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NJ Private Land

jg-peregrine

New Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2021
Messages
3
Hi all! This fall will be my first season saddle hunting here in NJ. I had a great (but unsuccessful) half-season on public land in 2019, a painfully overcrowded (but successful) public land season in 2020, and have been hoping to escape some of the stampede by finding some private land open to hunting this year.
I was standing in line at Lowes on Mothers' Day picking up 20 bags of mulch for the back yard. Suddenly the gentleman behind me began lamenting to his wife how badly the deer were going to mow down the plants she was buying and the general destruction to their property they were causing. I really tried not to butt in, but when he literally said, "I just wish I knew a bowhunter who could come and kill some of them..." I couldn't take it anymore. Long story short, it seems I might now have a private spot this fall – a very small, but private spot that is supposedly chock-full of deer. I do know the area he's in and definitely believe him. I'll be setting up a visit later this week.

Anything I need to know & look out for? I've hunted on my folks hundred acre farm up in Maine, and on public land all my life. This will be my first private venture. Obviously a written permission/liability form would be in order, but I'm also concerned about deer making it onto nearby properties before they drop. If it's not worth the hassle I don't want to get his hopes up either.

Much appreciated!
 
Be discreet if at all possible. Don’t be walking in the neighborhood or down the road in full camo just in case the neighbors are anti hunters and try to raise a stink about it. And only take shots you’re 100% confident in to try to keep the deer from running too far and crossing property lines
 
I'd look up everything you can on Urban Bowman, Taylor Chamberlin. I'm sure he's been on here but I don't believe he's an active member. He's been hunting the Washington DC burbs year-round for quite some time. He has a podcast and has been a guest on Wired to Hunt and many others. He also has a youtube channel he updates from time to time and has some hunts on there.

Shot placement is going to be your biggest thing. You need to be able to hit where you are aiming as much as possible. This may mean passing up on a number of shots you'd normally take in the woods to ensure you can make the perfect one and drop a deer inside of 75 yards.

Good luck and have fun, sounds like a great opportunity, keep us posted!
 
I work and hunt in NJ. Have done the small private lot / backyard before. Settle for nothing less than a 12 ringer double lung shot. Keep well within 20 yards. Be discreet. Be ready for the home owners watching you to make sure you don’t pass up on deer. They want them all gone, and gone yesterday.

Also, don’t get hung up on saddle/climber/ hang on. In the suburban hunting, I’ve shot out of one man tents next to decks, sheds, while seeing the people inside watching me. I have shot in Treestands 20 yards from a house (written permission of course), and out of a hay loft in a horse barn.

I’ve gotten away from most tight suburban hunting, it can be stressful with the pressure to make a deer fall on a small property and also having people watch you. You are not there to have your hunt, you are there to kill nuisance deer for more affluent people. And do it in a way they are comfortable with.

Check out Taylor, as mentioned, and his YouTube channel. He is the most prolific suburban deer hunter / culler.

Good luck and have fun.
 
Oh, the upside is unlimited doe, and a long season, so you can fill freezers from September through mid February.

And if you do good, word of mouth might spread and you might get more property.
 
People have kind of hinted around it. I will come right out and say it. KILL EVERYTHING, fawn, doe, buck, anything legal, you are doing nuisance control, not hunting. If the homeowner sees you let deer walk you will lose the property. If you kill them all, he has friends in the neighborhood with the same problem. I have hunted urban and everything everyone is saying about 12 ring, lung shots is paramount. Nothing worse than a deer running down the street pumping blood and an arrow sticking out of their butt.
 
Maybe ask him if the neighbors feel the same way? Maybe you can open up multiple back yards.
 
I work and hunt in NJ. Have done the small private lot / backyard before. Settle for nothing less than a 12 ringer double lung shot. Keep well within 20 yards. Be discreet. Be ready for the home owners watching you to make sure you don’t pass up on deer. They want them all gone, and gone yesterday.

Also, don’t get hung up on saddle/climber/ hang on. In the suburban hunting, I’ve shot out of one man tents next to decks, sheds, while seeing the people inside watching me. I have shot in Treestands 20 yards from a house (written permission of course), and out of a hay loft in a horse barn.

I’ve gotten away from most tight suburban hunting, it can be stressful with the pressure to make a deer fall on a small property and also having people watch you. You are not there to have your hunt, you are there to kill nuisance deer for more affluent people. And do it in a way they are comfortable with.

Check out Taylor, as mentioned, and his YouTube channel. He is the most prolific suburban deer hunter / culler.

Good luck and have fun.
Thats good advice. I had a spot in Hunterdon county where i often had large bucks within eyesight but limited myself to under 15 yard shots to have a better chance of dropping them. It became more stressful than it was worth.
My grandfather had one of the last dairy farms in N NJ . I have great memories of catching snakes, jumping deer while checking nuisance traps way before i ever hunted. Man what id give to hunt that land now.
 
Hunterdon county is great, if you can get in. I once hunted off the top of someone’s shed in a back yard (butted up against woods) in Hunterdon.

Now, I mostly hunt Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren counties when hunting in NJ.
 
There's some really solid practical advice above, a lot I hadn't considered too! Thank you all - I really appreciate it!
I'll let you know how things play out!
 
I will be curious to hear how it works out for you. I know people do it, but I can't imagine given the experiences I've had just living in a subdivision.

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