Deer age poll

[tcook8296]

50 minutes ago, hammer4reel said:

I think many guys think if they leave a buck go a few years . They stay where they are and they will get to hunt them .

IMO once a buck gets mature , they many times look for a much safer sanctuary.

as there is no way you can have 3 1/2 year old bucks around into February , then not see them the following fall unless they uprooted and went elsewhere .

especially on these postage stamp sized properties .

Midwest bucks on big farms , many times moves miles before possibly coming back if ever .

guys hunting City limit deer are finding even they moves miles away many times throughout the season .

while there have only been a handful of nicer bucks taken here on WW it’s a small sampling .

There have been some absolute giants taken in NJ this fall .

 

.

While there are nice bucks taken in Nj every year, it's all in the details most of which are not disclosed and you ,I and everyone else know it. 

[Russ 11]

Jack did you have more mature deer earlier in the year ( summer / early fall ) or was the buck you killed the only one you had ?  I’m hearing more guys complain of having seen or had on camera mature bucks but they just disappeared . 
 

[tcook8296]

The addition of crossbows brought an influx of gun hunters into the  archery season and also made guys much more proficient however the seasons and bag limits haven't been adjusted for it.  Guys are getting possibly 2 bucks before the gun season comes in that wouldn't have had the opportunity if not for the xbow, also allows months of driving of your usual deer sanctuaries whether you want to admit it or not. 

Drives aren't just happening during gun season. 

It is what it is. 

I'm pretty much done shooting any deer in Nj. 

If a nice one happens to come along I will hunt him but my 

time and money is better spent out of state in areas where I at least have a chance at something nice. 

I'm perfectly content with 2 weeks out in the Midwest and calling it a year. 

Edited December 27, 2023 by tcook8296

[MGHunter66]

Can you guys find anything else to cry and complain about🙄

[JHbowhunter]

9 minutes ago, Russ 11 said:

Jack did you have more mature deer earlier in the year ( summer / early fall ) or was the buck you killed the only one you had ?  I’m hearing more guys complain of having seen or had on camera mature bucks but they just disappeared . 
 

I had one mature buck all spots combined and he is going on the wall - so I can't really complain any year that I get a buck of that caliber..  That was it.  I did have two 3 yr olds that left or got whacked during rut and never returned, all the rest were primarily 1.5 yr olds with a poor class of 2 yr olds.    I just found it unusual to see the erosion of age class bucks more pronounced this season more than any other since I been really paying attention.   Again - everyone I know that hunts z5 and z2 seem to concur. It's not just my observations. 

[JHbowhunter]

3 minutes ago, MGHunter66 said:

Can you guys find anything else to cry and complain about🙄

Fluke regs absolutely suck why can't i ever get my limit?????

[DV1]

4 minutes ago, MGHunter66 said:

Can you guys find anything else to cry and complain about🙄

[Pathman]

Ok, I really didn’t want to comment (or participate in this poll) because I didn’t want to “pee in your soup” JH, but at this point you’re bordering on the ridicules. 
Your “conclusions” are the very definition of confirmation bias, sorry, just callin it as I see it on this one. 
 

Oh wait, one more thing, the moon?!!!🤦‍♂️😂

[FDhunt1213]

Here we go @JHbowhunter you went and did it now ! 

[Pathman]

3 minutes ago, FDhunt1213 said:

Here we go @JHbowhunter you went and did it now ! 

Yes, the moon is definitely on the “NJWW no mention list!”

[hammer4reel]

1 hour ago, JHbowhunter said:

I can't speak for everyone, but I have many mature bucks on my wall with multiple year history, seeing them drop antlers in February and then watch them grow on minerals 3 months later.  This year, had a few city slickers move into the area and first thing they did was each cut down over 4 acres of prime bedding area for no good reason other than they wanted to clear their land with no regard for wildlife habitat.   That helps explain what I am seeing closer to home but doesn't explain what many other friends were observing...

And for every mature buck you have on your wall you had twice as many sightings through those years  of bucks that you didn’t harvest .

and quite a few if taken you would have heard about . Where did those bucks go? 
 

listen to some of the podcasts of guys who  do this year round , on big farms having everything a deer could ever want .

They still have many deer leave their farms , sometimes it’s actually an annual transition that that buck makes .

having a few cameras out is t giving you the entire picture on a 24/7 basis .

. 

‘if anything it means go look around your area and see what may have changed food wise around you . More than likely that’s where the mature bucks are .

 

prime example , my Ohio spot had a bunch of very good bucks through the summer into the second week of the rut .

had those bucks a bunch of times daily on pinch point cameras .

Havent had any of those bucks on cam since mid November .

None were taken on the farm , I’m sure are still there.

But they have moved into winter food areas they are comfortable in .

 

.

 

[JHbowhunter]

12 minutes ago, Pathman said:

Ok, I really didn’t want to comment (or participate in this poll) because I didn’t want to “pee in your soup” JH, but at this point you’re bordering on the ridicules. 
Your “conclusions” are the very definition of confirmation bias, sorry, just callin it as I see it on this one. 
 

Oh wait, one more thing, the moon?!!!🤦‍♂️😂

Since you are clearly our resident deer doctor Kroll - please show pics of your 2023 mature bucks you got or any from the past 10 years for that matter...

[Pathman]

2 minutes ago, JHbowhunter said:

Since you are clearly our resident deer doctor Kroll - please show pics of your 2023 mature bucks you got or any from the past 10 years for that matter...

I’m humbled by your comparison of me to the good Dr., however, I, like many, many, many others in NJ, don’t, and will never, show you pics of those bucks, or tell you what they do or don’t have on the properties they hunt,  that’s another real factor you should be considering  rather then the moon!😉

[JHbowhunter]

it's amazing how threads about xbow or deer drives goes a hundred pages, but just put a simple poll together to see what others think about a deer related topic  how certain "experts" seem to get butt hurt and somehow need to show off their supposed "expertise".  

 

[Gman]

My Family killed 3 mature bucks in zone 2 this year, all within 1/2 mile.  We have several 3.5 year old 8's running around.  I have heard from my cousin who is in his 20's and spends almost every free minute in the woods that there are many fewer deer, there are very few 1.5 year old bucks but the quality and age of the few bucks there are have gone up.  This is in alignment with my observations.   I will add that we also hunt zone 3 Newark watershed, but not this year, cameras were void of almost all deer, and zero mature bucks.