The regular big game season opens Saturday in Upstate NY

New York’s most popular hunting season begins on Saturday, November 16, with the opening day of the regular firearms season for southern zone deer and bear, which runs through December 8.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation estimates that 470,000 licensed hunters will head into the woods and fields during the regular big game season, accounting for 60 percent of the total statewide deer harvest, and 30 to 60 percent of the statewide bear harvest stands.

According to DEC, hunters harvested 209,781 deer during the 2023-2024 hunting seasons. That total represents a 3.6 percent decline in the antlered buck harvest statewide, and a precipitous 15.6 percent decline in the number of antlerless deer.

The number of deer harvests reported by hunters so far this season is similar to last year in both the North and South Zones, DEC said, although the percentage of hunters reporting their kills is unknown.

CWD detection

Following a isolated detection of Chronic Wasting Disease At a captive deer facility in southern Herkimer County, DEC is asking hunters in the area to be on the lookout for deer acting strangely. Additionally, DEC is calling on successful deer hunters in the area to do so submit the deer’s head to DEC for CWD testing.

Backtags

Back tags are a thing of the past and are no longer required anywhere in the state. But this is the first year that hunting licenses and tags have been issued printed on plain paperfrom the licensor or from your home printer. It is your responsibility to protect licenses and tags.

Carcass tags must still be completed, dated, signed and attached to the animal as required by regulations. DEC suggests keeping licenses and tags in a waterproof bag or container while hunting and placing the completed carcass tag in a zippered sandwich bag and securely attaching it to the deer, bear or turkey to ensure the tag remains protected and readable.

Check out DEC website for a complete overview of hunting seasons in New York.

Guns in Onondaga County

Just a reminder that big game hunters in Onondaga County finally got the green light hunting with a gun last year. Onondaga was the last county in central New York to allow guns for big game hunting. For the first time this season, big game hunters can use guns in Niagara County.

Tree stand safety

DEC keeps track of what it calls “elevated hunting incidents” (EHIs), or falls from tree stands, which it says are underreported. Eight EHIs were reported in 2023compared to 13 last year. None were fatal.

In five of the EHIs, hunters were not wearing a safety harness, and in two cases the hunters were wearing a harness that was not attached to the tree.

Most tree stand accidents happen when hunters are climbing in and out of the stand. Never climb in or out of your tree stand with a loaded firearm. When used correctly, a full-body harness and lifeline ensure you are always connected to the tree.

Hunter-related shooting incidents

There were 12 hunter-related shooting incidents during the 2023 hunting seasonssimilar to 2019 for the second fewest HRSIs ever.

The twelve HRSIs in 2023 include six two-party firearm incidents and six self-inflicted incidents. Two were fatal, including one incident resulting from dragging a loaded firearm into a tree stand, and one caused by carrying a loaded firearm while dragging a deer out of the woods.

Statistics show Hunting in New York is safer than ever. Still, hunters make mistakes. It never hurts to review the four golden rules of hunter safety before heading into the woods.

• Point your weapon in a safe direction
• Treat every weapon as if it were loaded
• Be sure of your purpose and beyond
• Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot

Youth hunters, hunting hours, safety rules

The pilot youth hunting season that began in 2021 has been extended through 2025. This means that 12- and 13-year-old hunters can hunt deer with a firearm under the supervision of a licensed, experienced adult. All counties in the state have opted for this pilot programexcept Erie and Rockland counties.

Daily hunting hours for deer and bear include the period of full daylight beginning 30 minutes before legal sunrise and continuing until 30 minutes after legal sunset. Be sure to check the times of sunrise and sunset before hunting every day.

Wearing bright orange or pink is required for big game hunting with firearms. Hunters who wear bright orange are seven times less likely to be shot.

Hunting dogs are wise to dress their dogs in bright orange, pink or another bright color.

Take it – tag it – report it

Hunters are required to do so by law report their deer, bear or turkey harvest within seven days. It’s critical to effective wildlife management, and DEC has made it easier than ever with its program HuntFishNY mobile app.

You can still use DEC’s telephone reporting system (1-866-GAME-RPT) or report online.

Stop chronic wasting disease

As previously noted, New York recently recorded its first CWD detection since 2005 in southern Herkimer County. CWD is always fatal to deer, spreads quickly and is virtually impossible to eliminate once established.

Hunters can help protect the state’s deer herd from CWD by following these tips:

• If you hunt any species of deer, elk, moose or caribou outside of New York, you must debone your animal before returning it. To see CWD Regulations for Hunters. DEC will seize and destroy illegally imported carcasses and parts, including whole deer and deer heads
• Do not use deer urine baits or baits as they may contain infectious biological material
• Dispose of the carcass waste in a landfill, do not just leave it on the ground
• Report any deer that appears sick or behaves abnormally

Send us your great game photos!

Email them to [email protected]. Hunter needs to be in the photo. Be sure to include their name and the names of anyone else in the photo, including their hometown, the general location where and how the animal was shot (bow, firearm, etc.), along with any dimensions (weight/points/spread) . Add a few interesting details: We all love a good hunting story!

Steve Featherstone covers the outdoors for The Post-Standard, syracuse.com And NYUP.com. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter @veerbuiten. You can also follow all our outdoor content at newyorkupstate.com/outdoors/ or follow us on Facebook facebook.com/upstaatoutdoors.