2017 - "Rate this year's season" thread
New York
7H: D. Up from F last year (as I recall). Why?
Up-tics: 1) The effect of nuisance permit genocide on my little block seems to be falling off a bit, I heard fewer shots last summer. That is a guess though, not fact/science. 2) Fantastic oak and beech mast this year, and warm weather has kept the ground-freeze back, so the deer can reach it easily. 3) Perfect weather IMHO, good mix of snow, rain and shine 4) Incredible population explosion of chipmunks. A bit off topic, but I had a GREAT couple of days whacking them with bow and .17HMR. Always wanted a prairie dog or ground squirrel hunt, and I think this is a close as I'll ever get... wish I still had my .204 Ruger!! Might as well whack them before the entire population crashes (again) from disease, or they lure in 10, 000 coyotes.
Down-tics: 1) The number of deer in my area is still WAAAAAY down. Been hunting here 30 years, I know what I should be seeing.
That said, I still enjoyed this season more than any. Besides the beautiful sunrises, sunsets, naps, snacks, bird activity, the gentle rains and ferocious winds.. God delivered a whopper 8pt to my hand in early bow, about a 90 rack, but loaded with fat and so big I couldn't winch him high enough to clear the ground. Then he brought a rut-worn 10pt to my hand on the gun opener (yup, with a bow), not one stitch of body fat on the dude.. Also, my wife still loves me, I'm not ravaged with cancer, I don't live in North Korea or Syria, Donald Trump is president, I'm not nuts (yet) and I have food, heat, guns, and a great church and can sit in a stand with out being racked with pain. So it was a GREAT season! Still going though, late bow till the 19th in SZ. I have 3 more chances to get close to a doe!! : - D
early bow
early bow
gun opener
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B-, here in 7M. Let me explain. I saw 23 bucks during bow season. Very few doe. Only 2 of those bucks were in bow range. I drew on a little six pt. that I could have easily taken. Of the 23, I only saw 4 bucks I consider shooters. The majority were spikes , 3 or 4 pointers. I know of only a few of the bucks around me that were killed during gun season. I am hoping that next year will be good. But I thought this last year as I had 12 bucks run through my yard last spring on March 6th. 6 of those still had their antlers. Thus figuring there would be a good mix of 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 bucks. next year.
4H, B A common complaint was the lack of daytime activity, sightings were less than in years past. that being said some decent bucks were taken at first and last light. The landowner and friends riding dirt bikes throughout the property certainly had a negative affect. The acorn crop was great so they didn't have to move much for food. Warm temperatures made long sits possible but added to the lack of daytime movement. Those that changed locations to adjust to the conditions had better luck. More rubs and scrapes were reported by all.
9X D+
Hunted more than ever before all in 9X. I am at a total loss as to what is going on here. Sightings and sign are way down. The DEC has been cutting back on DMP's for a few years and things just don't seem to be changing for the better. I have spoken to many, many other landowners/hunters in this unit and they all say the deer just don't exist. I just hope that DEC continues to keep the permits very low in this unit. It has to improve at some point.
A - It was the perfect season (but always room for improvement.) . Rut peaked perfectly on time. Arrowed my buck on Nov. 4, Full Moon as predicted...coming into my zip-tied bouquets of licking branches. My hope to shoot a perfect arrow was realized…separated the heart and lungs…ran just over 50 yards…what a blessing!
I will have to try that trick next year
Buckstopshere: Oh, that is a beautiful pic: I always like it when that happy hunter is in the scene! ' Big fan of predator and the original apparition camo patterns. Perfect breakup, and perfect colors. Yup Nov 4 is when mine took his last breath also, 5:30 pm as I recall...
Thanks. That camo matched my background just right…makes ya feel good when in the stand and the camo is in tune. Amazing both our bucks died at almost exactly the same time. Got a picture of him just a half hour before the arrow flew.
Man do I hate spell-check…I meant to say "and the camo is in tune." And "Amazing, both our bucks…" I edited it.
