6/11/15 - Game Code Amendments Approved; Scheduled To Be Effective September 2015

[NJDFW]

6/11/15 - Game Code Amendments Approved; Scheduled To Be Effective September 2015

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[BowhunterNJ]

Some of the highlights that caught my eye.

 

 

26. The Council proposes to amend N.J.A.C. 7:25-5.19(i) to allow for the harvest of

foxes with center-fire or rim-fire rifles during the special permit season. This

proposal corrects an omission from prior Game Codes. Foxes are allowed to be

taken during the special permit season but were omitted from the clause which

describes the weaponry types that can be used to take foxes. See N.J.A.C. 7:25-

5.19(i).

27. The Council is proposing to extend the use of 20-gauge shotguns for coyote and

fox hunting during the special coyote and fox season. Twenty-gauge shotguns are

allowed and effective for deer hunting and, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:25-5.19(a)2,

20-gauge shotguns are allowed during the coyote and fox small game firearm

season. This proposed change to the regulation may encourage young hunters and

women to participate in the special coyote and fox season as these caliber

shotguns are lighter and have less recoil than 12-gauge shotguns, which are the

current minimum size allowed in this subsection. The Council is also proposing

that the maximum shot size is proposed to be standardized at #3 Buckshot. See

N.J.A.C. 7:25-5.19(i) and 5.23(a).

33. The requirement to physically tag a harvested deer was eliminated because of the

requirement to report deer takings through the ADCS (proposed herein for

redesignation as the Automated Harvest Report System (AHRS)) and the

corresponding circumstance that additional possession tags were no longer going

to be issued at a physical deer check station. After two deer seasons reporting deer

takings through the ADCS and a no-tagging requirement for hunters, conservation

officers (CO) have been encountering untagged deer in the backs of trucks with

no hunter present. The unintended result of a no-tagging requirement can leave

the conservation officers unable to determine whether an untagged deer in the

back of a truck has been legally harvested and, if it has been, whether it was

properly registered. They must then track or wait for returning hunters in order to

determine if the deer has been legally harvested and properly registered and

whether or not the hunter is eligible to be actively hunting. Without the hunter’s

Conservation ID number (CID), which is required for all hunters, a check of the

AHRS system to see if the deer has been registered or legally harvested is not

possible. Therefore, the Council proposes to require the tagging of harvested

deer. Having the deer physically tagged will help the conservation officer

determine its legality as untagged deer will be deemed illegally possessed thereby

triggering an investigation by the conservation officer. A tagged deer means that

the officer does not have to conduct such investigation. The tagging of deer will

also ensure that conservation officers do not interrupt a hunt to investigate an

untagged but registered deer. Hunters can use homemade tags filled in with the

hunter’s CID, date of harvest, zone of harvest, antler points, and confirmation

number, if applicable, or the hunter may use tags printed in the Digest. This

proposal is similar to the regulation formerly in effect under the deer check station

system, and it does not place an undue burden on the hunter. See N.J.A.C. 7:25-

5.25( , 5.26( , 5.27( , 5.28©, 5.29(g), and 5.30©.

 

35. In most deer management zones and seasons, hunters must report their harvest

after taking one deer. In deer management zones with overabundant deer

populations and liberal hunting regulations, hunters harvesting deer during the

permit shotgun and permit muzzleloader season may kill two deer before having

to report their harvest. The Council proposes to extend to bow hunters the same

opportunity to kill two deer before having to report their harvest in these same

deer management zones in an effort to better manage burgeoning deer

populations, especially in suburban problem areas where bows are more

commonly used. This proposed requirement would be in effect during the Fall

bow, permit bow, and winter bow hunting seasons in deer management zones in

Regulation Sets 6, 7, and 8. See N.J.A.C. 7:25-5.25( and ©, 5.26( and ©,

and 5.30©.

[Rusty]

I like the change to zone 6.  Extended bow will run through December this year.   

[BowhunterNJ]

Nice I like that about some zones, it's nice to hunt with the bow all through December.