The NYSDEC recently released the harvest report for the 2018 deer season.
The county in which I live, located in western NYS, saw a harvest of 11,829 deer here in Steuben County, roughly an even split between the sexes.
Total take for the state was 227,787, a bit above the recent average. I wouldn't be surprised if the roadkill added a similar number.
Over the years I had begun to think of myself as quite the deer hunter. In reality, I was simply hunting in places that were getting better. We have deer dying of old age in many areas.
I hunt 3 different "woods" and saw deer on most of my outings over the season. It is easy to get 3-5 tags here.
Last, the state thinks that hunters actually reporting is up to about 50%. I'm not sure what that suggests about the accuracy of their statistics.

You live in a very nice area, one of my favorite parts of NY state. I would imagine the hunting pressure is decreasing because of the lack of younger hunters being handed the reigns. Too bad

Oldelkhunter,
Support for your comment might be the number of roadkilled deer we see after the season.
We enjoy a ~3 week season here, and it is not uncommon to see deer back out feeding in the open after the 1st week.
Another major change is the sheer lack of "drives" in the area. Years ago that was the preferred technique, and accounted for a lot of venison in the freezer. Since the state approved rifles, (we were limited to shotguns & slugs til a few years ago), you now commonly see tower stands. Lots of folks have gone into sniper style hunting, often prohibiting others from stirring "their" deer.
About 30 years ago, the world discovered the extensive hardwood forests thru the region, and harvesting these trees. The new growth has provided abundant food and cover, supporting a growing deer population.
Last, the economy in this region has been poor for decades, leading to a declining population, and a pretty clean environment. Deer hunting and trout fishing is better than ever, but that's a secret, don't tell anyone.

Your secret is safe Rich soil, great habitat little surprise that the herd is flourishing.

I hunt in Sullivan county, 50 years and the number of hunters is way way down. It was easier to report a deer harvest when you just put the caed in the mail.............

I grew up in Steuben County and have hunted there since the mid 60's. Used to be, a person might see 50-60 deer a day. There were lots of hunters (as evidenced by vehicles parked along rural roads). Now, it's quite different. I averaged seeing about 5-6 deer a day this last season. Ratios appear skewed as does far outnumbered bucks. There appears to be quite a bit of night poaching as we hear shots ringing out throughout the night up at our cabin. We occasionally see nice bucks, but most are yearlings or 2.5 year olds. Oh well, it's still fun... just different. At least I don't have to deal with Libby politicians and ridiculous taxes. Maintain with dignity.

Has, or maybe a better question..how has, access changed over the years?

JDK,
Like most places, access has not gotten easier, but with some effort, it can be obtained. There are a bunch of pieces of state land that can be productive, many don't have names, but can be located on a Delorme atlas. These are common through this region.
Access to private land has gotten a little weird. As I mentioned earlier, since the legalization of rifles here in western NY, sniping from permanent elevated stands has become a common practice. Often these guys don't allow access to others who might scare away "their" deer.
Another phenomena over the last couple of decades, has been the taking over of many of our small farms by Mennonites and Amish. Access there is not so easy. as most come from, and have large families. Each family member holding 3-5 tags.

Back in the 70's when I started hunting in Delaware County my biggest problem was deciding which piece of private ground I wanted to hunt on any particular day. There was still a considerable amount of unposted private land back then and if it wasn't posted you generally just hunted it. Permission was also obtainable on much of what was posted if you just asked politely. Now it's pretty much all posted and unless you are related to or are friends with a landowner, permission can be damned hard to nearly impossible to obtain. Fortunately, there is alot of both State and NYC reservoir land that is open to hunting.

I think some of that occurs because back then the land was bought to farm.
Now a lot of the old farms are bought to raise deer to hunt, and they don’t want you killing their deer that they are paying to feed.
Also the local farms around here just barely get by from the deer lease money that’s available.

Like the dairy farmer that won the lottery said, when asked what he was going to do with all that money.
Well, he said, I figured I’d keep on dairy farming ‘till it was all gone......

Thanks. I've been looking at 4F and 4O for a late season muzzleloader hunt.

Doesn't Steuben still lead or close to it, in deer kills by county? Thought it did for quite a few years.

I grew up deer hunting in lower Sullivan County. Opening day it would sound like the Fourth of July as soon the sun came up.

The last time I hunted there it was just a couple of shots here or there. Times have certainly changed.

Dan

Yup. Nearly 12,000 taken in Steuben last season. Seems to be lots more remaining.

I heard 3 shots on opening morning last season in Delaware county. Back in the 70's and 80's it sounded like a war was going on. Deer hunting sure ain't like it used to be around here. Back in the 70's Delaware was #1 in the state for deer kill. Now it's way down the list.

Used to hunt Steuben County for many years if you didn't see 30 deer opening day you were blind or sleeping....Hunt close to home now in Monroe County bigger buck and much easier to hunt every day without the 1 hour 45 minute drive each way. Tuscarora/Woodhull was my hunting home for may years....McHales,Last Lap,TOP and Lando's were my night time homes

Landos was recently closed. The brothers are getting older and health issues were getting troublesome. Sure hope they reopen as it has been a favorite for many, many years.
I am hunting closer to home as well. I had access to some great hunting west of Syracuse for many years. As with your area, the average deer runs 20-40 pounds heavier than is typical around here. I think that soil up on the Great Lakes Plains agrees with the whitetails, more and better minerals, etc, that the shale and clay around here.