Hunting NJ

[hammer4reel]

Deer have learned to be nocturnal for months now due to there being no breaks in the season .

go look in the same  fields in February , and you will see 5 times the deer being seen now .

the length of seasons has watered down the quality of the hunts .

shorter seasons with breaks between them giving the deer time to relax and feed in normal daylight hours would make the hunting experience better .

.

[JHbowhunter]

1 minute ago, hammer4reel said:

Deer have learned to be nocturnal for months now due to there being no breaks in the season .

go look in the same  fields in February , and you will see 5 times the deer being seen now .

the length of seasons has watered down the quality of the hunts .

shorter seasons with breaks between them giving the deer time to relax and feed in normal daylight hours would make the hunting experience better .

.

Haha I think we both just said the same thing.  

[vdep217]

3 minutes ago, hammer4reel said:

Deer have learned to be nocturnal for months now due to there being no breaks in the season .

go look in the same  fields in February , and you will see 5 times the deer being seen now .

the length of seasons has watered down the quality of the hunts .

shorter seasons with breaks between them giving the deer time to relax and feed in normal daylight hours would make the hunting experience better .

.

I have two spots on pretty heavily hunted public lands tgat I get very few night pictures even now.  Maybe got lucky and found a sweet spot between feeding and the bedroom but not having issues seeing deer

[_X7]

14 minutes ago, JHbowhunter said:

To @BHC ‘s point - public land gets way too much pressure to hold a high deer density.  They get pushed into areas that are not hunted. Get access near those areas it is a honey hole.  NJ could fix this with better regulations.  Shorter seasons less buck tags and no deer driving public land would make for better quality hunting overall. 

I agree Jack, but the crying will flood us out.

[ModernOutdoorsMan]

18 minutes ago, hammer4reel said:

Deer have learned to be nocturnal for months now due to there being no breaks in the season .

go look in the same  fields in February , and you will see 5 times the deer being seen now .

the length of seasons has watered down the quality of the hunts .

shorter seasons with breaks between them giving the deer time to relax and feed in normal daylight hours would make the hunting experience better .

.

Hunting is a wildlife management tool, the seasons are as long as they are because success is so low, no? You could argue us hunters aren’t getting the job done…which is a whole other topic.

Edited January 4, 2023 by ModernOutdoorsMan

[huntyctyboy]

between everyone feeding them stuff full of corn and the hunting pressure don't see many during daylight these days. bow season saw lots deer around. got a fat doe this am with the MZ.

[smittty]

As said above and the bag limit is nuts you have guys kill 10-20 a season that’s uncalled for. I’m all for a six point and a 14 inch spread law then one or two bucks and two doe”s and choice of weapons. I know it will never happen but that’s what I would like to see

[_X7]

1 minute ago, huntyctyboy said:

between everyone feeding them stuff full of corn and the hunting pressure don't see many during daylight these days. bow season saw lots deer around. got a fat doe this am with the MZ.

Bingo! WTG on the doe!

[JHbowhunter]

2 minutes ago, ModernOutdoorsMan said:

Hunting is a wildlife management tool, the seasons are as long as they are because success is so low, no? You could argue us hunters aren’t getting the job done…which is a whole other topic.

It’s having opposite effect.  Too much pressure for too long pushed them out of areas they can be hunted. 

[SPEARFISH]

It's not that bad if you have a good spot.  I could probably shoot a deer every day if I wanted to, but I haven't tried lately.   Been shooting my goose lately and trapping, which isn't bad either.  Don't see many giants like the midwest, but there's some quality deer around.  Lots of changes to the areas I hunt too, but you have to be mobile.  Give your spot a break and see if the deer filter back in.

[ModernOutdoorsMan]

1 hour ago, JHbowhunter said:

It’s having opposite effect.  Too much pressure for too long pushed them out of areas they can be hunted. 

Agree, I think both are fairly true. 

[Woodsman416]

Two reasons I lost most of my hunting property in the last five years:

-people selling

-people dying

[Greybeard]

Hunting public has always been hard, but recently the bottom fell out of the bucket.  The pockets of deer you could find here and there are gone.  You're never the only one that knows where they are.  Every year for the last 15 years has been getting worse than the year before.  They don't make a comeback from the slaughter during the long gun seasons with so many predators.  NJFW took the hunt out of hunting and turned it into a backyard killing.  Their efforts to get rid of deer around houses has destroyed hunting out in the woods and only drew more deer off public lands into developments.  Everyday now I'm questioning why I still go hunting when I see nothing for weeks, only a handful all year when I used to see the same amount daily.  I can sit in the woods and look at the trees without spending hundreds of dollars for licenses.   Not even any deer on trail cam to speak of

[JFC1]

1 hour ago, JHbowhunter said:

To @BHC ‘s point - public land gets way too much pressure to hold a high deer density.  They get pushed into areas that are not hunted. Get access near those areas it is a honey hole.  NJ could fix this with better regulations.  Shorter seasons less buck tags and no deer driving public land would make for better quality hunting overall. 

From what I've seen while hunting a number of very different types of public lands (County Parks, WMAs, municipal programs with restricted participant lists), the biggest factor in pushing deer off public land is hunter pressure in the form of continual baiting and people who think it's cool to tune their bows, make a racket bullshitting and slamming doors, and smoke their cigarettes in cleared or parking areas not far from the deer. "Hi honey (hole), we're here!!"  Park 500 yards away and walk in. It'll be a nice walk on most days. 

There's not a lot of driving on the public lands I hunt. I've noticed pretty quick deer recovery from the drives, but avoidance of certain routes and areas once there are hunter(s) traipsing through their area all season long . I think they watch the guys wheel in their bags of corn at 1PM and decide to go out for a salad at the McMansions before circling back for their after dark meal courtesy of the hunter who wonders why he's got so many on camera at night. 

Add to the above the fact that there are many municipal nature areas with such degraded understory that the only food the deer can get there is hunter corn. So why not circle through only in the dark, and then the hunters yell "There're no deer." And it becomes easier to see a horny buck who now has to travel farther than a careful doe group that bides its time till the sun goes down. 

Private can be so easy, a true joy, in comparison. Unless you have neighbors who put their stands on the fenceline, looking into their neighbors' woods. DBs.  But there are also some beautiful and still deer-packed public lands in the great state of NJ.

Fewer buck tags and shorter seasons won't fix these issues

[JFC1]

3 minutes ago, Greybeard said:

efforts to get rid of deer around houses has destroyed hunting out in the woods and only drew more deer off public lands into developments.

yes