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NJ Governor Phil Murphy to reinstate the bear hunt

I got the email as well. I didn't read the whole thing but it seems like there will be some silly rules, but it's better than nothing. What I would ultimately like to see is just have them issue a bear tag to use during any season and then close it if they hit the target. I would love to shoot one with my bow but I don't have the time to take a week off of work for that season (not that they are bringing it back). Heck I only take a day or 2 during shotgun season most years. After shooting one bear I know how much work they are. They need to make my life easier if they want me to shoot another one. Just the reality.
 
redsquirrel said:
I got the email as well. I didn't read the whole thing but it seems like there will be some silly rules, but it's better than nothing. What I would ultimately like to see is just have them issue a bear tag to use during any season and then close it if they hit the target. I would love to shoot one with my bow but I don't have the time to take a week off of work for that season (not that they are bringing it back). Heck I only take a day or 2 during shotgun season most years. After shooting one bear I know how much work they are. They need to make my life easier if they want me to shoot another one. Just the reality.
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Last bear I got in nj was about 20 years ago. I've hunted for them a few times since with no luck.A lot if work ?Yes but the average bear I've seen is around 200-300 lbs . Sure some are bigger but I'd be willing to take 3 trips to pack out a bear off the mountain if I was solo also good to have close friends willing to help at the drop of a hat. Share some meat and everyone leaves happy
 
Shed84 said:
Last bear I got in nj was about 20 years ago. I've hunted for them a few times since with no luck.A lot if work ?Yes but the average bear I've seen is around 200-300 lbs . Sure some are bigger but I'd be willing to take 3 trips to pack out a bear off the mountain if I was solo also good to have close friends willing to help at the drop of a hat. Share some meat and everyone leaves happy
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I agree with you. I'm willing to do the work. After I do it, it might take me another 10 years before I want to do it again lol. My bear was about 175 and I'm glad my buddy was with me to get it out. Those things are rolly polly once they are on the ground. Going forward I would likely have to pack them out.

I really hope that they take a look at some of the rules of the bear hunt and adjust them to make sense (haha). First and foremost why can you sit over a bait pile on the ground but not in the tree? If we could bait bears and bow hunt them out of a tree I would probably shoot a bear for management every year. We had 2 big ones in our front yard this year. We're not far from them but this was the first time in 10 years we've had them in our area so they're definitely looking for new haunts.
 
redsquirrel said:
I agree with you. I'm willing to do the work. After I do it, it might take me another 10 years before I want to do it again lol. My bear was about 175 and I'm glad my buddy was with me to get it out. Those things are rolly polly once they are on the ground. Going forward I would likely have to pack them out.

I really hope that they take a look at some of the rules of the bear hunt and adjust them to make sense (haha). First and foremost why can you sit over a bait pile on the ground but not in the tree? If we could bait bears and bow hunt them out of a tree I would probably shoot a bear for management every year. We had 2 big ones in our front yard this year. We're not far from them but this was the first time in 10 years we've had them in our area so they're definitely looking for new haunts.
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May family and I love bear meat. My wife prefers it over venison so I get the free pass/encouragement to go get one whenever i can lol. That always helps.
 
Shed84 said:
May family and I love bear meat. My wife prefers it over venison so I get the free pass/encouragement to go get one whenever i can lol. That always helps.
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The meat on my bear was awesome. The steaks tasted just like pork chops.
 
Maybe someone on here can help me with a baiting question. I've asked several different game wardens and even called the state with no one willing to give me a straight answer. Is bait defined as anything other then a liquid and what's the difference between what's bait and what is a scent? all kinds of scents are on the market from liquids to smoldering incense. I've even experimented with home made in the past.A bear can technically eat a scent dispenser filled with liquid and a wick.Every official was scared to give me a straight answer and basically said it's up to the officer on site.
 
redsquirrel said:
What I would ultimately like to see is just have them issue a bear tag to use during any season and then close it if they hit the target.
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I havent read the NJ rules but, MD tried something similar to this. When they first started the bear season they would close it when the goal was reached. The problem was it caused everyone to shoot the first bear they saw because they didn't know how long they had to use their tag. It's worked much better since they made it a week long season and people feel like they can pass the 50 lb cub that walks by.
 
