Sterling Forest Coyotes

[jpolihro]

Does anybody hunt coyotes in Sterling Forest. I'm heading out there for the first time this weekend and curious to see if anyone has been successful there. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I've been told it's a great place to hunt but there are a lot of hikers. I figured that with all the snowfall, nobody will be out there hiking.

I'll give a report after this weekend to let you guys know how it went.

[A6A6]

What day u planning on heading up thrre? ? I would like to grt up there my self ... im working Sunday .. i might be off on sat.. i will find out tom. Evening

[jpolihro]

I need to go get my permit from the Sterling Forest main office at 8AM when it opens. I don't know whether or not to go Sat morning or Sun since Saturday afternoon I have a party to go to on Long Island. I'm off on Monday so I'm definitley heading out there on Monday. If you head out there Sat I can join you but I have to start heading back around 1 or 2 PM. Monday is definite though.

[Elmo]

I'm probably going to head out there Saturday morning but still up in the air.  I'm a night owl so it typically comes down to how I feel in the morning.  I have a birthday party to go to Saturday night so chances of Sunday morning is slim.  Monday is also a definite for me.  I've been to Sterling Forest a few times.  I've seen a ton of squirrel, coon, and deer activity.  Have not seen any signs of coyotes.  Then again, I've never been coyote hunting before so I might even realize the signs even if their right under my nose.

[jpolihro]

Hey if any of you guys want to head out tomorrow morning, let me know. I'll be at the Sterling Forest main office getting my permit at 8AM. My name is John and my email adddress is [email protected]. I think I'm going to head on Sat for a morning hunt and then again on Monday. Like Toruk said, I don't know if I'l lbe able to do Sunday morning since I'm going out Sat night. So for now my plans are a Sat. morning hunt followed by an all day hunt on Monday.

Let me know if you guys are interested.

[WhiteTailBuckDeer]

There are lots up yotes in Sterling, They are tricky to hunt up there with all the hikers during the day. The snow doesn't keep them off the trails, The best time to hunt them up there is right before it gets dark and thru the night, They don't come out much during the day. The best place to go would be the power lines a little past the DPW, I was up there the last weekend in ML and it was loaded with sign. 

[Dave]

Guy's what are the requirements to hunt in Sterling Forest?  I am interested in hunting small game, are rifles and shotguns allowed? Can you use a 22 ?

Dave

[WhiteTailBuckDeer]

Guy's what are the requirements to hunt in Sterling Forest?  I am interested in hunting small game, are rifles and shotguns allowed? Can you use a 22 ?

Dave

You just need to get a permit from the visitors center. It cost Five bucks. You can use rifles and shotguns and as far as i know you can use .22

[Dave]

Guy's what are the requirements to hunt in Sterling Forest?  I am interested in hunting small game, are rifles and shotguns allowed? Can you use a 22 ?

Dave

You just need to get a permit from the visitors center. It cost Five bucks. You can use rifles and shotguns and as far as i know you can use .22

Thanks, who must snow is there ?

Dave

[WhiteTailBuckDeer]

Guy's what are the requirements to hunt in Sterling Forest?  I am interested in hunting small game, are rifles and shotguns allowed? Can you use a 22 ?

Dave

You just need to get a permit from the visitors center. It cost Five bucks. You can use rifles and shotguns and as far as i know you can use .22

Thanks, who must snow is there ?

Dave

There is about a foot or so on the ground

[bkln]

John,

How did you make out? Let us know...

Thanks

[jpolihro]

Hey Guys, went up to Sterling Forest with Mark on Monday and we hit the power lines right by the NYU apartments on the yellow trail. Got a late start at about 2PM and hunted there until it got dark. Mark was using the Fox Pro electronic caller which was amazing. We saw a lot of deer tracks and some yote or dog tracks couldn't really tell. Nothing was moving though. We had the Fox Pro howling and distress calls but no responses. I was glassing the ridges to see if anything was moving but no sign at all.

According to the guys at the visitor's center there are yotes all over the place. We just have to put more time in to find the spots. We'll keep you guys posted on more locations. The snow made it difficult to get around in the woods. Hopefully when it thaws a bit we can get out there again and try a different spot.

