Am I thinking right/recommend me a spot?

[tomcat017]

Hello All-

 

So I had hunting plans for this upcoming thanksgiving weekend, but they dried up - family will be staying over at the land we were going to hunt, and cabin is no longer available to crash overnights.

 

My next thought was to drive over to Sterling Forest, only b/c I've hunted there before.  The thought that came after that was "there will be a LOT of hunters in the woods on the weekend after Thanksgiving," and probably nowhere more true than at SF.  I'm the kind of guy that likes to run into other hunters in the woods very infrequently, and I hate disturbing other guys once they're set and sitting.  Does that sound right about Sterling?

 

If so - can anyone recommend public land to salvage this weekend's plans?  Willing to travel, but I'll be coming from southeastern NY -- and a max of 4-6 hour drive is probably preferable.

 

If you have any forest/park or even county suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

 

BTW, new to the form -- I've already learned a lot from reading here, and looking forward to learning more!

Edited November 26, 2014 by tomcat017

[RTGobbler]

I will be in sterling all weekend, because it is close. If you want to you can find places wehre you will not see another hunter. I wont tell you where though, becasue I am just like you . The short answer is find places that are hard to get to, that other guys won't walk to.

 

Second option, depending on how far it is for you to drive, there is a lot of state land in the catskill park. The blackhead/blackdome areas can be accessed from the Windham/Jewett areas. But there are also area's in Ulster. Take a look at page 8 of http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/14maps.pdf.

 

 

Edited November 27, 2014 by RTGobbler

[Pugsley]

I hunted sterling years ago. Don't you need to get a permit? I did years ago did they change that?

[RTGobbler]

Yes you still need to get the permit. Takes about 10 minutes and cost $5.

[tomcat017]

Yes you still need to get the permit. Takes about 10 minutes and cost $5.

 

Can also be done by mail in August or September, I believe (that way you can be in the woods before the office opens at 8 a.m. on your first day of hunting).

 

Once you have the permit, they'll notify you by mail to renew before the subsequent year.

[Two Track]

Sterling was pretty empty on Sunday, at least where I was.  Only heard 2 shots all day.

 

Only saw one set of deer tracks in the snow, lots of fox and coyote though.

 

Only two sets of boots in the snow, one was mine.

 

Yes they check permits for parked vehicles, spoke with a park ranger when I came out of the woods for lunch last Monday.  Advised him of locations of bear cubs in case they need to know about the local bear population.