.  My dad pushed these to us also.  This time on accident when he was heading back out to his spot lol!!!  I mean our season has been successful (so no complaints there) but ever since the last week or so of bow season the natural day time deer movement has been very limited.  There has been a quite a few shots though.  The most have been about an hour before dark.  Could just be some people blowing off rounds to realease tension of no deer lol!!!!

[LTC24]

I hunt 4F Roseboom area. hunted opening weekend, almost no shooting, only saw 6 yearlings in three days. Hunted second weekend, even less shooting, no buck sightings yet with three of use working the woods.  All movement to and from feeding areas seems to be at night.  Also lots of Coyotte sign.  Fresh Coyotte tracks in the snow on Saturday were all following the deer that had moved during the night.

Prospect of filling the tags dosen't look good :'(

[Jennifer]

I hunt in 9X and it's been very quiet here too. Very few shots so far. I've been out nearly every day and have only seen three deer all season (running at a distance). The weather has been miserable; windy, windy, windy and then in the last two days we are having serious flooding (my township is in a state of emergency). It's the only reason I am at a computer right now instead of in the woods... the roads are closed.

[Doc]

But the question is: is the lack of shooting or hunting activity due to scarcity of deer, or crappy weather, or is it really a sign of reduced hunter participation? Is this the first year that you all have noticed a continued quieting of seasons or have you all like me noticed that every year the hunting crowd gets smaller and the shooting gets less regardless of the deer population.

What I don't know is if this is a local phenomenon or whether other areas of the state are experiencing it. My theory is that the number of hunters is shrinking slightly every year, but what is shrinking even faster is the actual participation and enthusiasm of those that are left. I seem to see an awful lot of 1-day hunters or 1/2 day hunters. The numbers of cars of hunters at state parking lots, along the road, and in local driveways seems to be only a tiny percent of what they used to be. And of course there are the changes in the amount of shooting on days that were typically hopping with hunter activity that many have already commented on. That is only a theory that is based on observations in a very small area. What do you all think? Are today's hunters becoming less active and enthused?

Doc

[screamon demon]

Doc

I hunt some stateland in Alleghany county. I went out on Thanksgiving and I was the only car and  byself for approximatley 1200 acres of state property. On opening day it was about 5 cars. Think about that for a minute if there were 3 guys per car that's 15 hunters for 1200 acres. That is an awful lot of land without a hunter on it. I doubt 3 per verhicle is even a good number I would estimate it closer to 2.

To answer your question in my opinion  it is a lack of participation and those that do it are not as enthusiastic as they used to be. I blame that on internet and television. Hunting is not super easy but the internet and tv make it seem that it should be. I think a lot of guys get frustrated when they dont see deer and instead of trying something different they stay in bed.

Just my $.02

[First-light]

8P- my neighbor been out all week and has not heard one shot and hasn't seen a deer. After the snow he called me and said he's never seen so many coyote tracks.

Time to step it up on the coyote hunting this January.

[blackradio]

I've been out 25 hours so far this shotgun season (started 2 weeks ago) and have seen 1 small doe. I haven't heard or seen anything else. I hear about 1 shot an hour within a mile or so around me.

[132 eight pointer]

Anyone know how much the nuisance permits are affecting the deer population? Are there numbers recorded for how many of those permits are filled? I hear every year that there are many nuisance permits given out and how carelessly they are used.Any truth to it?Perhaps n.p's are another piece to the "have not seen a deer" puzzle.

[Bleitten04]

Doc

I hunt some stateland in Alleghany county. I went out on Thanksgiving and I was the only car and  byself for approximatley 1200 acres of state property. On opening day it was about 5 cars. Think about that for a minute if there were 3 guys per car that's 15 hunters for 1200 acres. That is an awful lot of land without a hunter on it. I doubt 3 per verhicle is even a good number I would estimate it closer to 2.

To answer your question in my opinion  it is a lack of participation and those that do it are not as enthusiastic as they used to be. I blame that on internet and television. Hunting is not super easy but the internet and tv make it seem that it should be. I think a lot of guys get frustrated when they dont see deer and instead of trying something different they stay in bed.

Just my $.02

I agree.  I think a lot of people give up quite early if they don't have much luck.  Especially if they arn't seeing anything.  I don't know if internet and tv are all to blame though.  I watch the outdoor channel all the time.  Ive just came to realize that everything looks easy on tv no matter what it is.  Also I figure that the deer gotta move sometime to get food and water.  Even if there is a lot of nocturnal activity going on now.  I mise well be out there!!!!!

[fasteddie]

Well , I am hoping there are deer moving around this am since it's Saturday and maybe some hunters will be out there getting the deer moving . I have a 50 mile drive ahead of me yet .

