Last year I decided I wanted to switch from a detachable quiver to a two piece quiver. On previous bowhunts I had used a Kwikie Kwiver and would occasionally brush the bottom of my arrows against the arm rest of my treestand which would result in noise and vibration.
The two piece quiver helped solve part of that problem by holding the arrow at opposite ends which would reduce the amount of noise and vibration in the event that one of my arrows got caught on some brush. The problem I had with my FUSE Posi-Lite two piece quiver was that the pre-cut insert was made for fixed blade broadheads and I was using Rage 2-blade mechanicals. I solved the problem by cutting holes into the quiver to help with the problem, but then I was stuck inserting the arrows back into the quiver the exact same position every time which was not an easy task at last light.
For 2009 Trophy Ridge introduced the Arrow Cage 2 which solved the issue I was having with my old quiver and the Rage broadheads. The Rage heads fit perfectly into the pre-cut holes in the foam of the Arrow Cage 2. The lightweight aluminum construction adds a minimum amount of weight to the bow and the rubber hood acts as a sound dampener, eliminating vibration. The Arrow Cage 2 also comes with three sets of mounting brackets to fit any bow.
The only downside of the Arrow Cage 2 is that the hood is not vertically adjustable. The FUSE Posi-Lite quiver I used to have allowed me to raise the hood so the nocks of my arrows would not pass the bottom limb of my bow. Trophy Ridge's Arrow Cage 2 does have a veritcle adjustment for the hood of the quiver, but on my Mathews Drenalin the quiver fits perfect and my 28.5" arrows do not pass the bottom limb of my bow.
If you're shooting mechanical broadheads, I'd give the Trohpy Ridge Arrow Cage a try, its a great lightweight quiver made for mechanicals. If you're a fixed broadhead person then go with the FUSE Posi-Lite with the precut foam. Either way you'll have a super quite quiver that keeps your arrows close to home for that second shot.
This year I switched to Rage broadheads because I wanted an arrow that was super easy to tune and as large of an entry wound as I could put on an animal. I do 90% of my hunting in the suburbs and ensuring a deer, turkey, fox or coyote goes down as fast as possible is a must in this setting.
How my Rage 2-blades performed this past season:
I did loose one deer this season while shooting Rage broadheads, but it was due to poor shot placement on my part, not because of the broadhead. I took 3 bucks, 4 does, a turkey and a red fox with the broadheads this season and none required a tracking job, they all fell within sight. Most of my shots were broadside shots. I did take a 15 yard shot at a quartering away doe and the Rage had no problem. However, I did have one head deflect. I had a big 8 pionter under my tree and the head must have deflected off the ribs, but I never was able to find the arrow. I did get the deer though with a quick follow up shot and watched it go down 50 yards from my tree. I will continue to use the Rage broadheads because I think they are one of the best mechanical broadheads out there right now. I have confidence in my shooting, my equipment and my broadheads.
New for 2009: Rage recently introduced the new Rage 2-blade 1.5" cut. The new 100g head has a specially designed blade angle that is swept back slightly more than the original 2" 2-blade design. The smaller cutting diameter offers increased penetration and is ideal for small frame shooters or those targeting extra large game.
"The new Rage 1.5 fills a niche that we didn’t have, “ stated Jon Syverson, Vice President of Sales. “This new blade is ideal for women, kids, and for smaller framed shooters who’s bows produce less kinetic energy."
The 1.5" cut Rage 2-blade offers the same proprietary rear-deploying SlipCam that are fully deployed by the time the blades make impact with minimal loss of kinetic energy. The Shockloc System holds each blade in place without the need for rubber bands.
The unique blade design combined with the proprietary SlipCam system offers the most reliable broadhead design available for guaranteed penetration with bows that are producing minimal kinetic energy.
If you were hesitant to try the Rage broadheads before because you weren't sure that your bow produced enough kinetic energy to open the blades and get a complete pass through you might want to give the new Rage 1.5" 2-blade a try. I'm able to blast the 2" Rage right through deer with my current set-up so I'll be sticking with its larger cutting big brother, but either way, "put a rage in the cage" and start collecting some bone.
The day after deer season ended everyone asked “How was your season?” The answer was always the same “Not sure yet”. Not sure, how can you be not sure the day after the season ended?
You’re sure of what you harvested (13 does and 0 bucks) and you’re sure of what you saw from the stand and what your cameras caught (48 unique bucks during season) but you really can’t be sure of the outcome of the season until some time later. You have to let the dust settle and take an inventory after the shooting ends.
We pulled our cameras last week after shooting over 80,000 pics and were delighted to have photographed 22 unique bucks after the season ended including 3 we had never photographed before. We also have it on good information that 3 good bucks that we saw during the season are still using the property even though the post season cameras didn’t pick them up.
The surviving buck brigade looks like this: 4-spikes, 5-4’s, 1-5, 3-6s, 2-7s, 4-8s, 2-dropped (probably 160’s), 1-2pt.
Not exactly the Outdoor Channel but this is how it sorts out right here in the heart of NY deer country. We are pleasantly surprised with the post season results as the neighbors hit the bucks hard this year due to an early gun season which hit during a high buck activity period. We have plenty to work with for next year and look forward to getting some age on those deer.
Sure we would have liked to take a big buck this year but he just didn’t show up. We passed up a couple of mid-130 3 year olds but we have steadily raised the bar over the years and we were looking for something in the 4-5 year age class. Every decent buck we photographed presented itself for a shot during the hunting season this year. Our setups were good, we were just lacking age.
The “trophy” of the year was caught on camera. Not a book buck but a common poacher dragging a button buck out of our property. Twelve terrific action shots of the %%&#@ sneaking out with a little guy three days before the end of the muzzleloader season. Charlie A. couldn’t have shot the picture clearer or posed it better but so far no positive I.D. The pictures have made the rounds and one thing for sure-- the neighborhood knows the Dougherty’s are watching and someone is getting a nervous tic.
We have kept 4-5 year old deer every year on our property now for at least 10 years but not this year. We’ve been logging our property heavily for the past two years. This summer the loggers concentrated their cutting in some of our best sanctuary areas. We have concluded that big bucks don’t like skidders showing up in their bedrooms. Over the past two years we disrupted most of our sanctuaries and believe the older age class deer just didn’t tolerate the disruption. We shut the loggers down Sept. 1 and saw a quick rebound in buck numbers but the old boys had dispersed and to our surprise never returned.
