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Public Land Woes.....

Arcade Hunter

By Arcade Hunter,
in Deer Hunting

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steve863 Community Regular

steve863

Posted
Posted
39 minutes ago, Steve D said:

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation is seeing a large increase in people buying sporting licenses this year, especially hunting.

Mary Bailey, an Environmental Program Specialist with the DEC, believes the increase is due to more people wanting to spend time outside and social distancing during the pandemic, so they're turning to sports like hunting and fishing.

https://wbng.com/2020/09/10/hunting-licenses-on-the-rise-in-new-york/

 

Wouldn't be the first time that the DEC is BS'ing us.

I was out this weekend and it was youth weekend wasn't it??  Barely heard a shot, and it was probably someone shooting their pistol.  One would think that there would have been lots of youth hunters out there this year if what the DEC is telling us is true.

 

 

 

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Fletch Mentor

Fletch

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Agree with most on here. When I started hunting in the early 80s you’d hear hundreds of shots and see piles of hunters opening week and Thanksgiving weekend. These days nothing in comparison. Most of my spots after the opener are not hit very hard. Seems a lot of my spots get hit harder by better hunters in bow to tell truth.


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Steve D Experienced

Steve D

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18 minutes ago, steve863 said:

One would think that there would have been lots of youth hunters out there this year if what the DEC is telling us is true.

All I know is that on the three areas of state land I hunt there are ladder stands all over the place and there never used to be. There are other sources also reporting high license sales so I expect to see a lot more "hunters" out but hope I am wrong.

Hard to say if the youth weekend would be a good indicator. Just have to wait and see I guess.

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wjay1552 Newbie

wjay1552

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Thursday afternoon I was out on state land almost a mile or so back. I had just saw a lone big bodied deer 100 yards or so in front of me and a fawn had just came into the stand of oaks I was sitting in it was just after 6pm. I then heard the distinct sound of an atv. Two minutes later I saw the head lights and two machines proceeded within two yards of the tree I was in, oblivious of my presence they almost caught there handle bars on my climbing sticks. If I wasn’t pissed at that point 75 yards after they got by me they came to a stop and I heard one say to the other “did you see all those deer” . I’ve been thinking about turning them into the DEC but I’m not sure if I want to open that can of worms. Oh I forgot to mention I got it all on my go pro

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Northcountryman Veteran

Northcountryman

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On 10/13/2020 at 12:34 PM, Farflung said:

This year should be a zoo on state land. Tons of new hunters, many of them took the online course w/o any field session in gun handling in hunter safety. Supposedly the hunting license sales are up by a factor of three. The gun opener should be interesting. Through our federation I have forwarded a idea to have all of the hunting incidents that occur over the next 5 years be indexed back to see if the new online course is contributing to accidents. Hope the request goes somewhere.

Thanks for the heads up about the numbers increasing .  I'm always very leery about hunting public land opening weekend; now, I'll be  twice as leery lol 

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Enigma Proficient

Enigma

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On 10/13/2020 at 4:38 PM, Nomad said:

Having gun hunted since the mid 70s, I’d say Steve’s post is spot on ,it’s almost depressing how few shots there are today . There was a time you couldn’t count all the shots 

I started gun hunting in the 80's. It does seem nowadays there's less shooting the first day or two of the gun season. As a new hunter (17yo) with no mentor back in the day, I was lucky enough to latch on with a friend's family - great people - who took me in and introduced me to party hunting and deer drives, etc. Great times and camaraderie. Learned a lot and plenty of dear were killed. I wouldn't give up those experiences for anything.

 

On 10/13/2020 at 4:38 PM, Nomad said:

. . . multiple guys emptying their pumps and semis at a running herd ,as it ran from farm to farm . . . 
 

One would see pick ups packed  full of guys getting dropped off for drives , it was actually quite fun really .

(Warning, sarcasm ahead lol, not directed at anyone personally.) Times change, but do they really? You can still count on the first shots on opening day starting 30 minutes before light, in the pitch black. Used to be you piled out of the pickup got your drive assignment and walked to your assigned spot. Now we'll just all pile in the side by side, ride it through the woods and drop you off. Make sure your phone is on so when the drive starts so you'll get updates on the group text. You can fit 6 comfortably in a UTV if you really try. Eight people maybe if you're getting kids involved. The modern version of road hunting. Let's all make sure our guns are loaded, riding in that vehicle through the woods, cause you never know when the opportunity to jump out and spray and pray might present itself. I haven't noticed a decrease in the number of dead and rotting deer I've run across that'd been shot in the face, guts or ass by folks slinging lead at those herds running farm to farm so I'm not sure that's changed much. No trespassing signs used to mean something but today we'll just edit those out before we post our "Big Buck Down!" video online. We'll get more likes if the kill shot on the vid is over 200 yards, cause you know, anybody can kill a running deer at 50. I guess that is a change, then vs. now.

Deer "hunting" makes people STUPID. Especially firearms hunting the first week of the season. That has not changed.

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Theblackredneck Newbie

Theblackredneck

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On 10/16/2020 at 10:13 AM, Northcountryman said:

Thanks for the heads up about the numbers increasing .  I'm always very leery about hunting public land opening weekend; now, I'll be  twice as leery lol 

This is why I chose to stay with bow.. I took that online hunters course having never shot a hunting rifle I wasn’t comfortable just buying a rifle to hunt. I’ll take my chances in the lower & Long Island regions this season. 

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Steve D Experienced

Steve D

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I put two cams on some out of the way state land a couple of weeks ago and fully expected to have at least one or both stolen. Due to weather etc., I wasn't able to get back until this morning. I decided not to hunt because of the rain but knew I had to get those cams removed and could do a little scouting while I was there. Sure as dodo one of the cams was stolen. I did find a couple of fresh rubs, 5 new scrapes, and plenty of acorns. The cam that got stolen was deeper in the woods than this one. I figured out of the two the second would survive because of it's location but was proven wrong.

Keep in mind that these pictures were taken on a hill that goes almost straight up. The camera was in approx. 1/2 mile and the one that got stolen was farther yet across a ravine and nowhere near a "people" trail.

The location was picked because it is an area where bucks have historically rubbed trees and used as a travel route. I did get a few deer pics. but was amazed at what else the camera captured 1/2 mile off the road.

 

 

 

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crappyice Grand Master

crappyice

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What's the leaf blower for.......silent walk to a hidden stand.
 
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I had access a while back in Rhinebeck near a pumpkin patch. Found some great runs. All set up to hunt it and I start hearing a leaf blower working down the logging road I walked and was posted near. Turns out some rich lady like to ride her horses back their but gets nervous that she would lose the trail or have her horse step in a whole. So she had her gardener blow miles of the trail. I never saw he back there but it seemed like he would wait for me to post before starting his task


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Steve D Experienced

Steve D

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20 hours ago, Northcountryman said:

That couple looks like they’re on a leisurely  hike to me ; no way they’re way back off nowhere near a trail . Maybe there’s a trail nearby that you missed ? 

They ARE walking on a designated hiking trail. It is an easy 8' wide trail.

 

11 hours ago, mlammerhirt said:

What's the leaf blower for.......silent walk to a hidden stand.

 

 

 

 

 

They are using the leaf blower to clear the leaves off a hump so they can get their mountain bikes over it so their tires don't slip on the leaves. They are also trimming trees  making their own trail off the designated trail which is illegal unless they are state employees.

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