Season: September - January
For full season details, click here
ESPNOutdoors.com rating (1-10): 7.5
2007 harvest: 219,000
Sq. Miles: 54,555
Deer/ sq. mile harvested in 2007: 4.01
2008 Outlook: According to Jeremy Hurst, big game biologist for the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, the overall forecast for the upcoming deer season is very good.
"Deer populations in many portions of New York are continuing to grow slowly, and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) anticipates a slight increase in buck take and total deer take again for 2008," Hurst said in a press release on the DEC Web site.
In 2007, hunters harvested approximately 220,000 deer, a 16 percent increase over the previous season. Statewide, buck take in 2007 was almost 104,500 bucks, up 8 percent over 2006 (96,569 bucks) and 17 percent over 2005 (89,015 bucks).
There were quite a few more deer harvested in the western portion of the state more than nine per square mile in 10 western counties — compared to two or less taken per square mile in the northern and eastern parts of New York.
"Because deer are not evenly distributed across the landscape of New York, different management strategies are needed, depending upon the individual area and the status of its deer population," Hurst said. "DEC is intentionally managing for reduced populations in some areas and stabilization in others."
While there are 550,000 deer hunters in New York, only 219,000 deer were taken in 2007.
Kyle Carter