The logging was extremely well done and a huge habitat success. Future Forest Consultants left our woods in great shape and the habitat will be terrific going forward. Bottom line---you need to break an egg to make an omelet. We have been at this for nearly twenty years. Disruption is an ongoing part of property management and we are looking forward to rebuilding our age structure and having things get back to normal.
An interesting by-product of the lack of older age class bucks on the property may have been changes in buck movement patterns. Buck movement in past years has been very constrained. They seemed to stay in prescribed areas and seldom entered certain other areas. This year saw more buck movement across the entire farm than in the recent past. Bucks were showing up everywhere and anywhere. Could it be that in past years the old boys kept them in their place? Or at least out of their place? Opinions or observations anyone? We’ll keep an eye on it going forward.
Many of you have written or called asking about our high numbers of late season deer sightings. We averaged sightings of almost 9 deer per hr. by seasons end while most hunters were lucky to see 8 deer in a week.
The answer is pretty simple--- a “tuned up” property and low impact hunting. Kindred Spirits has been pretty much “in tune” for a number of years now. Our deer numbers are in line with our habitat and our food plots and native vegetation enhancements are able to supply year round nutrition.
The operative phrase here is “year round”. It is not enough to plant a few summer and early hunting season food plots and call it done. From a hunting standpoint you need to plant plenty of late season food sources to attract late season deer. We use a combination of green plots (clover chicory, brassica) and corn to keep our deer well fed through the season and beyond.
We also are fanatics (well, Neil is at least) about “low impact” hunting. No ATV’s no pickups only electric carts and “shanks ponies”. We sneak into the woods and sneak out through designated approaches. No “bushwhacking” across country, no still hunting and absolutely no deer “pushes” (quiet or otherwise). Believe it or not well over 80% of our 500 acres is “off limits” during gun season. We move a bit more during bow season and never, never hunt a stand when conditions are wrong.
If you had a rough second half you need to seriously consider creating more late season food sources and adopting low impact hunting strategies. Neil stays busy all winter working with clients on improving both. Now is definitely the time to get in the woods and get your plan in place for next year. Once spring comes things start happening fast and furious and before you know it you are up to your ankles in dirt. If you need help give us a call at 315 331 6959.
The Rut
The highlight of the deer watching season is undoubtedly the “the windup and wind down” of the rut. Many of you noticed that in no time of 8 weeks of deer reports did we mention the word “rut”. This is for good reason as in our opinion a great deal of confusion surrounds the rut; particularly in defining the terminology typically associated with the rut.
We deliberately avoided labeling behavior we and our cameras identified and chose instead to describe. We stayed away from “calling” the rut in favor of describing what we observed as accurately as possible. We learned from your emails and calls that one man’s “chasing” was another man’s “seeking” or “trolling” and almost everyone had a different understanding of what is meant by “breeding” while almost never observing any “breeding” at all.
We also learned that rich descriptions of behavior foster communication and shared learning. We received hundreds of responses like “we are seeing exactly what you described” or “we haven’t seen that but we are seeing this”. This was great stuff. Instead of arguing about stages or phases of the rut (“the rut is on, I just saw a buck chasing a doe” or “the rut’s over I haven’t seen a buck all weekend”) we were sharing observations and fostering communication between thousands of whitetail watchers.
What We Reported
Our observations and descriptions followed a fairly predictable pattern that has been established for some years at Kindred Spirits. Other “tuned up” properties pretty much seem to report the same.
The season opened in mid October with 4-5 deer sighted per hr. Our deer were using food plots heavily with does and fawns moving in well established family groups. Young bucks were all over the plots with an occasional older buck coming by to advertise his presence at a scrape or licking branch. The youngsters were already interested in does and would occasionally take a brief run at a doe/fawn group who would scatter like a covey of quail and quickly resume feeding.
Many of you reported similar behavior and a few called “an early rut” (hate those labels). Those of you without food plots to concentrate feeding deer typically saw fewer deer per sit than did food plot hunters. Food is definitely the key to understanding early season whitetail behavior.
As the season progressed we observed more and more aggressive behavior by young and older bucks alike. Doe and fawns began to disappear from the food plots as food plots were targeted by bucks “on the muscle”. Our deer sightings dropped to roughly 2.5 with our doe/fawn count dropping and our buck sightings rising. We gradually pulled off the food plots in favor of “intercept” stands that keyed on wind currents and topography.
The pace gradually picked up as did the buck sighting ratios. Immature buck sightings gradually were replaced by older buck sightings as more and more older age class bucks were out and about. Aggressive “chases” were frequently seen as “racked” bucks took over the property. The younger bucks almost seemed to pull back from the core of the action becoming more observers than participants. During this “magic time” we photographed 13 new unique bucks that probably had been laid up in our sanctuaries or on neighboring properties. Our “magic time” fell on the week of November 11-19th. Most of the action fell during 11-15th.
Then someone threw the switch. Mature doe sightings fell off precipitously as did mature buck sightings. Our camera photos were down 60% the week of Nov. 20-27th . We picked up an occasional chase here and there but our sightings from the stand dropped to 2.4 deer per hr. The food plots were for the most part populated by nervous fawns and young bucks acting stupid but the real action wasn’t happening on the food.
Many of you reported “rut over” around this time (once again labels not serving us well). Was the rut over or is something else going on? Yes, we had entered into the first week of the gun season but the simple answer is the “rut” was far from over. We were in “lockdown” the mid-rut period every year where mature bucks and does alike virtually disappear from their regular haunts. It generally coincides what many describe as the “peak” of the rut or “breeding period” but since we don’t know what a “peak” looks like and never see any “breeding” we are reluctant to use these labels.
We think we know what is going on back in the dense sanctuary areas (does hunkered down with bucks near by waiting for a breeding opportunity) but our low impact hunting approach does not lend itself to crowding the participants. We hear the occasional crashing, grunting and raking so something is going on but most of it is behind closed doors in the thick cover. What do you think?
Gradually, during the next couple of weeks we began to once again see more deer. Doe/fawn groups once again assembled and returned to feeding behavior bucks started to show up on food plots again and our deer per hr. sightings climbed to almost 9 per by season’s end. Back to normal but more deer than ever. All this with a backdrop of ATV’s, deer drives and rifles going off.
Unfortunately not all of you saw this “return to normal” pattern of behavior. Some of you succumbed to the “rut over—game over” syndrome packed it up, and headed home. Others experienced the same excellent late season as we did and enjoyed a full season of quality hunting. The common denominator--a well tuned property and low impact hunting. The deer drivers and big woods hunters were done weeks ago.
