New York Age Questioned With a minimum age of 16 to hunt deer with a firearm, New York has the highest hunting age requirement in America. Coupling that fact with a slide in the state’s hunter population in recent years, some New Yorkers have begun to question whether it’s time for a change. News stories over the past week, including a front-page feature in The Journal News and an article in the Albany Times-Union, have put the spotlight on this issue.