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im still laughing at the guy that said the rut was over to funny. the rut has barely started, so if u think it is over in your area...wronggg.

still hunting NJ and DE..hunting this wed and i am hoping to see something, but i know the rut is still in swing. in case anyone doesnt know this. the moment that bucks come off the velvet they are ready to breed does. they are waiting for the does, but they could breed then. i read that

hey guys. just wanted to frop in and say that i got my first buck with a bow. i got my licence and 21 permit.....went out and later on that day i got one. man when everyone said bow hunting was alot diffrent that shotgun/black powder theye werent lieing. its a world away. but i got to say i had a blast.

as far as the rut.........its kinda slow going here in my area of ocean county. most of the bucks iv seen so far are still feeding. im ecpecting the rut to be in full swing by the time black powder opens in 2 weeks.

im hearing that the rut for alot of people allover is a bit slow this year as well. i wonder why.

any way good luck to all of you this season

The rut IS in full swing. If you are seeing bucks feeding, they aren't dominant. The dominant bucks by their nature suppress the rutting behaviors of the smaller bucks. I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, the rut is in full swing. Stop by any check station in NJ....ask the guys who are checking in bucks what they were doing before they killed them. It's so crazy in my hunting areas that I don't even really have to put too much thought in treestand placement....bucks are chasing does in every direction.

Rut in full force!! Here in Bergen County, I have been seeing bucks all weekend cruising for does. My wife called me at work and said a small 4pt was in our backyard looking around. My buddy in Closter said there was a big 8pt that had a doe cornered at the local ball field and was causing both a traffic jam and a problem for the locals as kids were possibly in "danger".

Rut is happening and if you can get out, then be in your stand.

GOing this Sat up in Zone 2 but I hope this continues for early ML.

Bob

My friend Scott just called me, he hunted from 12 noon till dark today, he saw 8 does not one buck chasing or trying to check out the does, the farmer told him that he hasn't seen much action like it should be

then the bucks probably have the does that are in estrous separated from the pack.....that's what they do.


I had bucks chasing does early this morning but the warm temps turned it off until very late in the evening.


I think part of the other problem that people are experiencing is buck to doe ratios which are totally out of whack. If you have too many does....those bucks just can't work fast enough to breed them all. That's why we have to support our State QDM efforts and kill them damn does.

How about trying real QDM and limit the actual buck take?? Also, the deer get pounded in the Jan seasons and this definitely has an effect with all the buttons and shed bucks slaughtered.

NJbowman, SOrry about that but I was hunting in zone 21 but saw that buck killed in zone 24 on rt 539 heading down towards tuckerton where I live. So I guess your big bucks are still safe.



I went out today for an evening hunt and saw a nice wide fork. I passed on a nice 8 pointer this year. But this 4 pointer I think I would of shot. Reason is because I was doing some grunting and using the can after the grunts and about 3 minutes later this buck comes in. It was really cool but never got closer that about 50 yards so no go. I tried to get him closer but to no avail.. I used a drag cloth with doe in estrus on my way into the stand so i was hoping this buck would cross my trail and come in. Well he did cross my trail and sniffed and looked around then followed the opposite way[:@]. So he went away. Actually I was glad he did go away because I think I would of shot do to how it all came about. So I hope he does live another year or two because he is nice and wide for only a 4 pointer. It was kind of cool how it all happened.


But no running of does in my area so maybe its slow around here.


Brian

Well if you ARE a NJ hunter, then of course you know the LAW limits you to one buck per season, 2 bucks during the firearms week.

So the buck take HAS been limited....if you recall, you used to be able to take 2 bucks during every season....us bowhunters cleaned house. Gradually it was trimmed over the past few years...now you can only take one buck per season and in some zones, you HAVE to kill a doe first...it's called Earn-A-Buck.