7 P is a solid D, which is the worst grade I have ever given to our area in 37 yrs. Deer sightings from cameras or stands were way lower than usual and the pics of some really good bucks that we been getting for years no longer existed. You can blame the usual suspects for it, but it was a down year none the less. The 5 pter I took on Halloween was the only buck to come into range all season and the only deer our camp of 10 experienced bowhunters took all season...very rare..Tom
I give 3S a "B-" I saw a lot of does early season but acorns were light and scattered, once they were gone Does moved off my properties. Quite a few bucks cruising the first week of November, chasing around the 11th. I killed my buck on the 11th, who was chasing a doe, who he had been breeding. I actually watched a 7 point breed her right in front of my stand, just minutes after I killed him. They were locked down around the 16th, which is my favorite time to kill good bucks. I slipped into a pocket of very thick cover and had a deflection on a solid 130" 8 pointer. It's been slow since thanksgiving except for young bucks, but I don't have any great food sources where I hunt. The deer are stacked up in those areas. Over all, i shot 5 does all across the county and 1 buck. I passed 20 different bucks in bow range, quite a few of them multiple times. Last year I passed 37 bucks, but I hunted more and there are 2 weeks of season left.
I also noticed this year that o saw more deer moving after 9am and before 3pm than any other time of day. At first I assumed it was the moon, but it was fairly consistent all season.
I think deer herd management is much deeper that the experts think. Way too many unpredictable variables natural laws that we don't understand. Like moving from classic physic laws to quantum.
You know its a slow season when the NY forum doesnt even have a 'meat pole' thread started....
6S - C. Very few mature bucks around and all the 2 and 3 yo's took a beating during our long gun season. I'll say this grade is based on my selfishness for mature bucks to chase! I get a lot of pressure near me once gun opens, so there is little deer movement during legal light, even if you are hunting tight to bedding.
On a side note, bow shot, Oak and skip; Great bucks! What was the spread on yours skip?
Jman22- thanks. I forget exactly but right around 19" inside spread. He was a little bigger last year. The state aged him at 6.5-7.5 which is kind of what I figured. A guy who hunts nearby runs a lot of cameras and thinks he's older. I sent a tooth out to the lab to find out for sure
6K - I would give a B. Consistent deer sightings but all young bucks other than a 3.5 year old 9 point that I killed on 11/20 with the rifle. A couple other shooters on camera.
8N - I would give it a B+. Plenty of deer and several 1.5 and 2.5 year old bucks passed on. No shooters seen. I did arrow a nice doe in October.
4F - I would say B. Consistent deer sightings and a good amount of bucks around.
My 8N rating may change since the season is not quite over...
Come on NYers, get talking!!!!!
Geez, usually no one can shut us up, lol!!!
1C gets an A. Rutting activity seemed to be steady. Saw some really good bucks this year as well as some pretty serous sparring and breeding. Shot a good one early this year, I never get a chance at a really big one in early Oct. I think many guys are voluntarily passing young deer and hunting on the Island is improving, you just have to deal with stolen stands, cameras and anti hunters.
Gotta agree with C.Beck. 1C gets an A ! Season still strong . Happy Holidays to all .Mike
I hunt 2 properties in 3M. To grade this season would have to be a B-
It seemed like the rut ( what little of it I saw) was happening around Halloween. For a couple days at the end of October I saw some chasing , nothing crazy . I am not a trophy hunter but I saw a buck late October that I've seen the past 3 years. He got 12 yards away but couldn't get a shot. After that, I passed on every buck I saw trying to get this one. One other close encounter at 25 yards but was hoping for a better angle.
Saw some bucks during rifle season that were out of bow range. I ended up shooting a doe this evening after coming up empty in Pa and NY. Sorry for the crappy picture, it was dark and cold!
8T was a B. Consistent deer sightings throughout, lots of sign, rutting activity was good (nov 8th and on). Weather could have been more helpful, but not terrible. My season itself wasn't the greatest, but no complaints, only 1 bigger buck seen from stand. Some years I have barely noticed that the rut was in progress and definitely not the case this year.
8H...... I've got to give it a B+ this year. There were plenty of deer.... plenty of yearling bucks..... and even some mature but nothing within range.
