rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

[squirrelyman34]

what do u guys think about rifle in certain parts of newyork...?idk i gusse if we get it in chatauqua county i will hunt with one in certain conditions.idk though.

[MrWiggely]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

It was open here in Catt. County last year and went well. Actually heard less shots (probably due to the low dmps) I used a rifle for the first time in my life for deer and thought it was great. Them deer that are marginal shots due to distance with the shotgun are no longer a problem.

Wigs

[Nosdog2]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

We have a bunch a land in Livingston County with no rifle, and the cabin/land I bought in Allegany County is rifle. And they are only about 10 min from each other.

[RangerClay]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

I don't have a problem with it. Everytime I hear about this subject it reminds me of the wounded crotch horn I saw two years ago. Everytime I shot I could hear my slug drop down into the goldenrod. I knew he was pushing the limits of my slug gun but I had to try. He got away and probably suffered. I still cannot use a rifle in my neck of the southern tier and I cannot wait till they bring it my way.

Ranger

[Adjam5]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

DEC had made many changes to certain areas lastyear regarding the use of a rifle in many WMU's

I have only rifle hunted deer in my 21+years in the woods. I have taken up the bow the last 5 years to increase the challenge. Sullivan county has ALWAYS been rifle county, thats where our land is. Rockland, my primary residence is BOW ONLY.

[Doc]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

According to the stats this year, there were no accidents directly attributable to rifles. Of course, the over-all safety record was pretty impressive for this year too, and licence sales were down, and I also believe that even those that bought licenses participated a lot less this year also.

So the jury is still out as far as I'm concerned. I suppose that I have no real concerns if the areas that are picked are suitable. The only time I get any doubts is when I look at the field on the state land next door that is about 200+ yards long with my house right at the end of it, and the memory of many deer that have used our hedgerow as a path from the hill to the swamp. We never had any real problems with shotgun hunters, but then their range is such that they probably have a much better chance of seeing the house or anyone in the yard than someone trying to shoot the length of that field.

Doc

[NYBUCK]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

Where I hunt it is right on the dividing line between north and south. So I hunt north a lot and there is not much difference the terrain. I love my rifle, so it was nice to be able to use it a little more.

[maytom]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

I might get a T/C inline instead of buying a rifle.

This way here, I can hunt anywhere a shotgun is legal. Other wise it's tuff to justify spending that kind of money for a rifle and a scope just to hunt 1-2 counties?

[GWSmith]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

Bow, Muzzleloader, Handgun, Shotgun and Rifle Areas:

All of Northern Zone (see description of Northern-Southern Zone Line).

All of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chenango, Columbia, Delaware, Fulton, Greene, Herkimer, Oneida, Orange, Oswego, Otsego, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schoharie, Sullivan, Tioga, Ulster, and Washington Counties. Also that portion of Broome County east of the Susquehanna River.

What do I think???

I think I'll continue to keep my shots at deer under 100yards because thats what the cover dictates where I hunt

The regulations change has made no difference to my hunting safety or ethics!

[rossman]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

[ QUOTE ]

what do u guys think about rifle in certain parts of newyork...?idk i gusse if we get it in chatauqua county i will hunt with one in certain conditions.idk though.

[/ QUOTE ]

When they first introduced the law, I was firmly against it!!!! I expected more hunter accidents and expected all of the bucks to get killed.

I was wrong, I like the idea now. Now that monster at 300 yards away is eatn my .300 weatherby, 165 grain spire point!!!!!

--rossman

[Doc]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

I think I'll withold judgement until I see some more data. Let's get a few more years under our belt as well as a few more new areas of rifle usage before we start slapping ourselves on the back and declaring success. I'm not really saying whether it is a good idea or not, but one opening of rifle usage in the wrong location could change the numbers a whole lot. There is just something about promoting longer shots that has me a bit skeptical, but right now, I'm pretty neutral on the issue. Time will tell.

Doc

[Swamphunter]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

I am not sure what the sticking point is for you southerners...I live in the northerntier and we have been using rifles for deer for as long as I have been hunting big game..I am 37 almost 38...

Rifles are awesome to hunt with. I hate to switch back to the shotgun when I head for the southertier.

[Swamphunter]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

[ QUOTE ]

I hate to switch back to the shotgun

[/ QUOTE ]

switchback...

[Adjam5]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

I love being able to rifle hunt and I always have where I hunt in WMU 3H. Sullivan county. Matter of fact I have hunted the southern zone for about 20+ years and have never hunted with a slug gun, always been a centerfire.

What really scares me though is right below in Orange county, the county with the largest growth in NYS building wise is STILL rifle country. It is becoming incredibly populated in Orange it has the place to move for people running from NYC after 9/11. Roughly 60 miles from NYC.

