The ADK Hunt Podcast's GUIDE TO HUNTING THE ADIRONDACKS

So you’ve decided you’d like to hunt the six million-acre Adirondack Park. Maybe you’re a hardcore New England tracker who’s tagged out in Maine or New Hampshire, maybe the Massachusetts governor has ruined your Mass season, or maybe you’re a native New Yorker and you’d like to stop sitting in farm country and start hunting. Whatever the reason, you’re going to need some advice before you start out into this vast country. So this article will give you tips, resources, and advice on what you need to hunt the Adirondacks.

What are the “Adirondacks”

The Adirondack mountains in upstate New York are not part of the Appalachian range, which is a common misconception. Instead, it is a distinct mountain range, more like the Laurentians of Quebec than the Appalachians, geologically speaking.

“Adirondack” is a word that comes from the Iroquois word for their Algonquian enemies, translating to “bark eaters” and meant to denigrate their enemies as being so primitive that they had to eat bark to survive the harsh winters.

The Adirondack mountains are contained within a protected area called the “Adirondack Park.” The Adirondack Park is roughly six million acres, bigger than the entire state of Vermont or New Hampshire. About 2.5 million of that is private land, and 3.5 million is public.

How to hunt the Adirondacks

Being a big woods area, the Adirondacks hold far fewer deer per square mile than suburban or farm country, or even other big woods areas. Because most of the Adirondacks is forest preserve kept “forever wild” in the New York Constitution, most of the woods there is climax forest with very little forest regeneration (unlike Maine which is heavily logged). As a result, it’s not uncommon to hunt all day without seeing a deer. But what the Adirondacks lack in deer is more than made up for in adventure.

The best techniques to use in the Adirondacks are tracking, still-hunting, and sitting. Each of these techniques can be effective if practiced correctly.

What seasons to hunt

Despite being known for its big cities and its liberal politics, New York has some of the best hunting opportunities of any big woods state. If you include the first week of early muzzleloader, New York’s Northern Zone gun season runs a full seven weeks, until early December. (The Adirondacks are included entirely within the Northern Zone).

The rifle season is pretty straight forward, and will promptly end in the whole northern zone on the same date each year. Where it gets trickier is muzzleloader—parts of the Adirondacks have late muzzleloader, while other parts are closed. You will have to study the “Wildlife Management Unit” maps to see whether you can hunt late-muzzleloader in any given spot.

If you struck out in the Adirondacks and you still want to pursue a Big Woods Buck in New York, don’t sleep on the Catskill Mountains (like Rip Van Winkle)—at 700,000 acres, Catskill Park has some impressive wilderness and plenty of mountain bucks to chase, which, with late muzzleloader season and the new “holiday hunt,” can keep you busy right through New Year’s Day.

How to find a spot to hunt

Although certain tracts of private land are open to hunting, generally you are going to want to concentrate on the public land to find a hunting spot. Having OnX Hunt on your smartphone is indispensable for e-scouting and to make sure you are on public. (Use code “BWB” to get 10% off your new OnX subscription). Almost all public land in the Adirondacks is open to hunting.

Keep in mind that there are very few roads in the Adirondacks. If you are hunting big forest preserve tracts of land, you will likely not be able to drive very far. Instead, you will need to find a parking spot and maybe a hiking trail to access the back country. Because some of the best country in the Adirondacks is accessible only by foot, many Adirondack hunters hike in lightweight “hot tents” that allow them to get back further and stay warm with lightweight titanium stoves. (Seek Outside is the best choice for back country tent hunts).

Not all private land is closed to hunting. A lot of timber land is open to the public for hunting under “conservation easements,” in which the land can be used in an almost identical fashion to public land. To figure out what private land you can hunt—and to find parking spots and trails to walk in, check out the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (“DEC”) “Info Locator” map. This great tool can gives you a detailed interactive map of the entire state, showing public land, private land with easements, parking spots, camping sites, trails, WMU borders, and much more.

What to wear

Like any other big woods hunting destination, the Adirondacks can present brutal, quickly changing weather conditions that can challenge even the most seasoned outdoorsman. Because of this, it’s important to have proper wool hunting gear that will keep you warm even when wet. The Big Woods Bucks “Tracker Jacket” is a great choice, and Minus33 Merino wool base layers and socks are essential gear as well. Having proper wool clothing is not just the difference between getting a buck or not, which it very well might be—it could also save your life.

As Hal Blood likes to say, “taking a big woods buck on his own turf is an achievement like no other in hunting.” So get out there into the mountains and have a Big Woods Adventure!

Stay up-to-date with the latest in Adirondack hunting by tuning in to the ADIRONDACK HUNT PODCAST.