Whittingham wma bow hunting

[rgw]

I know when I drive through the pines on rt 539 I see deer all the time.

[Rackattackf7]

I'm heading up to Pittsburg, NH in Nov to walk around in search of deer.  I feel you pain.  It's more of a hiking trip than deer hunting.  The moose population is also down, they've moved into Canada and ME.  One theory I heard was because of the ticks.  It was causing high mortality on the calves and spreading disease.  Warm winters to blame.

 

I grew up in Nashua.

Good Luck, this state is terrible hunting

[JHbowhunter]

I would not say all public land "up north" is as bad as the WMAs...   There is a lot of public land - the one he selected probably now has the lowest deer densities when 15 years ago it may have been the highest. ...    "Unlimited Antlerless", string of brutal winters, abnormally high populations of coyotes and bears eventually take their toll - but man is still probably the #1 nemesis to the deer herd.

 

I know of a group of guys that come down to NJ from VT every year with bows with the sole purpose of "freezer filling" and do very well on northern public land - but it's not WMA or State land.  Not going to spot burn it for others either, but it's all there on the map.

 

The OP may also want to consider CT - I believe their seasons are as liberal if not worse as NJ.

[Nomad]

Good Luck, this state is terrible hunting

Maybe, but you might get one like this, killed in Wolfsboro, NH. 

Edited September 22, 2016 by Nomad

[Haskell_Hunter]

Deer herd in S. NH is better than in the north.  Anyplace south of Concord has a pretty decent season.  Another advantage in NH is that if the land isn't posted, you can hunt it even if it's private property.  So there's a lot of land that is available to hunt, and the pressure gets moved around a good amount.  When I grew up in Nashua, I never saw a single deer; not even a deer sign.  Now there are bears, turkey, and deer in Nashua and northern MA.

 

NJ northern public lands do get a lot of pressure, there's no doubt about that.  There are still deer out there, they're just harder to find and you need to put in a good amount of pre-season work to find their spots and travel routes.  If you don't put the time in scouting, chances are you won't see deer.

[3Blade]

I second what RGW said and will take it further and say you picked one of the most pressured states that has seen its herd drastically reduced in the last 5 years. Sorry if this comes across as not nice, just be being honest, if guys know where there are decent numbers of deer on public land they probably will not share that info on a public forum due to spot burn. Good luck this season.

[DV1]

I've hunted NE Pa each year for the last few years and seen more deer in a day than I do in 2 weeks here on public land. Now, to be fair, most of my hunting there is private land in rifle season but in bow season the public land I've been to hasn't been too crowded, is probably closer to you and I believe the non resident license is cheaper. The plentiful NJ deer herds of a decade ago have been reduced by more than half, not what it used to be anywhere.

[Rusty]

Here's a list of public land.  Avoid areas with easy access and areas that stock pheasant.  

 

http://njfishandwildlife.com/huntland.htm

[Bucksnbows]

NJ is not unique in any way; we are one of dozens and dozens of states that saw an unsustainable deer herd that has been, by design, cut about in half from its peak in the late 90s.  Posters here, as you will quickly find out, typically base their opinions on when they started hunting.  Old timers like me (51 with 41 years deer hunting) will tell you that northern NJ had few deer when we began and then we watched as the herds grew and grew to a point where instead of not seeing more than a couple does in a full day's sit, we saw dozens and shot one early in the day (late 90s into the early 00s).  Now the numbers are somewhere between those of the 70s and those of the late 90s.  Sustainable for our forests, but not enough for many of the hunters that only know huge herd numbers from the fairly recent past.  

 

My guess is that NJ's reputation out of state remains one where everyone thinks we still have way too many, but that is not the case.  Ungulates (deer, caribou, moose, elk, mulies, etc.) grown larger the further north you go, but their numbers also decrease overall.  That is a biological fact that deer nerds like Rusty can confirm  So you may find NJ's deer numbers excellent when compared to NH's deer numbers.  Our individual experiences are what drive our opinions, and often facts have little to do with our arguments in this area.  Nothing right now is a hotter topic in hunting than the decrease in whitetail deer numbers in nearly all states that they exist.  NJ is no different....  

[GhostBear]

I started hunting in the late 80's about 88-89 and saw the herds of deer! In the 90's till now I've hunted at various WMA's Peaquest and Whittingham being the ones I hunted most, at whittingham during that time it was a common thing to see 30-40 plus deer in EVERY field at prime time! Same with peaquest, just tons of them but you could see the damage the deer where doing, there was no ground cover or any type of under brush, and the browse line was as clear as day, it was unreal. The numbers are way down now but there are still plenty to be found but now you gotta work for them! Would I like to see those numbers again? Hell yeah!! But I know it's not healthy for the deer or the woods, so I make do and still get my 2 a year, in some parts of the state on private land those numbers can still be found. But bucksnbows is right about this being better for both the deer and the woods, but still wouldn't mind a 3 deer limit!!lol

[DV1]

Well, a bit of advice for the OP: maybe you should go check the other site. I stopped in there today (yes, I admit it) to see what had been happening and see where numerous guys are killing big bucks on state land. One hunter claims his state land spots are loaded with big bucks, and another claims he always shoots big bucks on public land (and he has the pics of dead deer to prove it). So, it seems the public lands in North Jersey really are full of big bucks as a bunch of them have already been killed this year.

 

By the way, we have a few guys in South Jersey who claim to kill big bucks on public land every year too, but I know where they really come from and it ain't public. Not saying that is what is happening up north but...I know for a fact it is down here. 

[smoking gun]

Well, a bit of advice for the OP: maybe you should go check the other site. I stopped in there today (yes, I admit it) to see what had been happening and see where numerous guys are killing big bucks on state land. One hunter claims his state land spots are loaded with big bucks, and another claims he always shoots big bucks on public land (and he has the pics of dead deer to prove it). So, it seems the public lands in North Jersey really are full of big bucks as a bunch of them have already been killed this year.

 

By the way, we have a few guys in South Jersey who claim to kill big bucks on public land every year too, but I know where they really come from and it ain't public. Not saying that is what is happening up north but...I know for a fact it is down here. 

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