NJ Public Land vs other states

[stratocaster]

On 6/22/2020 at 7:50 PM, thefirstndsecond said:

Nj is the first densely populated state and second behind DC.

Ask yourself.... with that many people do the deer on public land feel pressure.

 

Yes... they sure doooooo

Not to be critical, but DC is not a state. 

[stratocaster]

On 6/23/2020 at 11:55 AM, chenrossi said:

One thing is for sure, no matter how you cut it, you honestly can't gripe about the amount of public space available to hunt (WMA, state PF, federal, county, the list goes on). For the most densely populated state to have available access to a combined area roughly the size of Rhode Island within its boundaries, that is an impressive note. And as such, housing all the opportunity across it for hunters (and anglers) is no easy feat to manage. And the acreage keeps going in the right direction...

Well, there are a couple of ways to look at it.   The total land mass may be = RI but it is spread out over the entire state with some parcels being very small.  Generally, as a state we are not known as a destination state for hunting or fishing, unlike our neighbor PA.   A lot of guys on here may disagree because they haven't hunted other states or may have had a bad experience.  I'm talking in general terms as to what the average hunter or fisherman has available.   I have lived here my whole life and hunted and fished for just about every animal and fish and luckily experienced other states that have unbelievable hunting and fishing.   If all a hunter or fisherman has experienced is NJ and that's it, then it seems to be very good.   I used to think the same thing, until I left for a while and saw with my own eyes what other states offered, on public land and private land.  It really opened my eyes. 

[thefirstndsecond]

4 hours ago, stratocaster said:

Not to be critical, but DC is not a state. 

Absolutely true.. not a state... which is why I said NJ is the most densely populated state and behind dc..

If you google it reads that DC is considered most densely populated.. but dc is not a state so NJ wins again.

We agree.

😁

 

[MZ7Extreme]

Itnic, what's your angle on public land?

[Fred Flintstone]

3 hours ago, Foggy Mountain said:

Guys this is talked about all the time. There’s no mystique about state land. I take many deer and turkey from state land. This is really simple. Don’t pile into the same Bath tub of sorts. 
There’s wmas that are insanely crowded. Guys keep going there. 
Our state has wna, state parks, state forests, land trusts, county land, town hunts, management hunts, etc etc etc. Most these areas see no one cause you’re all crowded into the same 200 acre wma parked so close you can’t get your truck door open. Hunting imo isn’t a social sport. If I saw one guy where I was gonna go I’d move on. Pretty simple. 
People often tout the “just walk further” thing. It could work but with all the illegal driving in, quad usage, deer carts, ebikes, mountain bikes itS sorta silly to “walk further” as a group. Think about that. 
Good distancing techniques can be real easy. The might involve climbing a mountain. I guarantee you’ll walk an awful lot less up a steep mountain and see no one than walking flat land in real far. A simple 100 yard steep face would instantly exclude most guys. 
A reservoir, take a boat to the back side, take a canoe across a swamp. Go through stickers. Don’t be silly enough to cut a path. Not an obvious one anyhow. How bout going down into an area. Another spot most guys ain’t going. They won’t wanna drag up. Hip waders through muck or even across a shallow 10 foot wide stream. 
It ain’t rocket science. You see lots of cars forget that place forever including mid week. Deer still feel pressure days later. Once you get your spots protect them. Someone is working any forum internet scouting. Mark right to go left. Park on the wrong side of the road. Get the hunt stickers off your truck. Let no one see you going in and use no lights especially near a road so no one sees you.
One more thing, if you see trails, forget it. Someone else has too and between the walkers, bikers, quads, trucks, it’ll be too busy for good hunting most times. The options of climbing in with everyone else are silly if you ask me. 
State land in NJ is great. Just look to this board and think about who else is employing any of this. It’s pretty limited. Now add all the lands available. We can all have great hunts. Just might take some extra work 

I Love to Hike up + Down Mountains. Keeps me in shape for Spring + Fall Turkey Hunting.     I take my time going up and enjoy myself. I have had a number of other Spring Turkey Hunters pass me going up some Mountains in Passaic County. Some might be on this site.     Since, I am not exhausted by a mad Dash to the top of a Mountain, I often come out with a Public Turkey Hours later.

[Fred Flintstone]

32 minutes ago, Foggy Mountain said:

That’s exactly what I’m talking about. You’re all going to same place. Not something I’d personally do. Gotta be on a trail

Not exactly.. I use both Trails,Woodsroads and then bushwack off when, I want to and Hike to a secluded area.  I have a 3 Hour Hike of this Type coming up Tomorrow in Sterling Forest. 

