Deer hunting in New York

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Allright, but I know people who would charge money to answer stupid trivial stuff like this lol

1st off, I live in Westchester County. I'm 19 and will be picking up a Yugo M48 that I plan on using for hunting. (Side note, I don't need a permit or anything to own a rifle? I'm getting conflicting things by a few guys and the info I pull up on the web)Through research and the like I know you have to take an initial training course, show proof that you took it and then you can get your hunting liscense. The thing i'm having trouble finding out is exactly where in New York I could go hunting once I have the liscense and the season comes around again. I hear alot about the Catskills and Adirondacks but I highly doubt I could drive my car up there, park on the side of the road and go trekking into the woods.

Been searching and searching for maps of areas, yet all I can find seems to be regulation overviews. Any help would be appreciated.
 
These two links will get you off to a good start. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation controls all hunting in New York State. The first link is to there home page, click on the subject index and with a bit of searching you will get most of the info you need about when, where and what you can hunt. The next link is to that sites map page, listing maps of various "regions" throughout the state. As an example you could look at the maps for the Region 6 Wildlife Managent Areas. You can also write to the various regional offices requesting information.
Anyways, this should get you headed in the right direction.
Anything else, feel free to ask.

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/
http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/map/recmaps.html
 
Lol, thanks, I meant more along the lines of should I bring it to someone to clean and the likes? I mean I'm gonna have to drag this thing and then get it in the trunk of my Sonata (seats fold down and a nice blue tarp should keep blood off them) I live in the suburbs so I can't hang the thing from a tree like i've seen done, god my neighbors would love that

"OH MY GOD HE KILLED BAMBI, MOMMY!!!"

lol. But I'll worry about that once I get the liscense, and the odd chance that I should ever stumble onto a deer
 
If you don't get all those insides removed to become outsides, you're not gonna have anything fit to eat. :) So read up on how to field dress your deer as soon as feasible.

You shouldn't have any problem in finding a commercial operation to deal with skinning and butchering. One problem with them, if you don't otherwise request it, is that they cut the hams into round steaks. Those are more difficult to cook and have them come out tender, compared to roasting or barbecuing the ham.

I like to keep the back straps as single pieces of meat. The backstrap is the long muscle along either side of the spine, above the ribs. Lots of yummy ways to deal with them, and you can always cut your own slices; you can't uncut somebody else's slicing.\

And, the sweetest parts of the whole deer are the inner tenders, two smallish muscles either side of the spine inside the body cavity. Super tender! An "in joke" is calling these "poison sacs", but that's another story...

:), Art
 
Jay - Find a buddy that has gutted numerous deer in the past to go with you. He (she??) will be able to show you what to look for to find the deer, as well as teach you how to properly gut (aka field dress) the animal. Gutting should take place within no more than hour of downing the animal, quicker is better. If you don't know any experienced hunters (chances are you do know some even if you don't realize it) then as mentioned before there are a number of books and videos that can illustrate the proper technique for field dressing. There's also quite a few that will tell you what to look for to find the deer, hunting techniques common to your area, and such. I'll bet there's THR members in your area that would be happy to show you the ropes.
 
Thanks for all the advice everyone, it's greatly appreciated. I do have a limited experience in gutting, fish, saw a pig done once at a friends farm and I've done a number of squirrels, and I do have a book on the proper technique. As far as the gutting goes, proper etiquette? Bring a shovel and dig a hole deep enough so no animals can get to them? But I would wonder if that would be possible on state owned land.

I wish I had someone around to ask, however in my community guns are a pretty taboo subject. Heck back when I was in high school they wanted to suspend me for a pin I had on my jean jacket, crossed 1911's. Some stupid reason that they stopped once I told them it could be considered an infringmenet on my rights lol. I would ask my father, he was on the cover of Field and Stream, but that's a long story and not an option :scrutiny:

Man, seems every question that get's answered opens up 15 more lol. Sorry if i'm being a pain, feel free to say so if I am lol.
 
Bring a shovel and dig a hole deep enough so no animals can get to them?
Click to expand...

No need to bury anything, nature kinda takes care of itself.

