Whittingham wma bow hunting

[Rackattackf7]

 Looking to hunt whittingham wma in late October. Is it good hunting, is it over hunted. Not looking to cause problems with any locals just giving it a try with a friend of mine this fall for a few days. Any info would be great.

[rgw]

hunt there during the october bear hunt, you can at least take a pic with susan kohl or the new york teacher nut job if you dont get any thing.

[Rackattackf7]

Will be bow hunting deer

[JerseyJaysTaxidermy]

I live down the rd.. pass by between prime time and dark every night.

I haven't seen a deer since August and there was only like 2 every now and then.

I talk to hunters if they are packing their truck while I'm passing by after dark, and they all seem to see the same thing...0 deer and a few bears.

 

Seen 1 guy dragging a doe out a few days ago...

 

 

 

http://www.jerseyjaystaxidermy.com

[Haskell_Hunter]

These guys are located at the SW end of the WMA:

 

http://www.appalachianbowmen.org

 

Might want to shoot them an email with your questions.  I don't hunt there, so that's one less fat guy you have to worry about, but I've ridden past it on my bike, and it looks like good land.  It's smaller, only 1,930 acres, and I would assume it gets a good amount of pressure.

 

Definitely try to scout it and learn the land a bit.  You might glass a few stands and know where avoid, and you'll also be able to pick up some deer signs and find a good spot of your own.

 

http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/pdf/wmamaps/whittingham.pdf

 

State map.  Kind of crappy, but a good start.

[Rackattackf7]

We have talked to the conservation officer for the area already, just curious if its another public land spot that's hammered to death, we live in new Hampshire where the deer hunting is terrible, like to have some fun bow hunting is all.

[rgw]

be better off in greenwood state forest, will see more deer

[Rackattackf7]

be better off in greenwood state forest, will see more deer

really, whittingham not that good then?  This state is terrible we just want to have an oppurtunity to hunt and see some deer. 

[JHbowhunter]

Here is my honest no BS assessment. I live a mile from the Fredon section, off rt 618, and also the section that extends south on rt 519 including the water dog training area.

 

Phenomenal looking deer property, but maybe once or twice a year, do I ever see deer on it.  It gets hammered mostly during 6 day - lots of different gangs drive it.

The best chance to have any shot of decent bowhunting would be late October leading up to before Small Game opens - from that point until 6 day - all the fields and first several hundred yards of woods are scoured daily by hunters and bird dogs, so what few deer live on Whittingham, get pushed out to private lands or just in very deep into the heart of the WMA far enough from the small game hunters.  Last season, I did some "in deep" scouting of the interior sections, and never saw so much available browse and acorns. What was missing were rubs, scrapes, trails, and scat.  

 

I hunt a lot of private land surrounding Whittingham, and the deer numbers (especially doe) are way down from where they were 10 years ago.

 

To cut to the chase - I could practically walk there to hunt deer and you couldn't pay me to.

[Rackattackf7]

Here is my honest no BS assessment. I live a mile from the Fredon section, off rt 618, and also the section that extends south on rt 519 including the water dog training area.

 

Phenomenal looking deer property, but maybe once or twice a year, do I ever see deer on it.  It gets hammered mostly during 6 day - lots of different gangs drive it.

The best chance to have any shot of decent bowhunting would be late October leading up to before Small Game opens - from that point until 6 day - all the fields and first several hundred yards of woods are scoured daily by hunters and bird dogs, so what few deer live on Whittingham, get pushed out to private lands or just in very deep into the heart of the WMA far enough from the small game hunters.  Last season, I did some "in deep" scouting of the interior sections, and never saw so much available browse and acorns. What was missing were rubs, scrapes, trails, and scat.  

 

I hunt a lot of private land surrounding Whittingham, and the deer numbers (especially doe) are way down from where they were 10 years ago.

 

To cut to the chase - I could practically walk there to hunt deer and you couldn't pay me to.

sounds like its time to look elsewhere, thank you for the no BS asessment   

[Nomad]

Wharton State Forest is the place to go for deer. Tons of them.

[MTH]

I passed whittlingham parking lot on Sunday last week. 13 trucks there, and all were baiting For Bear. Corn bags and 5 gallon buckets packed in the backs. Bear season negates a quality hunt and as soon as small game opens in Nov any reasonable hunting experience is done.

[rgw]

out of all the state land I think you chose the worst one possibly. south jersey seems to hold more deer now. if you go before gun season you will brobably have it to your self. 5 to 10 years ago I would of said the opposite and said stay north

[Haskell_Hunter]

We have talked to the conservation officer for the area already, just curious if its another public land spot that's hammered to death, we live in new Hampshire where the deer hunting is terrible, like to have some fun bow hunting is all.

 

I'm heading up to Pittsburg, NH in Nov to walk around in search of deer.  I feel you pain.  It's more of a hiking trip than deer hunting.  The moose population is also down, they've moved into Canada and ME.  One theory I heard was because of the ticks.  It was causing high mortality on the calves and spreading disease.  Warm winters to blame.

 

I grew up in Nashua.

[rgw]

I know when I drive through the pines on rt 539 I see deer all the time.