You gotta be kidding me. What WERE they allowed to hunt with, pointy sticks? Rocks? Bette Midler movies played at max volume to convince the bears to commit suicide?
Only shotguns, muzzleloaders, handguns, bows and arrows were allowed for big game in those counties, otherwise you should refer to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the respective counties. They were paranoid because of the range of centerfire rifle ammo and where the round finally landed. Here's the map.