More antler restriction antics on the way

[Beaglepen]

http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/34113.ht...rt1Sect22Sect27

Now they want to expand into even more Catskill WMU's. Great for the locals and to hell with the rest of us. As it is the local jack all the decent deer off private property anyway.

Sorry guys but I can't get behind this stuff. Too many years of not being issued a DMP (doe tag) and way too many years of big deer that don't sport a big rack due to nutrition in the Catskills.

The NY DEC is a badly broken agency that refuses to really listen to what hunters want. They do what they want to do and don't care at all about our opinions.

[Beaglepen]

Here is my response...

Hello,

I am writing in response to the above listed proposed changes. As a hunter who hunts much of the big game season in WMU 4W I have a vested interest in these changes.

First, the idea that the data can arbitrarily be "adjusted for non-response bias" is ludicrous. The data actually collected clearly indicates that hunters are not in favor of these changes. It seems that the data is being manipulated to support a change that will be unfavorable to all but a few, and the few would only be the local residents with access to animals that fit the criteria for harvest. Your own statement further admits that these "antler restriction programs do not meet a critical biological or management need."

As a non-resident (I am a NY resident though) of the affected area but one who primarily hunts in WMU 4W I feel this is patently unfair, especially when in recent years the availability of DMP's has particularly scarce. In fact I think you would find that MOST of the hunters in affected WMU's are NY residents who don't live in the WMU but travel to the area from different parts of the state. At this point the question then becomes, "Why bother?" If I can't consistently acquire a DMP and there really aren't that many "qualifying bucks" then I might as well abandon NY hunting and try my luck in Pennsylvania perhaps? If DEC has only surveyed hunters who reside in those WMU's then you have done a staggering number of hunters a great disservice. As a hunter who has hunted in WMU 4W for nearly 30 years I also have to ask, "Where was my survey?" I have never received so much as a questionairre or email on this issue despite being on record all these years as a DMP participant in 4W and prior to the renumbering, Unit 60.

This program will be disastrous for the Catskill WMU's for which it is proposed. Coupled with the looming massive license fee increases including a charge for a DMP that may not even be issued it will result in even less hunter participation at a time when we need more.

DEC seriously needs to rework it's image with hunters in NY. Most of us feel that this agency is NOT responsive to our needs or requests, nor does it take into account any feedback that we the hunters provide. We are simply paid "lip-service" and the DEC will do whatever it feels like regardless of it's impact.

I strongly urge you to reconsider this poorly thought out change.

While I expect nothing more than an impersonal "canned" response, I welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter with a DEC representative.

[ADjam5]

Joe, I don't know how the deer numbers are in the area you hunt.
How many points do you need to get a doe tag?
I agree that DEC should survey the known hunters of the area when changes are made, especially antler restrictions.
But I can tell you this after having been through antler restrictions for the last 3 years they have been in place in our WMU 3H.
Less bucks are shot, but better quality bucks are shot. With any investment there is a growth period and it will bite for the first 2 years. With my own 2 eyes, I have seen the 3 of the best bucks, taken from our area in the last 20 years in the last 2.
It has always been slim pickins where I gun hunt and was as far as I remember.
Doe tags were always scarce in 3H and at one point required 2 hunters on the tag.
I've tried to take my deer in archery, so gun season I can be more selective.
AR's does bite, for the folk who have limited time in the woods, and have to let a spike or fork horn go. To wait for a legal buck. To compound it, not to give out doe tags? That is practically chasing people from hunting certain areas.

Let us know if they send you a response.

[charles m]

My old hunting area 4r is slated for antler regs. Might be good there. All you ever see are yearling bucks and every few years a 6 or 8 point.

[Herbie]

Glad I have TX. I am still looking forward to my NY hunt this year.