We have observed this predictable cycle ever since Kindred Spirits reached a point of “fine tuning” 10 or so years ago. We have heard from many of you who experienced the same cycle as well. Some of you use different labels and terms to describe the cycle but the sequence of events seem to remain constant. Let us know what you think but please use descriptions rather than labels as labels mean many different things to many different people.
In our opinion, the quality of your late season hunting is what separates good properties from the not so good properties. Most hunting properties are good in the early season and almost all hunting picks up during the “rut”. Only great properties have great late season hunting. Now is the time to address this issue by taking a good hard look at your property and developing a plan.
Next year will see some new food plot locations (away from the core of the property to reduce hunting pressure in the core areas) and the beginning of regeneration of most of our woodland areas. We will invite the older age class bucks back into our sanctuary areas with peace and quiet and lots of high quality food. What will you be doing differently?
We have really enjoyed producing this newsletter and hearing from so many of you. If the weekly reports were a success it is because so many of you took the time to report what you were seeing in your neck of the woods. We are definitely planning to do them again next year and look forward to your help.
Many of you asked questions which we were unable to answer in our updates. We plan on producing a Q & A publication every week or two. If you want to receive it and weigh in with us just stay tuned. If we are bothering you, let us know and Sharon will take you off the mailing list. Thanks again for your help.
For those of you who weren't able to make it, last week I attended the Westchester County Bowhunters Association meeting at the Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining, NY.
The meeting began with an overview of the minutes from the previous meeting and a brief update on the genetic study being conducted by Mark Weckle. Unfortunately, Mark was unable to make the meeting, but has been collecting heart samples from deer for his genetic study on whitetails in suburban areas.
I gave a brief presentation on NYbowhunter.com and the NYbowhunter.com Forum. I explained how the website came along and my vision for it to become the place to go for information on bowhunting in New York. I also touched on my vision for the Forum which I hope unites various hunting organizations throughout the State. I believe this will be fundamental in helping protect sportsmens rights as the forum can provide a larger voice for us to be heard.
There were several racks brought in from this season for the big buck contest. Unfortunately, I did not have a camera with me to take pictures, but some members did and hopefully they will post them up here for others to see. There were some impressive racks taken and the one that stood out to me was a symmetrical 10 pointer that was probably in the 130s if I had to guess. UPDATE (1/28/09): Mike submitted the above photo, thanks Mike. From left to right: Doug with his 2nd place 126" 8 pointer, Mike with his 123" 8 pointer, and 1st place winner Anthony with his 139" 10 pointer.
"The Task Force continues to make progress in its talks with the DEC, DEP, State Parks and government officials in regards to opening up public lands for controlled bowhunting in an effort to control the deer population."
Doug went on to update the organization on the progress the Task Force was having in its talks with the DEC, DEP, State Parks, and government officials in regards to opening up public lands to controlled bowhunting in an effort to help reduce the deer population to a level that is below the carrying capacity of the land so that the forest stands a chance of regeneration before the deer population rebounds. Obviously this will not be a one time deal. If the programs meet the requirements of the parks then bowhunting will be required on a yearly basis to keep the deer population from exceeding the carrying capacity of the land. The Westchester County Bowhunters Association is looking for volunteers to help with some of the legwork involved to get the programs underway as the State is not looking to put any money towards this.
You'll also notice something new on the Forum today - a Free Classified Section. This was a suggestion that was brought up at the meeting by one of the members and was something I had been considering. If you have any suggestions about the Forum or NYbowhunter.com I'd love to hear your thoughts.
The next meeting for the Westchester County Bowhunters Association will be in April. Membership is $20 and you don't need to be a member to come check out one of the meetings to see what the organization is all about. If you hunt in Westchester I strongly suggest you join this organization as they protect our rights as bowhunters.
NYbowhunter.com will switch to its post-season format beginning Monday, January 26. New posts will be published 3 times a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Important news and events will be published anytime during the week as NYbowhunter.com sees fit.
Once August rolls around we will pick back up with daily posts as the hunting season quickly approaches.
"Check out the new NYbowhunter.com Forum. Register to become a member and share your photos and hunting stories with other hunters from around the state."
In the meantime make sure to check out the new NYbowhunter.com Forum. Register to become a member and share your photos and hunting stories with other hunters from around the state.
Over the next few weeks I will be scouting out some new properties for next season as well as doing a thorough scouting of some high potential areas I hunted this past fall. Hopefully I'll come across a few sheds along the way. Then before you know it spring turkey hunting will be upon us.
I received an email from Brian W. who found my website through ADKhunter.com. Brian had a great season this year and saw eight bucks - four of them on Thanksgiving day. Brian was able to connect on this Saratoga County 10 pointer this season.
Remember, NYbowhunter.com wants to hear from you! Share your photos and stories about hunting deer, shed hunting/scouting, turkey hunting, black bear hunting or anything in New York. Send photos and letters to marc@nybowhunter.com.
I've tried a lot of G5 products over the last few years and they continuously impress me with the improvements in their high quality products. I have hunted with several G5 broadheads, use their sights, peep sight, lighted nocks, and archery tools such as the A.S.D. Tool. New for 2009 G5 replaces the Montec with the new Montec CS and introduces the Optix XR2 sight.
Two years ago I purchased a few Montec 100g broadheads to try out. What initially drew me to the broadhead was the solid one piece design and ease of resharpening. This was an extremely well built broadhead that was solid as a rock and with no moving parts, there was nothing that could fail.
I wrote a review in the Gear Guide back in October 2007 on the Montec. After several weeks of use, my one complaint about the broadheads was that I just couldn't get them sharp enough for my liking, even when using the G5 diamond stone as directed. Well this year G5 solved that problem with the new Montec CS. The one difference between the old Montec and the new Montec is the material. While the Montec was previously made from stainless steel, the new Montec CS is made from carbon steel which makes the head 25% sharper than the previous model. The Montec CS is available in 100g and has a 1 1/16" cutting diameter.
My sight of choice for the last two seasons has been the G5 Optix. I originally started with the Optix ME in 2007 and then upgraded to the Optix XR in 2008. For 2009, G5 Outdoors introduces the Optix XR2 which is basically an Optix XR with two pins instead of four. The XR2 features one fixed pin and one floating pin that allows you to dial in distance down to the yard. I do about 95% of my hunting from treestands, so I removed the top pin from my XR so I have 20 yard and 30 yard fixed pins and a 40 yard pin that is adjustable out to 80 yards. This got rid of some of the pin clutter since I rarely ever shoot past 40 yards - I took one shot this season at 45 yards and it was a follow up shot that put the deer down within 30 yards.
