Quiet Opener

[coonhunter]

4f near Edmeston was about the same as the last few years. Take away the amish shooting off 50 rounds on a nearby property between 7:00 and 8:00, and I only heard about 20 shots. And I am up high on a hill, so I can hear shots from a long ways off.

 

Travelling to and back from my hunting spot, saw less than ten vehicles, and only 2 of the 4 camps on my road had hunters in them. Just ten years ago, I would see 30-40 cars and trucks parked, and all of the camps would have 3-6 cars at them. 

 

I just don't understand it. It is good hunting whether you want to hunt for horns, meat, or brown it's down. Lots of the land can be hunted if you take the time to introduce yourself and ask. I think the tradition of hunting is dying a slow death in the area.

 

 

[Doc]

So perhaps it is not just my imagination that every year the hunter participation gets to be significantly less and less. I have seen some huge changes in deer hunting season attendance that is starting to look like an accelerating downward spiral. I usually have my annual thread that I write on the subject here, but this year Dom beat me to it.

 

I also have noted that of the few that do still come out, most of them are 1/2 day hunters. There comes a point in the day (somewhere around 10:00 or 11:00) where there is less shooting than on the average day during small game season. And now with our Saturday opener, you would expect Sunday to be a real popular day of hunting since almost everyone has that day off. Ha... not so. Sunday was really dead.

 

No wonder the DEC is trying to learn new ways to slash and burn the NYS deer herd. They are actually getting panicky and trying desperately to find new ways to take more deer with fewer hunters.

[WingNut]

I'm confident that there are less hunters from year to year.  But I don't actually think that is the root cause for a very slow opening weekend.  Look at the harvest numbers from previous years...

09/10 (+3.3) 10/11 (-.08) 11/12 (+6.4) 12/13 (+0.3) 13/14 (-2.0).  This tells me that the "Herd" numbers should be up. How many hunters actually participate as much as they can, those that are truly into it  V/S the ones that hunt 1/2 a day, shoot their deer and are done for the season in couple of hours.  I think you get the point with writing a journal.  The bow season was up and down for me, seen dear and had my chances, but it didn't compare to previous seasons.  Only a couple hundred yards made all the difference in the world this season.  Did the rut happen this year?  You couldn't prove it to me in may area.  Yet couple miles NSEW.... you could play hop scotch on scrapes and rubs. Is last years winter to blame and the herd suffered?  This has been the worst season as far as weather goes.  Windy, Hot, Cold, Dry... very early Mast (Nuts, Acorns...) drop.  Bottom line for me is, I don't think it is actually lack of hunter participation. 

[thphtm]

By me it looks as if they are hunting as the past years ( Monday ) opening day. There were more shots this morning so far as there were all weekend. 23 degrees and the deer were out feeding on the side of the house 7:00 - 7:30 this morning.

[blackradio]

On my way home from work Saturday, I went by the stateland I hunt at 4:15. Not one car there. I was surprised.

[Chris B]

I might have heard 15-20 shots all day in 7S. No shooting at all between 11-3 +/-. I saw 2-3 does, a real good buck, and either another doe or a smaller buck all before 9:30am. Unfortunately for me the buck had to either funnel left towards me, or funnel to the right.....of course he went to the right, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

 

Didn't see a thing again until 4 when two smaller does came by me but I let them walk. Then I spotted two deer blasting across the field from across the road at sundown as I was packing up to leave.

[dlgerow]

Great opening day here. Lots of shooting myself included.

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[Larry]

I hunt 9p across from rattlesnake hill it was the quietest opener I can remember. Just not a lot of shots few dmp’s. I was lucky and had a dmp. but filled in bow season. I passed on 3 small bucks on opening day my son missed a spike. I saw 7 does and fawns my son saw 3 does.
The 3 bucks I passed on all would have been legal in an AR zone IT’S MY CHOICE TO PASS ON THEM. I believe AR’s and Earn A Buck are the worst things to happen to deer hunting.Like to hear from anyone hunting Letchworth state park

[The_Real_TCIII]

Stop yelling at me^

[Jeremy K]

There is about 300 acres next to us that didn't get leased this year,could be numbers are down but the lawyer who bought the property jacked the lease price way up too.

[NorthJerseyMike]

I hunted Sterling Forest all weekend and didn't see any deer. I think I heard 6 shots in two days.  

[The_Real_TCIII]

There is about 300 acres next to us that didn't get leased this year,could be numbers are down but the lawyer who bought the property jacked the lease price way up too.

There are a bunch of new leases around where I hunt, the guy wants upwards of $30 an acre and they're mostly field. they've sat there for two years now vacant

[skully]

I have a lady up the street in dutchess county lagrangeville area that wants $800 per hunter for 20 acres.  I told her she was out of her mind.

