Early fall hunting seasons underway in New York

Early big game gun hunting seasons for deer and bear are coming to a close as September departs and early fall arrives. Early gun bear hunters like Ron Cammarata of Cornwallville took full advantage of the opportunity when he harvested a huge trophy boar.

The beast had been wreaking havoc tearing down fruit trees by Cammarata’s home. While not officially weighed, the very aged bruin likely was over 500 pounds.

He took the big boar down with one shoulder shot with a .450 Bushmaster. The big male made it to a swamp where recovery was delayed to the following morning and required the use of a bear tracking dog run by Steve Taber of Wounded Game Recovery. The one shot proved fatal, and kudos to Steve and his tracking service which proved to be key to recovering the aged bear.  

Congratulations to Ron on the harvest of a “bear of a lifetime!”

Five disabled veterans continued to serve by harvesting three bears under the guidance of Bob Monteleone and the Northern Longbeards Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF). Bob and his crew of dedicated NWTF volunteers partnered with “Band of Heros Outdoors,” an organization whose stated mission is: “To combat PTSD and veteran suicide through hunting, fishing and enjoying the therapeutic aspects of the outdoors.”

The organization believes the current rate of veteran suicide is unacceptable and works by  “helping our heroes deal with their issues through the great outdoors.”  

The three bears harvested by the veterans were taken in areas where crops and homes were experiencing significant nuisance bear activity.  

These early deer and bear seasons provide opportunities for hunters to assist in removing problem deer and bear from the landscape, especially in areas where New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has determined they are over populated.

New for this year, DEC changed the rules to address regions of the state where deer are well above desired population levels. They liberalized procedures to obtain permits to harvest female deer and incentivized the process through its “Earn a 2nd Buck” program. Hunters who wish to get a second tag to harvest a buck, now need to first harvest a female deer. For more information on the specifics of the new deer tagging and harvest regulations, visit DEC’s website to view FAQs at 2026 Antlerless Deer Hunting Changes Q&A.

A strategy for reducing the more than healthy population of bears in our area and across the state has not been addressed at this time. It is likely to be on the agenda as DEC begins to formulate its next Ten-Year Black Bear Management Plan. There’s little doubt, hunting will be key to the solution to achieve a properly balanced black bear population.

“New York State’s early big game hunting seasons provide more opportunity for hunters to contribute to effective management in areas of the state where additional harvest of antlerless deer and bear are necessary to keep populations in balance,” said Jacqueline Lendrum, director of DEC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife. “Under DEC’s new big game hunting regulations, there has never been a greater opportunity for hunters to spend time afield in September.”  

The DEC director’s statement highlights the critical role hunters and hunting play in the management of game species. Hunting remains the only way to effectively keep populations in balance with available habitat. The early bear season really helps in the management of nuisance bears who have worn out their welcome getting into places they shouldn’t be. They enter homes and camps, tear down bird feeders, destroy apiaries and fruit trees, and do a fair amount of damage, even in cases where farmers and home owners act responsibly. Same can be said for deer, who when overly concentrated can wreak havoc on local forest fauna. They damage residential ornamental trees, flowers, and bushes, not to mention the destruction of commercial crops and orchards.

While the early big game firearms season is closing, early archery and crossbow seasons for big game, along with many small game seasons like those for rabbit, pheasant and grouse open each year on October 1.

Additionally, the youth pheasant and youth waterfowl hunting seasons for 2026 takes place over the weekend of September 26-27. Opportunities for youth aged 12-15 to participate in free youth hunts across the state, including one in Greene County, are available on DEC’s website with the link, HuntFishNY Events.

Plenty of early fall hunting is going on as we welcome the official arrival of fall. So, it’s time to make time, and get out and enjoy some quality early season hunting.

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Happy hunting, fishing, and trapping until next time! Remember, the Deer Management Permit applications deadline is October 1.

A resident of Durham, Larry is a retired captain with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

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