Local marine military veteran and now outdoor television show host Josh Larsen had a successful hunt Sunday evening from his favorite tree in Chautauqua County. Photo courtesy of PPO-TV

October is flying by, bringing outdoors merriment to the woods and the water, and creating a unique mix of fun zones that occur every year. The full harvest supermoon last week helped hunters and fishermen, with each group sending notes of their success.

The full moon periods trigger the transformation of female deer, enabling the breeding season to occur. According to experts, the peak rut for whitetail deer usually follows the full moon by six to nine days. During both the October and November full moon periods, tree stand hunters and those in a ground blind will see deer romping around in the woods like they want to play or fight. Some of them do fight, especially the bucks. Bucks fight with each other to show their perceived superiority among bachelor groups and to defend their breeding territory zone. This thrilling rut activity creates an exciting advantage for hunters, as bucks often ignore their own common-sense perceptions of danger — namely, the human smell of hunters.

Multiple deer harvests took place this weekend for adults and youth, as the Columbus Day weekend included the special firearm deer season for youth 12-15 years old. Local marine military veteran and now PPO-TV outdoor television show host Josh Larsen had a successful hunt Sunday evening from his favorite tree in Chautauqua County.

“It was such an epic night,” said Larsen, who used an Ape Canyon Outfitter saddle for safety and stealth getting up into his tree. “I had two small bucks behind me watching the entire time. Never once were they spooked. I give credit to the camo; I was using the WTF Camo Altre pattern. There were 20 turkeys in the field as well. This nine-point buck came in; he spotted me and did not get spooked. I filmed him for almost half an hour. He came out at 6 p.m., walked right up to my trail camera and sniffed. I watched him do it. After he spotted me, he tried to work his way upwind. He finally walked into my shooting lane at 37 yards. I adjusted my cameras, drew back my PSE bow, and took the shot. I use Warhead Arrows with an Innerloc Devastation broadhead. Perfect shot. He ran not even 20 yards and dropped. I heard him crash and knew he was heading for the freezer.”

Larsen hunted near Kennedy, in the town of Poland, in DMU 9K. What a hunt. You can watch the entire hunt with Larsen’s comments on PPO-TV, on Larsen’s TV show entitled “The Dream.” PPO-TV is a free streaming app that features a wide variety of outdoor shows. Some of them are Whitetail Frenzy, Hunt Chef, Victory Outdoors and Jimmy Houston Outdoors, which includes his daily devotions show. Congrats Josh.

Larsen was using a conventional compound bow. Note that crossbows are now legal in all NYS big-game hunting seasons where bowhunting is permitted. However, always check the latest online syllabus for your exact hunting area regarding any new rules. Big-game season hunting hours are from a half-hour before sunrise to a half-hour after sunset. With any hunting implement, always be sure of your target and beyond. It’s crucial to respect private property boundaries, especially with the legal crossbow use in the early archery season, as there will be a lot more hunters in the woods during this early archery season.

There is likely to be an increased harvest, so it’s essential to understand the changes to tagging and harvest reporting requirements and follow the rules accordingly.

Some of the more recent regulation changes include print-and-email (paper) tags/licenses. The DEC paper tags/licenses can now be received via email and printed at home, eliminating the need for special DEC paper stock. Backtags are no longer required, but somehow, Big Brother is watching. Good luck to everyone who is headed to the big game woods. Be careful. Be safe. Remember, there are plenty of deer here in Western New York. Good luck in the deer woods.

Gotta love the outdoors.

CALENDAR

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

Oct. 16: Opening day of NYS inland trout catch and release season.

Oct. 16: Southtowns Walleye Association, monthly meeting, 7 p.m., 5895 Southwestern Blvd., Hamburg.

Oct. 16: Lake Erie Chapter of Fly Fishers International, monthly meeting, fly tying 6 p.m., meeting 7p.m. — steelhead fishing in local streams with local experts; Burchfield Nature and Arts Center, 2002 Union Road, West Seneca.

Oct. 18: NYS Western Zone pheasant season opens. Season ends Feb. 28, 2026. See syllabus for bag limits, etc.

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