Our Biggest Problem as NY Hunters...

[upstaterifle]

At jusputtn: Do you recommend any in the area or know anyone that belongs to one?

I know it is allowable to shoot on state land but you really need to know what you are shooting at, i.e. be sure you have a solid backstop, you are not shooting over the horizon. If you practice good gun control, the state land is ok. You just need to make sure everything is done right. And pick up your brass.

Having specific parcels set out would be nice but then you would have more people in a smaller area all trying to find a safe place to shoot. I don't understand why the state does not have some public ranges that they could even charge admission for.

[upstaterifle]

What would one have to do to have their own shooting range which could be open to the public? Plenty of golfers out there can go pay a few bucks to smack some balls down range ( I know golf balls don't generally kill anything). My point it, can it be done or are there laws in place that prohibit one from having a shooting range as a business? Is this why there are mainly only private clubs?

[WNYBuckHunter]

Insurance and liability are your biggest issues with shooting ranges that are open to the public.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I am sure different areas have zoning restrictions. You have a requiremnt for discharge distance and certain area have laws against discharge inside certain villages/towns/cities. SO you may have to go out more rural and then the land may not be zoned for a business. that would require a variance and that means open comment periods. I am betting the thought of a range is great but right up until the point that it is built next to the property you have that you hunt on....lol. That is the problem with comment periods. I am betting a range would be like a landfill. a lot want then and see a need but no one wants it in their back yard.

Then let's take a walk on the hazardous material side of it. lead...lead...and more lead. I actually worked on a project that had an old Govt range on it. you wouldn't believe the cost of screening and disposing all the lead fromthe soil before the building could be built. millions.

I would love to see more of them but in a state so against start up on new business I bet it would take a lot to get it done.

[upstaterifle]

Yea the lead is a good point. My brother is an environmental consultant and he has had to come up with some plans for companies to clean it all up when they want to use the site for something else.

Well looks like I will have to make some phone calls to the local clubs. There are two relatively close to work. Would be a great thing to do on the lunch hour.

[SteveMcD]

I have to agree with all that was said. I am 55 and have two grown son's. My oldest 31, hunts when he has time.. young family and work have there priorities. My younger son is 28, he never hunted but enjoys fishing and still does. I have been teaching hunter ed for 20 years now and have seen more and more women actively participating in classes and getting their hunting licenses. I believe they my be our salvation. My classes are filled every fall, so I see plenty of interest in hunting. However, when I see groups like New York Bowhunters and the New York State Conservation Council "OPPOSED" to a Youth Hunt in the recent 5 Year Deer management plan - I have to say - WTF!!! Maybe if there wasn't so much selfishness and division among specialized sporting groups, with the "not in my season" or turf mentality - the future outlook on sporting activities good be a lot better.

[Dom]

What would really be nice is if all parcels of state land had a small area reserved that was cleared and back-stopped and made for target practice. Also a standing rule that target practice anywhere else on the parcel was forbidden. That would give everyone a safe place to shoot, and keep someone from randomly walking through the woods shooting up the trees and perhaps hunters, hikers, and others trying to use the land.

That a great idea I wonder if there is enough in the budget there should be on conservative level they do make a fair amount every year not only on lisences but on every thing we purcase for for hunting and fishing we should all pull together and take this idea straight to Albany if we can pass this message along lets do it

[WNYBuckHunter]

NY is broke already.

[Dom]

NY is broke already.

They are not NY has plenty if they can use it corectly thats another story they put $$$ into walkways bike trails etc they sure can do something for the outdoorsmen/women why not improve state lands this would get more ppl interested in useing it

[sits in trees]

i have to question the access to hunting land theory, if you look at the NYSDEC state land interactive map theres a whole lotta green on there..in the last few decades NY has added probably close to a million acres of state and forest preserve land for us to hunt on.

[nyantler]

i have to question the access to hunting land theory, if you look at the NYSDEC state land interactive map theres a whole lotta green on there..in the last few decades NY has added probably close to a million acres of state and forest preserve land for us to hunt on.

I agree... I think some hunter are intimidated by the vastness of some of the state land...or are just to lazy to travel a little to hunt... either way there is plenty of land to hunt if thats what you really want to do.

[Elmo]

When you get up early and drive 2 hours to Stewart State Land and the forest rangers tells you to come back later because every spot is already taken...that's not enough land.

