No bucks in sight since Six Day-anyone else?

[Kype]

same thing happen to a state land i use to hunt. after six day you can forget about seeing any bucks. i would say find the thickest cover you can find and try hunting that. 

[Nomad]

If you can, sit somewhere away from the bait in thick cover with good trails and sign.  Good luck.

[tcook8296]

1 hour ago, Greybeard said:

Only seen a few all year, besides the 3 I shot.  It just keeps getting worse each year with more and more doe being shot off.

You are right it has been getting worse each year. 

What you are seeing is the price we are paying for a combination of things. 

Baiting, not much hunting going on any more   

The younger generation of hunters think hunting is dropping 100s of pounds of apples and corn. 

Reduction of the safety zone for archery. 

Basically any house that borders a woodlot has a hunter in the back yard. 

Legalization of crossbows. Not trying to spark a debate but the crossbow is basically an extension of the gun season. 

Unlimited does. Insane

6 buck tags Insane

September through February hunting season Insane. 

There used to  be a break between seasons, now the deer never catch a break. 

Deer drives on public land. 

Farmer permits, round the clock nonstop  shooting of deer. 

Trespassing and poaching also play a role. Seems to be quite a few slimeballs out there. 

Unsustainable the way its going and its coming around now. 

For those lucky enough to not be affected by any of this, enjoy it while it lasts your day is coming. 

To answer the question, I had 4 good bucks on camera, 1 def shooter 11 pt over 140, a 10 pt I passed in the 130s and several nice 8s pope and young that were passed. Every one gone since Nov 9th. 

The majority of deer I see are does. You can drive by most fields by me and not see a single deer by me. 

My food plots are loaded every night with easily 20 to 30 deer on an average evening. 

Bucks are just not making it. 

I have probably have half a dozen bucks that wouldnt go 115. 

50 acres of unpressured land, 

35 acres of sanctuary and 5 acres of food plots. 

Pretty pathetic if you ask me. 

 

Edited December 28, 2019 by tcook8296

[vdep217]

17 minutes ago, tcook8296 said:

You are right it has been getting worse each year. 

What you are seeing is the price we are paying for a combination of things. 

Baiting, not much hunting going on any more   

The younger generation of hunters think hunting is dropping 100s of pounds of apples and corn. 

Reduction of the safety zone for archery. 

Basically any house that borders a woodlot has a hunter in the back yard. 

Legalization of crossbows. Not trying to spark a debate but the crossbow is basically an extension of the gun season. 

Unlimited does. Insane

6 buck tags Insane

September through February hunting season Insane. 

There used to  be a break between seasons, now the deer never catch a break. 

Deer drives on public land. 

Farmer permits, round the clock nonstop  shooting of deer. 

Trespassing and poaching also play a role. Seems to be quite a few slimeballs out there. 

Unsustainable the way its going and its coming around now. 

For those lucky enough to not be affected by any of this, enjoy it while it lasts your day is coming. 

 

While I agree with some points I do not agree with the unsustainability the numbers of harvest totals prove that being relatively constant each year with ups and downs..  I hunt a heavily hunted wma and actually had one of my better seasons,  albeit only 3 doe days after buck week and 2 deer,  I also hunt 16 21.  The state needs to micro manage areas not just per zone that I can get with,  wmas private etc.. as there could be a big numbers difference in just a short few mile span

Edited December 28, 2019 by vdep217

[BHC]

23 minutes ago, tcook8296 said:

You are right it has been getting worse each year. 

What you are seeing is the price we are paying for a combination of things. 

Baiting, not much hunting going on any more   

The younger generation of hunters think hunting is dropping 100s of pounds of apples and corn. 

Reduction of the safety zone for archery. 

Basically any house that borders a woodlot has a hunter in the back yard. 

Legalization of crossbows. Not trying to spark a debate but the crossbow is basically an extension of the gun season. 

Unlimited does. Insane

6 buck tags Insane

September through February hunting season Insane. 

