New 06 deer regulations?????

[rebAL]

What do you guys thnk of the new changes that took effect this year?  What changes do you favor for future?  Personally I HATE the Saturday opener for southern region & I strongly favor a early muzzleloader season before all the yahoos get out on Saturday A:M.

[PETE/NY]

Many hunters around our camp have contacted the DEC complaining about the Saturday opener but think its falling on deaf ears!!!!!!! Said that this Saturday opener will put more younger hunters in the woods.Sorry but in our area there were very few younger hunters that we saw. Now to go to camp you have to either leave work early or take the day off to get to camp and get things ready for the next days opener and many hunters working nites drive all nite to get to camp.We really liked the old Monday opener as we took our time gettting camp ready and stopping over to other camps to shoot the bull with friends we havent seen since last hunt season.As for the early Ml season, the only person who will get this season enacted will be GOD!! As the NY bowhunters complain loudly about its their season!Not to start a brawl here but we are bowhunters too and feel that the early season for ML would not be a problem as 99% of the lands we hunt are privately owned.Maybe this year the DEC will give us ML hunters our early season but I sure as heck would not bet on it.

[str8shooter48]

Pete. I agree with you 100%. I like the old Monday opener too, and would love to see an early muzzleloader season. Your probrably right we'll probrably never see either. I never hunted this year. The Saturday before opening day we went down to camp to get everything set up for the opener. On the way home on RT16 some a$$hole going about 30 mph rearended my truck at a stop light. Fortunately nobody was seriously hurt. I was just sore enough to use it as an excuse not to go sit in the woods. You know what? I didn't miss it at all.  This would have been my 36th consecutive year of deer hunting and never missed an opener. We'll have to see what the DEC changes for next year, if anything. I'll still put in for my vacation time for hunting next year, but who knows I may be spending it on a cruise ship or on a beach somewhere. The DEC might think its bringing in new young hunters but I think they're driving out us the old established hunters. Sad thing of it all I work in a plant with a lot of avid hunters and the concensus seems to be the new rules suck. I was suprised to hear of others that just couldn't wait for deer season, that never went out  or others that went out only a couple days. Lets see how many more of us the DEC can drive away next year.

[mspaci]

Everyone I have talked with loves the Sat opener, & say it should have happened years ago. Just like the northern tier & almost every other state. They dont have to take off the first day & now they have the second day not to mention the fact that you pick up another full weekend of hunting. I for one & my buddies hunted all 8 weekend days w/out having to take a day off from work. The DEC has given us this new oportunity. In our area 9 fof 10 guys like the new opener. The only complaining seems to be from the old timers here, but they complain about any change in anything. If I am not mistaken they had meetings to ask the sportsmen if this was something they wanted & it was almost always a yes. I hope they DO NOT make an early muzzleloader in the south. From what I interperet it would be does only & personnaly would not hunt it. I like my bowhunting. I DO hope they add on a special traditional season at the end for classic arms much like Pennsylvania`s flint lock season.  Mike

[str8shooter48]

Everyone I have talked with loves the Sat opener, & say it should have happened years ago. Just like the northern tier & almost every other state. They dont have to take off the first day & now they have the second day not to mention the fact that you pick up another full weekend of hunting. I for one & my buddies hunted all 8 weekend days w/out having to take a day off from work. The DEC has given us this new oportunity. In our area 9 fof 10 guys like the new opener. The only complaining seems to be from the old timers here, but they complain about any change in anything. If I am not mistaken they had meetings to ask the sportsmen if this was something they wanted & it was almost always a yes. I hope they DO NOT make an early muzzleloader in the south. From what I interperet it would be does only & personnaly would not hunt it. I like my bowhunting. I DO hope they add on a special traditional season at the end for classic arms much like Pennsylvania`s flint lock season.  Mike

You must be a weekend hunter. A lot of the guys I talked to that have hunting camps including myself don't care too much for the Saturday opener.  Too much tradition lost with the Saturday opener. Nothing better than getting to camp on Saturday, get the place set up. If you bowhunt go out Sunday the old last day of archery. Then Sunday evening make the rounds to the neighbors camps shoot the sh*t, have a few beers, get back hit the sack around 11pm. Get up around 5:30am have breakfast, get ready, then out to the woods. Thats a tradition lost and a lot of us "OLD TIMERS" miss.  Guess it just depends on your situation whether you like the changes or not.

