Very rare animal sighting in DMZ 5

[JHbowhunter]

I am still in the tree shaking as I type this at 7:45 am. I just had two mature whitetail doe feeding by me for 30 minutes as I bow hunt. They each had a fawn one was button. I have not seen a mature doe in this area since I killed one 9/15/2015. I do see up to 20 in my Z2 spot. What beautiful animals it will be sad when the last zone 5 doe is killed. It was a pleasure letting them walk and hopefully birth triplets next spring. They have a lot of brown and down to get through first.

[Rusty]

Why didn't you take a picture????????   I forget what deer look like. 

[JHbowhunter]

Why didn't you take a picture????????   I forget what deer look like. 

They were too close - I would have gotten picked off...  

[Matty]

 I have not seen a mature doe in this area since I killed one 9/15/2015.

 

Not trying to be a jerk, but why did you shoot one in September if you feel there are almost none left? Because of EAB?

That's not being part of the solution. 

 

Personally I skipped EAB season this year, even though it's one of the best times to get on a good buck, I even knew of two brutes I had somewhat patterned. I didn't know of any dense pockets of does at the time so I figured, let them live. 

 

I will never understand when people complain about not seeing deer, but then they still shoot deer in those areas. I applaud you for passing the deer you saw recently, but you and everyone else that continues to participate in EAB season in areas that don't need does harvested need to look harder at what your true intentions are.

 

The regulations are behind the times in certain areas. We see it said all the time, no deer left on public lands, no deer here, etc.

 

It's in our hands. 

[JHbowhunter]

I didn't realize how decimated the herd was when I took my EAB doe. I fully regret it.  I will not be taking another z5 doe - possibly ever unless I see a rebound. 

[Matty]

Fair enough.

 

I hope more hunters can begin to recognize what's happening in certain areas and begin to severely limit their harvests and stop participating in our lengthy seasons,, just because they can.

 

There are still small areas of huntable land where does can be taken, but I find them to be few and far between.

 

The good news is, deer can rebound quickly. So don't say "never"...maybe in a few years the herd can come back up to the point you can take a mature doe from that area again. We can hope right?

[smoking gun]

There's no shortage of deer in central jersey or south jersey there's a shortage of hunters.ive seen It with my own very eyes the first day of buckweek I believe me and bone collector seen a handful of trucks in a wma as popular and large as it is as well.seen plenty of deer just not enough guys in the woods.i also like the setups I came across.dude has 2 aluminum ladders you would use to clean gutters well visible from a mile away along a road like right on top the road.another one had a huge outhouse type stand out of plywood one dude had 2 stands setup basically in 10ft with tons of cameras ready to be stolen by a thief no worries I'm not a thief the equipment is still there.the 2 dudes we seen hunting where on the edge of some field facing a road like 2 huge pumpkins knowing deer are spooked you gotta get in them swamps if you ain't in water up to your knees your not killing deer.the best was the dude who was huntung in the safety zone in a bare tree maybe 10ft off the ground yoh could see from space I made him crap his pants he had a herd go by him he never seen or heard only thing he heard was the rem go off then he said he saw deer running after the shot.sorry dude we had to walk the opposite side of creek to retrieve her water was too deep and cold.theres a lack of participation during firearm season that's what's very rare

Edited December 9, 2015 by smoking gun

[smoking gun]

Fair enough.

 

I hope more hunters can begin to recognize what's happening in certain areas and begin to severely limit their harvests and stop participating in our lengthy seasons,, just because they can.

 

There are still small areas of huntable land where does can be taken, but I find them to be few and far between.

 

The good news is, deer can rebound quickly. So don't say "never"...maybe in a few years the herd can come back up to the point you can take a mature doe from that area again. We can hope right?

a big problem up north is the predators yotes and bear plus the cars and I do believe ehd did effect us this year.i know Jacks a good hunter and I'm sure he's right about not seeing many deer I hunted that whittingham ah maybe 3 yrs ago for bear I let alot of deer walk everyday bucks too.but that eab thing is stupid and doesn't make sense alot of guys bash guys for killing does but they have no problem going out and waking a doe for that buck makes no sense to me.id rather wait til it gets cooler in october and have the choice of shooting either or

[sussexcohunter]

glad to hear you can see up to 20 mature doe in Z2....i hunt Z2 and dont see many mature doe or too many deer for that matter...

[JHbowhunter]

glad to hear you can see up to 20 mature doe in Z2....i hunt Z2 and dont see many mature doe or too many deer for that matter...

Its funny how deer densities can very - I do realize one spot does not an entire zone make...   It's all about sanctuaries and pressure. The areas that have the bigger sanctuaries that don't get hunted or minimal pressure, show the most deer.

[not on the rug]

All of us zone 5 hunters should band together and go night hunting several times for yotes in the late season.  Maybe we could tip the scales back in our favor a little bit. maybe we could ever recruit some of the guys who hunt other zones to come up and blast those mangy mutts

[JHbowhunter]

All of us zone 5 hunters should band together and go night hunting several times for yotes in the late season.  Maybe we could tip the scales back in our favor a little bit. maybe we could ever recruit some of the guys who hunt other zones to come up and blast those mangy mutts

I offered to allow a good coyote trapper onto my land...  I have several offers to consider.  

[Rusty]

Its funny how deer densities can very - I do realize one spot does not an entire zone make...   It's all about sanctuaries and pressure. The areas that have the bigger sanctuaries that don't get hunted or minimal pressure, show the most deer.

 

That's one of the frustrations with trying to manage deer in a state like NJ.  Their home ranges are so small that one area can have no deer and a mile down the road they are overrun with them. 

[smoking gun]

Farmer permits are a big issue too there was 2 places I hunted close to farms the farmers hammered deer all year long no wonder why the guys in zone 37 didn't kill squat for a couple of years now

[Matty]

All of us zone 5 hunters should band together and go night hunting several times for yotes in the late season.  Maybe we could tip the scales back in our favor a little bit. maybe we could ever recruit some of the guys who hunt other zones to come up and blast those mangy mutts

 

Just be prepared for some long cold frustrating nights. lol

 

Hunting yotes is not easy. Getting trappers out there catching them is more effective.