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im gonna use zone 37 as a example being it was one of the first areas with the point restriction.i believe there was a 6pt rule then it went to 3pts.there was alot more nicer bucks on the base when you could harvest a spike or a scrag there.its nice to shoot a bigracker but sometimes we kill all these big bucks and whos left to do the breeding?the young bucks will breed the 1.5s and 2yr old bucks that arent even mature yet.and as far as the unlimited doe i understand we need it in areas where theres high number of deer but in alot of areas its done nothing but depleted the herd and alot of bbs have been the victim of the unlimited doe thing
 
.WELL I SEE WE ALL AGREE THAT WE WILL NEVER ALL AGREE...HAPPY HUNTING.
You too, piney[up]

I guess everyone's experiences are different and your age and the amount of time you've been hunting deer in NJ is also a big factor. If you began hunting during the late 90s when our herds peaked in numbers (that the Division deemed far too high), then today you might be disappointed that their "numbers are down". But if, like me, you hunted in the 70s when it was an accomplishment in many northern zones just to see a doe or two during 6 Day, then even today's herds are incredibly high.

Deer need to be managed for each habitat based on the carrying capacity for that area. NJ makes it nearly impossible because we are the most highly/densely developed state in the nation and every home and every business creates the perfect edge habitat that deer need to reproduce at amazing rates. And all those houses and businesses are perfect places to hide and not get hunted.
 
I’m trying to get some decimation on this.
The point restricted zones have not shown any significant results in older deer than other zones.
At the deer classic you will see most of the bigger bucks don’t come out of point restricted zones.
 
smoking gun i don't understand your point? How old a buck is when he passes on his genetics has no effect. However the 1.5 year old buck may have better genetics than the 4.5 when comparing two different bucks. There is no way to determine if a deer has good genetics at a year and a half as the first rack is not a determination of what a buck will be at maturity. If you talk to guys that only shoot big deer from zone 3 and 36 they will tell you that AR has helped alot. 37 just has to much pine effect for the program to work... YO BUCK
 
You had to know this thread would bring out the comments more then just yes/no.... Limit the buck tags to 2 a year.... 1 anything buck and one quality buck 4 points or better.... Too many bucks can be taken by 1 hunter each year... You can't go with just 3 points or better or you leave too many bad genes in the gene pool with dinker bucks who will never be more then a dinker.... Removing all the "BIG BUCKS" will just leave the dinkers to mate... You need a good balnce of big and small bucks taken to have a healthy herd capable of producing some real monsters... The key is letting them get a little older so limiting everyones take to 2 bucks a year no matter what weapon used is a real answer.... Of course the hungry hunters will want to be able to take a buck or two in each season with each weapon so this will never happen... They will just blame the other hunters with different weapons and other seasons... It needs to be the same across the board for EVERYONE.... 2 bucks a year with one of them a "quality buck" will keep more bucks from being killed and will produce bigger bucks in the long run......just my .02
 
One buck bow, gun or muzzy 3 doe prior to six day and than only one doe after that
 
Most fail to realize just how complex proper management is.

Do this or do that, it may be good for one property, but not for another.

You have to take into consideration how the changes can effect the wildlife, the habitat, the general public and the hunters.

There is no "blanket" plan that will fit and work well everywhere.

I have several ideas that I'll be submitting to the NJDFW soon. They address some of what I believe to be our most pressing issues. Such as over-pressuring public lands in zones that still have too many deer (but not on the public land), creating incentives for landowners to open more lands to hunting while maintaining some small refuge areas, helping balance the age classes, habitat improvement, etc.

Bottom line though, regardless of what the regulations are, it's ultimately up to US. WE are the ones responsible for managing the wildlife. We make the decisions in the field on a day to day basis. Biologists can't do that for you.

So educate yourself, talk to biologists, read, know what you should be taking on specific properties. If you see tons of does, shoot some. If you aren't seeing tons of does, don't slaughter every one you see. If you want to see bigger bucks, don't shoot small bucks. Even if you think the neighbor or guy down the ridge is going to shoot it, pass it anyway. It may live to grow older, wiser and larger, you never know.

There's almost always a way to work with the current regulations to meet your management goals.

Example: When I participated in a DMZ6 management hunt, we were only allowed to use bows and hunt part of permit bow and all of winter bow, we were also bound by the 2 deer bag limit for zone 6 per season. The area needed drastic reductions, so how do we go about that? We recruit more hunters to harvest deer there. Everyone takes their two adult does per season and we put a big dent in the population. The following year, we allow one of your deer to be a buck of "decent" size. Within 4 years, we had a very healthy herd and the size and diversity in buck age class was far better than it had ever been. Now people that didn't want to hunt there in the past, wanted in because of the size of the bucks we had.

You can apply that to the reverse scenario as well. If there are too few deer, be extremely selective in harvesting deer, if any are to be harvested.

Be educated and hunt responsibly, that's all it really boils down to.
 
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