is there alot of public hunting land in NJ. like on the central to northwest part of the state. what is the deer population at? do you bowhunters have good success.

Try this http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ zones 1&4 are the best in the nw. part of the state in sussex co. and central NJ. would deffinately be Hunterdon co. zones 7,8,10,11&12. Good Luck and Good Hunting

i' m in salem county and the state is buying some much ground and opening it to hunting, i don' t even worry about a lease any more. we have 45 deer per square mile and the hunting is super. any body wants to come down just let me know

wulff;

I hunt in Hunterdon and Warren Counties, we have lots of deer up here. JerseyHunter is right about the zones. I hunt on Privet land tho. I have two nice spots, 1) is 13 acres 2) is 300acres where I work at. So far where I work there is two heards about 12 to 15 deer each running around. Not counting the 10 or so satilite deer running. This Nice main 8 was taken on the 13 acres. If anyone would like to hunt up here let me know I can Hook You Up.

Slippery, sounds like you have found a rare spot in Salem. I live and hunt in Salem County, and have to tell you, it' s worse now than I have seen it in over 25 years. Actually, the deer density is more like 15 deer per square mile, 20 in some areas, 10 or 12 in others. I won' t ask you where you are because if hunting is as good as you say, you shouldn' t be broadcasting it. Competition for land is intense, even more so if you have that many deer. The long gun seasons and unlimited tags have really decimated the herds in much of Salem and Gloucester counties. I hope the state ends that soon. All you have to do is look at the harvest numbers from last season, and each previous season to see where the most deer are: Hunterdon, Sussex, Warren and Morris counties. Burlington makes a decent showing and Atlantic County shows up some years too.

I agree that the state has done a good job of buying land in recent years, but it is still VERY crowded. Some of the state land isn' t too bad during bow season, but come gun season, every piece has the tar driven out of it. I have found over the past ten years that as for private land, if the landowners don' t already hunt it, usually more than one club or group of hunters put in bids to lease it. Prices now are up near 35 dollars an acre for a decent property. We need to return to a season structured like we had in the mid to late 1980' s, that would bring the deer back.

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I have to agree with NJ on this one. My father and I have hunted in Salem Co. for over 25 years and every year it gets more and more crowded. The influx of land being opened just doesnt seem to help. The longer permit gun seasons and Upland Seasons opened during that time just make late season bow hunting a miserable waste of time. I havent heard anything about 5,500 acres being opened for bow hunting, but it would be nice.

What also makes deer hunting tough is all these people putting up hang on and ladder deer stands and claiming public areas as their own,,,,, Sorry NJ, had to slip that in.

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John (NJBowman), I believe that property is actually in Cumberland County, near Cedarville. It' s called the Glades Preserve. If there is another one in Salem, I don' t know about it. In fact, I' m quite familiar with the Natural Lands Trust, and don' t know of any preserve of that size in Salem County.

Duck, I understand your concern about crowding, but I strongly disagree with your position that no one should be allowed to put up hang-on stands on public land. If you see one in a place you want to hunt, you have a couple of choices. You can either steer clear and give the guy some room, or you can set up on top of him and hunt that same spot. If he doesn' t come into the stand, you have no problem. If he does, and you choose to set on or in his stand, you may have a confrontation. I would think that you would want to avoid a confrontation, and you are the one in the position of instigating or avoiding one if you arrive at the spot after you know someone is hunting there. Now, the guy may just turn and leave if he sees you there, or, if he is a less cordial fellow, he may jump on you for setting up in or on top of his stand. Whether you think he has the right to be upset with you or not doesn' t matter, one sure way to avoid the problem in the first place is to give him some elbow room.

Our public lands already get a substantial amount of disturbance. Having everyone who hunts there be required to drag stands in and set them up (and take them down) each day would just make it that much harder to see deer in the daylight.
Personally, I don' t like to set up near other hunters for many reasons. Not only is it the considerate thing to do, but I don' t know how often the spot gets hunted, how careful the hunter is about scent control, or how careful he is regarding shot selection (don' t want to be mistaken for a deer in the predawn darkness). There is usually another spot not far away where no one is currently hunting, that can be just as good, if not better than the one where the stand is hanging.

A few other choices you have are to either find private land (a very tough thing to do in that area), or, if it' s that frustrating for you, don' t hunt in NJ. I' m not trying to be a wise guy, but Pa, and Md offer good hunting too. You don' t HAVE TO hunt NJ.

Have a good spring.

NJ_Bowhntr, how many times did we go back and forth on this stand issue last summer and early fall? I lost count. What we can agree on, is we' ll never see eye to eye on this issue. Placing a stand on public land in attempts to claim an area is wrong, period! No one should have to feel pressured not to hunt a piece of public property just because someone else decided to place a stand in that area. You complain in one response that public land in Salem Co. is so crowded, but then say there' s no need to crowd a stand because there is probably a place just as good, if not better, not far away. Im sorry, I cant agree with the latter. I dont condone squawting on someone elses stand, causing damage to other people' s property or shadowing other hunters, but I refuse to rule out hunting a public piece of land just because someone else decides to place a stand in the area. That type of behavior is appropriate for private land or land that is leased, not public property. The only way to make things fair and fun for all, is make hunting stands and blinds carry in, carry out only.

Climbing stand technology is getting better by the year and just as affordable as hang ons and ladders. Ground blinds are becoming cheaper, lighter, quicker and quieter to set up and take down. Its the way to go and to be fair for all.

If WMAs were Carry In, Carry Out only and I approached an area to see someone else there, I know I was beaten to the spot, leave for another destination and know maybe next time I' ll be try and get there a little earlier. If I set up in a spot, im the 1st one there and have some clown show up 10 mins before shooting time and give me a raft of crap because he/she set up a ladder a month ago 50 yds away and feels I should move,,,,, F Them. They have no right to force me out or ruin my hunting experiance and have no right to accuse me of ruining theirs.

NJ, I know your werent being a wise guy about suggesting I hunt in another state if I' m frustrated with NJ. Believe me, I do. I was so against the way DE restricted hunter movement on WMAs when I 1st moved here, but now I find those hunts so much more enjoyable than those in my home state of NJ. But make no mistake, I won' t leave and stop hunting places I grew up on just because more and more people have decided to try and lay stakes to public land that are meant for all. And as you will continue to voice your views to people in support of the status quo, I will speak just as loud and hard for a change, which I truely feel will enhance hunting opportunity and enjoyment for all.

If you hunt Turkeys in Cumberland and Salem Co., maybe i' ll see you out there in a few weeks. If not, have a good summer and hit those deer hard in the fall!

Scott