Delaware County Deer Hunting Thoughts

[Dennis119]

So the start of the 2015 regular deer season has started and after 2 years of using the field camera and keeping track of the deer on camera, I am at a loss for words. For 2 years in a row, I've had numerous deer on camera, last year had 2 big 8 pointers, 1 big 9 pointer and numerous does. This year, I had a nice 7 pointer, 6 pointer, some spikes and does. I've tracked all year long on the cameras and had them all popping up on camera. I finally did some homework throughout the year to make sure this season would be good, nope, nothing come opening day and for the next 4 days as well. I have gotten plenty of coyotes, foxes and on a few occasions I've had some bear on the camera. I do know that the area I am in in usually populated with coyote because I hear them throughout the year at night time and in the mornings - howling and barking. I am wondering people's thoughts on this subject.

 

Hopefully many people had better luck that I have had. Fill those freezers but most of all, have fun and be safe.

[Big Indian]

Where in Deleware ? I hunt Andes and hear a ton of cyotes throughout the year

[Dennis119]

I hunt in Delhi. I can probably count on one hand how many times I didn't hear coyote throughout the year. 

[Bionic]

I am experiencing the exact same thing, I do not have any farms, etc nearby, just woods, and more woods. I'm not sure if its changing food sources, or searching for thicker/denser cover with weather turning colder...I have no idea. Very rarely I get coyote pics, and its not very often you hear them, they are like ghosts around here.

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[Zem18]

Just my $.02 on the food source idea. This year the food has been abundant everywhere. Apples on every tree, acorns a plenty for all spieces of oaks, even the pin oaks. So the deer get on a food source and don't have to travel very far. Bed down close to the source, get up and eat, then bed back down.

Other posts suggest less hunters this year, or more hunters sitting in stands, not walking around. Combine all the factors above and you aren't seeing deer. The deer have a good hiding spot with no pressure and a good food source so their core area just got smaller. Just a theory I suppose.

I've hunted outside of Hancock for quite a few years and learned from the older hunters at the camp. Our cabin is in a valley and we own half way up the mountain on the cabin side, and all the way to.the top ridge across from the cabin. No deer were seen on the larger parcel across from.the cabin so far this season. Everything has been seen on the "short side". I believe this is because just over the poster line, there are hundreds of acres of the bordering club that do not get hunted like it used to. Year after year you would hear their deuce and a half truck going through the woods dropping hunters off to start their drives. Also the 4 wheeler traffic was pretty steady.

Over the past 3 the traffic has just stopped over there. Nothing at all, not noise, not shooting. So the deer have this sanctuary over there and only move if need be. We had a bear sighted on that side as well opening day so that could play into why the deer were moving on that side.

I've also learned that warmer weather sucks down there. The deer stay up high and you have to be part goat to go after them. But on the flip side, when bad weather moves in like snow, it's like someone threw a switch and the deer come down into the valley.

Everyone's hunting area is different in a lot of ways and some have similarities as well. Hopefully sharing our knowledge on hear can help each other out.

[bigpaul]

I'm in Andes and coyotes are all over.  I get pics of them regularly.  As for deer, I have seen very few this hunting season.  10/1 to 11/13 I saw 2 bucks and a doe and fawn while hunting, that's 4 deer in about 80 hours of bowhunting.  11/14 I saw 4 bucks, 1 doe, and 2 unknown.  All of those bucks I had never seen before or had any pics of them.  From my own observations and trail cam pics I feel the height of rutting activity here was from 11/10 to about 11/20.  During this time my 6 cameras had several bucks that were all new to me and my regular everyday bucks were gone.  Right now my cameras have been pretty quiet but I am picking up some pictures of my everyday bucks.  What I'm trying to say is when the rut fires up I feel your resident bucks move out of your area and other bucks move in while seeking and chasing does.  Just something I have noticed over the years.  

[whauburger]

I got this 8 opening morning in Andes. Have been seeing a lot less over the years. Coyotes are a big problem.