[Fred Flintstone]

47 minutes ago, Foggy Mountain said:

If I was passing others I’d personally not find it secluded to my liking. Especially if I was passing them not on a trail. Sounds pretty crowded. Sterling is over 20,000 acres. Full of trails and I’ve never seen anyone unless they were on one.As stated there’s ways to go way less far and be way more alone. We just need to think what causes someone not to want to do it and be willing to ourselves. . 

 

Obviously we use the same methods.. With 121 Turkeys killed and not one of them on Private Land, I must be doing something right..

[ltnic]

12 hours ago, MZ7Extreme said:

Itnic, what's your angle on public land?

Very pro public land, any access opportunity for sportsmen to get out in the field is awesome in my opinion. I hunt both public land and private land. I think this discussion has made it clear that hunting public land can be great, but can also be difficult for a multitude of reasons (especially for first timers or inexperienced hunters), so that's where LandTrust comes in to help.

[Nomad]

On 6/23/2020 at 9:41 AM, Gobblengrunt said:

I see WAY less people on public land than I do on private.  I hunt in northern NJ where we have a great amount of continuous public land.  You have to either go deep or think outside the box to hunt public land successfully.  If your finding mature bucks, there is some way that buck would be avoiding the pressures of people and I will find his secret.  I always have 15-25 cameras out and scout EVERYDAY!  Bucks in the “bigger” northern woods travel quite a bit so I’ve found that most of them I have to get on them quickly and efficiently to kill them, spots change quickly.  I never hunt a stand I don’t think I will kill a big buck in, I don’t waste my time.  There may be days or weeks in between where I don’t have the confidence to sit in a stand so I’m continuously scouting until I find the right spot.  Most bucks I target I will kill within 3 days of actually hunting him.  If I don’t kill him within that time period, it usually means something changed or I screwed up and he knows I’m around.  People are lazy and I take advantage of that.  Hunting NJ public land can be discouraging for most but I’ve found less pressure in the right spots than in most US states probably because I have the time to find the right spots.  Scout smart using the wind, terrain, etc. to your advantage and move or don’t hunt a spot when it’s not right.  Public land you need lots of options.  There has been more times than not where a spot has been blown by either people, bears, at riders, etc. so I always have plan A,B,C, etc.  I have had worst experiences on public land in other states especially out west.

How would it change your hunting if you had no cameras out?

[_X7]

20 hours ago, stratocaster said:

Generally, as a state we are not known as a destination state for hunting or fishing, unlike our neighbor PA.  

Yes we are. I see license plates from more than a few states coming here  to hunt because of their limited ability to hunt because of private land. The ridiculous number of antlerless they can take home draws them to it. And they don't think twice about decimating the resource.  The same with fishing on streams close to populated borders.  

[Fred Flintstone]

Since, I live just a few miles North of New Jersey in Orange County,NY, I can tell members here that Stewart State Forest gets absolutely hammered  by Pheasant + Deer Hunters.  

[Gobblengrunt]

2 hours ago, Nomad said:

How would it change your hunting if you had no cameras out?

Honestly, I probably cant do what i do.  Being that i will only shoot mature trophy bucks, in my areas the bucks will move long distances in a days notice if situations change (food, pressure, predators, etc.). I will only hunt a stand where and when i “know” i will kill a particular deer.  Other than that, im always scouting.  Deer sign in bigger woods may be a far distance from where you are going to kill that deer in daylight.  Cameras have showed me bucks in areas i may have never known where there or where im NOT going to kill them.  Ill scout probably 30-40 hours for every hour i actually sit in a stand.  Its the main part of my hunt and try to really on skill rather than luck.  Checking cameras is exciting to me!

[Fred Flintstone]

7 minutes ago, Gobblengrunt said:

Honestly, I probably cant do what i do.  Being that i will only shoot mature trophy bucks, in my areas the bucks will move long distances in a days notice if situations change (food, pressure, predators, etc.). I will only hunt a stand where and when i “know” i will kill a particular deer.  Other than that, im always scouting.  Deer sign in bigger woods may be a far distance from where you are going to kill that deer in daylight.  Cameras have showed me bucks in areas i may have never known where there or where im NOT going to kill them.  Ill scout probably 30-40 hours for every hour i actually sit in a stand.  Its the main part of my hunt and try to really on skill rather than luck.  Checking cameras is exciting to me!

15- 25 cameras is alot.  All on Public Lands?

[Gobblengrunt]

3 minutes ago, Fred Flintstone said:

15- 25 cameras is alot.  All on Public Lands?

Yes, sometimes more, lol!  

[Scotty155]

I run 10 on public. All are locked and all are elevated during the season.