Gillies Hill State Forest: a hunter's guide for 2026-27

How you may hunt Gillies Hill State Forest

DEC state land rules for state forests, multiple use areas and similar tracts apply on Gillies Hill State Forest:

• A stand on Gillies Hill State Forest cannot be fixed to a tree with nails or bolts, and lanes may not be cut.
• Label any portable stand on Gillies Hill State Forest with your name and address or hunting license number; it can stay through the season but must be gone at its close.
• Leaving gear, cameras included, on Gillies Hill State Forest breaks the state land rules.
• No motor vehicle leaves the maintained roads on Gillies Hill State Forest unless DEC designates the route.
• Camping is allowed under the state land rules, with a permit when one is required.

New York rules that apply on Gillies Hill State Forest too

• Firearm deer and bear hunters, and anyone with them, wear 250 square inches of fluorescent orange or pink above the waist, or a hat that is at least half orange or pink.
• Mind the 500-foot firearm setback from dwellings and farm buildings near the boundary.
• Bait, salt licks and mineral attractants are illegal for deer and bear, and feeding them is banned year-round.
• Sundays are open statewide; only a site rule can close them.

From DEC gillies hill state forest, DEC state land use rules, DEC Places to Hunt, 2026-27 DEC guide; checked October 27, 2026.

WMU 9P rules that reach Gillies Hill State Forest

WMU 9P is the unit that counts for Gillies Hill State Forest: Southern Zone, 582 square miles, in Allegany, Livingston and Steuben. 6,400 Deer Management Permits are the 2026 goal for 9P (average success 26.3%; resident first DMP: med). Bear rules in 9P follow the Southern Zone area. 9P fall turkey season: Oct. 17-30.

9P: deer by season

The 9P deer take moved from 3,613 (2016) to 5,124 (2022).

9P bear take by year: 2020 25; 2021 20; 2022 16; 2023 19; 2024 35; 2025 24.

9P bear objective: maintain moderate bear density.

WMU facts from the 2026 DMP table, the 2026-27 DEC guide, DEC deer take reports and the DEC bear harvest dashboard; WMU from the DEC WMU layer; checked October 27, 2026.

Gillies Hill State Forest: town and county harvest

Deer take for the town of Birdsall reached 270 in 2019, per DEC.

Black bears by town: Birdsall, 2020, 2; Birdsall, 2021, 1; Allen, 2020, 1; Allen, 2021, 1.

Across Allegany County, DEC counted 9,179 deer taken in 2025.

DEC deer take by town and county (towns 2007-2019), county deer take 2021-2025 and DEC bear take by town; checked October 27, 2026.

Gillies Hill State Forest: first and last legal light

Spring turkey hunting ends at noon, fall turkey and upland birds run sunrise to sunset, and big game gets the half hour on each end.

Times are local clock time, with Daylight Saving Time where it applies.

Hours rule from the DEC guide sunrise and sunset page; sun times calculated for the county centre (NOAA method), checked against the guide’s Albany table; checked October 27, 2026. Legal hours for every county.