Regards,

Stinger
 
A deer must be dressed out immediately !!! The innards will be disposed of by the local -crows, bears,coyotes,racoons, etc.There are books and videos that will show you how. Before you hunt,know the anatomy of the deer and practice so you can reliably hit the right spot.Where in NY are you going to hunt ,and with what ??
 
I live in region 3, the westchester county area. So I figured on trying to hunt this area, or the next upper region which is called Region 4.

What I plan on hunting with is a M43, 8mm bolt action rifle.

Understood about nature taking care of itself, will still conceal with leaves so no one gets a nasty surprise though lol
 
"conceal with leaves" ?????Give me a break! Put your efforts to getting that deer out of the woods ,butchered and into the freezer as fast as possible .You'll have more problem if the Westchester PETA people see it !....You might find sources of info at www.whitetaildeer.com .
 
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Just so you know, rifle hunting is illegal in Westchester County. Actually, it is also illegal to carry a rifle in a calibre greater than .22 rimfire afield in Westchester. The county only allows bow hunting. If you want use a rifle you'll need to go upstate a bit.

Check out this map:

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/wildlife/guide/legalimp.html

I too live in Westchester and plan to get into deer hunting at some point. Where do you go shooting? I just moved here, and I'm going to check out the Blue Mountain Reservation sometime soon when the weather gets nicer. Maybe I'll see you there.
 
If to want to rifle hunt you must trave to the Norther Tier.
East side of the Adirondacks...I have no clue, West side has a lot of state property and a seasion that opens in mid October and runs into November. W/ archery and muzzleloading before and after regulat rifle. I live in region 6 (Jefferson county) and the seasion was terrible around here. Could be me....could be no deer either way I had tags for five and filled zero.
 
I hunted in the western finger lake region and had an awful season.

I would recommend a nice shotgun or muzzleloader if you want to hunt in most of NY.

The entrails won't last the night. Don't worry about it...happiness is a warm gut pile :)

I have learned the hard way that there are different guns for a reason. Every time I have tried to buy a multi-purpose firearm I have ended up with something I didn't like.
 
I actually shoot at a place called the Whortlekill rod and gun club, it's in Dutchess county.

And I'm beginning to hate Westchester, can't shoot anything here lol. Definatley going to have to try out the Blue Mountain Reservation though. Just pulled up the website and it looks pretty good lol, open right now too :evil:

So in conclusion, don't worry about the entrails, no hunting in Westchester with my rifle, hunting this year wasn't too good, and I should be hunting with a shotgun not my bolt action.

lol thanks for everything guys, and especially putting up with what is probably a bunch of stupid questions
 
lol thanks for everything guys, and especially putting up with what is probably a bunch of stupid questions
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They're not stupid. Besides, we've all got to start somewhere. Some of us (including me) were not lucky enough to grow up in a household that hunted, and so we don't know, even as adults, near as much about hunting as the average 7 year old in a hunting family. In my case, my parents wouldn't let me have so much as a BB gun growing up, nevermind a .22lr and especially a centerfire of any caliber. I was halfway through college before I owned a gun (a T38 Turk Mauser). This past November, at the age of 27, I got to go deer hunting for the first time ever. A year or two ago I was asking many of the same questions you are now.
 
Just Offering My 2 Cents Worth

Why not get something like a Thompson Center Encore? That way you can set up for every thing from muzzleloading to shotgunning to rifles. I'm pretty sure you can get an 8mm barrel for the Encore.

By the way - Westchester doesn't allow firearms for deer hunting. I'd suggest trying archery down there. If you're serious about deer hunting archery is IMHO the way to go.
 
The reason I picked up the M43 was because it's just reminds me of history. I'm a huge history buff and if I can have something that looks, even resembles a KAR98 it's enough to make me smile just looking at it, let alone shooting it.

And I figured I'd start with the rifle, get the basics of hunting down, where to hit, how to track, how to deal with it once I bring it down and start cutting. Once I get the basics down I figure I could branch out. That and I have the experience with shooting. Sure they were BB guns but it gives me the basis on how to aim a rifle. My archery experience, well that was limited to 3 weeks of practice in gym back in high school. Even though I did better then anyone else in the class, but I digress.

I'll keep my eyes open for the Thompson you mentioned, but my disposable income is extremely tight between the rent, new car, and the house I live in lol.
 
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