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DEC Announces Bowhunting Seasons for Deer and Bear
Published: September 28, 2025
at 03:00 p.m.
By: Press Release
from NYS DEC
DEC Announces Bowhunting Seasons for Deer and Bear
Youth Big Game Hunt Slated for October 11-13
New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Amanda Lefton has
announced that bowhunting seasons for deer in the Northern Zone begin on
Sept. 27. In the Southern Zone, bowhunting seasons for deer and bear begin
on Oct. 1. The bowhunting season for bear in the Northern Zone began Sept.
13.
"Bowhunters
enjoy tremendous opportunities here in New York, and those opportunities
are even better now that crossbows can be used during the entire bow season
and in bowhunting-only areas,” Commissioner Lefton said. “Late
summer weather, fall foliage, and plentiful big game populations combine to
create outstanding conditions. It’s an exciting time of year.”
New for fall 2025,
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. Crossbows have been used throughout most of New York, in both
rural and developed areas, for more than a decade, but until now New York
State law limited the locations, times, and types of crossbows that could
be used.
Changes to the
hunting rules signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul this year remove
most of those barriers and will make hunting with a crossbow more
accessible and a more effective tool for deer management. Expanding use of
crossbows in the urban and suburban areas previously restricted to vertical
bows will create more opportunities for hunters of diverse backgrounds to
hunt near where they live. Additionally, removing the minimum width and
maximum draw weight requirements for crossbows will allow New York hunters
to now legally access the majority of crossbows on
the market. To hunt deer and bear with a crossbow during the bowhunting
seasons, a hunter must have a hunting license and bowhunting privilege.
Read more about Crossbow Hunting on DEC’s website.
Deer Management
Permit (DMP) Deadline
Hunters are reminded that the application deadline for Deer Management
Permits (DMPs) is Oct. 1.
Prior to applying
for a DMP, hunters should be prepared with the Wildlife Management Unit
(WMU) they intend to hunt. The DMP Availability and Probability of Selection webpage has
more information regarding DMP availability and chances of being selected
in each WMU.
Youth Big Game
Hunt
New York's annual Youth Big Game Hunt occurs Oct. 11-13 for junior hunters
(hunters aged 12-15) accompanied by an experienced, licensed adult hunter.
Only the junior hunter may carry a firearm during the youth hunt.
The Youth Big
Game Hunt takes place throughout the State, except in Suffolk and
Westchester counties and bowhunting-only areas. Licensed 12- to 13-year-old
hunters may only take deer with a firearm in counties that participate in
the youth pilot program. Though junior hunters may have
multiple deer tags, they may only take one deer with a firearm during the
Youth Big Game Hunt. Antlerless deer taken with a firearm may be tagged
with a regular season tag, DMP, or a Deer Management Assistance Program tag,
while antlered deer may only be tagged with the regular season tag.
Additional rules
that apply to junior hunters and their adult mentors can be found on pages
44 and 45 of the Hunting and Trapping Guide or on DEC’s Youth Firearms Hunting webpage.
Help Needed with
Chronic Wasting Disease Sampling
In fall 2024, DEC and the Department of Agriculture and Markets (AGM)
confirmed Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a captive deer
facility in the town of Columbia in southern Herkimer County. CWD is always
fatal in deer, moose, and elk. AGM took immediate action to depopulate and
test the infected captive herd and investigate risks associated with other
captive deer facilities. Simultaneously, DEC responded aggressively to test
for CWD presence among wild deer in the area.
DEC has not found
CWD in wild deer in the area. More testing is needed, and DEC is requesting
that hunters in the towns of Columbia, German Flatts, Litchfield, Warren,
or Winfield in Herkimer County, and the town of Richfield in Otsego County
submit the head of all deer they harvest. See CWD Sampling for drop box locations in each
town.
Venison Donation
Program
Big game hunters are reminded that they can help feed the hungry donating
all or part of their harvested deer through cooperating processors or by
making a monetary contribution to the Venison Donation Program at any license-issuing
outlet.
To reduce the
potential for lead fragments in venison, hunters are encouraged to follow
“best practices” when processing their deer. To eliminate the risk, donate
deer taken with bow or crossbow or use lead-free ammunition. For more
information on best practices for venison processing or lead-free ammunition, visit DEC’s website.
For more
information about DEC's big game hunting seasons, recent rule changes, and hunter safety information including new
requirements to wear hunter orange or pink, go to DEC's website.
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