Photo by Billkenney.com

If they're playing "Jingle Bells" on the radio, it's time to get down to business on unfilled deer tags, particularly so, if you passed up an easy shot at a spike buck last month, or your doe permit is still in your wallet.

December hunts are not a problem for experienced hunters who understand changing whitetail patterns, and, in fact, some prefer the season-long challenge of outwitting a big buck they've spotted a couple of times. But now it is crunch time, and it's not only the calendar that's becoming an adversary: Uncertain weather is also a consideration.

Late-season pressures are always there, but the biggest adjustment hunters have had to make this year, and for the last couple of years, is declining deer numbers across the state. This season, approximately 320,000 Deer Management Permits (DMPs, also called antlerless tags) were available, 40 percent fewer than were issued last year. This change reflects lower deer numbers throughout most of the Southern Zone, according to Denise M. Sheehan, acting commissioner of New York's Department of Environmental Conservation. It was only three years ago that hunters tagged 308,000 whitetails, a new record, and DEC's deer management policies were aimed at reducing the deer population. Last year, hunters took slightly more than 208,000 deer, a drop of more than one-third from 2002. Clearly, the whitetail herd has been "controlled," with an assist from Mother Nature and a couple of tough winters.

Looking ahead, Sheehan reported that DEC biologists would use all the management techniques available to increase deer populations the next few years to achieve a better balance. The drastic reduction of DMPs this season is the first step in that direction.

"However, deer populations comparable to 2002 levels cannot be maintained without long-term negative consequences, such as damage to agriculture, forest regeneration, landscaping or vehicle accidents," she explained.

The most prominent regulation change this year was moving the opening day of the Southern Zone regular deer season from a Monday to a Saturday to allow opening day hunting opportunities for younger hunters and others who are unable to take time off during the week. A switch to a Saturday opening for the early archery season provided similar benefits for bowhunters. And the late archery and muzzleloader seasons were lengthened to nine days.

Of particular interest to southeast area hunters, an experimental program to produce heavier racks was inaugurated in Ulster County (WMUs 3C and 3J), requiring that bucks have at least 3 points on a side. This pilot antler restriction program is the result of strong local support from sportsmen's groups, according to Sheehan.

Here are the remaining season schedules for December as they apply to southeastern New York: The regular firearms season closes Dec. 11; the late archery and muzzleloader seasons run from Dec. 12-20; and the Westchester County and Suffolk County special archery seasons close Dec. 31.

Late-season hunters have some unique public-hunting opportunities in southeastern New York, and the following hotspots are good places to start.

CATSKILL PARK AND FOREST PRESERVE
The nearly 300,000 acres of state preserve land, so close to the population centers of metro New York City, the Hudson River valley and the Capital District, are a hunter's miracle in this age when posted private land is the rule rather than exception.

But there is a little confusion for visitors, because state land open to hunting in the Catskills comprises less than 40 percent of the Catskill Park and Forest Preserve, which encompasses the entire mountainous region spread across four counties, with 98 peaks over 3,000 feet in elevation. It's the preserve holdings that must remain "forever wild," and for that reason it retains the flavor of the ancient Catskills, offering hunters easy day hunts or rambling excursions through true wilderness.