I have rifle hunted a rural area in Orange with a friend last year and that area is losing its farmlands to developers REAL FAST. That means the deer will hurt too, less food for them. I almost certainly thought that with the introduction of rifle to certain areas, they would change Orange(WMU 3M mostly) to a shotgun area

I live in Rockland county and there is ONLY one town that permits firearm discharge, and to find land to do that, let alone hunt...one has to be VERY lucky.

BUT.... It does help us bowhunters out quite a bit. Lots of big 'uns running round due to low pressure and access.

I have access, not a problem for me

But as far as the rifle hunting goes, we have to hope the hunter will be ethical and safe when pulling that trigger. We have to have some faith in people, you can't legislate ethics and morality.

We as hunters are loaded with ethics and morals, there are gonna be jerks no matter what the weapon used to hunt with is. Yes a rifle does help that jerk hurt someone far away, but back to the faith in people thinking. We can't take for granted that everyone who hunts with a rifle will do it irresponsibly.

This is still one of the safest pastimes around.

Good luck and hunt safe.

Anthony

[Doc]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

Swamphunter-

I think the main sticking point is partially based on confronting an unknown that involves safety. I'm sure that after enough years go by without incident, we will gain a certain level of confidence. On the other hand, we do have a lot more population density and an awful lot of people moving out of the cities and into the rural areas. It's become commonplace for people to locate new homes in almost a camoflaged fashion right in the middle of hunting land. 30 years ago, I was guilty of doing that myself. Apparently everyone thought it was a good idea because nearly all of my old hunting areas have been taken over by houses plopped right in the middle of them. With the added carrying range of centerfire firearms, one just has to wonder if this change might not result in some added incidences. I know it's not unheard of to read in the paper about slug holes on people's livingroom walls. Usually these are accompanied by front page pictures showing some little ol' lady pointing to the hole in the wall and some story about how it was just inches from where her grand-daughter usually sits. This does point out the fact that occasionally slugs or bullets do wind up where they were never intended to go. Increasing shooting distances via longer range weapons would not help that situation at all. Whether it makes it worse or not remains to be seen. In the end, it will be the data over time that does the convincing one way or another.

Doc

[jgbennett6]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

well i know plenty of people who used them.. with success, i also know of a few barns that got shot as a result of them. I think they are fine. however all of my friend shoot 300 wssm..huge loads... and they enver shot a deer outside of 70 yards.......how far do you need the bullet to go after you kill them i dunno. ... however i never even took out my rifle, got my buck at 65 yards and my doe at 115 yards, that why i bought a rifled barrel..i have no problem with people who use rifles.but personally i like to get closer to the game if i can, and i see no need for it in my area..too many concentrated houses.

[Doc]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

I just got done reading about a claim that a rifle bullet did hit a dwelling in one of the newly opened rifle areas. I didn't see any details. Not that a single incident really means anything, but when you consider that there were only a few new areas opened up to rifles, and the fact that license sales were down this year, it probably can not be counted as a positive sign. But like I said, time will tell.

Doc

[jgbennett6]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

Right you cannot base it off of one house, however that is one house that was reported, i know of 2 farmers who wont let rifle hunters on their property b/c their barn was shot. I think a certain portion of liscence sales might have dropped b/c of the hype of the rifles, personally i thought it was going to be worse than it was.

[Doc]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

Actually there are a lot of things that could impact rifle safety results and statistics.

First of all, the license sales were down 5% this year, so we were not out there in full force. Also, in my area, I got the distinct feeling that the actual participation was not nearly up to the same level that it was in years past. Perhaps the down-turn in the herd had a lot of hunters participating in a half-hearted way, but after a less that stellar opening day, things got real quiet.

Of course the other factor was that there were not really that many new rifle areas added. Another thing is that a lot of hunters who would use rifles have not actually bought one yet, and are still using their shotguns until they actually feel like parting with the money for a new rifle. The other thing is that I'm not sure whether anyone is compiling stats on the "near-misses". That being the shot up houses and other buildings. I'm not real sure anyone ever compiled statewide numbers for such incidents. I'm also not so sure that anyone is responsible for determining whether a hunting incident is truly the result of a rifle being used or if the same incident wouldn't have happened with a shotgun.

It's way, way too early to be putting a whole lot of stock in the statistics of this year. It will take a few years before we can really say wether it was a good idea or not. I'm willing to wait. eventually a clear picture will evolve one way or the other as to whether rifles add significantly to our accident figures. Hopefully, there are people out there gathering numbers and keeping track of how this is all going.

Doc

[monsterbucks1]

Re: rifle in certain parts of ny...watchya think?

I like the ideas of rifle use in the southren tier, tried it for a weekend and didn't get a shot off, Give me a bow any day i will sit in the nice weather that is peaceful and just watch all day. dont get me wrong i would hunt with my rifle any time but i would rather be bow hunting you see more .