John

[Elmo]

Looks like we just missed each other, jpolihro.  I got there at 6:30 and left right before noon.  I also came away empty handed.

[jpolihro]

Hey Toruk, yeah we just missed each other there, got off to a late start. Met up with A6A6 (Mark) at 1PM at the visitor's center and we headed out by 2PM. It was a good time being out in the woods. I plan on heading up there again. It's a beautiful place with plenty of land to hunt. The snow made it difficult to move around but still a good time.

Centerpunch, we were going to move around and try different spots but with the snow being at least 8", it was difficult getting up steep hills. There a few spots in Sterling Forest that have the terrain you describe. I'll be checking out the Sterling Forest area again real soon.

[Dave]

Guys, never been to Sterling Forest but would like to take a day trip there if the snow ever melts. Did you see any small game? I would like my first hunt to be for squirrels.

Dave

[jpolihro]

Hey Dave, I'd head out there with you for Squirrels, I have a .22 that I would like to try out at Sterling. When we went, we were targeting yotes and noticed some deer tracks on the way in. We noticed some small game tracks as well but we didn't hike too far in since the snow was too deep. I'm sure we would have some luck with squirrels out there, there's a lot of land to hunt out there and the only way to get familiar with the spots is just to go out there and check out different areas.

[greybeard]

I tried this yesterday and it didn't post so I'll try again.

I hunted Sterling Forest a few years ago, for fall as well as spring turkey and pheasants in season.

The  last time I was there ,on my way to the area I hunted, a big 'yote crossed right in front of the car. What a beauty.

I was there for fall turkey and wound up chasing pheasants too so I didn't try  my predator calls.

With all the squirrels, deer, turkey and the pheasants that make it I would think it would be predator heaven.

I used to see some grey fox a bit east of Sterling in an area with similar terrain so I would "GUESS" that they have grey fox too.

  Not in Sterling , but I have called in red fox with a pheasant hand call making distrees sounds. So I would try a pheasant distress in addition to other calls if they still stock the pheasants. The spot I liked would have been a good place for the pheasant calls, but I would have had to climb a bit to seperate from all the other hunters.

[jpolihro]

Yeah Sterling Forest seems to be the best bet with over 17,000 acrest to hunt on that's that closest state property to where I come from (Long Island). We plan on venturing out there for some more yotes after the snow's gone. It's too tough to navigate through there now with all the snow.

[raymerlo]

Don't you guy's use snow shoes,try it pretty cool

[jpolihro]

Wow, 3 feet of snow sucks to move around in. I would definitely invest in some snow shoes if we got that much snow. We normally don't get too much snow and when we do it's usually gone in a couple of days. This year we've gotten an exceptional amount of snow and it just so happened right before we headed to Sterling. i won't be able to get up there next weekend since I'm going skiing but after that I think most of the snow should be gone and I'll be out there again. There are a few valleys that I would like to try at Sterling Forest for some yotes. I keep hearing that they are all over the place out there.

[ginoe]

on vacation next week, need to get a pair of snow shoes

got the hunting permit & predator permit today ($5)

park ranger said the 'yotes are out there

http://huntingny.com/forums/index.php?topic=3175.0

[raymerlo]

told you guy's snow shoes,after this weather yhey will make the going easier

[ginoe]

got the last pair at the mall and tried them out yesterday

[ginoe]

got a chance to head out yesterday for a couple of hours before sunset. looks like someone just left as these .22 rounds look pretty fresh.

i wore orange as i was walking in but removed it once i found a spot to sit & scan the area.

forgot my binoculars this trip so i had to use the scope.

tried using my M.A.D. closed reed howler but i don't have the lung capacity to make a decent howl. i could only get a couple of barks & a 1/2 second of an awful howl. i'll have to get another howler with a smaller diameter blow hole as this one is so large all the air is blown out & i can't make a sustained howl.

got excited when i saw some tracks, deer, rabbits & coyote?!

most likely, someones' dog

didn't travel too far, stayed on the yellow SV trail from the nyu apts heading west. will have to try again earlier in the morning next time.

[shawnhu]

Deer, squirrel, don't know. In that order.

Why would someone leave unfired rounds laying on the ground?