There used to  be a break between seasons, now the deer never catch a break. 

Deer drives on public land. 

Farmer permits, round the clock nonstop  shooting of deer. 

Trespassing and poaching also play a role. Seems to be quite a few slimeballs out there. 

Unsustainable the way its going and its coming around now. 

For those lucky enough to not be affected by any of this, enjoy it while it lasts your day is coming. 

To answer the question, I had 4 good bucks on camera, 1 def shooter 11 pt over 140, a 10 pt I passed in the 130s and several nice 8s pope and young that were passed. Every one gone since Nov 9th. 

The majority of deer I see are does. You can drive by most fields by me and not see a single deer by me. 

My food plots are loaded every night with easily 20 to 30 deer on an average evening. 

Bucks are just not making it. 

I have probably have half a dozen bucks that wouldnt go 115. 

50 acres of unpressured land, 

35 acres of sanctuary and 5 acres of food plots. 

Pretty pathetic if you ask me. 

 

110% on point

[MGHunter66]

By now if you’re hunting the same locations it’s doubtful to see many. They have learned the ropes by now and adjusted to it. Some areas they used at night are abandoned simply because they are preserving energy now and finding areas they don’t get bothered at all (close to houses)is the norm. I don’t go along with this trend that the good ones aren’t around and NJ sucks blah blah blah. Look at the bucks that were shot and posted on this site alone this year. A lot of good ones and it does seem a lot of guys are holding out and not just shooting anything. Jack shot a 170”, and two other guys i know shot a 153” and 167”. That’s a pretty good percentage of bucks over 140”within a small group of guys. 

Edited December 28, 2019 by MGHunter66

[buckhound]

I think every area has different problems, in my area zone 34 and 45  I don't think the 6 buck were  a big issue for years we had plenty of bucks year after year they may not have been big racks but bucks none the less then the state decided we needed to kill more so unlimited doe tags come along, and more guys driving with muzzy and permit shotgun shooting anything that moves. made me sick the first few years of the two day muzzy before six day everywhere you went you would find dead deer bucks , doe yearling didnt matter, because they don't have time to look because they had to get to the next drive. when you kill of the doe herd you have less bucks and thats what I seen happening. and I agree driving has gotten out of hand I remember most driving was during 6 day maybe doe day if guys could take off but that was usually a few drives and thats it. now a days they start driving in October with crossbows and don't stop until jan 31st end of winter bow , I know a group of guys that work for them selves or own construction type businesses and go at least half the week every week or more and drive the same small drives each week at least twice a week and can't  understand why the deer moved on  . many pieces of woods that one time was not driven because of size that allowed bucks to replace those killed in the smaller pieces each year given a steady supply of bucks each year are now cut up and driven because the clubs need enough deer to give a fair share to each member so not to lose them, bringing me to my last point of some clubs shooting does during six day buck only week to give members meat ,I love to shoot big bucks as much as the next guy but we can not expect everyone to want to hunt that way. yes we need some changes but they need to be changes so everyone can hunt the way they want. this is my opinion and observation from the area I have hunted for about 40 years...

Edited December 28, 2019 by buckhound

[hammer4reel]

31 minutes ago, MGHunter66 said:

By now if you’re hunting the same locations it’s doubtful to see many. They have learned the ropes by now and adjusted to it. Some areas they used at night are abandoned simply because they are preserving energy now and finding areas they don’t get bothered at all (close to houses)is the norm. I don’t go along with this trend that the good ones aren’t around and NJ sucks blah blah blah. Look at the bucks that were shot and posted on this site alone this year. A lot of good ones and it does seem a lot of guys are holding out and not just shooting anything. Jack shot a 170”, and two other guys i know shot a 153” and 167”. That’s a pretty good percentage of bucks over 140”within a small group of guys. 

Nj big bucks has had  plenty of pictures of great bucks .anyone would shoot in ANY state .

