Careful not to make any noise, something in my brain told me to turn on my red mini-light and check my paper deer tags. Instant panic. I had the 2024-25 tags in a small, sealed plastic bag. I had put the old ones in there, not the 2025-26 tags that I had printed the night before. Remember that old rule? Never wait until the last minute? There are those times when it seems we never have enough hours and minutes in any one day. I sat there thinking about all the new rules: no back tag is required now, electronic harvest reporting is in effect, a legal crossbow is permitted, and extended hunting hours are the law, plus others. It’s a long list. I asked myself, why not electronic deer tags? At 1 p.m., I returned home to retrieve the paper tags. I could not shoot a deer if I wasn’t legal. At 3 p.m., I was back in my ground blind, feeling better that I had passed on a five-point year-and-a-half-year-old buck and a small doe. I believe it was around 5 p.m. when I received the DEC press release on my phone, which stated, “DEC Adopts Electronic Hunting Tags and Other Deer Hunting Enhancements.” Unreal. If you are a smartphone owner, this simplifies so many things.

The new regulations make it easier for hunters to report their harvest, reducing the risk of penalties for late reporting. Additionally, DEC added a bonus opportunity for youth hunters at the same time, providing them with increased chances to earn a new season tag. Hunters can now use DEC’s online app for their licenses and tags as an alternative to paper license and tag options, offering a more convenient and environmentally friendly solution. These changes are designed to improve the overall hunting experience and success rates for years to come.

“Hunting is an affordable, accessible, and valued tradition for many New Yorkers and a critically important conservation measure, and DEC is committed to improving user experience for all hunters, and these changes will provide new options to improve harvest reporting and success for years to come,” said DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton.

Now, hunters can choose to use either a paper license and tags or the electronic HuntFishNY mobile app as proof of their license and possession of tags for deer, bear, or turkey. Users of electronic tags (e-tags) will be able to immediately report their harvest using the mobile app, regardless of whether they have cell service or not. To report a harvest, users simply need to open the app, select the ‘Report Harvest’ option, and follow the on-screen instructions. Users also won’t need to attach a physical tag to their harvested deer, bear, or turkey while they remain in possession of the carcass, including in their vehicle and at their home. Problem is, no visible physical deer harvest tag for transportation from one place to another could be a real benefit for poachers. If e-tag users leave the carcass at a location other than their home or vehicle, such as at a taxidermist or processor, they must affix a tag of their own making to the carcass that includes the hunter’s name, identification number and reporting confirmation number. Hunters will still have the option to use paper licenses and tags for deer, bear and turkey. To encourage prompt reporting and facilitate greater law enforcement oversight, hunters using paper tags are now required to report their harvest (by phone) within 48 hours, rather than seven days. For some of us, this means that if the DEC officer is checking tags at the processor and then checks your reporting of the deer harvest — and it’s after 48 hours, does that mean you will receive a penalty love note in the mail next week? Time will tell. Be sure to report your harvest promptly, that’s the message.

Photo courtesy of Forrest Fisher There are tree-tops changing color, some leaves are beginning to drop and get crunchy, but for the most part, the 2025 New York State Southern Zone big-game early archery season is still leaf-bound, with very dry undergrowth. Be careful with campfires and matches.

DEC also created a new opportunity for youth hunters. DEC will issue a bonus regular-season tag to youth hunters (ages 12-15) who successfully take and report a deer taken during a Youth Big Game Hunt weekend (Columbus Day weekend) with their regular-season tag and who do not possess a Deer Management Permit for the regular firearms season. To apply for this bonus tag, eligible hunters simply need to submit a request through the DEC’s online portal or by mail. The bonus regular season tag will be valid for a deer of the sex opposite from what was harvested during the youth hunt (e.g., harvest of an antlered deer during the Youth Deer Hunt would yield an antlerless-only bonus tag for the regular season). DEC will then mail this tag to the eligible hunters.

DEC has been busy, also enhancing the Deer Management Assistance Program by extending the permit renewal cycle from three years to five years and rescinding the limit on the number of DMAP tags that may be used per hunter. This change provides landowners with more flexibility and control, enabling them to utilize DMAP more effectively in achieving their land management objectives. It empowers landowners and gives them greater control over their land management.

There are sure to be questions about all the new regulations; in fact, there will be whirlwinds of conversation about some of these new rules. Poacher questions. Additionally, new for fall 2025, as you know, hunters in New York state may use a crossbow in the same seasons, places and manner as a vertical bow for hunting deer and bear.

Gotta love the outdoors.

CALENDAR

Photo courtesy of James Monteleone The biggest deer seek cover where they can blend in, especially in bright sunlight. The Harvest Moon will occur on the night of Oct. 6 and will be overhead from sunset to sunrise the next day. Look for the first early rut to occur six to nine days later.

Oct. 1: NYS Southern Zone big-game early archery/crossbow hunting season opening day; ends Nov. 14.

Oct. 1: NYS Southern Zone hunting season opens for coyote, cottontail rabbits, varying hare, ruffed grouse, bobwhite quail. See syllabus for various species season end.

Oct. 3 to April 15: NYS snow goose season. See syllabus for bag limits and rules.

Oct. 4: NYS Hunter Education, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Harmony Conservation Camp, Route 474, Panama; Visit: https://dec.ny.gov.

Oct. 5: Chautauqua Lake Bassmasters 2025 Fall Bass Open, 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Boat Launch TBD, $100 Entry. Tournament Director: 716-708-0330.

Oct. 11-13: NYS Youth Special Firearms Weekend Deer Season, for 12-15 years of age, select counties, see syllabus.

Oct. 11 to Nov. 2: NYS Western Zone hunting season for ducks and coots. See syllabus for bag limits/rules.

Oct. 18: NYS Southern Zone turkey hunting season opens, sunrise to sunset, season bag limit is one bird of either sex, ends Oct. 31.