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Firearm season starts Saturday

Posted 11/15/22

SULLIVAN COUNTY – Deer and bear hunting seasons in New York’s Southern Zone – which includes all of the Hudson Valley – begins Saturday, Nov. 19. Hunters can continue to …

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Firearm season starts Saturday

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SULLIVAN COUNTY – Deer and bear hunting seasons in New York’s Southern Zone – which includes all of the Hudson Valley – begins Saturday, Nov. 19. Hunters can continue to enjoy the longer hours, youth hunts, and other changes enacted last year, including requirements for blaze orange and pink to help maintain New York’s record of safe hunting.

Long hours

Hunters are reminded that the daily hunting hours for deer and bear now include the full daylight period, beginning 30 minutes before sunrise and continuing until 30 minutes after sunset. Hunters should check the sunrise and sunset times before hunting each day.

“The regular firearms season for deer and bear in New York’s Southern Zone is the state’s most popular big game hunting season, drawing hundreds of thousands of hunters afield each year,” Commissioner Seggos said. “As a cherished annual tradition in New York State, these hunting seasons are managed to maximize conservation value and balance deer and bear populations, while providing more than 11 million pounds of quality, locally grown, organic meat to families statewide. I wish all hunters a safe and successful season.”

Opportunities for Youth Hunters

Again this year, 12- and 13-year-old hunters may hunt deer with a firearm when accompanied by a licensed, experienced adult. This pilot program, established by the New York State Legislature through 2023, applies to counties that choose to participate. 

The 2022-23 regular deer and bear hunting seasons in New York’s Southern Zone begins Nov. 19, and runs through Sunday, Dec. 11, and includes participation from approximately 85 percent of New York’s 550,000 licensed hunters. Harvest during this season accounts for nearly 60 percent of the total statewide deer harvest and a substantial part of the statewide bear harvest.

Following the regular deer and bear seasons in the Southern Zone, late bowhunting and muzzleloading seasons will run from Dec. 12 through Dec. 20, and again from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1. Hunters taking part in these special seasons must possess a hunting license and either bowhunting or muzzleloading privileges.

Hunters should also remember that anytime they are pursuing deer or bear with a firearm, they must now wear fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink clothing-either a hat, vest, or jacket visible in all directions. New York hunters have an excellent safety record, but this change will make hunters even safer.

Hunters are also reminded to follow the basic rules of firearm safety:

• Point your gun in a safe direction.

• Treat every gun as if it were loaded.

• Be sure of your target and beyond.

• Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.

When hunting in tree stands, use a safety harness and a climbing belt, as most tree stand accidents occur when hunters are climbing in and out of the stand. Also, hunters should never climb in or out of a tree stand with a loaded firearm.

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