Western NY public land

[rooster85]

Ok ladies and gents, I'm from Ohio and I'm looking to hunt out in New York this year. I'll be hunting public ground and I'm curious about how hard public ground gets hit. I won't have time to get out there before November so I'll be hunting during rifle season. Thank you for any insight you guys may have. Rooster

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[Paula]

I think it might depend on where the state land is. 

From what I have gotten from comments here is, a lot of state land hunters don't scout or put work in to the hunt. They show up by the truck loads. 

Most of them go into woods a short distance and hunt there, they don't hike into the woods. 

That's all I got. 

[The_Real_TCIII]

Opening week is a flying circus, after that youll have a lot of acres to yourself but the deer wont be moving much. If you can get there in bow season youll have great hunting. I probably hunt 50/50 state land and private during archery, we are very lucky to have the public land we have IMO

[rooster85]

Unfortunately I'm booked for most of the season between family, work and life so I won't be able to get to NY for any archery I don't think. I'll be trying 9R as of right now. I don't mind hiking, I actually prefer to hunt further off the path. Thanks for the replies!


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[growalot]

That depends of what you consider "Western NY" I hear us called "western NY" in the fingerlakes but others...even the DEC will refer to us as the southern-tier finger lakes.... No matter what the area...weekdays are always the best earliy and far in...That way the later "I don't like walking dark woods" guys will come in and push to you. Always plan on the it's 10:30 and I need to hit the closest dinner for breakfast crowds...take a lunch and sit tight ...they'll return smelling of coffee and grease...pushing everything that doubled back right around to you again... Give a general area and these guys can steer you right.

[rooster85]

That depends of what you consider "Western NY" I hear us called "western NY" in the fingerlakes but others...even the DEC will refer to us as the southern-tier finger lakes.... No matter what the area...weekdays are always the best earliy and far in...That way the later "I don't like walking dark woods" guys will come in and push to you. Always plan on the it's 10:30 and I need to hit the closest dinner for breakfast crowds...take a lunch and sit tight ...they'll return smelling of coffee and grease...pushing everything that doubled back right around to you again... Give a general area and these guys can steer you right.

I'm leaning more towards cattaraugus county or near there, I know the zones I'm looking at offer no doe tags or limited availability to non residents which is fine.


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[rooster85]

Anybody do any hunting at McCarty Hill? 

[Pygmy]

16 minutes ago, rooster85 said:

Anybody do any hunting at McCarty Hill? 

Do you mean Mc Carthy Hill State forest  near Addison  in Steuben County ?

[rooster85]

Near Ellcotville in Cattaraugus county 

[Pygmy]

Not in my area of knowledge..Good luck, Rooster !

[turkeyfeathers]

Why NY ? Last I knew there's some big SOB bucks in Ohio

[Buckmaster7600]

Why NY ? Last I knew there's some big SOB bucks in Ohio

Same reason why guys in boats cast as close to shore as possible and guy on shore cast as far away from shore as possible.


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[turkeyfeathers]

9 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

 

Same reason why guys in boats cast as close to shore as possible and guy on shore cast as far away from shore as possible.


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And OP's first post(s)   He's "fishing" 

[rooster85]

8 hours ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Why NY ? Last I knew there's some big SOB bucks in Ohio

Why not New York? We have monster bucks out here but I like to see new areas. It's roughly 2-2.5 hours from home to the area I'm thinking about hunting. Not a bad drive at all. I just love to hunt, I enjoy hunting new areas and I've never hunted NY so I'd like to give it a shot. 

[Doc]

Quote: "I'm curious about how hard public ground gets hit."

