Hunting Western Adirondacks

[nh_hunter]

Hello All,

I am new to this forum here and, as such, please accept my apologies if this is not the right place to post such an inquiry, but I am hoping that someone out there may be able to share some information.

First of all, I live in New Hampshire where the deer are somewhat few and far between in the area that I hunt. So, it is not uncommon for a guy to go all season without seeing a single deer or 1 or 2 at best. Usually, I get a deer up here, but it is the first and last one that I see for the season and that is often after hunting archery season, muzzle season and rifle season. It has been only on a very rare occasion that I have ever tagged more than one in a season up here.

At any rate, after many years of going to Pennsylvania, I have decided that I want to try something different and go to New York. My dad is retiring in August after 47 years of working for the same corporation and I would really like to take him some place extra special. So, I have invited a small group of friends to help defray the cost of the trip and we are looking at booking some place in the Western Adirondacks. We need lodging and an area to focus our hunt.

The only reason that I have chosen this particular area is that it seems to be the most likely to host a fair amount of deer population and also for decent sized deer. We don't mind working hard for our deer at all, since, I typically will walk about 30 miles in a season just to find the one that I am after. However, seeing deer is also crucial to the experience.

So, here is my question. Given the stated objective to hunt somewhere between Utica and as far north as Brasher Falls in northern New York during the early muzzle season in October, what location or area is likely to be my best bet for seeing deer?

We will probably be hunting State Forest lands unless someone has a private piece that they would not mind leasing for a week to a small group. Therefore, I also need input on what to expect there. I have heard mixed reports that the State Forests are packed and I have even known a few guys who will never go back to New York for that exact reason. So, I am trying my best to avoid that.

If you or someone you know may be able to share some useful information I would greatly appreciate it. Also, if you feel that the information is too personal to post in the forum here, that is okay too, feel free to email me. I genuinely understand and respect that.

We are a group of no more than 4-6 guys who are safe hunters and who are respectfully looking for a little bit of insight into an area that we are simply not familiar with. I am trying to do my homework here by researching the state DEC website, using forums, calling foresters, etc. So, we need to know what to expect when we get out there.

There are many, many state forests in NY and, as such, if there is one that is home to many, many deer, but not as many hunters, then that would be great too. Obviously, if you posted that here, everyone would hunt there. So, use caution, but please try to understand where I am coming from. I am going out completely blind and strictly based on harvest data. Where we typically hunt, you never see a hunter in the woods, but we realize that this is probably not going to happen in New York.

Any information that you can provide with my mission would be most gratefully accepted and appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Tim

[Commissionpoint]

Tim, that was a lot to read. I PM'd you some feedback.

[nh_hunter]

Sorry about the length of the post Commissionpoint. I just wanted to make sure that I was being thorough.

I sent you a PM in return.

For some reason I did not get your message. Can you please try to send it again?

Thanks,

Tim

[Commissionpoint]

Re-sent.

[Wldrns]

Not the Adirondacks, but immediately adjacent to the west is a large region known as the Tug Hill Plateau, also called the "Lesser Wilderness" (vs the Greater Wilderness of the Adirondacks) in parts of Lewis, Jefferson, and Oswego counties. Without giving anything specific away, you might want to follow some leads from this web page.

[Pumpkin QAAD]

How many people and how poor are they at poker?? If commission ever gets off the lake again he can come too!

[nh_hunter]

Hahaha! As it stands right now Pumpkin_QAAD there are 4 of us definitely going and two others who are thinking about. We generally will split up into groups of two at first anyway to learn different areas and cover more ground until we find something that looks promising. As a group, we also try to spread things out a little so as not to damage any one area.

As for poker, well now, I absolutely stink and I know of at least 2 others who do as well. As for the other 2-3, we might have one in that group who can compete. Ha

[Big Spruce]

Quite honestly the deer hunting in the ADK is as poor as NH. The western side is particularly busy since its much easier to access. Not trying to sway you just being honest. A lot of fellas from that area end up hunting near me and they say we have it made. I hardly agree. You would do better looking for private property around the Hudson River Valley. All public land in NY is over run during gun season, muzzle loader or regular. This year we start new season dates. So there's a lot of changes coming. Good luck in your search.

Bob

[Commissionpoint]

How many people and how poor are they at poker?? If commission ever gets off the lake again he can come too!

I hike too.

Whats poker?

[Limekiln]

I hunt the SW Adks for an average of 2 weeks every year. I think you are going to find that there are just as few deer as there are in NH, unless you go south towards farm country. That's not to say you won't see deer and have a great time. There are some very nice bucks out there, just don't get lulled into thinking there's going to be a deer behind every tree...

As for other hunters in the woods if you are willing to put on a lot of miles you'll enjoy a true wilderness hunt. The further in you go the less hunters you'll see. There's huge areas of state land with very little pressure if you are willing to walk.

[geogymn]

I hunt the SW Adks for an average of 2 weeks every year. I think you are going to find that there are just as few deer as there are in NH, unless you go south towards farm country. That's not to say you won't see deer and have a great time. There are some very nice bucks out there, just don't get lulled into thinking there's going to be a deer behind every tree...

As for other hunters in the woods if you are willing to put on a lot of miles you'll enjoy a true wilderness hunt. The further in you go the less hunters you'll see. There's huge areas of state land with very little pressure if you are willing to walk.

Good post!

[Pumpkin QAAD]

I just get a feeling this guy isn't looking to shoot deer on a farm.

[nh_hunter]

If I am being perfectly honest here, it sounds like this are is just what we are looking for. My group and I are not afraid to work for our deer. Unlike some folks out there who watch TV shows where you get to take your pick from a field of nice bucks, we actually work hard for our deer up here in north country. So, I realize that they aren't going to be around every tree. Also keep in mind that a lot of guys from this side of the country including truck drivers go your way and see a few fields here and there with groups of deer. As such, that is where they develop their opinions relative to bigger deer herds. You will simply never see that here. For one, we don't have the farmlands or as many fields and we also don't have the same deer population. Obviously, the population is different from area to area and this is the reason for my inquiry and homework. I am just trying to provide the best possible experience for my dad here more than anyone in the group.

I appreciate the input and feedback and, for what it's worth, the stories are consistent across the board with everything that I had heard or read prior to this post. Hunting NY state land can be over crowded. There are some deer and some nice deer, but it is not overpopulated. If someone doesn't mind going deeper, you might be lucky enough to find a nice one. If I were to describe NH, this is the same.

We have hunted Potter/Mckean Counties in Pennsylvania to the south of you guys for many years and that area has turned out to be the same. I find the deer there are always at the top of the hill where few guys want to go and they will be in the thickest parts that you can find. It's the same everywhere really. However, for whatever the reason, a lot of guys down there just want to get out of their rigs and wait at the bottom, but we don't hunt that way here or there. We will cover an entire mountain until we find the deer and then, we shoot them dead. :-)

[nh_hunter]

@Big Spruce, Bob, when you say "this year we start new season dates" and "there's a lot of changes coming", can you please elaborate? Isn't the early muzzle season going to run from October 13-20 in the northern region or is that not correct?

[Pumpkin QAAD]

When I go hunting for BP season I see noone, it's actually strange not to see another human all day, I love it and it's state land. Rifle season sees much more pressure.

New York is very diverse, Hamilton county in particular has much state land that will provide what you are looking for. It may be a little further than where you want to go but it'll be worth it.

http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/8312.html

Biggest change i see is doe permits (antler restricts down south). BP season is 10/13-10/19.

http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/28605.html