The rut was pretty spotty on the farm but I attribute that to no corn on property this year and a not so good acorn crop. Deer do not eat much winter wheat when they have corn on other properties nearby.
I didn't hunt 6K or 7M this year..... I just didn't feel the need to travel.
6A would get a "B"from me.Saw horns 37 times,killed a six pt./155# with the rifle.Smallest buck I have shot in eight years.A few mature bucks on camera almost always at night.Saw a ten(got him on camera after the season) during the late MZ season but no shot.We have way too many does in our area.
Congrats on your kill hunter dad. 'Love to see those trad takes!
7P B+ Private and public land.
6N gets a C+, observed more deer than last season, saw 5 bucks, 2 shooters and killed 1, a 170lb dressed 123” ,9 Pt’er, during gun season. Deer herd still has not recovered from the severe winter kill from a couple of years ago. Summer Habitat in the core of Tug Hill, is good due to heavy logging activity, however, predation of fawns in spring due to coyotes and now, B Bears, is slowing herd recovery.
I hunted in a few different locations in 8t and 8x and saw a few does and fawns during bow season. I was able to take a doe. Gun season was much worse. From opening day until the end of the muzzleloader season I only saw 4 fawns and one buck and I hunted nearly everyday. It just gets worse and worse every year , no wonder I'm loosing interest.
Another year with plenty of deer in 8G. I saw many young bucks early in season and most of my friends took good bucks this year. I took a young buck and old doe late in bow after missing a true monster of a buck earlier.
Solid B here in 7m. Good deer numbers and quite a few bucks made it through the season. Also, the most turkeys we had in many years.
C for the areas I have permission to hunt on in 1C. Acorn crop was very light and just didn't see the activity I normally see. The acorns were all gone by mid October. My friends spots a few miles away were great but I could only hunt them with him.
Okay successful season aside, the rating I would give 8H after 50-60 days afield would be a B+.
Mostly by good fortune I am able to hunt areas with the right factors to produce mature deer so Its tough to have a bad season. I won't give it an A+ though because the rut seemed to trickle in and out. Chasing began in my areas around the 30th and came in brief spurts through the 12th of Nov or so. I never really witnessed solid rut action with any consistency for any good duration of time even with all day sits in prime areas.
Granted it could be different the next woodlot over those were my findings.
For me personally it was my best season ever in terms of mature buck opportunities and sightings. The majority of my october was spend chasing an absolute giant 'deer of a lifetime' with a narrow window to make it happen revolving around the timing of crop harvest and some other unique details of the area which I wont disclose. I was fortunate to make it happen on the next biggest (racked buck) in the area who actually appeared more mature body- wise, and dominant in the area if i had to guess. 3rd to last day of late bow/ ML i finally gave up on the bow and borrowed a friends ML. On the 2nd to last day I made it happen on this guy. Sorry I'm posting a gun kill in advance. I wasn't about to not capitalize on a deer who was daylight active, feeding in a predictable pattern albeit in a difficult to make happen with the bow area.....So i opted for a ML.
Oh and doe sightings were down from last year for most of my hunting spots, though I did double up one morning in an area with a pretty healthy population.
I seemed to hear the same from a couple of friends who also hunt parts of livingston/ Monroe counties.
SR great buck!! Congrats to all of the successful hunters!! Some really nice bucks guys.
That's a heck of a buck SR! Congrats! Can't imagine what your #1 looks like. Hope he made it to 2018. Nicely done.
B+/A- 4F lots of healthy does and young bucks took a spike 115# dressed opening day.
Thanks!
Jman22 hes alive and well, a (lucky) friend already picked up his sheds.
Can't remember my exact grade in the big thread....B to B- in 7M. I did not hunt as much as usual, early weather was tough. By Nov., I couldn't find a doe....but saw 11 bucks on public land in 6 days......only one older buck. Gun pressure was significantly higher on the public ground I hunt this year.....but ii is public. Deer numbers are fair to good locally and as long as a person is realistic about what a NY hunt is supposed to be.....it will be a decent season next year. We had good buck carry over.