If you're in the market for a new sight or want to check out the latest in broadhead technology give G5 Outdoors a shot and the results will speak for themselves.
NYS DEP Big Game Biologist Jeremy Hurst recently sent me an email to let me know that the DEC has recently updated their website to include more information about antler restrictions in New York.
The page includes the DEC's position regarding antler restrictions, a brief summary of buck harvest and hunter survey results from the pilot antler restriction units (WMUs 3C, 3H, 3J, and 3K), and links to relevant surveys. The DEC anticipates completing a more thorough summary of harvest trends from the pilot area after harvest calculations are finalized for the 2008 hunting seasons.
Just a reminder to all who hunt in the Westchester County area - tomorrow night is the winter meeting for the Westchester County Bowhunters Association. The meeting starts at 7:00pm and will be held at the Teatown Lake Reservation on Spring Valley Road in Ossining, NY.
Non-members are welcome to sit in on the meeting and can join the organization at the meeting or online at WestchesterBowhunters.com.
Agenda items will be:
Results of Big Buck/Big Doe contest
Update on County Deer Task Force
Presentation by Mark Weckel re genetic study
Presentation by NYBOWHUNTER web forum
50/50
Any other new business
As stated in the above agenda, I will be giving a 10 minute presentation on the NYbowhunter.com Forum and how it can become a useful tool for the Westchester County Bowhunters Association.
I came across this awesome buck on Dan Ladd's webiste, ADKhunter.com. This buck was arrowed in Cayuga County on November 10, 2008 by Tony Van Ditto.
This is just one of the many P&Y bucks to fall in New York this season. New York does have some true monsters, but you have to work extremely hard to find them. Get out in the woods and start your scouting now, you never know what you'll stumble across.
You might even find a set of sheds like Mike Karns did of this monster 187" seventeen point buck! This set of antlers was found in Monroe County.
Following the success of the 4-H Shooting Sports mini-course, the Warren County 4-H program is offering its second shooting sports multi-discipline class beginning on Thursday, February 5th. This program is designed to teach youth about the safe handling of firearms, the ethical use of firearms and bows in sport, and about the role of the conservation in natural resources. The main emphasis is always safety.
This class in an intensive training session and those who are interested should realize the amount of time they are committing to. There is about fifteen sessions of instruction by 4-H certified instructors. At least six of those sessions will take place on Saturdays. Many of the sessions will take place on the firing range utilizing bows, air guns, .22 calibers, shotguns, and muzzleloaders. This course will NOT include the Hunter Safety Certification and the Bow Hunter Safety Certification, though there will be an opportunity for participants to register for these classes.
The range & supply fee for the class will be $20 per youth for 4-H members and $25 for non-members (this includes 4-H enrollment). There is a discounted rate for families with more than one youth enrolled in the class. There is a provision for any family who may not be able to afford the fee, please contact the John Bowe at the Cornell Cooperative Extension office for more information.
Youth must be twelve years of age as of February 5th to participate in this program and the program is LIMITED to eighteen spots. If you know of a youth that would be interested in this program, call John F. Bowe at the Extension office (668-4881) or email him at jfb32@cornell.edu.
I received an email from linsgrls2@aol.com back in December:
I know you call this a sport, I call it a sin. How you can look into the eyes of these beautiful creatures, knowing they may have a family and kill them and post these stupid pictures like you are heroes with bragging rights?? It is awful, hope your family is safe, I know you love them very much and go out every day to make sure they have food and shelter. I guess I will never understand the need to kill. I just can't imagine the poor young ones that are left behind in even more danger now that you have killed their parents. I guess we are all in danger when people are out in the woods with guns and bows. Hope you stay safe. Have a wonderful holiday...
The sad truth of the matter is this is how a lot of people feel. Hunters are a minority these days, especially in the suburbs where people are so far removed from the outdoors and hunting, that they simply don't understand it. Unfortunately, it's the vast majority of the non-hunting population that doesn't understand what really happens in the ecosystem around us.
Rarely do these people, many living in suburban areas, step foot off of a paved surface. They know little about the natural world around them, and look at the cute little deer in the forest when in reality those cute little deer are in the midst of creating such an imbalance of the ecosystem that in many cases the damage done by deer will never be reversed. They're not stupid people - they are simply uneducated about the wildlife around them.
So here are 5 facts about deer and the need for hunters to manage the population:
There are natural limits to the number of deer that a given parcel of habitat can support. When deer exceed the carrying capacity of the land there are more deer than quality forage and winter habitat available.
There are over 60 deer per square mile in the suburbs of Westchester. The carrying capacity is around 20 deer per square mile. If the population was reduced further to 15 deer per square mile then the deer would be able to reach their full potential.
Deer have no natural predators. Coyotes rarely take down healthy deer, instead they prey on weak deer suffering from malnutrition and those with serious injuries.
Severe overbrowsing by deer alters the plant species composition and distribution, disrupting the local habitat. Overbrowsing also destroys song bird habitat and kills forest regeneration.
Hunting helps reduce the number of deer/vehicle collisions and the spread of Lyme disease.
The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection put together an Evaluation of Deer Management Options in 1988 and concluded that hunting was the most viable solution to controlling the deer population.
"Fifty years of research and management experience have shown regulated hunting to be an ecologically sounds, socially beneficial, and fiscally responsible method of managing deer populations. Options routinely suggested as alternatives to regulated hunting area typically limited in applicability, prohibitively expensive, logistically impractical, or technically infeasible. As a consequence, wildlife professionals have come to recognize regulated hunting as the fundamental basis of successful deer management."
-CT DEP, Publication No: DR-11
Over 20 years later wildlife agencies are still coming to the same conclusion - hunting is the best way to keep the deer population within the carrying capacity of the land.
This is just a reminder that the winter meeting for the Westchester County Bowhunters Association will be held on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at 7:00pm at the Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining, NY.
All hunters are welcome to attend the meeting. You can become a member at the meeting or join online by visiting the WCBA website.
The WCBA's mission is as follows:
To promote and encourage the sports of archery and bow hunting in the County of Westchester and state of New York;
To support true sportsmanship and ethics among those who hunt and fish in lawful and legal manner;
To foster, promote, and encourage the development, and maintenance of technical proficiency in the use of archery equipment by its members;
To encourage support of the fish and game laws of this state;
To aid in the formulation and establishment of sound policies and practices designed to conserve, restore, protect, and safely regulate the natural resources of this State in general, and the County of Westchester in particular;
To promote and encourage better understanding among its members and the general public as to the proper role of bow hunting in wildlife management and conservation;
To encourage, promote, and provide social and friendly intercourse, and good fellowship, among its members;
To work for the respect and acknowledgement of the just rights of property owners and encourage a close and friendly relationship between property owners and bow hunters.
