New Jersey Shotgun season started off with low temperatures and high winds, conditions that made getting deer particularly challenging. Monday of deer season we had a 17 man hunting party assembled by 10 am. We drove a local state piece and an flushed all of the deer out to the standers but as it turned out they were all antlerless, 5 does. We managed to get up 20 some deer that day but none of them had any horns to speak of.
Day two we switched gears a little and decided to do a push on private ground at daybreak. Bobby decided to drive his personal reserve that he has been managing for 8 years and had only been driven one other time in that eight year time span. Deer were running all over the place. One nice buck broke up behind some houses, a few does were seen by the first standers and then the shooting started. When the smoke cleared this 165 pound nine pointer was laying on the ground. Zach put 5 shots of 3 1/2 inch buck shot into him at 30 yards. Jake fired a couple of follow up shots and i put one into him for good measure.
After running only 15 yards, Pete's deer died standing up in this bush. Pete's buck dressed out a 140 pounds.
Zach's buck at the check station. He weighed in at 165 lbs. Would have won the big buck contest if Zach had entered.
On Saturday we managed to kill this five pointer. My cousin Ray shot it first and then Frank put it down. The deer dressed 115 pounds.
Saturday night a friend of mine brought by this seven pointer. He was only able to make it out on Saturday and got this nice buck on his first attempt.
We warned him about the blood staining the horns and got him some wipes to clean off the blood.
This buck dressed out at 127 pounds.