It's all dependent on what you consider being hit hard. If I see one other hunter, I am likely to say that the area is being hunted hard. Other people consider that seeing a hunter behind every tree is no big deal. The land use can vary by its proximity to any large cities or towns. Also, hunters are not the only disturbance you will find on public land as now with the current health craze, you are as likely to run into hikers and mountain bikers as you are to encounter hunters. And they have the will and determination to thoroughly canvas every square inch of a public parcel. Also, the myth about doing your hunting as far away from roads as possible is not the iron-clad rule that it used to be. I have seen bowhunters climbing there way up a 3/4 mile hands-and-knees trip some of our more steep hills, dragging tons of treestands, back-packs overflowing with equipment, and wringing wet with sweat as they tried like all the other hunters around them to "escape the crowd". Some crawl in so deep that they begin to start getting close to the next road over .... lol. For decades, every hunting magazine and TV program has been preaching the philosophy of "Go deep and have the hunting grounds all to yourself". Well, the message has been received, and there are some places where the most hunted areas are away from the roads.

[rooster85]

2 hours ago, Doc said:

Quote: "I'm curious about how hard public ground gets hit."

It's all dependent on what you consider being hit hard. If I see one other hunter, I am likely to say that the area is being hunted hard. Other people consider that seeing a hunter behind every tree is no big deal. The land use can vary by its proximity to any large cities or towns. Also, hunters are not the only disturbance you will find on public land as now with the current health craze, you are as likely to run into hikers and mountain bikers as you are to encounter hunters. And they have the will and determination to thoroughly canvas every square inch of a public parcel. Also, the myth about doing your hunting as far away from roads as possible is not the iron-clad rule that it used to be. I have seen bowhunters climbing there way up a 3/4 mile hands-and-knees trip some of our more steep hills, dragging tons of treestands, back-packs overflowing with equipment, and wringing wet with sweat as they tried like all the other hunters around them to "escape the crowd". Some crawl in so deep that they begin to start getting close to the next road over .... lol. For decades, every hunting magazine and TV program has been preaching the philosophy of "Go deep and have the hunting grounds all to yourself". Well, the message has been received, and there are some places where the most hunted areas are away from the roads.

In the next couple of weeks I plan on taking a weekend to check out some properties in 9R and 9M. 

[growalot]

Know your food besides the obvious...like oak and wild apples. Here they love wild elderberry brush,hickory,beech,hop horn, poison ivy and wild rose. Isolated swampy areas. Dogwood brush/berries. Those large  ateas of golden rod are deer magnets..Doc is right about some areas and the far back approach. Remember our archery shooting restriction is now only 150 ft...That said you still HAVE TO HAVE RECOVERY PERMISSION on private land. MY best buck area is a tiny swamp 411ft wide between homes with a ton of activity. Some guys find near the parking areas to be the best. Scouting will tell you ..look for cams and foot traffic in the wet ground,it will save you time on where not to go...especially close to rut and weekends...areas of wild buck thorn...not great food for them unless little is around...but man great cover they will hang in...our camp 8X and surrounding lands are choked with it. Gullies and revines travel areas.

I mention these things because I don't know what Ohio terrain is like for you...

[WNY-Hunter]

On 8/15/2017 at 4:12 PM, rooster85 said:

Unfortunately I'm booked for most of the season between family, work and life so I won't be able to get to NY for any archery I don't think. I'll be trying 9R as of right now. I don't mind hiking, I actually prefer to hunt further off the path. Thanks for the replies!


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I have hunted 9R state land for 35 years. Pressure the last 4-5 years has dropped significantly because of the lack of doe tags. This year there are none. Hunting is still very good in places. A large chunk of 9R state land is right accross the road from my property and my wife and I watch several mature bucks cross the road to our fields every night. They are there.

[sodfather]

Sorry but unless you a first time hunter or a 14 year old kid you won't get a peep out of me. I've spent hundreds of hours scouting and finding places to hunt and when someone asks for a hand out I think your a troll or a democrat.  Put miles on your vehicle and leather to earth and when you figure it out on your own post your pics and my hat will go off to you. But in the meantime work for it

Edited August 17, 2017 by sodfather

[rooster85]

lol I think you're taking this the wrong way. I don't need your honey hole, just seeing how hard public ground gets pounded with people. Every state is quite different when it comes to state land, where I grew up out west chasing mule deer and elk we sometimes wouldn't see folks until we wanted to see them. I hunt public ground in SE Ohio and have only seen three other hunters in four years. Never hunted NY and I've been wanting to give it a shot, pun intended. Definitely not a democrat either. Good luck to ya! 