Yes back 20 sum years ago when the bear hunt restarted in nj I had to take a class from nj fish. and game to get the bear permit. I don't think they do that now. In that class they actually instructed us to shoot the first bear we see and not to wait for a bigger one because it could end at any moment. Made for a lot of guys shooting 80 lb bears.
 
Shed84 said:
Yes back 20 sum years ago when the bear hunt restarted in nj I had to take a class from nj fish. and game to get the bear permit. I don't think they do that now. In that class they actually instructed us to shoot the first bear we see and not to wait for a bigger one because it could end at any moment. Made for a lot of guys shooting 80 lb bears.
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Yes… which also made the check in stations prime exploitation by the media. The picket lines were stupid. They need to make it electronic and the warden/biologist come check the harvest.
 
In my opinion, this is applaudable for any politician to change their previous hardline opinion when presented with actual science and listen to the individuals that he is supposed to represent. Regardless of someone's political belief and background this doesn't happen often. I see this as an absolute win for hunters bigger than just New Jersey.
 
7mmremmag said:
In my opinion, this is applaudable for any politician to change their previous hardline opinion when presented with actual science and listen to the individuals that he is supposed to represent. Regardless of someone's political belief and background this doesn't happen often. I see this as an absolute win for hunters bigger than just New Jersey.
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He ignored the science the first time to get votes. Now he is listening…because it’s not election time. I agree it’s good to see him governing this way now, but he gets no pass from me issuing an executive ruling overriding the professional biologists whose salaries my tax dollars pay. Like @redsquirrel, I’d only be interested if i had a tag while bowhunting deer, and a bear came along, I’d shoot it. I also wonder about the range of most bears and lack of much understory in my neck of the woods means that most are feeding on trash, and not sure i want that meat. There is some very loud opposition, the local Dems are looking to sue the state. Their rationale tells me they’ve never actually spent any time in the woods, and really don’t even understand what wildlife is.
 
Shed84 said:
Yes back 20 sum years ago when the bear hunt restarted in nj I had to take a class from nj fish. and game to get the bear permit. I don't think they do that now. In that class they actually instructed us to shoot the first bear we see and not to wait for a bigger one because it could end at any moment. Made for a lot of guys shooting 80 lb bears.
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I took the class too. You're right they did tell you to shoot the first bear you saw. The logic they told me was that it is a management hunt and that is the goal, to reduce the bear population. Funny how it looks like things will go the other way.

FWIW I saw the biggest bear I've ever seen in person last week. I swear the thing looked like it was the size of a volkswagon beetle.
 
7mmremmag said:
In my opinion, this is applaudable for any politician to change their previous hardline opinion when presented with actual science and listen to the individuals that he is supposed to represent. Regardless of someone's political belief and background this doesn't happen often. I see this as an absolute win for hunters bigger than just New Jersey.
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I agree with this. I was impressed that he did a 180 consider how big of an issue it was. It was a big week for outdoorsman in our state. I forget the correct terminology but we finally got an appointee on I think it is the fisheries counsel that has been vacant for some time.
 
GCTerpfan said:
I havent read the NJ rules but, MD tried something similar to this. When they first started the bear season they would close it when the goal was reached. The problem was it caused everyone to shoot the first bear they saw because they didn't know how long they had to use their tag. It's worked much better since they made it a week long season and people feel like they can pass the 50 lb cub that walks by.
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It was a week long hunt during our shotgun week. Then they added a few days after if it didn't meet the quota. Then they added a week long bowhunt with a few days of muzzleloader in October. Then it got banned on state land a couple years later the whole 10 year program expired. From what I read they are bringing back the shotgun portion this december.
 
redsquirrel said:
It was a week long hunt during our shotgun week. Then they added a few days after if it didn't meet the quota. Then they added a week long bowhunt with a few days of muzzleloader in October. Then it got banned on state land a couple years later the whole 10 year program expired. From what I read they are bringing back the shotgun portion this december.
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That sounds like it would work. In the beginning our season was scheduled for several days but, would sometimes end before the second day. People were scrambling to shoot anything before they were cut off.
 
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