[Doc]

Doc

To answer your question in my opinion  it is a lack of participation and those that do it are not as enthusiastic as they used to be. I blame that on internet and television.

I do think that internet and TV (and magazines) put hunter expectations ridiculously high and I would guess that some of that gets reflected in what looks like today's half-hearted efforts and participation in deer hunting. However, I think there are many other forces at work such as competing activities, and a general culture change toward hunting. This is not something that I have just recently noticed, but over the past decade or two there has been changes in the activity lebel that seems to get worse every year, and it really has nothing to do with deer numbers.

Doc

[outdoorstom]

I think it depends on where you live. Around here, participation still is high. I watch truck after truck drive into the public land across the road from me. A few weekends ago there was a drive over there with 28 hunters!

[Doc]

I think it depends on where you live. Around here, participation still is high. I watch truck after truck drive into the public land across the road from me. A few weekends ago there was a drive over there with 28 hunters!

Yes, I would imagine that the situation is different depending on where you are hunting. The differences that I am looking at also cover a rather long number of decades (A bit more than 5 of them to be exact) also. So I most likely have seen a more stark difference that a lot of people. Also, all of my years of hunting have happened on the same few hundred acres so I am in a unique situation to see changes to the exact same acreage over that long time span. But there is no doubt that NY is a big and diverse state, and there is very little that can be said universally about any aspect of hunting across all corners of the state.

However, here we are once again on a Saturday (which should be one of the busier days) and the state parking lots are almost empty and I have only heard a couple of shots way off in the distance all day so far. That is not even close to anything you would have seen even 10 or 20 years or so ago.

Doc

[the blur]

I just got home.  Did NOT hear 1 shot all day, and I froze my a$s off.

Zone 3.

State land had 10 cars parked there.

Drove home and passed Harriman state park.  Plenty of cars parked there.

[bkln]

I have been out every chance I got (about 15 times now) and definitely lack of hunters is not the case I see tons of cars at the state land ...the deer however seems spooked by all the shootings. Archery season one doe almost walked over me but in the last 2 weeks I have not seen a deer (except the one I hit with my car on the way to the stand, call that a good luck :-)) and I'm not alone, a lot of people I have been hunting with also came up empty. I'm talking 4-5 guys having problem to fill a doe tag, not sure what's going on but they are out there just hunkered down for some reason...

[fasteddie]

Hope the deer show up . We have 16 more days of hunting --- counting the bow / Ml season .

[Doc]

not sure what's going on but they are out there just hunkered down for some reason...

That's what the deer do every year. That's why traditionally the overwhelming majority of deer are taken on opening day. The fact that after opening day (opening morning actually) they hunker down and have to be kicked in the butt to get them moving is nothing new. And they don't have to be shot at to go into this "hunkered down" mode. It's just what deer do as a defense when they feel their woods is being invaded. It's also one of the main reasons why so many hunters begin to claim that all the deer have been exterminated... .

Doc

[bkln]

OK Doc, so when this state ends? Will I have more luck in the ML season?

[132 eight pointer]

I finally had some luck this morning.I kicked two bedded doe up walking in to hunt.After that I saw movement aprox. 100 yds through the woods and slowly worked my way in that direction.As I neared some sawgrass I turned and thought I saw a deer head looking at me about 30-40 yds away.I slowly leaned back behind a tree,raised my gun(slowly)leaned out ,aimed at the head/neck and squeezed the trigger.The head disappeared and a few moments later two deer took off running into the sawgrass.I cautiously walked over and was happy to find a mature large doe on the ground.Gotta love neck shots.The best part is that I got the deer even though my new fiber optic front sight had lost the red fiber optic piece.I was able to use the empty hole as my front sight!So I ended up seeing 5 dozers this morning and it was pretty in the woods with all of the snow.3 antlerless deer from 3 different counties this year,I can't complain too much.

[bubba]

I cleaned up the encore up and put it away.  Tonight ended rifle season here in the north.  Tomorrow morning starts ml season for a week. I had two does off to my left at 4:10 as the moved out of the swamp.  They were 200 yards away down the ridge in a gut.  I had a buddies dmp and was trying to get one for him. They were moving my way slowly, and legal light was ending.  I picked a spot in the open an was waiting for them to move into it. As I pulled the gun up, I had the infamous blow behind me. I was on the same ridge that I shot my 8 point late october.  There was a deer moving in behind me and busted me when I moved.  Of course the does headed back to the swamp.  I was busted bad.  A great way to end season.  I loaded the speed loaders up and ready for the next week of ML season.  I am off thur fri sat and sun.  If the wind changes, I will be much closer to where they come our of the swamp.  Time to see if the new impact is any good.  They are moving at least here.