My biggest NY whitetail

[Skullwhite_designs]

If you are from NY, PA, NJ, MI, CT etc you know it's hard for bucks to make it to maturity with all the hunting pressure. Still, the past 6 years I've been managing our farm for quality age structure and the past few years we have seen a huge jump in trophy potential. This year I finally connected on my biggest buck here in southern NY. Watched him grow all summer and took advantage of the first cold front in October and on the third sit it happened! Couldnt be happier with this big boy. Going to be a while before I top this beauty. Scored 133 5/8

 

[100percent]

Nice! Congrats!

 

[adamkolesar]

Helluva buck!

 

[Agross]

Completely agree with your first sentence. Congrats on a great buck. Always nice when yer efforts pay off. What’s the spread ?

 

[saddlereaper]

Congrats on a great buck! I'm sure you've also heard it said....Location location location. Even in this heavily pressured state there are areas that produce P&Y caliber deer with regularity, which we can probably agree are generally 3-4 years old at least. I've found if you want to consistently hunt the biggest or oldest deer around, you may have to do a lot of scouting and knock on some doors to lock up that right place near a "sanctuary" of some type. If you are limited to your own property however they may be fewer and further between, not that there's anything wrong with that. Putting in work on your own place makes it so much sweeter when you do grow a nice one!

You mentioned southern NY (not expecting you to give us coordinates). Southern NY to me sounds like Southern Tier (obviously) but are we talking Eastern, Central or Western? That could play a difference in rack potential at a given age. Ex: if you're in the Catskills per say vs. south of the finger lakes... much different country as far as climate, terrain, timber type and forest maturity, and ag situations.

I've hunted 8 different counties for deer. From Tug hill area (osceola) to where I grew up in Oswego county down to Allegany, Catt, Wyoming, Livingston, Monroe and Niagara counties... The first 2 suck in comparison to the last 3 or 5.
One thing I firmly believe to be true is that there's a difference in hunter mentality/ practice when comparing say Oswego county vs Livingston - with regard to passing deer that may be 120 class and 3 yrs old. While almost never a consideration in Oswego county with the people I grew up around and know, its something we often see happen in Livingston county. I think this is simply a matter of people in WNY frequently see larger racked ag bucks, and therefore may be more likely to hold out, thus providing a better chance for some bucks to make it to the next year...

 

[Maki35]

Congrats on a very nice buck.

 

[chaseme]

Great buck, what county are you in?

 

[gjs4]

The hunting culture and “average” Hunter behavior dictates more than any other factor and why it will never be a consistent “big buck state”.


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[Skullwhite_designs]

Congrats on a great buck! I'm sure you've also heard it said....Location location location. Even in this heavily pressured state there are areas that produce P&Y caliber deer with regularity, which we can probably agree are generally 3-4 years old at least. I've found if you want to consistently hunt the biggest or oldest deer around, you may have to do a lot of scouting and knock on some doors to lock up that right place near a "sanctuary" of some type. If you are limited to your own property however they may be fewer and further between, not that there's anything wrong with that. Putting in work on your own place makes it so much sweeter when you do grow a nice one!

You mentioned southern NY (not expecting you to give us coordinates). Southern NY to me sounds like Southern Tier (obviously) but are we talking Eastern, Central or Western? That could play a difference in rack potential at a given age. Ex: if you're in the Catskills per say vs. south of the finger lakes... much different country as far as climate, terrain, timber type and forest maturity, and ag situations.

I've hunted 8 different counties for deer. From Tug hill area (osceola) to where I grew up in Oswego county down to Allegany, Catt, Wyoming, Livingston, Monroe and Niagara counties... The first 2 suck in comparison to the last 3 or 5.
One thing I firmly believe to be true is that there's a difference in hunter mentality/ practice when comparing say Oswego county vs Livingston - with regard to passing deer that may be 120 class and 3 yrs old. While almost never a consideration in Oswego county with the people I grew up around and know, its something we often see happen in Livingston county. I think this is simply a matter of people in WNY frequently see larger racked ag bucks, and therefore may be more likely to hold out, thus providing a better chance for some bucks to make it to the next year...

When I say southern NY I mean I'm 10 mins from NJ and 10 mins from PA haha. Couldn't agree more. Its hard to convince people to get away from the "brown its down" mindset when it's all they've known but it is getting better by the year with the younger generations seeing what can happen when you pass young deer.

 

[Skullwhite_designs]

Great buck, what county are you in?

Orange

 

[saddlereaper]

When I say southern NY I mean I'm 10 mins from NJ and 10 mins from PA haha. Couldn't agree more. Its hard to convince people to get away from the "brown its down" mindset when it's all they've known but it is getting better by the year with the younger generations seeing what can happen when you pass young deer.

Ah gotcha - I would consider that down state haha.
No doubt it takes some discipline to not shoot at any legal animal. But its always a personal decision, right. As much as we all like see younger deer get passed, its important that new and young hunters don't get too caught up in the pressure of trying to impress, and just enjoy the hunt and opportunities that arise. TV and Social media have helped fuel the pressure, arguably in both good and bad ways, albeit probably more so the latter by how many hunters treat each other on social media etc.
IMO trying to change someone else's mindset is not up to us and is sometimes futile, but hopefully our successes/examples serve as inspiration for others to work toward similar if they so chose.
NY is tough but keep doing your thing while educating others along the way, it'll pay off!

 

[jb338]

Just came across you post. congrats. Nice buck!

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

That's a great buck and a great shot on him too.

I'm an Iowa native and have hunted Western Iowa (Carroll and Guthrie counties) with bow, muzzy, shotgun, and straight-wall for 25 years now. I've been fortunate to have a few private farms to hunt during this time, and patience/perseverance/practice and no shortage of luck have rewarded me with a half dozen or so P&Y bucks. My personal best taped just a hair over 160, and the majority are in the 135-150 range.

As a man approaching the big 5-0, one thing I've learned is that a trophy is whatever YOU define, not what you see or hear on social media. Again, congrats on your new personal best, and he could ride in my truck any day bud.

 

[Professor]

He looks bigger than 133. That is a fine deer.

 

[Mdk_archer88]

If you are from NY, PA, NJ, MI, CT etc you know it's hard for bucks to make it to maturity with all the hunting pressure. Still, the past 6 years I've been managing our farm for quality age structure and the past few years we have seen a huge jump in trophy potential. This year I finally connected on my biggest buck here in southern NY. Watched him grow all summer and took advantage of the first cold front in October and on the third sit it happened! Couldnt be happier with this big boy. Going to be a while before I top this beauty. Scored 133 5/8

Very nice

 

[AroaniaPass]

Congrats!

 

[jedi]

thats a great deer

 

[FLATHEAD]

He looks bigger than 133. That is a fine deer.

No lie, my first thought.

 

[Skullwhite_designs]

That's a great buck and a great shot on him too.

I'm an Iowa native and have hunted Western Iowa (Carroll and Guthrie counties) with bow, muzzy, shotgun, and straight-wall for 25 years now. I've been fortunate to have a few private farms to hunt during this time, and patience/perseverance/practice and no shortage of luck have rewarded me with a half dozen or so P&Y bucks. My personal best taped just a hair over 160, and the majority are in the 135-150 range.

As a man approaching the big 5-0, one thing I've learned is that a trophy is whatever YOU define, not what you see or hear on social media. Again, congrats on your new personal best, and he could ride in my truck any day bud.

You are absolutely right!

 

[Skullwhite_designs]

He looks bigger than 133. That is a fine deer.

I thought the same especially when he was in velvet.