Not having breaks in the seasons just adds too much pressure and puts deer into small tight unhuntable spots .

 

.shortening the seasons and the bag limits would create a more quality hunt .

But too many guys think they need the 6 months to shoot a buck  , so change won't happen .

 

.

 

[Mallard1100]

Get off the bait piles and dependence on cameras and you would be surprised what you might run in to......

[electric10162]

I saw more bucks on my farm this year than any other. Three definite shooters and at least six 2.5 year old 8s and 9s. Once the third week of November rolled around and rut pretty much over most bucks disappeared. That usually happens but they reappear after six day. Not the case this year. I have a bunch of bucks that have dropped already. I really believe my two big shooters may have dropped antlers before six day. I still have 30 to 40 does each night in the fields.

[tcook8296]

1 hour ago, MGHunter66 said:

By now if you’re hunting the same locations it’s doubtful to see many. They have learned the ropes by now and adjusted to it. Some areas they used at night are abandoned simply because they are preserving energy now and finding areas they don’t get bothered at all (close to houses)is the norm. I don’t go along with this trend that the good ones aren’t around and NJ sucks blah blah blah. Look at the bucks that were shot and posted on this site alone this year. A lot of good ones and it does seem a lot of guys are holding out and not just shooting anything. Jack shot a 170”, and two other guys i know shot a 153” and 167”. That’s a pretty good percentage of bucks over 140”within a small group of guys. 

Some very good bucks shot this year. 

I can tell you there is a story to go with almost every big buck killed in this state. Whether or not you get the 100 percent truthful story or not one will never know. Lots of these bucks are shot in areas were they are not supposed to be, gray areas or areas for special people only. 

However, across the state, that is not common as to what the majority of NJ hunters are seeing and experiencing. 

Not many guys hunting NJ have a legit 150 on the wall and the way the seasons and regs stand now, most will never see one. 

Lots of guys holding out for good bucks, dont mean they will shoot a big one and dont mean the deer will survive when they walk off the property. Its a gamble. 

Edited December 28, 2019 by tcook8296

[MGHunter66]

3 minutes ago, tcook8296 said:

However, across the state, that is not common as to what the majority of NJ hunters are seeing and experiencing

Same goes for a lot of hunters throughout the midwest that don’t have private property or a lease. 

[tcook8296]

6 minutes ago, MGHunter66 said:

Same goes for a lot of hunters throughout the midwest that don’t have private property or a lease. 

Most guys I know go to the midwest because their chances are better at a big whitetail than in NJ because there are more of them. 

The buck limits and seasons and some states no baiting allow deer to live longer. 

A lot of nonresidents arent successful just based on most are tring to kill a trophy class whitetail in a week or less

Edited December 28, 2019 by tcook8296

[MGHunter66]

39 minutes ago, hammer4reel said:

Nj big bucks has had  plenty of pictures of great bucks .anyone would shoot in ANY state .

Not having breaks in the seasons just adds too much pressure and puts deer into small tight unhuntable spots .

 

.shortening the seasons and the bag limits would create a more quality hunt .

But too many guys think they need the 6 months to shoot a buck  , so change won't happen .

 

.

 

While I agree somewhat, where do you shorten the season? Some guys love early season and patterning a buck, others love late October through the rut. Others sit out December gun pressure and love winter bow. So in reality each group that wants seasons shortened wants it to be a season THEY don’t hunt. Bowhunters will always ask for no guns in January and February, gun hunters will say the opposite and want bow shortened. Never will both groups give an inch, that’s where the problem lies. 

[MGHunter66]

1 minute ago, tcook8296 said:

Most guys I know go to the midwest because their chances are better at a big whitetail than in NJ because there are more of them. 

The buck limits and seasons and some states no baiting allow deer to live longer. 

Can’t disagree with that. All I am saying is there is a relationship when it comes to public land. Two of my good friends live in the midwest. Both tell me there are bigger bucks on their public pieces but nowhere near what most think. They are far and few between