souther allegany/stuben county

[bettieanne]

I have recently been hunting more down at my camp, wich is located in Whitesville. Pretty much where Allegany/ stuben and the pa line all meet. I am curious of the quality of mature bucks located in those areas, it took me a few seasons to locate them but last yr was a decent year. Are most mature bucks down that way in the 100 to 120 in range? we do got agriculture in the area in form of  corn,clover ect.  Just kinda curious.I know the state record was shot down that way, but that was a long time ago. I am spoiled with the quality bucks along the lakeshore, so I am tryin to decide where to spend most time perched in a tree.

[Chas0218]

I hunt between addison and woodhull, there are some nice deer but you really have to work for them. The Amish in the area really decimate the deer herds.

[iceman05]

I've got a place in Alfred and a few spots along the lake as well. I must say I love the big woods feel of down south but the deer just don't compare . I may have one shooter in Alfred maybe every 2 years and 5 to 6 shooters up by the lake each year. Obviously the population is in better shape up north but it gets hard to drive an hour and a half to see a 3 pointer. My odds are far higher than heading south. Now I've seen a lot of big bucks come from the south but its limited compared to the lake side. To play devils advocate my uncle has 120 acres south of letchworth that is beautiful mature woods that is surrounded by two med size ag farms ,now if I go there I see big deer

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[Gill-T]

Very fertile soils down there to grow large bucks.  It all comes down to age class of deer taken in your area.  If you want to shoot big bucks, you have to let the little ones walk.  Talk to the neighboring properties and see if you can come up with a "gentleman's agreement" to shoot only certain sized deer and you will see more big ones.  If your neighbors are only about the meat then get your doe tags for that area and leave it for a "shoot anything" area that you can fill unfilled tags with later in the season.

[Chas0218]

My buddy's property is like that come gun season you have a better chance of seeing deer on state property. They push their property every weekend for the first 2 weeks and, the whole 300 acres is a ghost town after that.  My family owns 220 acres and never push deer and we can go in a stand set and see deer almost every time.

[FishingSkrip27]

I hunt in Friendship NY. I've seen plenty of big bucks. The problem is they have so much more cover to hide in then up by the lake. Hilton/Hamlin/Kendall/Ogden/Brockport.....it's nothing but fields and funnels. So it's much easier to track down a big buck when he has only a few spots to hide. Take a look at the topographical maps of the lake vs the southern tier. I have a very hard time getting a mature buck on trail camera in friendship, But once the rut comes they all come out to play. Hunting them mountain bucks is fun!!! But they taste like **** compared to deer that i harvest closer to the lake. My thought it because of the food sources they have access too. Good luck hunting this year   

[EsoxAC3]

I have been hunting in the Town of Cameron in Stuben County for about 22yrs (holy crap!). The deer heard seems to be really thinning out over the last decade. I believe a combination of poaching, over harvest, and a robust coyote population all contribute to this.The poachers on our property are just animals with no boundaries or ethics whatsoever. Shoot deer, cut off the head for the rack and leave body by road- very discouraging. I have also heard that the amish are tough on the deer but dont know this to be fact. That said, stuben cty is still the top deer harvest county in nys if memory serves. I have seen many, many 130" deer and larger taken from our property. As was pointed out, there is constant pressure on the deer from before early bow to after late muzzle. Can make it more challenging to lay that wily bruiser down. However, u r hunting in prime whitetail country. There are some trophy bucks in that area. Best of luck and be safe.

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Edited September 24, 2015 by EsoxAC3

[bettieanne]

Thanks for comments, After running 3 trail cams on the property we hunt ther are definatly some nice deer down there. We have 3 or 4 shooters on cam, 3 different black bears and a bunch of nice 2nd rack up an commers. In the particular area I am huntin it is loaded with deer. several large property owners and its off the beaten path so to speak. The area is posted up very tight  and the locals are aware of that. my hunting partner lives by the property and the dec was patrolling the area last year due to poaching complaints. Yes the big woods has a different feel compared to the lakeshore area I am hunting. It is definatly much more changeling to locate those buck travel routes, they are much more suddle.  Last yr I took a 8 with bow and a 11 with rifle and seen many more bucks after I was tagged out. For years I wouldn't leave my propertys arnd the lake, but last season definatly opened my eyes to what we have down there. There is a awesome feeling when you know u are the only hunter in the woods for miles, Much less pressure compared to my other propertys. Now I jst gota time my presence right for the rut now that we have pinned down some buck travel routes. Good luck to all this season!!!!