Deer sightings southern tier More or Less than 08 ???????

[myemmy]

I hunt in area 4F and this year seems to be one of the worst years for seeing deer ,bucks and does !!!I enjoy seeing !!! DEER  just as many of you. Its hard to take ayoung hunter afield hoping they will see some deer, just to keep them interested. Thanks for all the input.

[marcus]

9k and 9j   although I am tagged out and can only chase small game I am seeing deer evry time I step in the woods. during bow season I saw deer everytime out.   shotgun season ended quickly so I am not after deer but I have seen plenty as has my 8 yr old ball of energy son . Way up from last year . I have seen a couple of shooter bucks during the day and all I could do was watch them mosey on along.   I have also seen DEC all over the area which is probably deterring the road hunters which would obviously help the herd. I hope the deer show themselves in a couple of weeks when muzzleloading opens up.

[iceplank]

9k and 9j   although I am tagged out and can only chase small game I am seeing deer evry time I step in the woods. during bow season I saw deer everytime out.   shotgun season ended quickly so I am not after deer but I have seen plenty as has my 8 yr old ball of energy son . Way up from last year . I have seen a couple of shooter bucks during the day and all I could do was watch them mosey on along.   I have also seen DEC all over the area which is probably deterring the road hunters which would obviously help the herd. I hope the deer show themselves in a couple of weeks when muzzleloading opens up.

there is no doubt that your WMUs and a number of others are filthy with deer and you will see them despite a warmer year. in 8r where we have camp( i did not go this year) they pounded them again, orange county was full of deer and along western lake onatario and finger lakes my boys have seen and killed their quota although down from last year.. it seem the 5s 4s and 6s not so much. i live in 4j and my inlaws live in essex county. guys , i dont really think there are that many deer around. some of those areas there never really were alot and the 4s seem way down since the nasty 2001-2001 winters and the coyote explosion. its amazing the diversity of our state wide herds. you can travel 1 hour and the difference is incredible in density.i have gotten so freakin sick on not seein numbers therefore reducing my opportunites, i have had to start traveling to better WMUs and tried to find some land with access. IMO it sucks to spend all that time that comes once a year and see 7 deer all year. a lot of guys are locked into their camps or their land and keep at it. I give you credit, i dont have that kind of patience or persistance anymore. i have found the moving has helped. this is a great thread to get a feel of what is going on in different parts of our state.

[timk]

I hunt 5S (used to be 5K), town of Schagticoke and I am seeing a lot more deer this year than I have in the previous 3-4years.  5-7 years ago they were giving doe and nusance permits away like candy in 5K and the herd took a major hit.  A few years back the place I hunt had 25 nusance permits for a ~300acre corn farm, we filled em all but it hasnt been the same ever since and in hindsight it was a horrible idea.  The numbers are slowing starting to come back however. 

[marcus]

it's funny you mention the coyotes there is an obvious uptick if not a full-blown explosion in there numbers around here. I have seen them mid-day in the wide open (about 80 yards out during bow season no shot)  This area is filthy with deer like you said and I realize I am lucky to live in this area. You cannot drive at dawn or dusk and not have some close encounters. I have hit 2 in the past 4 months. One on the dam thruway near hamburg?

[joe snag]

Stka----Nice Map---Thanks
I;m right in the V of 5j--and weekends i'm up in 5H

[bucksnort]

I really think the Coyotes are scoring as many as the hunters these days,and the DMP allotments are way to high!!!!!Put a bounty on coyotes again,will help deer out IMO.....

no doubt,i'v only seen 1 dog all season but every time i sit in my treestand as soon as the sun comes up the woods come alive,sounds like there must be 5 or 6 different groups of them in a 1 mile radius and the deer pop is a lot less then usuall this year

[Hollywood]