DEC Charges Two in Illegal Deer-tag Scheme Wayne County Men Face Multiple Charges
Two Wayne County men have been arrested in connection with a three-year scheme to illegally purchase deer carcass tags and to illegally take deer with those tags, New York State Environmental Conservation Police Captain Michael VanDurme announced today.
Reymundo Figueroa, 34, of Newark, has been charged with four counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing and first-degree falsifying of business records - each count a felony related to making false statements when applying for deer carcass replacement tags on four occasions from 2005 to 2008.
Figueroa applied for and received replacement deer carcass tags at a Newark store in 2005, 2006 and 2008, stating that his original tags had been lost or stolen. In each case, DEC alleged that Figueroa had not lost his original tags but had used them to tag a deer he had killed earlier in the season. Figueroa then used the replacements to tag additional illegally killed deer. In addition to the felony charges, Figueroa was charged with three counts of illegally taking a deer, two counts of unlawful possession of wildlife and eight violations relating to the improper tagging of deer carcasses.
Evan Storrs, 20, also of Newark, was charged with one count of illegally taking a deer (a misdemeanor) and two counts of illegally lending a license to another person (a violation). DEC alleged that Storrs had given deer carcass tags issued in his name to Figueroa in an attempt to legitimize deer illegally taken by Figueroa in 2007 and 2008.
Each felony charge is punishable by imprisonment of up to four years. The illegal taking of a deer is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment of up to one year and a fine of $250 - $2,000 per count. Unlawful possession of wildlife, lending a license to another and violations of the tagging requirements related to taking deer are violations punishable by imprisonment of up to 15 days and a fine of up to $250 per violation.
During the investigation, DEC police officers executed a search warrant on Figueroa's residence and seized seven mounted deer heads and a quantity of frozen venison.
It was August 2, 2008 when I first located this deer on the property I hunt in CT. A big beautiful, perfectly symmetrical 8 pointer - the largest on the property this year. I had placed my trail camera along the creek bottom because I found a trail in the snow alongside it the previous winter. Knowing the buck existed, I was determined to find his bedding area.
About a week later I had the camera in a new location watching a break in a stone wall leading up from a thick swamp I thought the deer might be bedding in or near. A doe set the camera off, but he was there in the background, antlers high above his head.
After a few hunts I left this area as to not over hunt it. I would return later in the season. During September and October I hunted two other sections of the property and filled two buck tags on my biggest bucks to date. I spent November and December hunting in NY and returned to CT in January with my 2009 tags.
I set up a camera over some corn (baiting is legal in Zone 11 in Connecticut) and hoped to lure the buck out of his hiding area during shooting hours. A few days earlier I had taken a doe from this exact spot and watched two bucks off in the distance with both antlers. In this picture, you can see the buck in the center has already lost his antlers.
I had 150 pictures in 4 days - the big buck showed up and even had a friend, but their antlers were no longer around. The bucks had shed their antlers over the last few days and all I could do was hope they would make it though the winter.
I recently received an email from the Westchester/Putnam brand of the Quality Deer Management Association. They are asking hunters who have hunted on DEP managed QDM properties to send an e-mail to the DEP regarding the QDM program in Kent, NY.
"The antler restrictions for the designated area has been paying off and there are older bucks being seen and harvested."
The antler restrictions for the designated area has been paying off and there are older bucks being seen and harvested. Some hunters are taking more antlerless deer than they have in the past and the check station has been receiving data from hunters.
To keep programs like this going and possibly expanded DEP has to know there is support from sportsmen. Please send an e-mail to recreation@dep.nyc.gov to let them know how you feel about QDM. It goes a long way.
I had the chance to hunt some of these properties this fall and saw few hunters and lots of deer sign. I was able to see deer on several outings and I will be back again. I hope the DEP continues with the QDM restrictions.
I always encourage New Yorkers to take advantage of the opportunities our neighboring states provide for non-residents. Each year I start my hunting in September and end in January by hunting in Connecticut in addition to New York. There are also opportunities for elk and black bear in Pennsylvania, moose in Vermont and New Hampshire, and deer and turkey in New Jersey and Massachusetts.
I'm lucky to have a nice piece of private land in Connecticut that is big enough that the hunting pressure is fairly light. I had stopped hunting this area in November when I switched my focus to hunting New York.
Last Friday I visited the property in CT to set up a bait site (baiting is legal in certain zones in CT; I hunt in Zone 11) so I could hunt a group of does I knew were on the other side of the property. I also had hopes of finding an elusive buck I've been after all year. Hunting over bait is not as easy as it sounds, nor is it a sure fire way to see deer. Due to the low hunting pressure on this property I was able to see 13 deer - two yearling bucks and 11 does. Only 3 deer, however, came into the bait.
I had dressed warm with plenty of layers so I could stay out on the stand well into the morning. The first deer I saw were over 500 yards away and I could tell through my binoculars that they were both young bucks. They weren't headed my way so I just watched them through the glass until they disappeared.
Around 8:00am I picked up some movement on top of the hill and saw some does - turned out to be 5 of them. They headed down the hill towards my location, but stayed on the opposite side of the creek about 100 yards away. Suddenly they all seemed to vanish. I was a bit confused at first, but then I spotted two of them bedded down in the open and another two standing, but frozen like statues - the deer stood in the same spot without moving for over 10 minutes.
It wasn't until 9:00am when I spotted three more does running down the hill with their tails in the air as if something had spooked them. These deer were headed my way. They quickly relaxed once they knew they were out of danger and headed for my stand which was located in a travel corridor. Once they picked up the corn they started feeding my way.
Let me take a moment to share how I create a "bait site". I don't simply dump a pile of corn in front of my stand. I pick an area I know the deer will be moving through naturally regardless of whether there is bait there or not. I then select a tree that will keep me hidden from the deer and find a few natural shooting lanes - I rarely ever clear any shooting lanes. Then I spread corn in a half moon shape out to 40 yards from the base of my tree. This allows me to keep the deer on the upwind side of my stand and also allows me to concentrate the bait in my natural shooting lanes. I always set up a trail camera to monitor the site and show me what deer are using the bait.
