So whose idea was this? The suggestion came from some of the 4,500 hunters that hunt Sterling Forest annually. With 18,000 acres in the park there is lots of room for the deer to roam and grow big.

Hunters were invited to take part in a meeting on July 15th where antler restrictions and other proposals would be the topics of discussion.

Officials invited hunters who have used the park in the past to take part in a meeting July 15 to discuss antler restrictions and several other proposals. Park manager, Jim Gell, said the point of the meeting was to look for ways the park can improve hunting opportunities.

President of the New York chapter of the QDMA, Charles Fiscella was at the meeting to give some perspective from a QDM point of view.

“We have three criteria - it needs to be based on honest data, it has to be supported by a majority of hunters, and it needs an objective monitoring program in place,” Fiscella said.

While no decisions were made at the meeting, the park and wildlife managers have some homework to do before putting any regulations into place at the park.

It will be interesting to see if the park decides to go with antler restrictions or not. I've hunted some lands with antler restrictions in Putnam County and the sign doesn't lie - there are some big bucks around.