14 minutes ago, sodfather said:

Sorry but unless you a first time hunter or a 14 year old kid you won't get a peep out of me. I've spent hundreds of hours scouting and finding places to hunt and when someone asks for a hand out I think your a troll or a democrat.  Put miles on your vehicle and leather to earth and when you figure it out on your own post your pics and my hat will go off to you. But in the meantime work for it

 

[WNY-Hunter]

Feel free to message me, I will try and answer your questions. If you are talking 9R or 9M you are looking in my neck of the woods. More than willing to help out if I can.

[rooster85]

3 minutes ago, WNY-Hunter said:

Feel free to message me, I will try and answer your questions. If you are talking 9R or 9M you are looking in my neck of the woods. More than willing to help out if I can.

Thanks, I'll shoot you a PM. 

[Padre86]

On 8/17/2017 at 2:05 PM, sodfather said:

Sorry but unless you a first time hunter or a 14 year old kid you won't get a peep out of me. I've spent hundreds of hours scouting and finding places to hunt and when someone asks for a hand out I think your a troll or a democrat.  Put miles on your vehicle and leather to earth and when you figure it out on your own post your pics and my hat will go off to you. But in the meantime work for it

If you don't want to offer advice, then why say anything at all?

 

OP, public land hunting (at least for deer) is fairly tough in western NY.  There are quite a few pieces of public land (easily identifiable by browsing google maps or the DEC’s website).  The issue is, once rifle season starts up, most of those areas get very crowded with hunters for the first week or so.  After that initial period, many of the deer get wise and do their best to avoid movement during the day. 

 

That said, there are certain areas of public land that see relatively little pressure, mostly because hunters don’t think to look in those areas.  A good rule of thumb is if there is trailhead parking along a main road, you can bet there will be competition (at least for the deer season).  PM me if you want more specific advice.  There are general areas that are worth your time, but it's still highly recommended that you do some scouting ahead of the season.

Also, you might consider taking an extended trip into the Adirondacks or Tug Hill area.  The deer density up there isn’t nearly as high  as it is in western NY, but the flip side of that coin is that it’s extremely easy to have an area all to yourself. 

Edited August 23, 2017 by Padre86

[rooster85]

If you don't want to offer advice, then why say anything at all?
 
OP, public land hunting (at least for deer) is fairly tough in western NY.  There are quite a few pieces of public land (easily identifiable by browsing google maps or the DEC’s website).  The issue is, once rifle season starts up, most of those areas get very crowded with hunters for the first week or so.  After that initial period, many of the deer get wise and do their best to avoid movement during the day. 
 
That said, there are certain areas of public land that see relatively little pressure, mostly because hunters don’t think to look in those areas.  A good rule of thumb is if there is trailhead parking along a main road, you can bet there will be competition (at least for the deer season).  PM me if you want more specific advice.  There are general areas that are worth your time, but it's still highly recommended that you do some scouting ahead of the season.
Also, you might consider taking an extended trip into the Adirondacks or Tug Hill area.  The deer density up there isn’t nearly as high  as it is in western NY, but the flip side of that coin is that it’s extremely easy to have an area all to yourself. 

Thank you, I'll send you a PM.


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[robw]

I spend a few says in McCarthy Hill, by Ellicottville, every season.  Last few years have been tough for deer.  Saw more mountain bikers than deer last year.  (those guys go everywhere!).  Allegany State Park is an option (9S), and hasn't been too busy the last few years on opening day.  Walk in a mile, and stay off the easy walk trails, and you'll have a lot of woods to yourself.  Saw a bunch of deer opening day but no shooters (for me, anyway)  Not dragging spikey that far out.  Is big woods hunting, and bring a compass or GPS.  Can rent cabins in the park too, which are pretty nice.  I'll be there for 10 days this year, mostly in bow.

 

Good luck, hope you get one!