I live in central ny area (syracuse). There have always been a lot of small pockets in close to developements etc that have a ton of deer. Not anymore- there are a bunch of guys hunting where none used to and places I used to watch a dozen deer including a few bucks out in the open feeding during the day during deer season- nada. I'm sure they are not all dead- just shifted out due to pressure. I have customers within an hour of syracuse in all directions- guys are seeing way less deer this season so far and I'm seeing way less hunters out as I drive my territory every day. I've been at it 31 years now and I see far fewer deer than when I started. A customer stated a news piece that stated that car/vehicle collisions hit a record in NY, therefore in his opinion, deer are at a record level. Not so. Like in our area- suburban sprawl has people driving thru deer country much more than they used to. Our road used to be fairly quiet, it sounds like the thruway every morning now. More deer are going to get hit. Too bad the coyotes don't play in the road more- though there is one couple mile stretch I know where a dozen or so get hit every year. Never deer hit there anymore. I'm sure there's no connection. Everybody knows that coyotes have almost no effect on deer populations. Sure.

[iceplank]

i used to think the connection was overrated. i know that areas that got hit hard with winter that lost good amount of their herd have not bounced back like we expected over last 7 years. i start thinking, "arent these deer breeding?"  and then we start seeing and hearing more and more coyotes. all they gotta do is follow a doe ready to birth and eventually get a hold of that fawn. i think they are doing lots of damage in springtime.coyotes are all over the place now....

[TR19]

Well here goes a quick update for our guys.
Since opening day of Southern Zone (5R) My dad & I have been in the woods every day except Thanksgiving. That's 12 days, my son  & my father in-law have been in for 5 of those 12. Lets say conservatively 6 hours each. That's 204 man hours hunting 2 different pieces of property. Total deer sightings -
Me 9 deer, 1 buck that I hit and lost in the swamp, 8 on a drive I was doing.
My dad, 5 deer sighted (4 are the same I saw on a drive) 1 5 pointer killed.
My Son, 5 deer, (3 of those are the same that my dad & I saw on a drive.
My Father In-Law, 1 deer. (same deer on the drive).

Real total, 204 hours, 10 different deer seen.

Northern Zone this season I have seen 7 deer total and could only identify 4 of them.

Without a doubt this season has been the lowest deer sighting and sign year we have EVER had.

A buddy of mines friend has a trail cam out and placed it accidentally by a coyote den this past spring. In 2 weeks there were 14 fawns brought to the den to feed the pups. Tell me that something doesn't need to be done about the Yotes in this state.

I'm sure that the number of deer taken according to DEC will be another record take or close to it. You couldn't prove it by us or any of my friends that hunt. Everyone agrees that the sightings are way down.

[jerrygeb]

I live and hunt in 8T and although we saw many more during archery than gun, we've seen less deer overall.
Even the trail cameras have been slower all through the summer and fall.
We've definitely got coyotes, but doesn't seem like there are any more than in past years.
What has been a bit surprising is the lack of does. We're seeing maybe 25% of what we've usually seen.

The neighboring landowners are experiencing about the same. Between my spot and the neighbors, that accounts for close to 1000 acres.

Picked up my deer at the processor the other day, and he said he's down 50% on business level compared to the last few years.

Hope this is just an off year and not a preview of future years. Although I must say since roughly 2003 there seems to be less and less sightings in my neck of the woods.

[huntny30]

Well off to 7R tonight, hopefully this colder weather gets them moving, probably my last big outing of the year, good luck to all of you in the woods this weekend...

[joe snag]

seen a doe today running across a wide open field at 2pm ----DMP---4F

[howesfc]

My son's been hunting behind the house in the State land in 9P and has'nt seen a deer in a week.
He's been sitting for two hours in the morning and again in the afternoon.

[Corporal Punishment]

Yea sitting isnt working any more,they know something isnt right!!!!Older deer have experienced it last year,kill the mommy and the baby's are just hanging by roads in normal spots....Not knowing its there death sentence!!!

Fewer deer this year an hunters IMO,group hunters will get there share though....If they got enough land to push!!!!