Back to the story - as the two does and fawn fed closer I picked out the one I wanted to shoot. I patiently waited as the deer fed within 20 yards of my stand. I tried to control my breathing as "deer fever" set in - yes, I still get excited over does! Then it happened - the wind, steadily blowing in my face all morning long, swirled. The lead doe and fawn instantly jumped and did a 180 moving about 5 yards and now all three deer were on high red alert. Clueless to my location, I now had to come to full draw and take the second doe because it was the only broadside deer. I drew back, let the arrow fly, and the deer hit the ground - it was that fast.
As I climbed down from my tree to gut the deer the vultures started circling above. It's amazing how fast those birds can find a fresh kill - there were about 7 of them above me as I gutted the doe, it was a little eerie for sure. I had a long drag out of the woods which I wasn't to thrilled for, but the snow made the job a hundred times easier. I even jumped 3 more deer on the drag out. Hopefully I can get out one or two more times, but soon shed hunting season will be upon us and it will be time to get a few new places to hunt and start scouting for next season!
NORTH SALEM - The backbone of a Westchester County plan to reduce the number of deer in the region is the bow-and-arrow hunter, such as outdoorsmen Don Hopko and Alain Rossignol.
Animal advocates say recreational hunting, especially bowhunting, is an inhumane and inefficient way to cull the heavy deer population.
But these veteran hunters don't see it that way.
"In years past, you'd find carcasses in the woods where they would maybe kill them and just take the antlers," said Hopko, a 57-year-old Kent resident who has hunted for more than 40 years. "You don't find that anymore. The day of the slob, drunk hunter is gone. Especially with bowhunting. You'd have to be out of your mind to climb up a tree 20 feet drunk."
Local and regional bowhunter associations point out that they have provided about 60,000 pounds of venison for food pantries in the past 15 years.
Hopko and Rossignol, who have been hunting together for decades, said they were happy to have contributed to that effort.
They keep an eye on each other and the habitats they scour for signs of quarry that meets their standards.
"We let the little bucks grow up," Hopko said as he watched Rossignol hoist himself two stories high to a good vantage point. "We look for a big buck and shoot the does. We've been doing that for years. We shot 17 doe out here last year, a group of us."
That is a level of success that Westchester officials hope can be duplicated on county land to reduce the density of deer herds from more than 60 per square mile to the five to 10 per square mile that wildlife experts say is best for the herds.
As a result of a deer task force's recommendations, Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano plans to test bowhunting in some county parks in the fall as a means to control record-level deer numbers.
"It should have been done a long time ago," said Rossignol, a 66-year-old Somers resident who has been hunting even longer than his partner. "That's what Pound Ridge did. These forests may never regenerate. It could take 20 years, and that's only if the deer population is held in check. Coyotes can't do enough on their own."
On a recent clear day, the pair worked the woods of privately held land, carrying their hunting licenses and landowner permission letters, as well as enough equipment to stay still in trees for three or four hours.
They didn't even get to draw their Conan-size bows on this particular trek, though they saw dozens of deer alongside homes on the drive in.
"We used to see 25 deer in a day," Rossignol said. "Now we see two or three. They're all on people's lawns because of the green grass. That's all they can feed on. There's nothing green here. They've eaten it all."
The deer resort to grass when they cannot find the food that gives them the most nutrition for the nibble. Hopko, Rossignol and the forestry experts on the task force say the dense deer herds are leaving local woods eaten down to the nub.
Laura Simon, a field director for the Humane Society of the United States, is the lone task force member who publicly disagreed with the final recommendation to allow more hunting on public lands.
She said bowhunting is especially difficult to support, citing studies that show that as many as three out of every five animals that are hit don't die quickly and can even get away without ever being tracked down.
"Bowhunting incurs a very high crippling rate," Simon said. "That's not an answer. It's very primitive and very inhumane. The public needs to look at this issue and weigh in because when we're talking about opening up parks or county land to hunting, the public really needs to know what that entails."
Even if the bowhunting experiment is a success, the potential for a long-lasting solution based on recreational hunters has its limits.
"The average deer hunter in New York state is 47 years old, and it's getting worse," Hopko said. "If people don't get on the bandwagon now, pretty soon we're going to be too old to do this."
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It looks like the new year is bringing a lot of positive press for bowhunters! There was also a great article in the New York Times yesterday on a traditional hunter's quest to take all 29 (P&Y now recognizes the Tule Elk) North American Game Species. He's in a race with Fred Eichler.
The region's record-high deer population is damaging forests and hurting the health of the animals themselves, according to a new Westchester County study.
So, what's the best way to bring the deer population under control?
More hunting on public land to reduce their numbers, the three-year analysis concludes.
"We don't want to eliminate the deer, but we want them to be a complementary part of the system," said County Executive Andrew Spano, who set up the 20-person panel. "People have to see the damage that is being done by the deer and that this is a necessity, not only for the deer-human interactions, but for the whole bio-system."
In some locations, sampling counts show deer herds are six or seven times as high as experts say is healthy for the animals.
The number of deer must be quickly and significantly lowered, according to the volunteer task force of environment and wildlife experts and municipal officials who conducted the study. The panel recommends expanding recreational bow-and-arrow hunting as the cheapest way to accomplish that goal.
Not everyone on the task force agrees. Panel member Laura Simon of the Humane Society of the United States said bowhunting was not even the most efficient way to lower herd numbers and that protecting forests was far too complicated to rely on killing one species.
"We're disappointed in that recommendation because the primary issue was forest regeneration and enhanced bio-diversity," Simon said. "The recommendation to allow bowhunting on some county properties is not going to achieve that goal."
Spano convened the task force after a regional conference in late 2005 pointed to the problems posed by growing deer herds and the environmental impact of a species in which one adult can consume a ton of vegetation a year.
County officials say they plan to start with a pilot program that would allow bowhunters access to two or three protected areas on some of the 18,000 acres of county parkland.
Spano said his staff would research what county laws needed to be amended to allow that to be done by the start of hunting season in October.
Among the parks being considered are Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, Muscoot Farm, Lasdon Park, Mountain Lakes Park and Blue Mountain Park.
Spano said he also was considering using sharpshooters and baiting to cull the herds.
"Ward Pound Ridge has to be in the mix," Spano said. "The group of experts who came up here said it was the largest concentration of deer population that they had seen in the Northeast."
Members of the task force said other options, such as trapping the animals and transferring them to other areas, bringing in such natural predators as coyotes, sterilizing the deer or feeding them contraceptives, are either illegal, dangerous or too costly to be practical.