[Dennis119]

Zem, that was very helpful information for sure. I was thinking the same thing the other day. Hunting hasn't been the same over the years. I remember hunting my first year and there was snow everywhere, probably 6-8 inches on the ground and temps in the low teens (I remember it being 0 degrees out when I came back from the morning hunt). That year, I heard shots galore all day/night and the deer were everywhere. It actually came to a point where there were 5-6 bucks in the field about 100 yards away to my right and to my left, there were 2 big bucks coming out of the woods - I didn't know where to look first, LOL. But over the years, the temps have been a lot warmer, no snow basically and the shots dwindle year after year. It seems that temps and less hunters (and other predators) are making it harder to hunt these days. I would assume, less hunters would equal to more deer roaming around - just gotta find them in their elements, instead of them coming to our elements since temps/less hunters won't move them around as much as in years past.

 

Whauburger, very nice buck you took. Congrats, he's a real nice looking deer.

[PrimoSupreme]

I have been going up to Delaware county for a while now and the deer population seems to be non existent compared to what it used to be. My father and I hunt in Hamden and the size/amount of bucks taken on the property by my Dad from the late 80's through the early 2000's is astounding. However, the past couple of years the sightings of bucks, let alone deer, has ceased to exist. The county has ideal land for whitetails, yet they seem to have vanished. As many of you said above, both my Dad and I both believe it is due to the lack of people hunting in the town and surrounding area. Hopefully, the sport starts to regain more popularity among my generation. 

Edited December 3, 2015 by PrimoSupreme

[jmg343]

I have been going up to Delaware county for a while now and the deer population seems to be non existent compared to what it used to be. My father and I hunt in Hamden and the size/amount of bucks taken on the property by my Dad from the late 80's through the early 2000's is astounding. However, the past couple of years the sightings of bucks, let alone deer, has ceased to exist. The county has ideal land for whitetails, yet they seem to have vanished. As many of you said above, both my Dad and I both believe it is due to the lack of people hunting in the town and surrounding area. Hopefully, the sport starts to regain more popularity among my generation. 

 

Im not necessarily disagreeing with you, and I am a lot more familiar with hunting in Westchester County as I am with hunting further upstate.  I only hunt in 7P, Chenango County, on opening weekend.  But, I would think that a decrease in the numbers of hunters would lead to seeing more deer in the woods, no?  Is it the opposite because less hunters means less people pushing deer and because of the vast amount of land the deer have lots of places to go hide?  I would think less hunters = less deer killed = larger deer populations.

 

[PrimoSupreme]

Im not necessarily disagreeing with you, and I am a lot more familiar with hunting in Westchester County as I am with hunting further upstate.  I only hunt in 7P, Chenango County, on opening weekend.  But, I would think that a decrease in the numbers of hunters would lead to seeing more deer in the woods, no?  Is it the opposite because less hunters means less people pushing deer and because of the vast amount of land the deer have lots of places to go hide?  I would think less hunters = less deer killed = larger deer populations.

 

 

There are definitely monsters up in the 4P area. However, if few to little people go out and the doe to buck ratio is high than the big bruisers won't have to move until late at night. 

[thphtm]

There are definitely monsters up in the 4P area. However, if few to little people go out and the doe to buck ratio is high than the big bruisers won't have to move until late at night. 

 

There were less people hunting my area of 4P this year then past years,It could be because of the cut back of Doe permits this year. Also if you look at the age of the people that live here full time ,they are not that young. The good point is that there are more young and female hunters out there in the woods then in the past and they are getting some nice deer. Look at a Topo map and you will see that 4P has a good part of it with heavy wooded steep slopes , more then flat open land. So the older generation just cant hunt the areas like that anymore as in the past.