I too like the idea of a traditional season for muzzleloading, but first I'd like to see the DEC curb the use of all these high tech bows and carbon arrows and mechanical broadheads. Go back to the way it was when us "OLD TIMERS" started bowhunting. Bear or Martin Recurves with wooden or fiberglass arrows and the infamous Bear broadheads. Oh yea and I'm one off those guys that would like to see the eartly muzzleloader season too. US "OLD TIMERS" wouldn't mind hunting in some warm weather too.

[mspaci]

I hunt all season not just on weekends. I made 16days for the regular season, about 10 w/ bow & 4 w/ muzzleloader & logged about 150 hrs on stand total. The guys I hunt w/ are mostly weekend guys. I think thats what the new laws are catering to. The average guy. I am for the early muzzloader only if we can shoot bucks. I am starting to think I am almost an old timer 25 years of hunting deer in NY. Yes I sometimes miss the old traditions, but I`d rather hunt than shoot the crap. If I get wztra days thats better for me. As for changing bow regulatios that is just rediculoius. The new bow make most able to make clean kills more consistently. That said I do hunt some w/ a recurve. As for the bow season what I think Ny should do is open the south up earlier like most states so bow hunters can get a crack at good bucks while they are in summer ranges & feeding patterns. It is alot of fun to pattern them this way. I start in Ct in mid September. Usually hunting evenings after patterning a few good bucks from a distance. There are alot of things Ny should change & I think the Sat opener is a step tword change after many years of the same thing. Now lets talk about antler restrictions??? 

[mspaci]

These are just my opinions. No offense intended tword anyone. Just what  works for our hunting party. Mike

[Will_C]

I have to say I like the new regulations. I always liked the atmosphere of the Monday opener, but being able to hunt the first two days without taking a single day off from work is great. I am not a weekend hunter, I hunt at least 10-12 days during the season in New York, on private property next to my house. I also hunt  Pa., and I wish they would follow New York's example. I would welcome a Sat. opener and Sunday hunting there. I would like to see their muzzleloading season follow the NY rules as well. If NY were to add an early muzzleloader season, it should be for primitive weapons only.
Just my opinions, based on my life and situation!!!
Will

[Leatherstocking]

I had mixed emotions about the saturday opener, but I can live with it. I am bummed that it took away a prime weekend of bow hunting animals that are not running scared from all those noisy guns. I also hunt with bow and ML. What would make sense to me is this (talking about the southern tier): Open the bow season 10/1 or the first Saturday in Oct (to give bowhunters some of that early opportunity that mspaci mentioned, then the regular gun season (as it currently is), then go right through to 12/31 with bow and ML. I am not in favor of an early ML season. if you like using the ML, use it in the regular season (which is what I do just because I love hunting with it). With the modern ML's, there is no need for them to have an advantage with an early season. There is no biological reason bow couldn't start as early as 10/1, and there is also no reason not to allow deer hunting until the end of December. It would provide more recreational opportunity (one of the stated goals of DEC) and it would allow maniacs like me to keep at it a little longer. The only downside is that more of us may wind up in divorce court!  My wife already thinks I hunt way too much!!

[WNY_Whitetailer]

I'd rather have the Monday opener back...I used to enjoy heading down to camp on Friday night...Bow hunting Sat and Sun and then taking to the woods with my slug gun on Monday morning...I am not in favor of an early ml season if it takes away from the archery season...I actually like taking to the woods with my ml after shotgun season is over...Usually it is colder and there is snow on the ground...Not this year though...

[rebAL]

I wonder what all these bowhunters who are so concerned about all the noise the early muzzleloader hunters would make would say about an early cross-bow season.  I bet they would still cry but to the beat of a different tune. 

