Dan Ladd

Other than the upcoming holiday week late muzzleloading hunt in New York’s Southern Zone, and the January hunt on Long Island, another big game hunting season is just about in the books.
This was another year that saw some changes for New York hunters. Some of the discussions that took place around deer camp wood stoves and on social media this fall have questioned what could, or should, be next, if anything. And there are plenty of ideas and opinions.

Along with full inclusion of the crossbow, DEC’s new e-tagging system for deer, bear and turkeys ushers in a new era for New York hunters. Like many, I was just hoping to get a chance to try it out. That chance came Nov.

A few editions back our online poll queried bowhunters on what they desired to harvest for an early season deer. This included mature bucks, antlerless deer, any buck or any deer.
The results weren’t surprising: any buck, 15%; mature buck, 46%; antlerless deer 15%; or, any deer 24%. If anything, they raised more questions about the attitudes and desires of all hunters during all seasons.