Posted on 04/11/2024 4:38:47 AM PDT by Omnivore-Dan
People in many states regard N.J. as not much more than a couple exits off of not so scenic I95. But there is a different world just a few miles north and west, and south central N.J. (Pine Barrens). As the suburbs expand and hunting is not permitted in many areas and less hunters in general, we have a ridiculous amount of whitetail deer. Here in Hunterdon County (ironic name) it's swemi-rural with fields, wood, streams, farms and houses on a couple acres or more. Every morning I see at least a half dozen sleeping under our pines and cedars. They eat everything, including holley! So, this year I'm thinking of bagging one or two. Looking for some good recipes for tenderloin or another cut. I have hunted small game, and can clean rabbits & pheasants, but never a deer. A good video on how to properly field dress would also be helpful.
I always felt sorry for the trucker driver who hit one like that. What a mess to have to clean up off the front of your truck.
Meanwhile, the deer still doesn't know what happened.
If hunting is not allowed, the deer will reach a critical point where they starve during the winter.
Being shot is a lot quicker and more merciful.
TrendsNJ only tracks 'harvests' and has no effective measure of deer populations, while simultaneously enacting policies which are 'anti-hunter'.
Figure 1 below shows the deer population estimates for 1984-2018.3 Although the trend appears to be decreasing before 2017, there are at least two factors which make it difficult to accurately determine statewide populations. First, changes in hunting regulations over the years introduce variability into the population estimates since the basic data is derived from hunter-harvested deer whose hunting behavior is affected by the regulations. Second, estimates for populations in non hunted areas are not available, and this lack of information makes the population estimates conservative.4
Liberals at work. Who's surprised?
I take it back...He did later talk about hitting a deer...
They have done just that in southern NH where the deer population has increased greatly. During regular firearm(shotgun & rifle) you can now take a doe the first three to four days of the season. It used to be two. Ten years ago it was zero.
The worst area is southeastern NH on the border of MA. This is because in most suburban towns outside of the cities the houses are spaced a far ways apart. To build a single family home in most of these towns require 1-2 acres and 200’ of road frontage. So, this yields areas where houses are spread apart.
This is because very few of these towns have sewer or municipal water systems. So every house is on well and septic.
Therefore, plenty of land for all the critters to hang around.
The other thing is that so many people are now anti hunting.
Too many soccer moms who actually FEED the deer, wildlife and bears.
You had a tic tock and didn’t share it.
I frequently walk on a trail in a nearby state park where there are a lot of deer. They are so used to people they usually don’t run away even when people pass by near them. I need to be an the alert for the possibility that one of them might explode.
I agree. As far as being in the right place at the right time, that’s not a problem for me. From my bedroom window with a .22 long rifle and scope, a head shot at 30 or 40 yards is not a problem. Damn near all day, but especially in the mornings. Not much noise either. But, going to have to wait until after the first good frost in late Oct. or early Nov. I would not use poison, we now have coyotes which eat the deer, and I don’t want to poison them, I kind of like the beasts, maybe they can help cull the herds.
Larger than a deer? Could have been a moose, they are making a comeback in the Northeast, even as far south as N.Y. State.
I had a friend who had one go through his windshield and into his car. Luckily the deer was dead, was an 8 point buck, could have killed him. Bad enough to be covered in blood, guts, and stinky brown stuff. Car was totaled, good thing, don’t think he could ever get it clean.
I plan to.
Well if you’re here illegally, lots of handouts available. But, life is also what you make of it.
You can find lists online of what to plant and what not to plant if you have deer in the area.
Deer used to come by every night in the snow and eat my mom’s yew bushes.
Don’t try that yourself. Yews are highly toxic for humans.
We have coyotes and bunnies in my neighborhood.
Most people hereabouts don’t like the coyotes, but they do keep the bunny, mouse, ground squirrel, little yappy dogs and stray cats in check.
And they are handsome critters.
No starving deer around here. They have a smorgasborg (-10 sp), landscaped gardens, multiflora rose, and winters not too bad, we can have a noreaster, but usually the snow melts away in a couple days, green grass is available most of the winter. We have some pretty good size deer, and healthy. Too healthy if you ask me.
There is a woman about a 1/4 mile behind our place who feeds them. She feeds all kinds of wildlife, and our properties border a stream, so all kinds of critters. I don’t mind her feeding them, because I want to shoot some nice fat ones.
The only reason we could think of about why so many is that with the snow gone, the grass along the highway is growing fast and it's more abundant than in the woods.
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