The report notes that leaving nature to take care of the problem will only guarantee reduced bio-diversity, as crucial new forest growth is destroyed, animal and plant species' habitats are lost and large-scale water sources are threatened.
"Of course people know about the impact of deer on their plants, their flowers, their gardens; deer leaping fences of 6 feet to come in and nibble," said William Greenawalt, a Hartsdale attorney who chaired the task force. "People know about accidents that are caused by deer. They don't know as much about the damage to area forests. When you go out and look, you can see such a dramatic effect. That's what we focused on."
Greenawalt, who also chairs the county Parks, Recreation and Conservation Board, said pinning down deer-density numbers exactly was difficult, but that with aerial photos, as well as surveys of deer pellet and eating paths, the numbers locally run as high as 63.7 deer per square mile in the 4,315-acre Ward Pound Ridge Reservoir, a county park.
The number in the Kensico Reservoir ran an average of 25 deer per square mile.
Experts say five to 10 deer per square mile is an "ecologically viable" level.
The report notes that this area's deer-population density was the highest observed by Pennsylvania wildlife experts during 10 years of research in forested areas from Maryland to Vermont.
Losing forest is a problem for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, the agency responsible for delivering drinking water to 9 million people in the metropolitan area. Deer and forestry experts there have said repeatedly that without healthy vegetation surrounding reservoirs to prevent erosion, sediment can end up in the water, compromising water quality. The increased amount of deer feces also can potentially contaminate runoff and water sources.
In addition, the loss of smaller trees reduces some bird species, wildlife managers say.
Deer also trample plants and spread seeds in their scat that give invasive species a greater chance to flourish.
"In Mianus River Gorge where we've excluded deer, some of the areas are coming back," said Rod Christie, executive director of that preserve and a member of the task force.
"But in other areas with more impact, even if you excluded deer, the forest doesn't come back," Christie said. "There's a certain seed source there that doesn't come back. You lose a lot of bio-diversity if you wait too long."
At risk also are the animals - the denser the population, the lower the health of the herds because of competition for high-quality food, such as acorns, which already are suffering one of the smallest crops in memory.
Deer don't normally choose to dine on grass, and when the animals graze on lawns, it's a sign they cannot find anything more nutritious, wildlife experts say.
Hunters say they have seen the difference in the size of animals they have killed; in some cases, the deer weigh half of what they should for their age.
Simon, the Humane Society field director, finds the idea of reducing the number of deer to protect the species contradictory.
"Sometimes people say that deer are going to starve, therefore we should hunt them so they don't starve," she said. "That's always seemed to be a bizarre argument to me - to prevent deer from dying, let's kill them."
Simon acknowledged that there was a high density of white-tail deer, Odocoileus virginanus, in the region, but said that programs to sterilize and otherwise prevent conception have been demonstrated in other places.
"We don't support culling because rarely do we see it as really a good solution or the only solution," Simon said. "We would say, as a last resort, that if you identify a problem that can't be solved any other way, we would look at culling. But we'd want to see it done the most humane and efficient way, using sharpshooters and rifles."
Simon said solving issues in an interdependent ecosystem by "plucking out one species" isn't going to work.
"There's a bio-diversity and forest regeneration problem across the Northeast," she said. "Deer are a factor, but one of many factors. You have acid rain and European earthworm, to name a couple others. And you have humans. Human impact is the largest factor of all."
The task force spent its monthly meetings since the beginning of 2006 on detailed presentations by experts in deer management from Connecticut, New Jersey and the U.S. Forest Service.
Members reviewed scientific literature on the subject, including more than 30 case studies from as far away as Minnesota and as near as Pound Ridge.
They surveyed local and state regulations on deer and visited areas known as "exclosures," where deer are completely kept out by high fencing, to see a side-by-side comparison of their impact in the same habitat.
A 13-year-old exclosure at Lasdon Arboretum, for instance, shows full growth in the protected area and a completely denuded exterior, known in wildlife management as deer savannahs because all that's left are tall trees.
They polled town supervisors and reviewed in detail the 1991 county study on deer that didn't end up providing any specific recommendations.
The task force didn't have to travel far to see the impact.
At Ward Pound, they saw firsthand a forest study that showed that 91 percent of the area munched through by deer had not regenerated.
Success stories include Mianus River Gorge and Rockefeller State Park Preserve, where expert bowhunters have significantly reduced herds.
A conclusion from that study was clear: "The ecological cost of not achieving deer herd reduction is collapse of the eco-system."
Christie was even more to the point. Unless action is taken soon, "you just won't get these forests back again," he said. "It's that crucial."
Additional Facts The task force's report
The final version of the report from the panel of environment and wildlife experts and municipal officials recommends:
Creating a multiyear hunting program at a few county parks, including Ward Pound Ridge Reservation and Muscoot Farm.
Reaching out to the owners of large private properties to allow appropriate hunting opportunities.
Collecting data from hunters, homeowners and foresters, as well as aerial surveys, to assess population numbers more accurately.
Educating the public about feeding deer - prohibited in the state - and helping local municipalities with deer-population control.
Setting up a private-public council representing diverse groups to oversee and adapt deer-management strategies.
DEC to Continue CWD Study in Oneida County Deer Collection Efforts Focus Near Sites Where Disease First Confirmed
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Region 6 Office will conduct a winter surveillance study for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in portions of the towns of Westmoreland and Verona, Oneida County, during the early part of 2009, Regional Director Judy Drabicki announced today. The study involves a targeted collection of adult deer in close proximity to the two sites where the disease was first confirmed in 2005.
Sampling will take place within two-mile radius circles (approximately 25 square miles total) of the initial deer-farm detection site in Westmoreland, and the initial "wild" detection site in Verona. A maximum sample is 50 deer from each location will be used in the study, generated from a combination of hunter-killed deer from the 2008 big game season, road-killed deer and DEC/staff collection. Deer sampling efforts will only take place on lands where owner permission is granted and during a two-week period in February, pending suitable weather conditions.
Chronic Wasting Disease was first found in New York State in two captive Oneida County deer herds in 2005. Five deer tested positive out of 22. The DEC then confirmed the disease in two wild white-tailed deer through intensive sampling of 292 free ranging wild deer in April 2005. Regulations were enacted to control the spread of the disease and to determine the presence and prevalence of CWD in an established "Containment Area" which consists of 18 towns in Oneida County and three towns in Madison County.
