Many dead deer

[nybuckboy]

I heard from many hunters who say their deer sightings were down this season. I have unconfirmed reports but from reliable people who have told me of 3 different areas this past spring where many deer were found dead. This was in and around the Hamilton NY area in late April. Must be where they had yarded up. The report was about 50 off Rt. 20 and another 60 closer to Hamilton near the airport and another 15 nearby but a different area. Makes me wonder how many others were not reported.

[HuntOrBeHunted]

Who knows. I saw a lot of deer. Got one and had the chance to bring a friend along and he got his first deer.

 

 

I think some of the problem is lots of people just smash threw the same beat down trail that the last 50 people did and the deer just avoid that area.

 

 

[Doc]

Who knows. I saw a lot of deer. Got one and had the chance to bring a friend along and he got his first deer.

 

I think some of the problem is lots of people just smash threw the same beat down trail that the last 50 people did and the deer just avoid that area.

Actually the problem is that a lot of people judge hunting across the state by what they see in their own tiny hunting areas. I believe there are places where winter could likely have decimated the herd. I believe there are areas of NYS where for all kinds of reasons, the deer are getting under-hunted. I also believe that DEC successes at making proper guestimates and remedial actions are not all as accurate as they could be, producing over and under-population circumstances. About the only correct assessment about the NYS deer populations is that it will differ wildly by region, by WMU, by township, by one parcel of property to the next. And that is why we hear claims of deer shortages being immediately followed by the replies that say, "Gee, everything is great here". The implication being that the first guy is wrong, or perhaps he's just not as great a hunter or as observant as the second guy. The fact is that both are likely correct about their little patch of hunting ground and neither has any bearing on the other's observations.

[Renegade Hunter]

I heard from a buddy, that they found 30 dead deer up in the fairways/woods of Bluestone golf course in Oxford, NY. Just laid up and died during the winter. On another property he hunts he found 15 or so. Last winter was definitely a brutal one. That's why I'm not too upset about it being warm out this time of year. I think the deer deserve a break.  

[chas0218]

 

I heard from a buddy, that they found 30 dead deer up in the fairways/woods of Bluestone golf course in Oxford, NY. Just laid up and died during the winter. On another property he hunts he found 15 or so. Last winter was definitely a brutal one. That's why I'm not too upset about it being warm out this time of year. I think the deer deserve a break.  

 

I agree last winter definitely made a huge impact in the population a lot more than a DEC and other organizations are taking into account.

 

 

I saw a lot of deer during the 3rd and 4th week of bow but after that I was lucky to see 3 or 4 every sit. Normally I would need to use 2 hands to count the deer I see during the season on 1 sit.

Edited December 22, 2015 by chas0218

[Curmudgeon]

Doc is right. We are biased by our personal hunting experiences. I have a different metric. Right now I need road kills and they are scarce, especially in Delaware County.