[nyhunter863]

I can live with the Saturday opener, since it gives us an extra weekend in the gun season.  It WAS a bit easier in the past, however, since many now need to rush to there hunting places after work on a Friday.  I for one would love an early muzzleloader season, since I have NO desire to hunt anymore after the regular gun season with the holidays approaching and such.  I would throw my bow into a river if they would allow muzzleloaders in October.  I have seen plenty of deer in the woods over the years, and have moved beyond the point of being content with ONLY seeing deer like many bowhunters seem to be.  I have little interest or even less time to go out and just LOOK at a deer at 40 yards, when I know I could bag one with a muzzleloader at this distance.  It won't happen, though, since bowhunters think they own the woods in October.

I would NOT like to see antler restriction laws either.  The purpose of a game department is to manage the deer herd, and NOT to manage it for trophy hunters.  Plenty of respectable deer get taken without the law, if one has a good place to hunt and knows how to hunt, so why change things.  It will only drive more hunters to give up hunting.  It's not like anyone will all of a sudden take up hunting just because the state would have antler restriction laws.   

[NYHunter]

I have mixed feelings on the Saturday opener.  I always liked the traditional Monday opener until I changed jobs. Now if  don't work I don't get paid, yep, no paid time off.  If it wasn't for that I'd like to see it go back to Monday.

As far as antler restriction, I don't like it the way it's set up now.  I think for 1 - 2 years I would like to see a restriction on taking spike horn bucks. Bucks would have to be 3 points or better, combined, from both antlers.  Pa. had that law for years and I think it helped alot. Year and half old bucks would be spared for the most part and older bucks harvested.

[lonewolf5348]

I don't really care what day the opening day is WHY CAN'T WE HAVE A EARLY (A REAL SIDELOCK ONLY ) M/L SEASON IN THE SOUTHERN ZONE.The extra m/l days at the end of the regular season is a waste by then the deer are so spooked they only travel at night
I like the old Monday for for the opener also like to see a change in doe tags the last weekend at the end of the season for doe permits to be filled would be nice.

[HARDCORE]

I also like the new Saturday opener and would also love to see an early ml season with non scoped flint or percussion smoke poles shooting a patch and ball only! 

HARDCORE

[rebAL]

I also like the new Saturday opener and would also love to see an early ml season with non scoped flint or percussion smoke poles shooting a patch and ball only! 

HARDCORE

  I agree.  Modern muzzleloaders can hardly be considered "Primitive firearms" and detract from original intent of the early muzzleloader season.  When NY first started early season up north that's how it was defined;  Then they allowed conicals, and finally any single shot  firearm loaded through the muzzle.  The in-lines being sold today with sabots & scopes and magnum charges are in fact more accurate and longer range than shotguns.  But I would support an early southern muzzleloader season eather way.  The purpose for such a season is to harvest more deer!  A second reason is to give some advantage to a solo hunter who wants to hunt in a more traditional style than driving deer with a hoarde of others.

[str8shooter48]

I also like the new Saturday opener and would also love to see an early ml season with non scoped flint or percussion smoke poles shooting a patch and ball only! 

HARDCORE

I like that idea of a primitive season too. I have 54cal Renegade stuck in the back of my safe just waiting for an early primitive m/l season. It will probably sit there a long time too.  After all you have to get an early m/l season past the boys that hunt the original primitive weapon season. Bow season.  You know the guys with the primitive weapons. Compound bows with double cams, solo cams, fancy sights, arrow rests and carbon arrows tipped with mechanical broadheads. You know all the stuff that makes bowhunting a traditional primitve sport. . So much for the rant. Maybe one day we'lll get an early m/l season, but I'm not holding my breath. Maybe even a crossBOW season.

[Leatherstocking]

As far as antler restriction, I don't like it the way it's set up now.  I think for 1 - 2 years I would like to see a restriction on taking spike horn bucks.

NYHunter - I hear ya', but it could be argued that in the long term this approach would do more harm than good. Spikes may typically have inferior genetics, so letting them go and taking the 1 1/2 year old three-four pointers (which may have greater rack potential) would foster inferior antler genetics in the herd.

I don't mind the antler restrictions (in fact I wish it was in place where I hunt), but I really think the way to go is one buck tag per hunter per year. You can take it with bow, gun or ML, but you are only allowed ONE. This would provide incentive for guys to pass on the little ones and take a doe instead, saving that precious buck tag for one worth taking. Just my two cents........