Young Buck - Let Me In
Every year, tens of thousands of NY hunters enjoy the opportunity to bring home a handsome 2.5-year or older buck, while about half of the antlered bucks taken in NY are only 1.5 years old (yearlings). Yearling bucks generally weigh about 20% less and have 50% smaller antlers than they would as a 2.5-year-old.
Young Buck - Let Me In
The primary reason New York doesn't have more older, larger-antlered bucks in the harvest is because many get taken as yearlings. But the good news is that this is changing and hunters are now taking more older buck than ever before. Hunters can continue to push the harvest ratio solidly toward older bucks simply by choosing to Let Young Bucks Go and Watch Them Grow.
Nearly all bucks in New York with 4 points or less are only 1.5 years old. In central and western New York or other high quality habitat areas, about 30% of yearlings have 5-6 points and 15% have 7-8 total antler points. However, the overall size and shape of their antlers remains small, with antler spreads generally less than 12 inches, well inside the ear tips.
While many hunters want the opportunity to take bigger bucks, the bucks frequently shown in magazines, on TV shows, and on hunting-related products are rare in the wild. To help hunters better understand what buck populations look like in New York and have realistic expectations of what they might encounter afield, in 2015 and 2016 DEC collected additional antler measurements from 2,176 bucks across the state. The picture is clear; when hunters choose to let young bucks go, they do grow - with antlers nearly doubling in size from 1.5 to 2.5 years of age.
In recent years, some hunters have expressed strong interest in increasing the number of older, larger-antlered bucks in our deer population. This could be accomplished through a variety of regulatory and non-regulatory approaches. New York hunters have divided opinions about buck hunting and many greatly value having the freedom to choose what type of buck to harvest. DEC worked with experts at Cornell University to evaluate various buck hunting strategies (e.g. mandatory antler point restrictions, 1-buck-per-hunter rule, shorter season, voluntary restraint) in a way that accounted for regional variation in hunter values and the impacts on harvest, population management, and hunter satisfaction. Based on that study, DEC concluded that regulatory changes are not appropriate or most compatible with hunter values. Encouraging hunters to voluntarily pass up shots at young bucks best balances hunter interests across the state and is now our management direction. For more information see PDF links below.
DEC does have mandatory antler point restrictions in 11 Wildlife Management Units in southeastern New York. This program will continue as DEC encourages hunters elsewhere to practice voluntary restraint. Over time, as more and more hunters in the broader region opt to pass on young bucks voluntarily, it may be appropriate to lift the restrictions.
You may only use your antlerless tags (Bow/Muzzleloading or DMPs) for female deer or bucks with antlers less than 3 inches. You may not use an antlerless tag on a buck with antlers greater than 3 inches but less than the 3-point on one side restriction.
One crisp November morning while I was working on this project, I drove into the Villa and there he was: this majestic young buck. He jumped in front of my car and trotted up the hill. I parked and followed him a bit against my will; but Patrick had asked, so I persevered.
As Brown tells it, an older street hustler nicknamed Priest pulled him aside, sat him down and asked what a 13-year-old "young buck" was doing turning dime bags of dope on streets. When Brown refused to quit, Priest advised him on how to avoid run-ins with the police or pistol-toting competitors who might not take kindly to a young upstart working their turf. Priest, whose name evokes the respect he drew on the streets, put out the word for others to lay off Young Buck and keep a watchful eye out for him.
Buck already was selling drugs by the time his mother was laid off from Meharry. "I felt like I had no choice," he says. "I was too young to get a 9-to-5. But I had to get some money, least that's how I felt."
From there, Buck reunited with rap singer Juvenile, whom he'd met when both were young rappers with Cash Money in New Orleans. "I hit the road with Juvenile for a year-and-a-half," Buck says, performing as one of the leader's vocal partners onstage. During a New York stop in 2001, rappers 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks visited Juvenile on his bus.
Now that he's proving just how monumental that success is, he hopes the city's attitude will change to one of acceptance. "I'm saying, 'Yo, let's sit down and talk and straighten this out, because you're dealing with a young individual who really has his head together. You're not dealing with a drug dealer; you're dealing with a young entrepreneur who's very smart. I'm not leaving. But if I feel betrayed, I'll get involved more politically and apply pressure. I'll go on national television and talk about what's wrong with my city if I have to. Things are going to change in Nashville. They can't stop it now." 041b061a72