N.J. 2018 Bear Season.....
- Thread starter Fletch
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Dave... Small ears means a big bear.... Yes you can see his ears but I also could see Bozo's ears and he was HUGE....
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Anytime you want to come hunt bears let me know and I'll do the leg work... We might even still have a season in Dec. if they win the court case against Murphy... And you are correct about knowing whether to pull the trigger or not... Something I can only decide... Hes a very respectable bear but in no way compares to the one I've been chasing that I call Bozo.. But thank's to Murphy I may never step foot in those woods again... So I have to play the cards I'm dealt... Bear tags are only $2.00 to both non-residents and resident's... With a non-resident license around $125.00... Something to consider if you really want to hunt bears....
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Ok.... So I slept in due to the lack of having an archery license and the fact that the computers were down yesterday... So I bought a license and headed over to see what I could accomplish... Yogi was munching out on the donuts when I got there... So he left in a hurry and I decided to move my ambush point to an area that I would get a broadside shot... Hes coming and going on one trail and where I put chair yesterday is just to out in the open and it does not offer me a broadside shot... This bear is just so predictable its funny... Comes in early in the morning and late in the afternoon... Again hes a nice bear that anyone would be happy with...Believe me there were numerous bears shot today that probably were around 50 lbs. and the hunters were tickled pink... But that's not me I don't need a toilet seat cover... Will he put lead in my pencil when we meet in person??? Only time will tell, and that's going to happen very soon....
First two pics shows the way he comes and goes... See chair in background??? No way hes not seeing me... I moved it to the left where it's very thick and can't see me coming in... When it opens up hes already got his head in the donuts...
First two pics shows the way he comes and goes... See chair in background??? No way hes not seeing me... I moved it to the left where it's very thick and can't see me coming in... When it opens up hes already got his head in the donuts...
OO2
Well-Known Member
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Dave as for seeing the ears... Heres two pics of Bozo... Truly a bear every hunter dreams of... He falls in the 800-900 lb. range... And you can see his ears...
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Last two pics was opening day of the early season 2 years ago... I thought this bear was very predictable and decided to hunt Thurs. Fri. and Sat. when you could use a muzzleloader as I figured it was a slam dunk... He never showed those days... I F-ed up big time... Hes still there but those woods are off limit this year due to Murphy... Maybe in Dec..
If your serious I would love to tag one next fall. Dad always wanted to archery hunt bears. I was too young at that time to have gone with him so he put it on the back burner. We never got the chance to do it together but it has stayed on my bucket list all these years. Just one of those things that I haven't gotten around to doing yet.
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Definitely serious.... So lets see what this governor of ours does... If theres an early archery season and depending if its on state land, I'll gladly help you fulfill a dream... Might not tag a bear but we'll try like hell..
I would appreciate it very much. I'm not looking for 100% guarantee at one. If i was it wouldn't be hunting.
Are you making it to Strouds on your way west?
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I would love to attend Strouds, but this year its a long shot and its so close to my Illinois trip... But you never know as I told Dustin to leave the lights on... I've been known to take off on a whim... But back to Jersey bears... We have many non-residents come for bears.. Last year I was talking to guys from Arkansas that were here hunting them... Like they said: Where else can you go for next to nothing and possibly get a record book bear... Guys go to Canada for thousands and shoot on the average small bears... I'm sure numerous bears will be shot this week in excess of 500lbs...
Hopefully you get a shot at a bear your happy with this season. Again, this is going to be a great thread to follow along on. Good luck this season.
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Thank's... We'll see... I really enjoy checking the trail cameras each trip...
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So yesterday the wacko's were out in force at one of the check stations... The same college professor was lead away AGAIN in cuff's... This is something like the 9th time hes been arrested... How does he keep his professor job at the college??? About time the judge gives him some serious jail time... Check out some of the pics in the article...
https://www.nj.com/expo/news/erry-2018/10/a9a56383241845/index.html
https://www.nj.com/expo/news/erry-2018/10/a9a56383241845/index.html
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Ok.... Just got out of nice hot shower and I'll give you guys some insight as to what happened this afternoon... First off decided to sleep in this morning and go in around 1PM since this bear usually showed up every afternoon for his jelly donut... Well it might of actually been Sgt Fury's donut... On the drive over I was thinking whether or not to pass on him if he came in.. I kinda had my mind set on passing on him... Since I would be sitting on the ground I opted for the crossbow since I'm 15 yds from the donuts and movement had to be kept at a minimum... Arrow of choice was a Spynal Tapp tipped with a 100 grain Slick Trick magnum... Before sitting down behind a log I pulled the cards on the cams... Looking at the pics I saw he was there this morning at 8 AM and not back yet... Hmmm chance's are good he'll show up... I just put the cards away and was about to put on my gloves and face mask, when I looked up and there he was standing in front of me at 15 yds... Now when I sat in the chair the legs sunk in the dirt which put me about 4 inches above the ground, so he appeared even bigger from that angle then he did in the trail cam pics... I picked up the crossbow and leveled the crosshairs on his shoulder just waiting for him to move that leg forward... He picked up a donut and did an about face and headed back to where he came from...I thought shit there went my chance... 5 minutes later he appeared again, and again he stood there in a not so good position for a shot.. Again he wandered off... So over the next 1/2 hr. he came in 6 times... Each of the times he slipped in like a ghost, no sound whats so ever... One of the times he was there for over 5 minutes, crosshairs leveled on his shoulder, ever once in a while he would stare at me, I thought he was going to come check me out... But once again he turned and slipped away with no shot... On his 6th trip he made the mistake of extending his left leg and I settled the crosshairs center mass behind the shoulder and touched the trigger... With a loud crack he took off... Thank God there was no death moan... Gathered my stuff up and made a few call's for help... On my way out I noticed blood where he was standing and the arrow was buried in a tree... Great I had a pass thru... Help met me back at the truck and we started following the blood trail... For the first 40 yds it was very light then it got heavy and I saw him laying in front of us... Total distamce traveled about 80 yds... Didn't take many pics as it was very brushy and it was in the mid 70's... Bears spoil very fast, so my main concern was getting him out and to the check staton and then to the cooler at the butchers... At the check station he weighed in at 317 lbs dressed... They said his live weight was around 375 lbs... Boy at eye level sitting on the ground at 15 yds I swore he'd be 450-500 lbs... At 317 he's a very repectable bear considering the average black bear weighs 150 to 225 lbs.... He had a tatoo on his lip, so I will be getting more info on where and when he was born... I might have another pic or two on my phone, I'll look in morning... Going to bed...
