Now that NJ has a dedicated bear season for archery I am thinking of heading up this year.   Looking for some inside information on what areas in the State to concentrate my research on.

Northern Jersey, in the Deleware Water Gap area!!! Lots of problem Bears there & the TradGang "Jersey Boys" won't deer hunt there, without bear spray!!!
Some of them should be along shortly...

Yep hunt the gap , worthington , or  Stokes  If been seeing more bear than deer sometimes . Check out the worthington campgrounds . Right next to the Delaware river . But man it would be a rough haul getting one out !

I'm sure you're not the only non-resident thinking about trying your hand at taking one of our bruins. The areas mentioned are excellent but make sure you go to the NJ Fish and Wildlife site and check on the regs, especially concerning baiting. Ignorance can get you in a heap of trouble, no pun intended. And Dan is spot on about getting one of average size out of the woods. Can't use ATVs on state or federal land. I don't know if you've ever had the opportunity of trying to move a dead bear, but it's nothing like a deer. More like trying to move a 200 lb. blob of Jello. And a 200 lber around here is quite common so your chance of taking a really good one are pretty high. Bring a lot of friends with you or, if you happen to tag one, stop in at one of the local gin mills and I'd bet there will be more than enough patrons glad to help dragging it out of the woods. Killing a bear is the easy part.

QuoteOriginally posted by Dan bree:
 man it would be a rough haul getting one out !

Rough getting one out...... You Sir are very kind.  :roll eyes:

I have a word for it, but that word is not proper to use outside of a dog kennel.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/bearseason_info.htm
good luck!

Makes me wish I was still in Philly. I tell people all the time about NJ bears and they don't believe me.

14. Q) Can I quarter my black bear to transport it out of the woods?
A) Yes, provided that all of the parts (except entrails) are taken to the check station.

This from a guy that works for Fish and Game

Bamboo thanks for that info . I'll be camping at the worthington campgrounds for the hunt . Come on in and share a camp fire ,  and help me drag one out lol lol.

A friend of mine and I were seriously considering trying to make it up there this year to try our luck, but we are re-considering due to the comparatively restrictive handgun laws in NJ. We are both CCW license holders here in OK, but are aware that NJ does NOT have a reciprocal agreement with OK and therefore we would not be allowed to carry during (at least portions of) our trip. It's unfortunate that this is the case, because we were both excited to try our luck there, as this new season sounds to be a great hunting opportunity. For us, however, this may prove to be a deal-breaker...

Good luck to all that participate, though!

You don't need a handgun here. I don't know of any of my hunting buds, or theirs, who have ever had an encounter with a bear that required the use of a firearm. And to say that NJ handgun laws are restrictive is an understatement.

Cant carry 2 weapons at anytime in nj. Besides a handgun in this state,good luck!

I'm not worried about the bears. Lol. It's people that I don't trust (the general public, not fellow trad-bow hunters). It's sad, but true. I'm a correctional officer and see on a regular (if not daily) basis the evil that men are capable of. And it is always the unprepared and/or the unobservant that are the first targets. I don't like being either of those things.

I'm curious how this hunt will turn out...lots of guys speculating it'll be a cluster with the OTC license and the amount of non-residents its attracting.  I'm from South NJ and I know the north guys hate it when even we come up and stumble around the woods.  Maybe with enough TG guys we can get a camp going.

Ulysses ,I don't mine you guys stumbling around ,it keeps the deer moveing . Lol and getting a camp going sounds like a good time . Plenty of room at the worthington campgrounds

Thanks for all the feedback.  Definitely going to try to get up and hunt.  I know what its like to haul a bear out.  About ten years ago I killed a large bear in CA and it took 5 of us from 3P to midnight to get it off the mountain.  When it gets close we should plan on a Tradgang get together.

The camp ground at Worthington looks like a good place to settle in for the week.

lets bring this back up

Mike (bamboo)  I will be picking your brain at Denton if your going

Drewsbow
I'll be at Denton for the weekend if you want to get together and talk about NY bear hunting.

love to talk bear hunting