Although it was fully expected that additional CWD cases would be detected, no new cases have been discovered following intensive road-kill collection and mandatory hunter checks from 2005 to 2008. That covers approximately 6,300 samples. New York is unique among the 11 states and two Canadian provinces with identified wild deer CWD infections. Current "best science" suggests that targeted deer collection in close proximity to original points of detection is the best method to see if there is a continued presence of the disease in the area.
Information developed through the targeted sampling effort, in conjunction with ongoing surveillance efforts within the larger Containment Area, will better inform managers on future decisions concerning deer and hunter management with regard to CWD in the Containment Area.
CWD is a transmissible disease that affects the brain and central nervous system of deer and elk and is fatal. There is no evidence that CWD is linked to disease in humans or domestic livestock. For more information on CWD in New York State, go to the DEC website.
What better way to kick off the new year than with some new features from NYbowhunter.com! I've had this idea for awhile now and given that the number of readers has grown dramatically here at NYbowhunter.com I feel the time is now right to launch the NYbowhunter.com Forum!
The address to the forum is as follows: http://nybowhunter.proboards91.com/ and you will be able to find several links to the forum on this site.
Reader's have asked for a forum ever since this site was launched and now is the appropriate time for a forum. There might be some early stage kinks for us to work out, but please bare with us during these times.
I hope everyone finds the forum extremely informative and a great place to meet other NY bowhunters to share photos, stories, and tips with.
DEC Begins Fourth And Final Season of Wild Turkey Study Banding and Winter Flock Surveys to Begin in January, Landowners Invited to Participate
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis announced today that DEC is preparing for the final field season of a large-scale wild turkey research project and is implementing a statewide winter flock survey.
The first project is a turkey banding program, being done in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, researchers from Pennsylvania State University, and the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF). The second project is a statewide winter flock survey. These studies, which are in their fourth and final year as planned, will provide information that DEC biologists need to help guide future management efforts for this popular game bird.
The banding program will begin in January, when DEC staff and cooperators from NWTF will launch a statewide effort to capture wild turkeys and fit them with metal leg bands bearing a toll-free phone number for reporting. The objective of the banding study is to examine hunter harvest rates, turkey survival rates, and harvest reporting rates across the state. Banding will be done on public and private lands north of New York City, from January through March.
Last year's banding effort was highly successful, as DEC staff and volunteers banded a total of 352 gobblers (males) and 303 hens (females), increasing the three-year total to 1,031 gobblers and 1,056 hens in 51 counties and 148 towns. Through the first three field seasons Pennsylvania Game Commission and Ohio Department of Natural Resources have banded 904 and 618 gobblers, respectively.
One-hundred forty-nine of the banded gobblers were reported shot by hunters during New York's spring 2008 hunting season, which includes 71 birds banded in winter 2008, 64 banded in winter 2007, and 14 from winter 2006. Another 10 were harvested by hunters during the fall 2008 season. Most birds were killed within five miles of where they were banded, but some birds banded during the study have moved at least 20 miles from where they were banded.
During the past three winters, DEC conducted a pilot study to assess the feasibility of a winter flock survey as part of a long-term population monitoring program. More than 1,500 observations were received from every county in the state. Based on this data, a Winter Wild Turkey Flock Survey will be implemented to help monitor trends in the turkey population over time, and to assess the condition of the flock prior to the spring breeding season. Landowners, hunters, bird watchers or others interested in participating, can report their observations of turkey flocks (even a few birds) from January through March to the project coordinator for a particular DEC region (see attached list for regional contacts), or they can download or print a winter flock survey form from the DEC website.
In addition, DEC is looking for landowners who will allow birds to be trapped, banded, and released on their land. Turkeys will be trapped and banded and will immediately be released at the same location. No relocation of the birds will occur.
The Department sincerely thanks all of the cooperating landowners who actively participated in the turkey banding project or provided reports of wild turkey flocks last winter.
For more information on either project, contact the project coordinator for your region or contact DEC by e-mail at fwwildlf@gw.dec.state.ny.us. Please write "Turkey Study" in the subject line.
It's hard to believe another year has gone by - where does the time fly! It seems like only yesterday I was out scouting for the upcoming season, practicing daily with my new bow, checking my summer trail cams and anticipating opening day.
This year we had a very weak acorn crop which made it difficult for the deer. Hunters complained about the lack of deer sightings which I believe was in part due to the expanded ranges the deer were forced to encompass in search of food. I believe there is going to be a large amount of deer that will not survive the winter. Despite the lack of food, hunters were still able to harvest some monster bucks. According to the preliminary DEC harvest data, 2008 harvest numbers should be in line with 2007 figures.
Here is one of the more recent emails I've received from one of our readers, Rick. Rick passed this buck three times during the 2007 season. He found the buck's shed in January when the deer was a solid 110" buck. On December 6, 2008 the deer showed himself to Rick and Rick was able to arrow the 137" monster from his treestand as it trailed a hot doe. Rick watched the deer run 60 yards and pile up. He also does his part to help keep the deer herd in check and took 3 does this season.
For some hunters, myself included, the end of the NY hunting season does not mean that hunting is over - neighboring states Connecticut and New Jersey offer hunting opportunities in January and February. I'll be out in CT until the end of January and I know some of you will stick it out in NJ until winter bow is over in February.
Starting in February - or earlier in some cases as we've already seen - the buck's will start shedding their antlers and I'll be out with a few friends collecting sheds. This will help us determine which bucks made it through the season in certain areas and help us find out where the bucks were traveling. The late winter is an excellent time to get out there and scout vast pieces of public land as well as tiny suburban woodlots. In addition to scouting some great public land spots, I will also be knocking on a few doors in the suburbs trying to pick up a few more spots for the 2009 season - its never too early to start!
This year was NYbowhunter.com's best year yet! We had over 10,500 visitors by the end of the year up from only 2,500 in January 2008. The website continues to grow through word of mouth and through articles in publications such as Full Draw and the Northeast Big Buck Club Magazine. For 2009 we will continue to provide readers with quality product reviews, information on how we are preparing for the upcoming hunting season and informing readers with the latest news from the DEC and pending legislation such as the current bill to lower the archery age from 14 to 12. Our sister site SuburbanWhitetails.com has been off to a great start and I'm getting good feedback from our readers there.
From all of us here at NYbowhunter.com we would like to wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year!
Last year I decided I wanted to switch from a detachable quiver to a two piece quiver. On previous bowhunts I had used a Kwikie Kwiver and would occasionally brush the bottom of my arrows against the arm rest of my treestand which would result in noise and vibration. 
