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If you are available next weekend I can make the trip, as Im out in Wanaque. If you find a taker before then, feel free to give. Just keep me posted if you would. Thanks again!

Hi! Im new to hunting. Very interested. However, I cant yet pull a 60lb draw weight. Not sure this could work for me. Any suggestions? Thanks!

I love logging in (no pun intended) to NJW&W. I keep learning knew stuff. I think I'm equally impressed at how organized you are with your previous posts. Ha!

That's my kind of wood pile! Rusty, how the heck did you do that? Did you seriously measure every section of tree you made before you sawed it? Impressive! Haha

Chip on the shoulder aside. That situation sounds too easy to get flustered about and not too-difficult to use as a teaching lesson. We don't know what we don't know. Its confusing to grow up in a culture where ppl were frugal-by-necessity and then those same people abandoned every inch of that attitude for the sake of their creature-comforts, NOT because of an awareness of the lack of sustainability their actions contributing to. Except for naivete and an unnecessary rudeness, that young gal was right in her point that mindfulness to the bigger picture matters. And the older woman was right too, in her reflection on past practices being more Earth-friendly. But she should not pretend that her generation was mindful in their actions. Both actions and intent matter.

Ha! solid advice. Fortunately, after growing up in MN and doing a lot of deep-woods backpacking in the BWCA, I at least have that one covered! Unfortunately, sometimes we must learn the hard way, no?

Excellent. Nope. I was thinking of public land to start. My coworker's boyfriend has some large property out near Phillipsburg, but he strikes me as super territorial about it. I'm going to inquire regardless in the near-future. Which do you usually hunt on, and is public land actually prolific at all? I noticed NJSFFC offers big$ insurance w/ membership. Is that actually a useful thing to have when asking folks if you can hunt on their private property? Excellent. Solid advice on the turkeys. Any idea why that is? I've read that deer that are at all anticipatory can crouch before an arrow is loose, changing the shot's placement. Is that the reason? I'd assume turkey don't do this. Also, for some reason this response gets me thinking about a somewhat off-topic and probably a painful noob question. I've harvested many chickens before, but never dressed a turkey. Anybody know if there are any real differences (besides the size)? Finally, your username suggests you might be from Haskell. If that's right, I'm surprised that you'd have enough space in your back yard to shoot as my limited familiarity of the town seems like most lots are pretty cozy. Have you ever had neighbors give you grief for backyard target practice, or are you lucky enough to more elbow-room than I'm assuming? I'm going to be moving to Wanaque in a few months and curious how the area handles that.

Haha- JUST went to edit my post. RGW gets props on that one. And thank you also RGW!!! My bad; sorry! Haha Y'all rock.

Birdhouse. Bet.

Haha, Matty! Thanks for clarification on the Kaitlyn reference; that makes a lot more sense now! Given everybody's great feedback and advice (thank you all), I am now strongly leaning toward starting with a compound bow & turkey. Though I've only shot a recurve before, it felt entirely organic in my hands. I'm guessing that would translate well to the compound. I'm also incredibly impressed with the compound bow's versatility in accommodating different draw weights and ability to hunt so many different species of animals (with obvious varying levels of difficulty). Additionally, though I have about 2 inches and 10 pounds on your brother's GF, shotguns are a little awkward. Well, at least the 12 ga Stoger and Binelli were that I used last fall to shoot traps. I fell in love with the Binelli, but can't tell if the 12 ga is a weight I'd acclimate to, or that would end up being annoying. I will look into the two you recommended- the NJ hunter ed videos referred specifically to the Remington 870 as well. I don't at the moment have the money to purchase both a shotgun and a decent bow, but I love the idea of having and being more than competent with both, and that's a definite goal. I love the idea of the gathering in Chester (or a different range if that suits folks better)! Is that the place where they have traps on Thursdays off of Route 206? I go past there on my way home from work a few days a week. As for this Saturday, I have plans currently but thank you so much for the invite! I may reach out to you in the future if that's okay to see if there are other similar such opportunities where I might tag along. I have my workbook filled out and all the videos & study guide reviewed. Now its just a matter of practicing a little with a weapon. I'll probably go to the range that my husband frequents to practice and use one that hunter ed provides. Anyone know what gauge they typically use? I assume a larger gauge since even 10 y/os are able to take the test. As for Rusty, we've never yet met. He was the first to offer me a really warm welcome here @ NJW&W and to introduce me to others. He got the conversation started, and pointed me in the direction of member Ms Grit who has been also wonderful in guiding me. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST! I'm going to focus on purchasing a bow and Ms Grit lives not far from me; will probably take her up on target practice but might also need some help tuning it. I'll keep in mind that you are good with this and might seek your assistance to tune once I've got it. Thanks so much! Ha- I never would have thought! This is extremely useful info; thanks! Not a reason for me not to hunt them or eat them, but certainly a reason enough to make the wild turkey I know I love more interesting to pursue.

Nomad- your tone implies that perhaps deer and turkey sightings are about the most exciting thing to happen on your property in a really long time. I feel for ya if that's the case.

WOW. So much great feedback and so much to respond to. Thanks guys! Rusty- thanks for starting this feed; super helpful. Batsto- I have an incredible lot to learn, but fortunately one thing I do have going for me is my fairly decent experience with back-woods. Grew up in MN where there's a pretty decent culture of appreciation for the outdoors, wildlife, and the awareness of our interdependence on each other. Realized this year that I'm slowly dying inside being disconnected from that and the only cure for it is to find ways to get back to that connection. Along with the other perks it offers, hunting is my decided means to that end. OneDay121o- When you mention "THE compendium" are you referring to something specific? I assume you just mean 'know your shit,' yes? Lunatic- Great point! To clarify, I grew up well-acquainted with the outdoors/deep woods, but not to hunting. Virtually nobody I know in NJ is a hunter or has any interest in it. But if hunters as a group are anything like the fishers and backpackers I know, I have no doubt in time I will find a tribe of people. Those folks are easy to talk to and happy to share knowledge, except perhaps hot fishing spots. LOL. Also, I thought hunting with cross bows were illegal in NJ, except for ppl with disabilities? Assuming your friend either has a disability or hunts in another state? Does she hunt solo for deer? Please forgive my noob assumption but I hadn't considered the difficulty of dressing a deer. I am much stronger than I look, but also a slight build. I just assumed large game hunting was a group thing and a group effort even after the kill? Couple references to "njh". What's this? Matty- Not sure where I want to start. That's part of why I joined NJW&W. I planned to start hunting small game with my .22 rifle until I learned that there's really no place for that gun in NJ unless I wanted to hunt coyote, and I highly doubt that's a wise place to begin hunting. So I've been reading as much as I can to help me make a wise purchase choice. I'm thinking of either purchasing an air gun for small game, or a compound bow and practicing like hell with it this year. I figure if I spend this year with my free time spent in books and at the range, I will eventually be able to find others to learn with/from by the time I'm really ready to get out there. Tcook8296- Nope. Truly short for Kathryn, but not even my parents got away with calling me by that name. You are free to call me pretty much any variant of Kathryn, including Kaitlyn. Any particular reason why you ask?

Thanks much for the warm welcome rgw, and for the "intro" to other females. MUCH appreciated!

Hello! My name is Kate and I live in Sussex County. I grew up in Minnesota and have been backpacking, canoeing, and fishing as long as I can remember. Always wanted to hunt, but the family didn't for some reason encourage gals toward that end aside from target-shooting. Decided to dig my heels in on my own; just obtained my hunter education course and am soaking up all the info I can from seasoned folks. Glad to meet ya!