2016-2017 NJ Deer kill numbers are out (big rebound from last season)

[BenedictGomez]

NJF&G posted the 2016-2017 NJ Deer kill numbers and there was a whopping ~20% rebound in kills from the prior year's Acorn Apocalypse.

 

Here's a Top-10 list of interesting things I gleaned from a quick view of the raw data:

 

1) Once again, Zone 12 led New Jersey in number of deer killed.

2) Zone 5 had the 3rd-highest deer kill tally in the state, so there ARE plenty of deer there!

3) Even though there was a healthy rebound in deer taken, the youth tally was once again extremely low.  Was the weather bad those days?  If not, I hope it's not a bad harbinger for the future.

4) The permit bow kill was the 2nd highest in history.  I imagine this correlates with the explosion in nationwide crossbow sales.

5) While the 6-day kill was the highest of the last 4 seasons, it was still down on a historical basis.

6) Permit Muzzleloader continues to die. Ignoring last year given the "challenges", it was at a 26 year low.

7) The permit shotgun kill, once again ignoring last season, was the lowest in THIRTY years!

8) The winter bow kill was the 2nd highest in history.

9) The antlered kill was the highest in 7 years, and the second highest in the last 12 years.

10) While everyone was busy killing bucks, apparently they weren't interested in the ladies.  Ignoring last year, the doe tally was the lowest in 22 years, despite the healthy buck tally.

 

 

I think the most interesting thing is that archery kills are increasing while gun kills continue to decrease.  Is it all crossbows, or is there more to it than that?  People completely sick & tired of 6-day?

 

Net/net, this proves that the low numbers from last season really WERE due to the acorns and the weather, and not because there, "dun aint no deer left in New Jersey".

 

So for those of you who still post on NJH, please tell the ignorant, inbred, 3rd-grade educated morons over there, that I said, "SCIENCE WINS AGAIN"

Edited May 13, 2017 by BenedictGomez

[BenedictGomez]

Link to the data for those who are interested.

 

http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/deerharvestsummary.htm

[bwd172]

Well, I rebounded from last year. I got a doe regular bow, a 6 day buck, and a wounded doe with the muzzy after 6 day. The previous season, all I got was a doe with a 2000 Chevy Tahoe.

[GhostBear]

Told you so.

[JHbowhunter]

I don't like to pat myself on the back but I have to take credit here. I was calling the z5 deer apocalypse 3 weeks into the 2015 bow season. Obviously the hunters heard my plea and exercised restraint. This had nothing to do with two mild winters in a row and a massive crop of acorns in 2015. Thank you for listening

[JHbowhunter]

Benedict I could not give a rat's Dann for 6-day I do think archery has far replaced it in popularity.

[Lunatic]

Last two years I hunted mainly with a crossbow, I killed more deer than ever before with some nice bucks in the mix. Two bucks I killed last season would be still walking around if I had my vertical with me. Crossbow most definitely makes it easier.

Edited May 13, 2017 by Lunatic

[Lunatic]

I don't like to pat myself on the back but I have to take credit here. I was calling the z5 deer apocalypse 3 weeks into the 2015 bow season. Obviously the hunters heard my plea and exercised restraint. This had nothing to do with two mild winters in a row and a massive crop of acorns in 2015. Thank you for listening

 

Are you sure?

[dlist777]

It would be interesting to overlay this with license sales or permit sales to see a success rate.  

[1957Buck]

Benedict I could not give a rat's Dann for 6-day I do think archery has far replaced it in popularity.

 

Correct me if I am wrong I thought the Choice of Firearm was up to the hunter Except in Archery Only Season and that on the 6 days it is Shoot with your choice.? 

[Lunatic]

Correct me if I am wrong I thought the Choice of Firearm was up to the hunter Except in Archery Only Season and that on the 6 days it is Shoot with your choice.? 

 

 

Its your choice only if you have a permit. For example you can hunt with a bow during the 6 day if you have purchased the permit bow,

[BenedictGomez]

Benedict I could not give a rat's Dann for 6-day I do think archery has far replaced it in popularity.

 

I think at this point with the last 5 or 6 years of data, this is now impossible to deny.  But it's not just 6-day, the kill data from ALL firearm seasons has dipped and been replaced with bow kills.  But why?   Is it all crossbows?  Or has archery seen a renaissance in general? 

 

I'd like to see the data carved out by crossbow kills and vertical kills to get some more granularity on the stats.

 

It would be interesting to overlay this with license sales or permit sales to see a success rate.  

 

I tried to do that analysis last year, and the results were.....well...incomplete.   The problem I ran into is that there are so many different types of licenses, like "All-around Sportsman" and all the senior and youth classes, then the permits, and it's just not feasible to arrive at any accuracy because the water gets so clouded.  To know this number, you'd really have to possess the state's kill data which has our individual lifetime hunter ID number.  I imagine State of New Jersey knows this, but I've never seen them release it.

 

Its your choice only if you have a permit. For example you can hunt with a bow during the 6 day if you have purchased the permit bow,

 

I did this last year.  In 2015 during 6-day the woods all around me sounded like the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and that was it for me. 

 

So I took the crossbow somewhere you cant use shotguns thinking maybe the deer would get pushed in to me by the sound of the 83rd Infantry Division's offensive.   I didn't get a 6-day deer, but I dont think the tactic was a bad idea, I'll probably try it again this December.

[BHC]

last season I saw more deer and more bucks then antlerless deer then I have in recent years. 

[B B]

It's gotta be the X-bow!  We need to do away with these things or theres gonna be no deer left! 

[_X7]

It would be interesting to see the weapon used category listed by the state. They do ask when reporting your harvest during the archery seasons. I'd be willing to bet that there is a majority.