[Doc]

State land here in the southern zone has gotten a lot of bad press in terms of crowding and safety. Some of it is deserved and some of it is pretty much exaggerated. I hunt state land and just accept it as an additional handicap and occasional inconvenience, but nothing that will cause me to stop hunting. However, I was raised around hunting and guns and some occasional crowded conditions, and I think I have a bit more realistic view of it all as opposed to someone who is just thinking of taking up huting, or perhaps someone who has been in it for only a short time. Such people take some of those exaggerations quite a bit more seriously than I do, and I can see where they might decide to give up hunting or not even start in the first place if they believe the only land available is public land. It's too bad that they scare so easily, but I do understand. So yes, here is an example of having scarcity in the midst of plenty.

[G-Man]

I think the media bombardment of hunting as percieved on tv. had turned a lot of would be hunters off... like they got out sit 45 min and kill a big buck..they got out see nothing and head to the gin mill....enough of this and they're done hunting. The idea is presented that the need priviate land to hunt again media pressure.. to get a big buck and get away fromthe pressure!! when's the last time you saw a hunt on public land featured on tv? As for all the other things kids are involved in soccer/baseball/ karate/ect...welcome to the subburbs... small lots are a way of life there usually fenced.... there is no more stroling down to the end of the street and having a tree fort or a place to hunt on some random farmers land that wasnt posted.... lawsuits and liability put and end to that.... No time or private land to hunt as percieved keeps a lot of people out of starting or getting into hunting... Women may be a great assett though the few i met that have gotten into hunting did it to meet guys or their husband hunts so they want to as well to spend time with them. i'm not sure if they will/do stay with it. I know my friends daughters are going to hunt this year and we've done any and everthing legal to hopfully give them a great experiance!

[nyantler]

If you want to hunt bad enough you'll find land to hunt.. it's going to be tougher for those hunters that live closer to NYC or places that are very urban... the more urbanized the area the harder it will be to find land... here in Madison/Onondaga County we are less than an hour from tons of state land to hunt.. that is virtually empty after opening day... and lately even on opening day.

[Paulie]

Down in southern NY it is tough to find land to hunt (at least from what I have seen and witnessed). There is not a lot of state land but there is some (although i do not hunt that land because there is so little I believe that it would be very crowded.... )Upstate, from what you guys are saying is a much different story:as i would imagine.....you could walk for miles without running into anything...doesn't happen down here. I would love to be able to do that but the reality of it is that I cannot drive 3 hours to get there and hunt for a few hours to drive home again,,,,,family calls. So i do what i can to be in the woods and make the family balanced...I guess what I am getting at is that access is a big part. I don;t know what the numbers are but i would bet that the population per square mile is much more in the southern half of the state....where many hunters could be gained.....however all there is, is concrete and liberals that don't allow hunting, NO state land...that's a problem. It's tough to hunt as it's all provate land and small lots.......

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Just for the record Paulie.......newburg south isn't the southern half of the state...lol I think southern tier when someone says southern half......below Newbury is the city

[Elmo]

That's the catch-22. The most populated areas (that means the most "potential" new hunters you can market towards based on pure head count) means areas with the least hunting land while the areas with the most hunting land are less populated.

[Paulie]

Culver, I live a sheltered life....haha

[Dom]

Culver, I live a sheltered life....haha

Paulie there is a good amount of stateland/huntable just off rt 22 EVER HUNT THERE

[jusputtn]

Though I have hunted state land, I've been fortunate to have decent private land to hunt on which is conveniently located, just over an hours drive.

Have you played with this http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/45415.html to explore state land opportunities? I expect if you do get to some of the bigger tracks of state land that the hunting pressure drops off drastically once you get a few hundred yards off the road, as it gets later in the season and if it isn't a bright and sunny day.

On the decline of deer hunters in the ADK's, I expect it's partially attributed to the decline in the number of deer in the ADK's and the incline of the number in the rest of the state. Any of the state land that is not logged will support a less diverse ecology as the timber ages. Just another example to demonstrate the bunny/tree hugger's inability to comprehend the environment.

[hb270deermanager]

Yes I to beleive we all should find a way to get the youth back in it.

So many young people are not interested because of video games

cell phones computers.Another big problem is even if you get a young

person involved its become very hard to hold on to or find a private land

owner to allow you to hunt his or her property.

[Doc]

Yes I to beleive we all should find a way to get the youth back in it.

So many young people are not interested because of video games

cell phones computers.

The problem is just exactly how do you reverse an entire cultural evolution.

[Paulie]

Dom, no I haven't. Are you talkin about the land by Thunderridge? Or is there some farther north?

[ELMER J. FUDD]

The problem is just exactly how do you reverse an entire cultural evolution.

From the ground up.