[WingNut]

I have a lady up the street in dutchess county lagrangeville area that wants $800 per hunter for 20 acres.  I told her she was out of her mind.

Poor choice of Adjective!

[The_Real_TCIII]

I have a lady up the street in dutchess county lagrangeville area that wants $800 per hunter for 20 acres.  I told her she was out of her mind.

Show up with $250 cash in hand, she might change her mind

[chas0218]

I hunt 8F and my buddy was hunting 8X both sounded like war zones. Someone was touching off a cannon just before sunrise. It was a good half mile away and I darn near fell out of the tree it startled me so bad. I counted 48 shots before sunrise and another 61 shots throughout the day and into sunset. Sunday I heard 6 shots all day. I saw some deer but nothing I was planning on taking unless it was a nice buck. We have a 10 point rule in effect this year on our property it must have 10 to shoot. We had an 8 point rule but there were a lot of basket rack 8s being taken. 

[dlgerow]

9pt shot 1:45 opening day. Mature doe shot 1130 today. Stay out there if you can. Never know when they will move.

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[accman]

I've been hunting in Port Jervis for 47 years and this was the quietest weekend on the mountain. Not a shot heard all day Sunday. Totally unheard of. Out of 23 guys hunting, one bear, and no deer on the ground the whole weekend. Only time this happened was back in the early 70's, only deer taken was a spike, after a previous tough winter. 50% of our guys didn't even see a deer. I had one doe come by at 6:30 on the opener, and that was it the rest of the weekend. Good thing for good food, good friends, and good football or this weekend would have been a total write-off. What we need is a little snow on the ground to make em start to move a little. Good luck for the rest of the season.

Edited November 23, 2015 by accman

[BizCT]

I have a lady up the street in dutchess county lagrangeville area that wants $800 per hunter for 20 acres. I told her she was out of her mind.

If the property good hunting? What's her address and name? I'll give her $825

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[steve863]

I have a lady up the street in dutchess county lagrangeville area that wants $800 per hunter for 20 acres.  I told her she was out of her mind.

 

 

Yeah, she wants $800 per hunter and probably thinks she can get 10-15 guys to hunt on the 20 acres.   I've seen set-ups like that.  I can't believe hunters are dumb enough to hunt like that and give landowners the money.  That's why you see fewer and fewer people hunting, especially in the Catskill, Hudson Valley region.   Many don't want to hunt public land (me included), and private land is being leased at some ridiculous prices for small acreage.  Add to this AR's in the Catskills and very few doe permits being issued and you are making many hunters wonder why on earth should they even bother to hunt at all?  For the fresh air?  You don't need to buy a hunting license to get fresh air.

[Merlot]

In my neck of the woods( 9H) it was deader than a doornail on opening day. No shooting where we are set up, as opposed to years ago when our block of woods was a war zone of non-stop shooting. In addition, our club used to have 10 to 12 guys at camp on opening day. Saturday, only 4. Yep, maybe in 10 years, deer hunting will not be around anymore.

[turkeyfeathers]

In my neck of the woods( 9H) it was deader than a doornail on opening day. No shooting where we are set up, as opposed to years ago when our block of woods was a war zone of non-stop shooting. In addition, our club used to have 10 to 12 guys at camp on opening day. Saturday, only 4. Yep, maybe in 10 years, deer hunting will not be around anymore.

9H (Eagle/Bliss) has been a war zone   175-200 shots combined easy . Actually probably more. That's counting ringing thru the hills mind you. My gun seems to be defective and doesn't make any noise . Saw 20 in one field, 5 here, 10 there etc in first mile home . All at dusk in field mode. And those fields sounded like they were getting pounded pre dusk.

[Merlot]

9H (Eagle/Bliss) has been a war zone   175-200 shots combined easy . Actually probably more. That's counting ringing thru the hills mind you. My gun seems to be defective and doesn't make any noise . Saw 20 in one field, 5 here, 10 there etc in first mile home . All at dusk in field mode. And those fields sounded like they were getting pounded pre dusk.

N Java seemed dead to us. Nice to hear Bliss was active.

[Big Indian]

I too, saw NOTHING. As others have said, little to no shots heard on Saturday in a usually active area, yesterday I counted < 10, but it was also very windy, so it may have been more that I just did not hear.

 

A major disappointment, but I'll be back at it this weekend !

[skully]

If the property good hunting? What's her address and name? I'll give her $825

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That is the thing it is not great and it is not exclusive.  You never know where a big buck is gonna be from year to year but this is not exactly bordering vassar farm where you have a chance to shoot a big buck every year........