JF Griffin - Index

JF Griffin - magazine - Index

Deer Hunting
Regulations
Legal Deer Hunting Hours: half hour before sunrise to half hour after sunset
Only one antlered deer may be
taken per season statewide, except
during the Six-Day Firearm Season,
regardless of the number of antlered
buck permits in possession . To be legal,
all deer harvested must be registered at
an official deer check station (see page
58) and have a metal possession seal
affixed to the deer . Only after registering
the first deer may a hunter take or
attempt to take another deer, where
legal, unless specifically written as an
exception .
Key Concepts and Definitions
• Antlered deer is defined as any deer
with at least one antler measuring at
least three inches in length as defined
below .
• Antler length is defined as the maximum
length of a deer antler measured
from the lowest outside edge
of the antler burr along the outer
curve to the most distant point of
what is or appears to be the main
antler beam . For the purposes of this
definition, the antler length does
not include the pedicel or portion
of skull between the skull plate and
base of the antler point .
• Antler point is defined as any point
at least one inch long from its tip
to its base line, and the length must
exceed the width at some location at
least one inch down from the tip .
• Antlerless deer is defined as any deer
that does not have an antler length
measuring at least three inches . For
the purposes of this definition, adult
male deer that have shed their antlers,
button bucks and adult males
with antlers less than three inches are
considered antlerless deer .
• Antlered Buck Muzzleloader Permit,
Antlered Buck Shotgun Permit or
Antlered Buck Bow Permit refers to
the antlered buck permits available
for purchase which are valid only
when used in conjunction with the
regular, antlerless, zone-specific deer
season permit . The antlered buck
permits contain an antlered deer
transportation tag and allows for the
pursuit and harvest of an antlered deer
only .
• Earn-A-Buck regulations are reduced
in Zones 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,
36, 41, 49, 50 and 51. The hunter’s
first deer harvested from these zones
during the early Fall Bow Season only
(through October 3, 2008 ) must still
be an antlerless deer as defined above;
the second deer may be antlered. Earn-
A-Buck is removed from Permit Bow
and Permit Muzzleloader seasons . Earn-
A-Buck is a tool to reduce the growth
of deer herds in areas where the harvest
of antlerless animals under regular harvest
guidelines is insufficient to reach
desired population levels .
• Antler Point Restriction zones include
Zones 3, 9, 13, 27, 29, 35, 37, 40, 63
and 67 . The harvest of antlered deer
from these zones during any open season
is restricted to deer with at least
one antler having a minimum of three
antler points as defined above . The goal
of the antler point restriction strategy,
as part of Quality Deer Management,
is to reduce harvest pressure on the 11 ⁄2
year-old antlered deer in the expectation
that they will survive to produce
larger antlers as older animals .
Six-day Firearm Season
Dec. 8 – 13, 2008
• Special Areas Deer Management zones
include Zones 37, 38, 39, 40, 53, 54,
56, 57, 58, 61, 64, 66, 67, 68, and
70 . They are generally small, publiclyowned
properties administered by
county, federal or state agencies (other
than Fish and Wildlife) where deer
season dates, bag limits or regulations
differ from those of the surrounding
deer management zone . See page 47 for
details .
• Youth Hunter status applies to the possessor
of a valid Youth Hunting License
(or the immediate member of a qualified
occupant farmer who is at least 10
years of age) and continues until Dec .
31 of the year in which he or she turns
16 years of age . The Youth Bow Deer
Hunt Day is Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008.
The Youth Firearm Deer Hunt Day is
Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008. The bag limit
for youth hunters on this day is one deer
of either sex . Antler Point Restrictions
do not apply for deer taken on this day
by youth hunters . See page 35 for a cutout
youth transportation tag .
Licenses and Permits
• See License, Permits and Stamps, page
10, for details and for Hunter Education
requirements .
• Additional hunting licenses may not be
purchased in order to harvest additional
deer .
• Although hunters may purchase multiple
deer permits, they are limited
to only one regular, zone-specific
ANTLERLESS permit per zone during
each of the permit seasons.
For example, a hunter may buy an
ANTLERLESS muzzleloader permit for
each of Zones 18, 21 and 24 . A hunter
may purchase a bow permit, a muzzleloader
permit and a shotgun permit
for Zone 24; however, they may not
purchase two ANTLERLESS bow permits
(nor two shotgun permits nor two
muzzleloader permits) for Zone 24 .
• It is unlawful to use a bow and arrow
for hunting deer while using a firearm
license or while using a shotgun
or muzzleloader deer permit . A bow
and arrow license and permit (when
required) must be in possession using
this hunting equipment .
• The regular, zone-specific Bow, Muzzleloader
and Shotgun Permits are valid
ONLY for the pursuit and harvest
S
30 | New Jersey Fish & Wildlife Digest Buy your license or permit online at August 2008
2008 Hunting and Trapping Issue www.NJFishandWildlife.com