Expanding use of crossbows in urban and suburban areas will make them effective tools for deer management, DEC said, and also create more opportunities for hunters of diverse backgrounds to hunt near where they live.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t forget, you still need a hunting license and bowhunting privilege to hunt deer and bear with a crossbow during bowhunting season.<\/p>\n
![\"Deer](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/OE5AK5T3MZE5LGQTZZPERRKFOM.jpg\"\/)
DEC map showing dates for regular and bowhunting deer seasons.NYS DECDeer Management Permits<\/p>\n
The application deadline for DMPs is Oct. 1. Before applying, make sure you know the specific Wildlife Management Unit you intend to hunt. Your chances of being selected for a DMP remain the same throughout the entire application period.<\/p>\n
DEC has more information about DMPs online<\/a>.<\/p>\n Columbus Day Youth Big Game Hunt<\/p>\n The annual Youth Big Game Hunt for youth aged 14-15 occurs Columbus Day weekend, Oct. 11-13, throughout the state (except in Suffolk and Westchester counties and a few bowhunting-only areas).<\/p>\n Youth hunters aged 12-13 may only participate in counties that allow 12\u201313-year-olds to hunt deer with a firearm, which currently includes every county in the state except Erie and Rockland counties.<\/p>\n During the youth big game hunt supervising adults may not carry a firearm or bow while supervising a youth hunter. <\/p>\n During the youth firearms big game hunt, youth hunters may:<\/p>\n Additional rules for junior hunters and their adult mentors can be found on pages 44 and 45 of the Hunting and Trapping Guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n In fall 2024, CWD was discovered in a captive deer facility<\/a> in the town of Columbia in southern Herkimer County. CWD is always fatal in deer, moose, and elk. <\/p>\n The facility was depopulated. No cases of CWD were reported in wild deer. But more testing is needed, DEC said. <\/p>\n DEC is asking hunters in the towns of Columbia, German Flatts, Litchfield, Warren, or Winfield in Herkimer County, and the town of Richfield in Otsego County, to submit the head of all deer they harvest. <\/p>\n You can find CWD Sampling <\/a>drop box locations<\/a> in each town.<\/p>\n Take It \u2013 Tag It \u2013 Report It<\/p>\n By law hunters are required to report<\/a> their deer, bear, or turkey harvest within seven days. It\u2019s critical to effective wildlife management, and DEC has made it easy with its HuntFishNY mobile app<\/a>.<\/p>\n Venison Donation Program<\/p>\n Help feed the hungry by donating all or part of your deer through cooperating processors, or by making a monetary contribution to the Venison Donation Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n To reduce the potential for lead fragments in venison, donate deer taken with bow or crossbow or use lead-free ammunition. Check out DEC\u2019s website to learn more best practices for venison processing<\/a> or lead-free ammunition<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Early bowhunting season for deer opens today, Sept. 27, in the Northern Zone and runs through Oct. 24.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":258621,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[135872,5229,15968,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-258620","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-2025-deer-season-map","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-dec","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkcity","15":"tag-ny","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115276036466055835","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258620\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
![\"Deer](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/6YELAELUJJC37L3Q4GFRBHRS44.jpg\"\/)
Example of deer afflicted with Chronic Wasting Disease in Wisconsin. (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources photo).al.comChronic Wasting Disease sampling<\/p>\n![\"Send](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/UCU25Q33ENGGZDP2Q4ZE2PVJYE.jpg\"\/)
Brantley Cali, 12, sent us this pic of a beautiful eight-pointer he shot during the 2024 youth big game hunt.Amanda CaliSend us your big game pics!<\/p>\n\n