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DEC asks North Country hunters not to shoot young bucks

Posted 11/10/16

The state Department of Environmental Conservation is asking hunters in the North Country and around the state to consider passing up shots at young bucks to let them grow into more impressive …

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DEC asks North Country hunters not to shoot young bucks

Posted

The state Department of Environmental Conservation is asking hunters in the North Country and around the state to consider passing up shots at young bucks to let them grow into more impressive animals.

Many hunters say they would like to see more older bucks, and the decisions hunters make during the next three weeks will greatly influence the deer herd we see afield next year, according to the DEC.

In recent years, about half of the antlered bucks taken in New York were 1.5 years old, weighing about 20 percent less and with antlers roughly half the size they would be at 2.5 years of age. Hunters can increase the likelihood of seeing and harvesting a 2.5-year old or older buck next year simply by choosing to pass up shots at young bucks this year.

Year-in, year-out, the peak of deer breeding activity in New York falls around the second to third week of November.

These are exciting times to be in the woods, DEC notes, “to hear a buck grunt from thick cover or to witness an eager buck, nose to the ground, pursuing a doe in estrus,” they said in a press release.

About 60 percent of the total buck harvest will occur before the end of the month, with bucks on the move and the start of the Southern Zone gun season on the 19th.

See Buck Hunting in NY at http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/27663.html for more information, including photos of bucks at different ages.