WMU 8C, New York
Unit info
- Game species
- Deer, Turkey
- Group
- Zone 8
- Area
- 145 mi²
- Public land
- N/A
White-tailed Deer — season & harvest
- Reported harvest
- 290
Draw odds for White-tailed Deeraren't on file for this unit yet. Check your state wildlife agency website for current draw statistics.
Season & harvest data is published for White-tailed Deer so far. Deer, Turkey also occur here — that data can be added as the community contributes.
About this unit
AI-compiled · sourcedWMU 8C covers the suburban Buffalo fringe and Niagara River corridor in Erie and Niagara counties, including Grand Island, and is a bowhunting-only unit where no firearms or muzzleloaders are permitted for deer — a safety-zone designation driven by dense suburban development. Despite the archery-only restriction, deer densities are high in this agricultural and suburban edge habitat, and unlimited antlerless Deer Management Permits (DMPs) are available, with bonus DMP eligibility when a first DMP is filled.
Low-elevation Great Lakes plain dominated by suburban/exurban development interspersed with agricultural fields, woodlots, riparian corridors, and Niagara River wetlands. Grand Island sits in the upper Niagara River between Lake Erie and Niagara Falls, offering river-edge floodplain and brushland habitat. Elevation is uniformly flat at roughly 560-600 ft. Soils are fertile and deer numbers benefit from agricultural edge and suburban food sources.
moderate
WMU 8C has no DMP quota cap — all applicants receive antlerless DMPs. Bonus DMP available if first DMP is filled. Antlered deer tags may be used for deer of either sex during bowhunting seasons in this unit. No youth firearms or crossbow-only deer seasons are held here.
DEER: Archery/crossbow only for all deer seasons (bowhunting-only WMU). Regular firearms and muzzleloader seasons do NOT apply. Archery season runs approximately Oct 1 – Nov 14 and Dec 8 – Dec 16; no separate regular firearms season. DMPs unlimited (no quota). Bonus DMP available on filling first DMP. TURKEY: Spring turkey season open statewide (Zone 8 Southern Zone), typically opening late April with a youth weekend preceding; two bearded birds per spring season, one per day. Fall turkey season open in western New York fall zone, typically October–November, either sex, one bird. BEAR: No bear season in WMU 8C — black bear range in New York does not extend into the suburban Buffalo/Erie County lowlands of this unit.
Bowhunting-only unit (no firearms, no muzzleloaders for deer) due to suburban safety-zone designation. High deer densities in suburban/agricultural edge habitat make this a productive archery unit. Unlimited antlerless tags via DMP system. Grand Island and the Niagara River corridor offer unique riparian hunting. Fall turkey season available; spring turkey hunting open statewide. Bear season not applicable — WMU 8C is outside New York bear range in western New York near Buffalo.
Questions, tips & discussion
Ask anything about WMU 8C— or drop a tip or trick: access points, where game holds, glassing spots, conditions, crowding, gear that worked. This is where the unit's species-specific intel gets built, hunter by hunter.
Nothing posted yet about WMU 8C.
Be the first — ask a question (“Best public access on the north end?”) or share a tip (“Glass the burn scars off the main ridge at first light”).
Boundaries: NYSDEC official Wildlife Management Units. Community info last updated 23d ago.