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00BuckShot

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I just moved to the area and I will be hunting zone 21 and i was wondering what food sources the deer have in the Pinelands. I am sure they love bait piles but was wondering what the natural food source is.
 
Acorns and browse, woody and leafy browse. There is allot of prescribed burning In z 21. These are good areas to key on especially in years of poor acorn crops. Cover may be sparse in the burns depending on how old they are. Hunt the edges of the burns
 
I agree with both the above. I was born and raised in Whiting(Manchester) and all I've ever done until now is hunt the pines. Those deer will eat most stuff you polite out for them because natural is so plain. But they do eat wild blueberries, as well as the acorns from scrub oaks that are mixed in the pines. They also love marigolds, lillie's, roses, petunias, azaleas, etc so you may have great luck planting those where you hunt lol. [up][wallmad]
 
If you can find oaks, hunt them from Sept till early Nov. After the leaves fall, pine deer don't like the open woods so they usually will hit the oaks after dark. Next move onto edge of swamps or edge of thickets where a few runs come out thru some small pine groves. Just catch them coming off their beds and wandering thru the pines to munch on browse and scrub oaks. Good luck!
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
Thanks for all the suggestions. I have a few cameras set out with a pile or two of corn. Seen some decent bucks and a lot of doe. Do people shoot does around here or what? More meet to fill the freezer for me.
 
Well you'll see with the regulation changed this year that zone 21 is pretty beat up. Could possibly be the hardest zone to hunt.

I personally only hunt down here (whiting) during buck week.

Ive hunted zone 21 for 14 years now and it's tuff. Tons of deer all summer and into September, but they soon dissapear with pressure.

Don't forget your only allowed 1 do per season down here.
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
What is the regulation change? I hunt zone 14 till October then I stay here till end of permit muzzy then go back to 14 for permit shotgun. I hunt all public WMAs and land trusts and state forests. Wish I had some private land to hunt.
 
whatever is available. right now acorns, blueberries etc . once pressure hits they will stay tight and eat whatever is around them.
pine needles, leaves off of oaks and blueberry brush.
go find the bleuberries now....if the deer arent bedded IN the blueberry patches you can be assured they aint far. make a note of that area b/c after buckweek if a good food source isnt nearby they will come in to eat the leaves as well as hide in it.
I'd say make notes on the acorn patches but im willing to bet you wont be the only hunter in that spot.

blueberry brush+adjacent to a cedar swamp= send me the coordinates :D
 
Watermelons?
[ninja]..your best bet is to get rid of the bailt pile for now and find a good spot with acorns or wild berries ..or alot of scrub oaks..putting out bait now like corn is a waste of money in my opinion..save that for winter when your natural resources are less or covered by snow...plus baiting now only lets other hunters in the area know where your hunting...also look for a place near water..even if its a big mudholes in a old road ..deer need water....good luck
[up]
 
..your best bet is to get rid of the bailt pile for now and find a good spot with acorns or wild berries ..or alot of scrub oaks..putting out bait now like corn is a waste of money in my opinion..save that for winter when your natural resources are less or covered by snow...plus baiting now only lets other hunters in the area know where your hunting...also look for a place near water..even if its a big mudholes in a old road ..deer need water....good luck
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