jf5

Hey Quilly,

I do know what you mean. Alot more pressure on the eastern part of the state. I have been hunting zone 3 & 4s (Berkshires) and there is little pressure in relation to the 1980' s when I started hunting. Back then, everyone was hunting out in western MA and it was packed! Funny how things change.

Rob in VT

I would consider Pittsburg, NH. The area has some great bucks and a fair deer population. Rifle season is in mid November. Maine also has some great bucks and rifle season is all of November (but no Sunday hunting). Vermont may have more deer than NH, but the deer hunting is dissapointing at best. 60% of the bucks taken are 1 1/2 year old spikes.

. . . Rob

MA Jay

I live in Mass and hunt in this state, as well as NH and Maine and used to hunt VT but stopped because it just didn' t compare to other places I go. If you are serious about putting together a great hunt for your father when he visits, you have to look at NY. In the time it takes to drive to Northern NH or Central Maine you can be in some prime areas in NY. Most counties in NY have more deer than the entire states of NH and Maine, some more than both states combined.

If you are considering using an outfitter, there are a lot more to choose from, and the deer are just as large in NY as they are in NH and Maine.

For the about the same cost a non-resident NH license ($250) in NY you get 1 Buck + 1 Either sex + 1 Doe tags as opposed to the 1 archery + 1 rifle tag. Anyone who scores in NH with a bow has put some serious time in!

For the money .. you can' t beat Eastern Mass. We have some of the largest deer in New England plus decent #' s, you just need to secure your permission in the little honey holes before the season opens..

nhten

Nh non resident isnt anywhere near 250$,,,,,its @ 100.Plus in NH,you can hunt Sunday,not sure if you can in NY.There are only a couple places in NH that you cant hunt with a rifle,but there are so many guys hunting those places,you wouldnt want to be there anyway.If you lookin for solitude and some nice deer,very little hunting pressure,try Jefferson NH area,its just north of the WMNF( White mountain Natiol Forest).Ive been hunting there for the past 10 years,and I can count on 1 hand the # of other hunters I' ve seen while hunting that area.This area is only 3 hours or so north of Boston and there are little hotels all over the place.Rifle season opens Nov 12 this year,and from what I' ve read and heard,this past winters snow fall didnt kill as many deer as some would have you believe.Good luck,hope you find a place to bring your dad.

MA Jay

Let me clarify .. I paid $268.50 for my NH Hunting AND fishing licenses.

I did purchase archery and muzzleloader licenses as well.

In the last 5 years I have taken 2 beautiful NH bucks and seen maybe 5 more good shooters that were out of bow range or running during rifle. I' ve taken 6 deer in NY in the last 2 years. Seeing more bucks in 1 day in NY than an entire season in New Hampshire. There is NO comparison in deer populations. I love NH dearly, some great woods and you are rarely bothered by other people, the hunting is very challenging but when you get 1 you know you earned it, but in NY.... you go out with the confidence that the deer are at least in your area, it' s just up to you to make it happen. Regardless of how good a hunter you are, in NH there just aren' t a lot of deer to find in the woods.

I didn' t mention that I put in FAR more time each year in NH than I do in NY, at least twice as much time in the woods.

I hope you and your father get out and have a great hunt!

jf5

NH Ten...Are you hunting public lands in NY or private. If public, how bad was the hunting pressure. East or west of the Hudson?? Is this all with bow??

Reason for asking is that I am looking at several public parcials of NY land in Columbia and Renselear counties and am worried about the gun season pressure.

nhten

jf5,,Im hunting NH,,,,I think you meant the question for MA Jay???But I hunt all public land up near Jefferson NH,,,its the WMNF,,,,so open to all.

MA Jay

jf5-

If you meant your question for me, I hunt 2 areas in NY. Just East of the Hudson and Albany is my archery spot usually. LOADS of deer .. with some real big racked bucks. This area is mostly private or small parcels of public sandwiched between private. As far as archery pressure .. there are a lot of hunters .. but way more deer than hunters. Getting permission can be tough with all the leases, but not impossible. There are a lot of farms that suffer serious crop damage from deer. For shotgun I head west near Ithaca in the Finger Lakes area. We hunt mainly 1 large dairy farm, but do hunt about 30% of the time on public land that borders the farm. The deer there are everywhere..... I' ve seen over 50 in a sit and very rarely go a morning or afternoon sit without seeing several. There are a LOT of gun hunters here though and it does sound a little crazy at times opening week and weekend. If you sat up in some thick stuff, with all the drives these guys do (this area reminds me of PA with driving deer is the most common hunting method) the deer are running and sneaking all over the place. You may score on a real bruiser. If you wait just a week or 2 after the opener it calms down big time and they usually have snow for tracking which is an exciting way to hunt them.

In NH I hunt the SouthWest corner of the state and the Manchester area. I have over time found a couple of private land areas I hunt with very limited pressure. The deer are usually in the " big woods" though and have much larger home ranges than the deer I hunt in NY. There is less than 1/5 the deer in NY and the key to the game is scouting and patience to score in NH. If I see 1 deer on a sit in NH I' m excited. I average about 1 deer sighting a day in NH. I' ve counted over 100 in a 50 acre field in NY before.

I suggest trying out those public places in NY you ' ve looked into, and then do some driving around and asking during the midday .. that was how we found our private land spots. Good luck.

jf5

MA Jay-- Thanks for the response at it is helpfull. Ironically, I am headed up there this weekend to do some trout fishing and to take some another look at some of these land parcels.

NH Ten- Thanks for your repsonse as well. Sorry on the mis-post.

Good Luck in the 2003 seasons to everyone!!