Before hunting season opened up there were a good amount of does and bucks that made it threw the past winter that would roam all over my property and the neighbors property. It seems that once hunting season started they vanished. Trail cameras out there with 0 pictures on them , when there would be 10 to 100 pictures a day. And the cams are moved to different areas on the property. Not even the usual night time pictures of the bucks moving around. And I am out there almost all day moving around doing different chores on the property every day weather permitting.

One thing you have to keep in mind is the weather we are having ( warmer then it is for this time of the year) and the deer have there winter coats on . so they are just going to stay put unless the are pushed.

[PrimoSupreme]

There were less people hunting my area of 4P this year then past years,It could be because of the cut back of Doe permits this year. Also if you look at the age of the people that live here full time ,they are not that young. The good point is that there are more young and female hunters out there in the woods then in the past and they are getting some nice deer. Look at a Topo map and you will see that 4P has a good part of it with heavy wooded steep slopes , more then flat open land. So the older generation just cant hunt the areas like that anymore as in the past.

Before hunting season opened up there were a good amount of does and bucks that made it threw the past winter that would roam all over my property and the neighbors property. It seems that once hunting season started they vanished. Trail cameras out there with 0 pictures on them , when there would be 10 to 100 pictures a day. And the cams are moved to different areas on the property. Not even the usual night time pictures of the bucks moving around. And I am out there almost all day moving around doing different chores on the property every day weather permitting.

One thing you have to keep in mind is the weather we are having ( warmer then it is for this time of the year) and the deer have there winter coats on . so they are just going to stay put unless the are pushed.

 

Could not agree with you anymore!

 

[Curmudgeon]

I don't hunt Delaware but I am familiar enough with it. It seems to me that much of what happened in the Dacks with forests maturing and closing the canopy is also happening, or has happened, in the Catskills.

 

I am in northern Otsego County. I keep a pretty close eye on weather and ground conditions. Here, we get more lake effect than you do. However, you guys can get hammered by noreasters that barely reach me. This seems to be happening more and more in recent years. I tried to find some snow pack information via google but wasn't very successful finding anything up to date.

 

 

 

 

[Mr VJP]

A friend of mine owns a deer butchering shop in 4P.  Normally they will do about 250 deer during the season.  This year he expects to be about 50 fewer at season's end, and most of that number will be doe.  That covers all hunting seasons for deer BTW.

 

[Curmudgeon]

Yes, reports from Delaware are dismal. Otsego - at least here - is very different. None of the locals are complaining. Why? I'm guessing Delaware is a harder place for a deer to make a living.

[thphtm]

Yes, reports from Delaware are dismal. Otsego - at least here - is very different. None of the locals are complaining. Why? I'm guessing Delaware is a harder place for a deer to make a living.

You hit right, other then the working farm areas the county is being over grown with older trees , very little young groth for the deer to munch on. A lot of weekender owned properties around me that come up to spend time in the woods, in turn less clearing and less browse. The valley I live in had the upper parts of the hills had a white covering on them this morning .there are many days when we have snow on the ground in the morning and down lower the have rain. A lot of the land around here was bought up by the DEP , so it is just growing wild , no clearing of the woods. Deer cannot survive in a mature maple forest.

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[BIG T HUNT CLUB]

In in 4P as well great pic of activity on trail cam throughout the entire season doe population was smaller than past years but still good. Had a lot of bucks on cam both old and young 2 great 8 pointers and a bruiser of an 8. I was just never in the right spot when I hunted. Had a lot of activity in week leading up to the gun opener and that Thursday before the gun opener they were gone. Had gotten 4 pictures in an area the Monday after the opener and then nothing on cam the rest of the week. A couple spikes were rubbing up some trees but not a deer during daylight and I hunted hard this year knowing what I had on cams. Got one doe with the bow and that was it. I think they got the memo that the opener was coming and headed to a few neighbors property that weren't gonna be there. Disappointed for what could've been. Gearing up for next year. Had a few bear frequent the property 2 young ones and one that was above 300. Looking forward to next year and getting lots of practice if that bruiser makes it through this season.

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