Permit Bow Opens Saturday

And the last day to purchase an antlered buck permit for the deer management zone (DMZ) you’ll be hunting is tomorrow by 11:59 pm.

These are available at license-issuing agents during business hours or online at njfishandwildlife.com.

The buck tag is an additional $28 to the standard $28 antlerless permit. Only one buck can be taken no matter the number of permits purchased.

NJ Fish & Wildlife is again offering a special $56 Multi-Zone Permit that allows the hunting of antlerless whitetails in any DMZs within Regulation Sets 7 and 8.

Predicated on the DMZ, the permit bow season will run from October 29 through November 19 (DMZs 21, 23-24, 34, 43, 45-46.); October 29 through November 27 (DMZs 1, 3-4, 18, 22, 26, 30, 55, 63, 65); October 29-December 24 and December 26-December 31 (DMZs 2, 5-17, 19, 25, 27-29, 31, 35-36, 41-42, 47-51.

Bag limits vary widely as per the aforementioned DMZ permit bow season dates. Peruse page 36 in the 2022-23 Hunting & Trapping Digest for the numbers and also the Regulation Set designations.

Be aware that there is an antler point restriction rule (at least three points on one side of the rack) in DMZs 3, 9, 13, 27-31, 34-35, 47, and 63.

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The permit bow season coincides with the rut, which has just started percolating and will be coming to a full boil within a week or two. (Notice all the “Be Alert” signs along the highways and byways?) It’s prime time to get a crack at rack as the dominant bucks throw their normally hyper-cautious behavior into the wind as they sniff the breezes for the scent of a receptive

doe. They’ll generally be on the move at all hours of the day and night until the urges subside into mid-December.

Easier time to bag a buck? Yes, but overall, it’s by no means easy!